The Lusignans came to rule Cyprus as a result of the Crusades. Alexius Comnenus
became emperor of Byzantium in 1081, and despite the Great Schism of 1054
which split the church in two, he sought help from Pope Urban II to drive
the Turks from Asia Minor. This led to the Crusades, which the Roman church
saw as a means of extending its power, and others saw as a means to booty
By the end of the century Christian forces occupied territory stretching
from Edessa to Egypt, and had established the Kingdom of Jerusalem
In 1186 the French adventurer Guy de Lusignan ascended the throne of Jerusalem
by virtue of marriage to Sybilla, the heiress of the kingdoni. By this time
the great Saladin had welded the Moslem nations together and embarked on
a jihad to recover Jerusalem. He destroyed Guy`s armies in 1187 and then
took Jerusalem, leaving only Tyre, and the principalities of Tripoli and
Anti och in Christian hands.
The news of the fall of Jerusalem shocked the European powers, who organized
the Third Crusade. The Germans went by land, but the French, led by Philip
II, and the English, led by Richard the Lionheart elected to travel by sea
to Acre. On the way, Richard`s fleet was scattered by a storm; several ships
foundered off the coast of Cyprus, and the one in which Richard`s fianc6e
was sailing, took refuge in the harbour at Limassol. The year was 1191, and
the self proclaimed emperor Isaac Comnenos was ruling Cyprus. He made the
fatal mistake of arresting Richard`s shipwrecked sailors, and abusing his
fiancde Berengaria. When Richard arrived a few days later, he landed in force,
and seized Limassol. Isaac capitulated, and swore allegiance to Richard,
but immediately broke his oath, and fled to kantara. He was eventually captured
at Cape Andreas in the karpas by Guy de Lusignan, who had arrived in Cyprus
to join Richard
On May 12th 1191, Richard married Berengaria of Navarre in Limassol, and
she was crowned Oueen of England.
In June, with bulging treasure chests filled with the wealth Isaac had amassed
during his rule, Richard set sail for Acre, leaving a garrisoned Cyprus in
the charge of Richard of Camville and Robert of Tornham. These two were soon
occupied in suppressing a revolt of their unwilling subjects and on hearing
the news, king Richard sold the island to a military order of knights, the
Templars, for 100,000 bezants.
The Templars soon discovered that the rebellious Cypriots would not submit
to their severe rule, and after desperately putting down a populai uprising,
they begged Richard to cancel their purchase.
On the death of his wife Sybil Ia, Guy de Lusignan`s claim to the crowr of
Jerusalem weakened, and he was deposed by the barons. T( compensate his loss,
Richard offered him the island of Cyprus, and thu.` began the Lusignan dynasty,
which was to endure for 300 years.
Guy introduced the feudal system, granting estates to the barons who had
accompanied him from Palestine. Constitutional and legal matters were dealt
with by the Assizes of Jerusalem, a code adopted from th former kingdom,
but local laws and customs were retained.
Two years later, in 1194, Guy died and he was succeeded by hi brother Amaury.
To ratify his right to rule, Amaury obtained a crown fror the Holy Roman
Emperor, Henry VI, and in 1197 became the fin Lusignan king of Cyprus. To
secure his position from without and withip Amaury extended the mountain
castles of St.Hilarion, Buffavento, and Kantara. He also took steps to displace
the Orthodox churd introducing the Roman communion.
Oppression of the Orthodox church was supplemented in 1222 decrees issued
at the Council of Famagusta: the Orthodox sees were reduced, and the four
remaining bishops packed off to country towns; Orthodox revenues were allocated
to the Latin church, and in general, the Orthodox church was placed in a
Latin strait-jacket.
The suppression of their religion was not the only hardship suffered by the
local population. Contemporary travellers noted the stark contrast between
the extravagant luxury enjoyed by the upper echelons, and the grinding poverty
endured by the peasants. Frederick lIthe Holy Roman Emperor and son of Henry
VI, landed in Cyprus in 1228 on his way to Palestine, to assert his rights
as suzerain. He immediately fell into conflict with Jean d`lbelin, Lord of
Beirut and regent of Cyprus during the minority of young King Henry. A compromise
was reached whereby Jean d`lbelin accompanied Frederick on his crusade, and
Sir AmaInc Barlais, a favourite of Queen Alix (Henry`s mother), was
appointed regent, along with four other barons.
With Jean d`lbelin absent, Sir Amalric took steps to consolidate his position,
confiscating the properties of his rival. Returning to Cyprus, Jean d`lbelin
defeated hIs enemy in battle outside Nicosia. Sir Amalric retreated to St.
Hilarion, but eventually surrendered after a long siege, and relinquished
his claim to the regency.
Emperor Frederick II was by now back in after achieving notable success on
his crusade by skilful negotiations with the Arabs. He now sent his marshall,
Richard Filangeri, to destroy the d`lbelins in Cyprus and Palestine. In 1232
Filangeri took and invested the citadel. Jean d`lbelin sailed over in force
from isto relieve his city, but wily Filangeri sent imperial forces under
the ide AmaInc Barlais to Cyprus, where he overran the island. Jean returned
to Cyprus, defeating the enemy and blockading them in a castle for over a
year, before Frederick withdrew his troops.
The fall of Jerusalem in 1244 provoked the disastrous 7th Crusade, led Louis
of France. Accompanying his party were a number of artists and stone masons.
Some of these remained in Cyprus instrumental in the creation of the Gothic
masterworks in this. After the death ot king Henry in 1253, and his young
heir in 1267, Hugh of Antioch ascended the throne as Hugh Ill. His exceptional
qualities inspired Thomas Aquinas to write his "De Regimirie Principurn".
(For the Guidance of Princes). He took effective action during the plague
and famine of 1267, and under his rule the country prospered. He was a generous
patron of Bellapais Abbey, but when he died in 1284, he was buried in St.
Sophia cathedral in Nicosia.
The principal event during the reign of Henry 11(1285-1324) was the fall
of Acre in 1291. The last crusader stronghold in the Levant was lost, and
Cyprus became the Christian outpost of the East. Genoese, Venetian and other
merchants transferred their establishments to Famagusta, which rapidly flourished
as the major trade centre linking occident and orient. In the 14th century
Famagusta became one of the wealthiest and most influential cities in the
Mediterranean.
This prosperity was disturbed during the reign of Hugh IV (1324-1358) by
the havoc wrought by the bubonic plague or `Black Death` of 1349 The king
sought refuge in St,Hilarion, trade ground to a halt, and after the pestilence,
the population was so depleted that many a merchant was raised to fill the
ranks of the nobility.
The Lusignan dynasty reached the zenith of its glory under Peter I, who was
crowned king of Cyprus and Jerusalem in 1358. In Asia Minor at this time,
the Armenian kingdom had been all but overrun by the Ottoman Turks. In response
to pleas for help, Peter seut relief to the Armenians in Cou rico, and then
successfully stormed the mighty Turkish fortress at Adalia.
However, his main purpose in life was to re-establish the kingdom of Jerusalem,
and to this end he toured Europe in 1362, hoping to drum up support for his
venture. Enthusiasm for the crusades had waned in Europe, and only a small
contingent accompanied him when he eventually set sail from Venice in 1365.
Peter landed at Rhodes, to loin forces with the hospitallers, who had made
that island their headquarters, and then sailed to Egypt, the seat of Moslem
power.
Alexandria was taken by surprise and pillaged, but his forces wduld venture
no further in the face of a powerful Mameluke army, so Peter retired to Cyprus,
hoping to gather more knights from Europe to prosecute the cause. The apathetic
response of European nobility, and the eagerness of merchants to resume trade
with the East, caused Pope Urban V to advise Peter to make peace with Egypt.
King Peter turned his attention to Asia Minor, where the Caramanian Turks
were advancing upon Courico. As negotiations with Egypt were still under
way, Peter sent his brother, the Prince of Antioch to relieve the town. His
success was total: learning that the Turks intended to retire pending the
outcome of events in Egypt, the prince pounced and the Turks were routed.
Meanwhile, to induce the Egyptians to speed up negotiations, King Peter pillaged
towns along the Syrian coast, and soon a peace treaty was signed. In 1369
Peter was assassinated, and was succeeded by his young son Peter II.
Rivalries between the mercantile powers erupted at the coronation of Peter
II as king of Jerusalem and Cyprus in Famagusta in 1372. A dispute between
the representatives of Genoa and Venice as to who should lead the king`s
horse resulted in a brawl, and the hostilities were continued after the celebrations
when the Venetians, with tacit Cypriot support, attacked the Genoese, killing
several, and destroying their property.
The Genoese responded with an iron fist. Troops were despatched, Famagusta
and Nicosia were seized, along with the young king. James, The constable
of Cyprus, and Eleanor, the king`s mother, retired to Kyrenia castle which
withstood all Genoese assaults. A treaty in 1374 restored Peter to the throne,
but Famagusta was retained by the Genoese and James was kept hostage in Genoa
until he succeeded to throne in 1385.
In 1396, James I added the title of king of Armenia to those of king of Jerusalem
and Cyprus, but the honour increased neither his wealth nor territory.
The raids on Egypt by Janus (1398-1432), aroused the wrath of the telukes,
who descended upon Cyprus in 1426 and annihilated as weakened Cypriot army,
sacked Nicosia, and imposed tribute on the island.
Lusignan dynasty never recovered. Intrigue within the royal family weakened
its position. The illegitimate usurper James II 1473) managed to wrest Famagusta
trom the declining Genoese, marriage to Caterina Cornaro of Venice was a
fatal error. The who had long coveted the island, soon engineered the king`s
death and effectively ruled Cyprus until they officially took over in 1489,
n Caterina was persuaded to relinquish her position in their favour.
In terms of art, the era of the Lusignans and the crusaders was one of the
most brilliant and significant epochs in the history of Cyprus. The Gothic
churches and cathedrals, the Abbey at Bellapais, the crusader castles of
St.Hilarion, Buffavento and kantara, all constitute the most impressive memorial
to Frankish art of the middle ages on oriental soil.
Decisive to the development of Franco-Cypriot Gothic architecture was the
visit in 1248 of Louis IX of France, who brought with him master builders
and stonemasons versed in the styles current in the Champagne, and the lie
de France. The fall of Acre and the consequent cosmopolitan influx introduced
Italian and Catalan elements into Cypriot gothic art. After the marriage
of King John 11(1432-1458) to the Byzantine princess Helena Palaeologa, which
reinforced the Byzantine aspect of the island, the Byzantine and Gothic style
elements combined to create a composite architecture whose influence has
extended up to the 20th century
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North Cyprus
