Kingdom of Cyprus

Cyprus, 1192–1489. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Kingdom of Cyprus was a medieval kingdom of the Crusader states that existed between 1192 and 1489. Initially ruled as an independent Christian kingdom, it was established by the French House of Lusignan after the Third Crusade. It comprised the island of Cyprus and, on the Anatolia mainland, Antalya between 1361 and 1373, and Corycus between 1361 and 1448. The Kingdom of Cyprus had long been in decline and had been a tributary state of the Egyptian Mamluks since 1426.

Seat of power: Nicosia

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

• The island of Cyprus was conquered by Richard I of England in 1191 during the Third Crusade, from Isaac Komnenos, an upstart local governor, Byzantine prince, and self-proclaimed emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
• The castle held great strategic importance in the Middle Ages, and contained large facilities for the production of sugar from the local sugarcane, one of Cyprus's main exports in the period.
• In 1468, James II of Cyprus of the House of Lusignan became King of Cyprus.

Picture

Kolossi Castle is a former Crusader stronghold west of the city of Limassol on the island of Cyprus.

Image: Vegard Ottervig, Public domain, file

Sources

• Kingdom of Cyprus (Wikipedia)
• Kingdom of Cyprus (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.