Henry II of Cyprus

Uncommon card · No. 189830

Henry II (June 1270 – 31 March 1324) was the last crowned King of Jerusalem (after the fall of Acre on 28 May 1291, this title became empty) and also ruled as King of Cyprus. He was of the Lusignan dynasty. He was the second surviving son of Hugh III and succeeded his brother John I on 20 May 1285; there was some suspicion that Henry had been involved in poisoning John. He was crowned at the Cathedral of Saint Sophia, Nicosia, 24 June 1285. Charles I of Anjou, who contested John's claim to the throne, had died in 1285, allowing Henry to recover Acre from the Angevins. With a fleet Henry attacked Acre, defended by Charles's lieutenant Hugh Pelerin, and the city was captured on 29 July 1285. Henry had himself crowned king of Jerusalem on 15 August 1286 in Tyre by Archbishop Bonacursus de Gloire, but returned to Cyprus and appointed his uncle Philip of Ibelin as bailiff in his absence. By this time Acre was one of the few coastal cities remaining in the remnant of the Kingdom of Jerusalem...

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