Isaac, who meanwhile had retreated in the direction of Nicosia, sent his wife, who was a daughter of King Thoros II of Armenia, and their daughter to the Castle of Kyrenia for reasons of safety. Richard, on the contrary, did not pursue him but marched via Kition to Famagusta. He found the city undefended and conquered it. His fleet which had accompanied the army along the coast, likewise anchored off Famagusta. There he received envoys of King Philip Augustus, who had meanwhile arrived in Palestine. They pressed Richard to proceed without delay to Acre. But he informed them that the favourable chance of securing Cyprus as a connecting line and a supply source was now the most important task.

After he stayed three days in Famagusta, he marched to Nicosia - a battle was fought near Tremetousia in which Isaac's troops were defeated. (Richard of Devizes (download pdf file) goes on to say that "... the English would have been defeated on that day if they had not been fighting under Richard." (Appleby p 38). Isaac fled to Buffavento Castle and later to Kantara. As Richard had to stay in Nicosia because of an illness, it was the task of Guy de Lusignan to besiege the Castle of Kyrenia. It capitulated after a short siege. The wife and the daughter of Isaac (she was entrusted to the care of Berengaria, and some ten years later married a French knight, a relative of Baldwin, count of Flanders) were now in the hands of the King of England and in his despair, Isaac ordered the defenders of St. Hilarion to surrender to Richard's troops.

Different versions of the surrender and fate of Isaac Comnenus...

Version one (Jeffery): By the end of May Isaac himself surrendered in Kantara, under one condition, that he would not be put in iron chains. Contemporary reports say that this condition was met and that he was taken away in a specially forged chain of silver.

Version two (Newman, P., 1940, "A Short History of Cyprus"): ... Isaac, who had fled to the Karpass in the hope of escaping by boat to the mainland, was at last taken prisoner in the abbey of Cape St. Andrea at the eastern point of the island. He was bound in fetters of silver and imprisoned in the castle of Markappos in Syria, where he died soon after in captivity.

Version three (_): Eventually Isaac surrendered and "...was captured and brought to the King. He begged for pardon, and it was granted; he offered homage to the King, and it was received." (Appleby p 37) In these actions, Richard showed valour, bravery and forgiveness. Isaac was made to spend his remaining days with the Hospitaller knights in Syria, where he seems to have died in 1195.

Version four (Hans A. Pohlsander): click here

The capture of Cyprus not only brought Richard increased fame, but a wealth of money and supplies. He kept the gold, silk and jewels for himself, and gave the army the silver, food and provisions. On top of this, Richard taxed every Greek on the island, and started to accept donations. Thus the fortunes of Richard increased. (Runciman p. 46). Richard managed to sell Cyprus to the Templars for 100,000 gold dinars afterwards, and even though only 40,000 dinars were ever actually paid, "... the direct cash return on his Cypriot investment was very handsome." (Brundage p. 66).

While the conquest of Cyprus appears to be an accident, Brundage has a different point of view. There were no relations between the King of England and Byzantium, and according to Burgess, Richard had an "... anti-Byzantine bias ..." before he even started on the Crusade. (Brundage, p. 64). He goes on to claim that Richard "probably" had plans to attack Byzantine lands, and that the capture of Cyprus prolonged "... the Holy War for nearly two centuries after the final fall of Acre." (Brundage 1991: p. 68). Either way, the affair was an accident, no matter what the intentions were, and is one of the victories of the failed Crusade.

Richard left (June 5, 1191) some of his noblemen behind on Cyprus, to occupy the garrisons. In addition he restored the rights and institutions which had been granted to the Cypriots by the Emperor Manuel Comnenos. Besides the considerable booty, which Richard took for himself, the situation in Syria and Palestine was also greatly eased. For the whole following century Cyprus was the provision place and starting point for further activities of the Crusaders...

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