Richard I’s Conquest of Cyprus
by Richard I’s conquest of Cyprus was purely accidental. He was actually on his way to Palestine on the Third Crusade to recover Jerusalem when his ships were caught in a storm and were shipwrecked of Cyprus. Richard’s sister and bride-to-be were taken prisoner and he had to go to rescue them.
Richard I
Richard was king of England from 1189 to 1199. Richard was born on 8 September 1157 in Oxford, son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He possessed considerable political and military ability. While Richard Plantagenet is revered as one of the great warrior kings of England, he is perhaps best known as “the absent king.” This is due to the fact that during his 10-year reign, he spent a total of six months in England. This aside Richard I was well known for his bravery which earned him the nickname “The Lionheart”.
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The Third Crusade
In 1887, the forces of Saladin had taken Jerusalem when he defeated Guy de Lusignan who was King of Jerusalem at the time. There was nothing left of the kingdom except for the city of Tyre and the principalities of Antioch and Tripoli. De Lusignan was unpopular as he was considered to be an adventurer and he had only succeeded to the throne of Jerusalem as he had married Sybilla, who was heiress to the kingdom.
The losses in the Holy Land upset the great European powers of England, France and the Holy Roman Empire that they put aside their rivalries and mounted the Third Crusade. The first objective was to establish a base of operations on the coast of Palestine, so they intended to capture Acre. The Siege of Acre was one of the greatest sieges in history. It began in 1189 by Guy de Lusignan. He had been captured by Saladin at the battle of Hittin and then been release on parole. He had immediately broken his word and returned to the attack.
The Germans and the armies of Frederick I, the Holy Roman Emperor, marched overland to Acre. Philip II, King of France and King Richard I of England agreed to sail to the Holy Land together and in 1191 they left Sicily where they had spent the winter. The French were able to sail directly to Acre, the English fleet was scattered by a great storm and had to take refuge in Crete and Rhodes.
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