John of Lusignan (French:Jean de Lusignan; 1329-1330, c. 1329 or 1329/1330 – 1375) was aRegent of theKingdom of Cyprus and laterConstable of Cyprus and titularPrince of Antioch in 1345. He was son of KingHugh IV of Cyprus and his second wifeAlice of Ibelin.[1] He was a member of theHouse of Lusignan.
While being a Regent of Cyprus, John launched an attack onMamluk ports. He attackedSidon on 5 June 1369, but after a day of skirmishes, his fleet was diverted by a storm, he later avoided fortifiedBeirut, but managed to pillage bothBotron andTartus, then he went further north toLatakia,Ayas andAntalya, before attackingAlexandria on 9–10 July, where the Cypriots tried in vain to seize a largeMoroccanmerchantman, they later returned to Sidon on 19 July, where they managed to land and defeat the garrison, but forced to evacuate due to a storm, they eventually cast anchor atFamagusta on 22 July.[2]
John was murdered inNicosia by instigation ofEleanor of Aragon, Queen of Cyprus, and the Genoese as a result of his involvement in the murder of his elder brother, KingPeter I of Cyprus. The historianStefano Lusignan was his descendant. This is the Prince John that the Prince John Tower of theSt. Hilarion Castle was named after. Tradition says that he killed the twoBulgarians that constituted his personal guard, by throwing them one by one from the windows of that particular tower.
John married twice, firstly withdispensation on 16 April 1343 toConstance of Sicily,[1] daughter ofFrederick III of Sicily andEleanor of Anjou, without issue, and secondly with dispensation on 13 April 1350 to Alice of Ibelin, daughter ofGuy of Ibelin, seneschal of Cyprus, and wife Margaret of Ibelin, by whom he was the father of:
Out of wedlock he had one illegitimate son by Alice Embriaco de Giblet, who was married:
