John II of Cyprus

John II or III of Cyprus (16 May 1418 – 28 July 1458) was the King of Cyprus and Armenia and also titular King of Jerusalem from 1432 to 1458. He was previously a titular Prince of Antioch.

John II
King of Cyprus
Reign29 June 1432 – 28 July 1458
PredecessorJanus
SuccessorCharlotte
Born16 May 1418
Died28 July 1458
SpouseAmadea Palaiologina of Montferrat
Helena Palaiologina
IssueCharlotte of Cyprus
James II of Cyprus
HousePoitiers-Lusignan
FatherJanus of Cyprus
MotherCharlotte of Bourbon

John was the son of king Janus of Cyprus and Charlotte of Bourbon; he was born and died in Nicosia. In May, sometime between 1435 and 1440, he married Aimee or Amadea Palaiologina of Monferrato (3 August 1429 – Nicosia, 13 September 1440), daughter of John Jacob Palaiologos, Marquess of Montferrat, without issue. His second wife, a distant relative of his first one, whom he married in Nicosia in 1441 or on 3 February 1442, was Helena Palaiologina (1428 – 11 April 1458), only child and daughter of Theodore II Palaiologos, Despot of the Morea and his wife Cleofa Malatesta. Theodore was a son of Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos and Helena Dragaš and the brother of the last two Byzantine emperors, John VIII Palaiologos and Constantine XI Palaiologos. By his second marriage he had two daughters:

  • Charlotte, Queen of Cyprus
  • Cleopha of Lusignan, died young

Upon the death of John II, his only surviving legitimate child Charlotte succeeded to the throne. During his rule, Corycus, the only Cypriot stronghold in mainland Anatolia was lost to the Karamanids in 1448.

John had an illegitimate son by Marietta de Patras

whom he appointed Archbishop of Nicosia at the age of 16. James did not prove ideal archbishop material, and was stripped of his title after murdering the royal chamberlain. His father eventually forgave him and restored him to the Archbishopric. James and Helena were enemies, vying for influence over John. After Helena died in 1458, it appeared that John would appoint James as his successor, but John died before he could make it so.

He was the last direct legitimate male descendant of Raymond de Poitiers of Antioch, a younger son of William IX of Aquitaine.

coat-of-arms of Lusignan of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Lesser Armenia
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Janus		 King of Cyprus
1432–1458		 Succeeded by
Charlotte
— TITULAR —
King of Jerusalem
King of Armenian Cilicia
1432–1458
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