cyprus_txt

The Lusignans, three centuries of Frankish Rule (very extensive overview)

"A Short History of Cyprus"
( Newman, P., (1940), Longmans, Green & Co., London)

(*) More Doges of Venice (1501-1571) etc. are intentionally not mentioned here.
1571: Cyprus became a province of the Turkish Empire.

Also read: The Military Orders in Cyprus in the Light of Recent Scholarship by Peter W. Edbury (Cardiff University, Wales, United Kingdom).

(*) One of the European claimants to the Crown of Cyprus was Charles Albert, King of Sardinia, who styled himself on his gold pieces of 20 Francs 'King of Sardinia, Cyprus and Jerusalem'. Currently, the title of King of Jerusalem is claimed by King Juan Carlos I of Spain as the successor to the royal family of Naples. The House of Savoy, as heirs of the royal family of Cyprus, also made claims on the title at times.
| overview castles Cyprus | previous |

CYPRUS The Lusignan Dynasty \| external link: complete genealogy \| \| sources, see: Bibliography, Cyprus \| \| overview castles Cyprus \| previous \| detailed map \|		395 AD - 1191 Cyprus becomes part of the Byzantine Empire 1191 - 1192 Rule by Richard the Lionheart of England 1192 - 1489 Rule by the Frankish Lusignan dynasty 1489 - 1570 Venetian domination of the island 1571 - 1878 Conquest of Cyprus by the Ottoman Empire
Rule by Richard the Lionheart, King of England (1191-1192): In 1191 Cyprus was conquered and definitely occupied by the Latin Crusaders accompanying Richard I, King of England, on the \| Third Crusade (detailed map) \|. In the following year the island was ceded, apparently as a fief of the English Crown, to Guy de Lusignan. The occupation of Cyprus by King Richard seems not to have been recognized as the foundation of a kingdom; Richard was undoubtedly the first Latin lord of the island and disposed of it as such to the Order of the Temple. But the idea of erecting it into a feudal state seems not to have been thought of until 1194 when Amaury de Lusignan assumed the title of King. Lusignan Dynasty: 1192-1194: Guy de Lusignan, King of Jerusalem, Lord of Cyprus. 1194-1205: Amaury, King of Jerusalem, King of Cyprus. 1205-1208: Hugh I, King of Cyprus. 1218-1253: Henry I, King of Cyprus, Lord of Jerusalem. 1253-1267: Hugh II: King of Cyprus, Lord of Jerusalem. Lusignan (Châtillon) Dynasty: 1267-1284: Hugh III: King of Cyprus and Jerusalem. 1284-1285: John I, King of Cyprus and Jerusalem. 1285-()-1324: Henry II: King of Cyprus and Jerusalem. (On 18th May, 1291, Acre in the Holy Land was occupied by the Saracens, and the Christians (such of them as escaped the general massacre) passed over to Cyprus in the course of the same evening and night. The large influx of Europeans into the island introduced the arts andcivilization of the West. To this period belong the numerous Gothic churches - which have been exhaustively studied and described (1889) by M. Camille Enlart in 'L'Art Gothique en Chypre'). () 1306 - 1310: Amaury (Brother): Regent of the Kingdom of Cyprus and Jerusalem - Prince of Tyre. 1324-1358: Hugh IV, King of Jerusalem and Cyprus. (The prosperous and splendid reign of Hugh IV., in whose time most of the finest buildings in Cyprus seem to have been erected - Bella Paise (Bellapais abbey), Cathedrals of Nicosia and Famagusta (Gazi Magusa)completed, numerous churches etc, and above all the City of Famagusta. He created the emporium of the East, but was succeeded by a disastrous period). 1358-1369: Peter I (Pierre I), King of Jerusalem and Cyprus, 1369-1382: Peter II (Pierre II), King of Jerusalem and Cyprus. (In 1372 Peter II., then King of Cyprus, was crowned King of Jerusalem - according to custom and as an empty pageant - in the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Famagusta. The custom seems to have been for the two Consuls of Genoa and Venice to lead the horse of the King in the procession returning from the ceremony, one on either side. On this occasion a dispute as to precedence between the two republicans representatives led to a bloody fray, in which the King, siding with the Venetians, was rash enough to order a general massacre of the Genoese. This led to a terrible reprisal on the part of the Genoese Republic. From 1372 dates the Genoese Occupation of Famagusta and a considerable area of country around. Thereafter the rest of the island although nominally still under the sway of the Lusignans, was to a great extent tributary to the Republic of Genoa or to other powers. The Genoese Occupation extended throughout the following reigns). 1382-1398: James I (Jacques I), King of Jerusalem, Cyprus and Armenia. 1398-1432: Janus, King of Jerusalem, Cyprus and Armenia. 1432-1458: John II (Jean II), King of Jerusalem, Cyprus and Armenia. 1458-1460: Charlotte, Queen of Jerusalem, Cyprus and Armenia [ Rule and fate: internal link \| external link ]. (The Genoese maintained their hold of the only important port of Cyprus until the complete collapse of the Lusignan Dynasty took place in the disputed succession of Charlotte, the last legitimate representative of the house).
1460-1473: James II (Jacques II), (bastard), King of Jerusalem, Cyprus and Armenia. (After the transference of the feudal titles from the ancient kingdom of Jerusalem to Cyprus in the eventful year 1291, a settlement of tenures was effected which remained unchanged until the period of revolution and civil war immediately preceding the establishment of the Venetian Government in the island. James II, irritated against the ancient families which remained faithful to the cause of his sister Charlotte, persecuted them with confiscation when he eventually had the power. And the Venetians rendered but tardy justice when they succeeded to this reign of oppression and tyranny. The usurper united to the royal domain, or granted to new proprietors, a great part of the estates belonging to ancient fiefs.). 1473-1474: James III (Jacques III), King of Jerusalem, Cyprus and Armenia.
The arms of Catherine (Caterina) Cornaro	1474-1489: Catherine (Caterina) Cornaro Last Queen of Jerusalem, Cyprus and Armenia In 1489 (31st May) Catherine Cornaro ceded the Kingdom of Cyprus to the Venetian Doge Agostino Barbarigo, who died in 1501. (*)		Catherine (Caterina) Cornaro

The Lusignans, three centuries of Frankish Rule (very extensive overview) "A Short History of Cyprus" ( Newman, P., (1940), Longmans, Green & Co., London) () More Doges of Venice (1501-1571) etc. are intentionally not mentioned here. 1571: Cyprus became a province of the Turkish Empire. Also read: The Military Orders in Cyprus* in the Light of Recent Scholarship by Peter W. Edbury (Cardiff University, Wales, United Kingdom). (*) One of the European claimants to the Crown of Cyprus was Charles Albert, King of Sardinia, who styled himself on his gold pieces of 20 Francs 'King of Sardinia, Cyprus and Jerusalem'. Currently, the title of King of Jerusalem is claimed by King Juan Carlos I of Spain as the successor to the royal family of Naples. The House of Savoy, as heirs of the royal family of Cyprus, also made claims on the title at times. \| overview castles Cyprus \| previous \|