P. W. Edbury

The creation of the Kingdom of Cyprus was more or less an accident: In 1191 the island was a Byzantine possession, albeit for the moment in rebellion against Constantinople, when its governor for unclear reasons decided to antagonize Richard Lionheart on his way to the Holy Land on the Third Crusade. The English king quickly conquered the island, but Jerusalem being his real goal, he sold it to the Knights Templars. The Templars, however, found the place ungovernable, and promptly handed it show more back, whereupon Richard instead gave it to his protégé Guy de Lusignan, the disgraced ex-king of Jerusalem. His brother and successor Aimery eventually received the royal title from emperor Henry VI, whose eastern ambitions were then abruptly curtailed by his early death.

Despite this inauspicious beginning, the kingdom turned out be the longest-lasting, and for much of its existence the stablest, of the crusader states, until it was annexed by Venice in 1489. This book deals, as indicated by the title, with roughly the first two thirds of its existence, which is approximately its time of prosperity and stability (with some interruptions, most notably the civil war of 1229-1232), and also the that of its involvement in the crusading movement. The latter, as also indicated by the title, receives plenty of attention from Edbury, and during the periods when the kingdoms of Cyprus and Jerusalem were in personal union events in Syria receives almost as much attention as ones on Cyprus. This "golden age" ends with the Genoese invasion of 1373-74, which permanently weakened the monarchy and the island's economy, as well as leaving Famagusta in Genoese hands.

It's a pretty short book, but reading it took about a month, due to various distractions. I found it quite good however. show less

"The Conquest of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade: Sources in Translation" is part of series titled "Crusade Texts in Translation" of which I own two books. As in most translated chronicles I found this to be extremely informative and lively read. The majority of it consist of what is called The Old French Continuation of William of Tyre, 1184-97, which is universally regarded as the work of William of Tyre. As with most chroniclers of his age he gives detailed and entertaining accounts of show more events viewed first or second-hand. He does have the tendency to jump around a bit, both geographically and chronologically, but it is very easy to follow, and actually lends to the main subject matter. William is extrememly unbiased in my opinion, a rarity for any chronicler, and should be viewed as quite sensible.
The later part of the book consists of other selected sources ranging from letters by Richard Cour de Lion, Pope Urban III and other administrative and ruling types. Mostly dealing with the marriage of Queen Sibylla, The Battle of Hattin and it's aftermath, this section is bit tedious (footnote heavy) but vivid in detail and rhetoric. I found this book a more enjoyable read than the other I have in this series, "Chronicle of the Third Crusade: A Translation of the Itinerarium Peregrinorum et Gesta Regis Ricardi". show less

Trying to keep the Crusading domain alive, was exhausting. John did his best to keep the Europeans coming in, but they also had agendas at home.