Biography
Born 16 May 1418 in Nicosia, John was the son of king Janus of Cyprus and Charlotte of Bourbon. In May, sometime between 1435 and 1440, he married Amadea Palaiologina of Monferrato, daughter of John Jacob Palaiologos, Marquess of Montferrat. They had no children. His second wife, a distant relative of his first, was Helena Palaiologina, only child and daughter of Theodore II Palaiologos, Despot of the Morea, and Cleofa Malatesta.
During his rule, Corycus, the only Cypriot stronghold in mainland Anatolia, was lost to the Karamanids in 1448.
John appointed his illegitimate son James, Archbishop of Nicosia at age 16. James was stripped of his title after murdering the royal chamberlain. His father eventually forgave him and restored him to the archbishopric. James and Helena were enemies, vying for influence over John.
After Helena died in 1458, it appeared that John would appoint James as his successor, but John died on 28 July 1458 before he could make it so and was succeeded by his daughter Charlotte succeeded to the throne.
,_RP-P-OB-5821.jpg)
.svg)
