Guy of Lusignan


Guy of Lusignan

(lüsēnyäN`), d. 1194, Latin king of Jerusalem (1186–92) and Cyprus (1192–94), second husband of Sibylla, sister of King Baldwin IVBaldwin IV
(Baldwin the Leper), c.1161–1185, Latin king of Jerusalem (1174–85), son and successor of Amalric I. Raymond, count of Tripoli, was regent from 1174 to 1176.
..... Click the link for more information.  of Jerusalem. In 1183 he was briefly regent for his brother-in-law, who was incapacitated by leprosy, but Baldwin made Guy's stepson king as Baldwin V, and the Latin nobles forced Guy to yield command to Raymond of Tripoli. On Baldwin V's death (1186) Guy became king with the support of both his wife and Reginald of Châtillon. He was defeated and captured (1187) by SaladinSaladin
, Arabic Salah ad-Din, 1137?–1193, Muslim warrior and Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, the great opponent of the Crusaders, b. Mesopotamia, of Kurdish descent.
..... Click the link for more information.  at the decisive battle of Hattin, which led to the fall of Jerusalem. Released in 1188, he laid siege (1189) to Acre (see AkkoAkko
or Acre
, Fr. Saint-Jean d'Acre, Arab. Acca, city (1994 pop. 45,300), NW Israel, a port on the Bay of Haifa (an arm of the Mediterranean Sea). Its manufactures include iron and steel, chemicals, and textiles. The city was captured (A.D.
..... Click the link for more information. ), which was captured (1191) in the Third Crusade with the help of Richard I of England and Philip II of France. After the death (1190) of Sibylla, Guy's right to the throne was contested by ConradConrad,
d. 1192, Latin king of Jerusalem (1192), marquis of Montferrat, a leading figure in the Third Crusade (see Crusades). He saved Tyre from the Saracens and became (1187) its lord.
..... Click the link for more information. , marquis of Montferrat, who was supported by Philip II. In spite of Richard I's support, Guy was compelled (1192) to resign his title, but was given the island of Cyprus. His descendants (see LusignanLusignan
, French noble family. The name is derived from a castle in Poitou, built, according to legend, by Mélusine. The family was powerful in the Middle Ages and ruled (13th–14th cent.) the county of Marche. One branch was prominent in the history of the Crusades.
..... Click the link for more information. ) ruled Cyprus and Lesser Armenia. His brother, Amalric IIAmalric II
or Amaury II,
c.1155–1205, Latin king of Jerusalem (1197–1205) and Cyprus (1194–1205); brother and successor (in Cyprus) of Guy of Lusignan.
..... Click the link for more information. , succeeded him in Cyprus.