Amalric, Lord of Tyre, also called Amalric of Lusignan or Amaury de Lusignan (c. 1272 – June 5, 1310, in

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

) was a prince and statesman of the

House of Lusignan The House of Lusignan ( ; ) was a royal house of France, French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Kingdom of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Kingdom of Cyprus, Cyprus, and Kingd ...

, a younger son of King Hugh III of Cyprus and Isabella of the House of Ibelin. He was given the title of

Lord of Tyre The Lordship of Tyre was a semi-independent domain in the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1246 to 1291. Background The town of Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre was an important port on the Palestine (region), Palestinian coast of the Fatimid Caliphate in the late ...

in 1291, shortly before the city of Tyre fell to the

Mamluks of Egypt The Mamluk Sultanate (), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks ...

. He is often but incorrectly called the Prince of Tyre. In April 1306, with the support of the barons, Amalric forced his brother

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

to cede authority to him. He thereafter governed Cyprus as "rector, governor and administrator", effectively regent, until his assassination.

Life

Amalric was at the Fall of Tripoli in 1289, in which he led a company of knights and four galleys from

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. He escaped the siege of Tripoli together with Lucia of Tripoli, and was made Constable of Jerusalem in April 1289. In 1290, he became

. He was the officer in command of the Accursed Tower at the siege of Acre in 1291, and escaped the fall of the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1 ...

with his brother, King Henry II. In 1300 Amalric attempted combined military operations with the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

under Ghazan to retake the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

. He and other Cypriots occupied the island of Ruad, but the Mongols did not appear and the Westerners withdrew,"At the head of a combined force of Cypriot knights and Templars, Amaury occupied the small island of Ruad (Arwad), off the coast near

Tortosa Tortosa (, ) is the capital of the '' comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buinaca, one of the hi ...

; but Qutlugh Shah's army did not appear and the Cypriots withdrew.", Jackson, p.171 eventually losing the island entirely in the Siege of Ruad. When his brother Henry became unpopular in Cyprus, Amalric overthrew him with the aid of the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

and some of the barons, assuming the titles of "Governor and Rector" on April 26, 1306. The overthrow was not violent; Henry had few supporters, and was simply taken away and confined at Strovolos. Amalric's rule was initially popular, and he repaired relations with

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, and the Hospitallers. However, when the Order of the Knights Templar was being suppressed in 1307, he was compelled to obey the Papal directive to arrest local Templars, which resulted in a small uprising in favor of Henry in January 1308. It quickly collapsed, but Amalric was forced to arrest a number of nobles, including Rupen of Montfort, John of Dampierre, and various members of the Ibelin family. In April, two of the Ibelins were exiled to Armenia, and John of Dampierre was mortally wounded by a mob after attempting to communicate with King Henry. In February 1310, Amalric sent Henry into exile in Armenia. Amalric was murdered by Simon of Montolif at

on June 5, 1310, and buried at Santa Sophia, at

. On his death, his brother Aimery was proclaimed

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, but was soon defeated and imprisoned, and Henry restored to power.

Family

In 1292/1293 Amalric married

Cilician Armenia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, also known as Cilician Armenia, Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia, was an Armenians, Armenian state formed during the High Middle Ages b ...

n princess Isabella in the city of

. They had: * Hugh (died between 1318 & April 9, 1323, Cilicia), Lord of Crusoche, married to Eschiva of Ibelin (died after March 1324). * Henry (murdered before April 9, 1323, Cilicia), unmarried * Guy (d. April 17, 1344, Armenia), King of Armenia as Constantine II. He married firstly to a woman from

Kantakouzenos The House of Kantakouzenos ( Kantakouzenoi; , pl. Καντακουζηνοί; feminine form Kantakouzene; ), also found in English-language literature as Cantacuzenus or Cantacuzene, was a Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek Nobility, noble family t ...

family; secondly to Theodora Syrgiannaina. From his second marriage he had ** Isabelle/Zampea of Poitiers-Lusignan, who married Manuel Kantakouzenos despot of Morea, without issue. *

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(murdered August 7, 1343, Cilicia), sometime Constable and Regent of Cilicia, died 1346 * Bohémond (murdered April 17, 1344, Cilicia), Count of Corcyus, Lord of Korikos (1336), married in 1340 Euphemia of Neghir (1325 – aft. 1381, Jerusalem) * Agnes (Mary) (d. aft. 1309), married c. 1305 or 1305/1306 Leo III of Armenia (1297 – murdered 1307) After Amalric's death, his widow and children remained in Armenia; only his daughter would die a natural death, his widow and sons all being murdered at various times.

Notes

References

* * * {{cite book , first=Steven , last=Runciman , title=A History of the Crusades , volume=III: The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades , publisher=Cambridge University Press , year=1999 1270s births 1310 deaths Christians of the Crusades People from Nicosia People from the Kingdom of Cyprus Burials at Saint Sophia Cathedral, Nicosia 13th-century Christians 14th-century Christians House of Poitiers-Lusignan Constables of Jerusalem