Henri II of Cyprus

Henri II of dead Lusignan the August 31st 1324, king de Chypre (1285 - 1306 and 1310 - 1324) and of Jerusalem (1285 - 1291), wire of Hugues III of Cyprus and Isabelle d' Ibelin. It succeeded his brother Jean Ier the May 20th 1285; one suspected Henri of having poisoned Jean. Charles of Anjou which disputed the rights of Jean to the throne of Jerusalem had died in 1285, making it possible Henri to take again Acre in Angevins. With a fleet, Henri tackled Acre defended by Hugues Pellerin, the lieutenant of Charles and the city was taken the July 29th. Henri was crowned the August 15th but went back to Cyprus by naming baillif his uncle Philippe d' Ibelin. On this date, Acre was one of the rare harbor cities remainder of the kingdom of Jerusalem. During its reign, the Mamelouk S took Tyr, Beirut, and the other cities, as well as the county of Tripoli. The final seat of Acre began the April 5th 1291. At the end of the engagements, Henri escaped towards Cyprus with the majority from his noble, and the city fell the May 28th.

Henri continued to reign in Cyprus, and continued to claim with the throne of Jerusalem, often projecting to reconquer the lost grounds. He was combined with Ghazan, the Mongolian khan of Persia when this one invades the empire Mameluke in 1299; he tried to prevent the Génois ships from trading with the Mamelukes, hoping to weaken them economically and wrote twice to the pope Clément V asking a new crusade. Its reign in Cyprus was prosperous and it was implied in the justice and the administration of the kingdom; the minutes of the High court were preserved (in French and Italian rather than in Latin) starting from its reign and extended the role of the Court, which was a council of the noble ones, to a body ready to judge the criminals. He suffered from epilepsy, which made from time to time it impotent, and the nobility was dissatisfied. One of his/her brothers Guy, conspired against him in 1303 and was carried out. In 1306 his/her brother Amaury lord of Tyr, conspired with the Templiers to draw aside it from the throne. Amaury took the title of governor and regent of Cyprus, rather than that of king. Henri was exiled in Arménie, whose king Oshin was the brother-in-law of Amaury. However, Amaury was assassinated in 1310, Oshin released Henri, who returned to Cyprus and found his throne with the assistance of the Chevaliers of the Hospital, imprisoned many accomplices of Amaury, among which them Aimery brother, their brother-in-law Balian d' Ibelin, prince de Galilée and other parents of Balian. In 1313, it supervised the dissolution about the Temple in Cyprus and the transfer of their properties to the Knights of the Hospital.

He married the October 16th 1317 Constance, girl of Frederic II of Sicily and Eléonore of Anjou, but did not have children. He died on August 31st, 1324.

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