Peter II (Cyprus)

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Peter II , known as the Fat (around 1357 - 13 October 1382 ), was King of Cyprus from 1369 until his death in 1382 .

Life

He was the son of King Peter I and Eleonora of Aragón , who was co-regent from 1369 to 1379.

When his father died in 1369, the nobility of Cyprus paid homage to him as the new king of Cyprus and titular king of Jerusalem . Since he was still a minor at that time, his uncle Johann von Lusignan, titular prince of Antioch († 1375), led the regency for him until he was declared of legal age in December 1371. He was then crowned King of Cyprus on January 13, 1372 in St. Sophia Cathedral in Nicosia and King of Jerusalem on October 2, 1372 in St. Nicholas Cathedral in Famagusta .

In 1372 there were violent riots between the Venetians and the Genoese in Famagusta, in the course of which the Genoese fled the island. They soon returned with a fleet and army that sacked Famagusta in May 1373. In the course of attempted negotiations, King Peter II, his mother and his uncle Jacob I were captured. On December 4, 1373, the Genoese also took Nicosia. In March 1374, an armistice was finally concluded, with which the Genoese imposed heavy fines on the Cypriots. The invasion fleet left Cyprus in April 1374, but a Genoese garrison remained permanently stationed in Famagusta.

Weakened by the invasion of the Genoese, he also lost the coastal cities of Cilicia , which his father had conquered, to the Mamluks (Sultanate of Cairo) in 1373 .

In September 1378 Peter married Valentina Visconti († 1393), daughter of Bernabò Visconti , lord of Milan . This marriage alliance with Milan was intended to counterbalance the Genoese, which is why the marriage was initially kept secret. Valentina brought a large fortune as a dowry. She soon got into a dispute with her mother-in-law Eleonora of Aragón, who was deposed as co-regent of the king around 1380 after a failed intrigue and exiled from Cyprus to her homeland in Catalonia . Peter had a daughter with Valentina, who died before him in 1382.

After his death on October 13, 1382, he was buried in the Dominican church of Nicosia. Since he left no descendants, his uncle Jakob I took over the crown after his early death .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter W. Edbury: The Kingdom of Cyprus and the Crusades 1191-1374. Cambridge University Press, 1994, ISBN 0521458374 , p. 199.
  2. ↑ Chroniques d'Amadi et de Strambaldi, p. 432
  3. ↑ Peter W. Edbury: The Kingdom of Cyprus and the Crusades 1191-1374. Cambridge University Press, 1994, ISBN 0521458374 , pp. 200, 207 f.
  4. ↑ Chroniques d'Amadi et de Strambaldi, p. 437.

Literature and web links

predecessor Office successor
Peter I. King of Cyprus
1369–1382 		Jacob I.
personal data
SURNAME Peter II
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Cyprus
DATE OF BIRTH around 1357
DATE OF DEATH October 13, 1382