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It is (not only) the will of god»: the king-doms of Cyprus and Cilician Armenia... 167

belonged to the Greek Church, the Byzantine emperor, and the Greek
nobility, mostly Constantinopolitan, who had already left the island.
In comparison with Crete and the Morea, where native resistance chal-
lenged the rule of their leaders, in Cyprus the Lusignan regime man-
aged to secure itself, primarily owing to Guy and Aimery, who attracted
new settlers with whom the Greeks coexisted. In time they were suc-
cessfully integrated as a political force within the polity . This in large
62
part explains why only a few and insignificant revolts occurred under
Lusignan rule, while there had been serious revolts against both King
Richard and the Templars in a short period of time before Lusignan
rule began . If the establishment of the Latin Church on the island
63
had been motivated purely by ecclesiastical concerns, the Orthodox
Church would not have been left such clear opportunities to survive
and carve out its own niche. This particular manoeuvre not only se-
cured the early years of Lusignan rule on the island but also cemented
the foundation of the political order that was being established by the
new rulers.
If being the king of Cyprus was important, being King of Jerusa-
lem was even more critical and prestigious and was a goal which
Aimery eventually achieved. In 1197, Henry of Champagne visited
Aimery and they formed an alliance, deciding Aimery’s sons were to
marry Henry’s daughters . Such an arrangement was to become
64
common among the Latin rulers of the East, including the Armeni-
ans. This particular one was important since it helped Aimery to
prevent any possible future claims by Henry on Cyprus . Soon af-
65
ter, Henry died, leaving his wife Isabel a widow with the crown of
Jerusalem. In October 1198, Aimery’s status rose when the High
Court designated him King of Jerusalem (by marrying Queen

62 T. Papacostas, The Byzantine Tradition in Late Medieval Cyprus in A. Lymberopou-
lou, (ed.), Cross-Cultural Interaction Between Byzantium and the West, 1204-1669:
Whose Mediterranean Is It Anyway? Routledge, London, New York, 2018, p. 110-111; P.
Edbury, Kingdoms of the Crusaders, XX cit., pp. 6-7; C. Schabel, (ed.), The Status of the
Greek Clergy, cit., pp. 170-173.
63 G. Hill, A History of Cyprus, vol. 2 cit., p. 47; P. Edbury, Kingdoms of the Crusad-
ers, XXI cit., p. 45; Ivi, XX, pp. 2, 6-7; A. Nicolaou-Konnari, Greeks cit., p. 18; N.
Coureas, The Latin Church in Cyprus cit., 122.
64 According to this arrangement, Aimery gave up all his claims on the county of
Jaffa and the office of constable of Jerusalem. In return, Henry paid Aimery’s remaining
debt from the purchase of Cyprus. Aimery had three sons named Guy, John, and Hugh,
and Henry had three daughters Mary, Alice, and Phillippa. However, only Hugh and
Alice could get married since Guy, John and Mary were already dead in 1208. See G.
Hill, A History of Cyprus, vol. 2 cit., p. 58.
65 P. Edbury, The Kingdom of Cyprus cit., p. 32.

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XIX - Aprile 2022
ISSN 1824-3010 (stampa) ISSN 1828-230X (online)