Caterina Cornaro Becomes Queen

James II won the throne of Cyprus by force. An illegitimate son of King John II, he challenged his half sister Queen Charlotte with the backing of the Mamluk sultan, landed on the island in 1460, and by 1464 had driven Charlotte out and recovered Famagusta from the Genoese. To secure his position he looked to Venice, the strongest trading power in the eastern Mediterranean.

The alliance was sealed by marriage. Caterina Cornaro, born in Venice in 1454 into one of the city’s leading noble families, was married to James by proxy in Venice on 30 July 1468, at the age of fourteen. James spent the next few years weighing other alliances, and Caterina only sailed for Cyprus in 1472. The couple married in person in Famagusta that autumn.

Within months, on 10 July 1473, James died in Famagusta. Rumours that he had been poisoned by Venetian agents circulated, but were never proven. Under his will, Caterina, who was pregnant, became regent. In August 1473 she gave birth to a son, James III.

The young queen’s position was fragile. Before the end of the year a group of nobles, including the archbishop of Nicosia and allies linked to Naples, seized power in an attempt to bring back Charlotte’s line. Caterina was briefly imprisoned until Venetian forces restored order. On 26 August 1474 her son died before his first birthday, ending the Lusignan dynasty in the male line, and Caterina became queen in her own right.

She reigned for fifteen years, but real power drifted steadily to Venice, which gradually took over the business of government and foiled further plots, including one to marry her to Alfonso of Naples. Her reign is often seen as the bridge between Lusignan Cyprus and direct Venetian rule, which followed in 1489.