John of Lusignan

John of Lusignan (French: Jean de Lusignan; c. 1329 or 1329/1330–1375), regent of the Kingdom of Cyprus and titular Prince of Antioch. He was son of King Hugh IV of Cyprus and his second wife, Alix of Ibelin. He was a member of the House of Lusignan.

While being a regent of Cyprus, he launched an attack on Mamluk ports. He attacked Sidon on 5 June 1369, but after a day of skirmishes, his fleet was diverted by a storm, he later avoided fortified Beirut, but managed to pillage both Botron and Tartus, then he went further north to Latakia, Ayas and Antalya, before attacking Alexandria on 9–10 July, where the Cypriots tried in vain to seize a large Moroccan merchantman, they later returned to Sidon on 19 July, where they managed to land and defeat the garrison, but forced to evacuate due to a storm, they eventually cast anchor at Famagusta on 22 July.[1]

He was murdered as a result of his involvement in the murder of his elder brother, King Peter I of Cyprus. The historian Stefano Lusignan is his descendant. This is the Prince John that the Prince John Tower of the St. Hilarion Castle was named after. Tradition says that he killed the two Bulgarians that constituted his personal guard, by throwing them one by one from the windows of that particular tower.

Marriage and issue

The Lusignan coat of arms on the foundation inscription of the Cathedral of Saint John in Nicosia, Cyprus

He married twice, firstly in 1343 to Constance of Sicily (died after April 19, 1344), daughter of Frederick III of Sicily and Eleanor of Anjou, without issue, and secondly in 1350 to Alice of Ibelin, by whom he was the father of:

Out of wedlock he had an illegitimate son by Alice Embriaco de Giblet:

  • John of Lusignan (died after 1410), Titular Lord of Beirut, married in 1385 to Marguerite de Morpho, the parents of:

References

Sources

  • Meyer Setton, Kenneth (1976). The Papacy and the Levant, 1204-1571: The thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. American Philosophical Society. ISBN 9780871691149.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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