Aimery of Cyprus

Aimery of Lusignan left Poitou after backing the wrong side against Henry II in 1168 and made his way to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, where marriage to Eschiva of Ibelin gave him a foothold. His younger brother Guy married into royalty and became king in 1186; Aimery served as constable and commanded troops at Hattin the following year, when the Ayyubids shattered the Christian army. He stayed loyal to Guy even after Guy's wife died and the barons turned against him, then followed him to Cyprus when the situation became untenable. When Guy died in 1194, the Cypriot nobles chose Aimery as their lord. He maneuvered Cyprus into kingdom status under the Holy Roman Emperor's blessing and was crowned king in 1197. A year later, widowed and politically useful, he married Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem and took that crown as well. He kept the two kingdoms separate but spent most of his time on the mainland, codifying laws and signing truces with al-Adil I that secured the coast from Acre to Antioch. He died of food poisoning on April 1, 1205, and the union split: his son Hugh took Cyprus, Isabella kept Jerusalem.