Kingdom of Cyprus
Mediaeval kingdom
The Kingdom of Cyprus (French: Royaume de Chypre; Latin: Regnum Cypri) 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.
History
Third Crusade
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. Richard I did not intend to conquer the island until his fleet was scattered by a storm en route to the siege of Acre (1189–1191). The three ships were wrecked and sank in sight of the port of Limassol. The shipwrecked survivors were taken prisoner by Komnenos, and when a ship bearing Richard I's sister Joan and bride Berengaria entered the port, Komnenos refused their request to disembark for fresh water. Richard I and the rest of his fleet arrived shortly afterwards. Upon hearing of the imprisonment of his shipwrecked comrades and the insults offered to his bride and sister, Richard I met Komnenos in battle. There were rumours that Komnenos was secretly in agreement with Saladin to protect himself from his enemies, the Angelos family, the ruling family in the Byzantine capital of Constantinople.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Kingdom of Cyprus” is mediaeval kingdom. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Kingdom, Cyprus and Mediaeval, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “mediaeval kingdom” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q213638. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1192, 1489, 1361 and 1373.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Kingdom of Cyprus”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Kingdom of Cyprus primary sources, Kingdom of Cyprus archive and Kingdom research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Kingdom of Cyprus”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Kingdom of Cyprus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.