John II of Cyprus
John II or III of Cyprus (May 16, 1418 – July 28, 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 was born and died in Nicosia. In May, sometime between 1435 and 1440, he married Aimee or Amadea Palaiologina of Monferrato (August 3, 1429 – Nicosia, September 13, 1440), daughter of John Jacob, Marquess of Montferrat, without issue. His second wife, a distant relatie of his first one, whom he married in Nicosia in 1441 or on February 3, 1442, was Helena Palaiologina (1428 – April 11, 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 of Lusignan
- 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, James, 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 of Antioch, a younger son of William IX of Aquitaine.
| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by Janus |
King of Cyprus Titular King of Jerusalem King of Armenia 1432–1458 |
Succeeded by Charlotte |
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