James III of Cyprus

James III
James III (center) with his parents
King of Cyprus
Reign	6 August 1473 – 26 August 1474
Predecessor	James II
Successor	Catherine Cornaro
Born	(1473-08-06)6 August 1473 Famagusta, Kingdom of Cyprus
Died	26 August 1474(1474-08-26) (aged 1) Famagusta, Kingdom of Cyprus
Burial	Cathedral of Saint Nicholas
House	Poitiers-Lusignan
Father	James II of Cyprus
Mother	Catherine Cornaro

James III of Cyprus (or Jacques III de Lusignan) (6 August 1473 – 26 August 1474) was the only child by the marriage of James II of Cyprus and Catherine Cornaro. He died in mysterious circumstances as an infant, leaving his mother as the last Queen of Cyprus. His death paved the way for Republic of Venice to gain control of Cyprus.

Biography

On 30 July 1468, James II of Cyprus married a 14-year-old Venetian, Catherine Cornaro, by proxy in Venice, seeking political support. She finally travelled to Cyprus and married in person at Famagusta in October or November, 1472. Later on, James II died on 10 July 1473, a month before his son's birth. However, a three-day festival was held to celebrate the newborn in the capital, Nicosia, in which all the prisoners were released and a large feast was held on 26 and 29 September.

The infant was baptized on 26 September, and received the name James in memory of his father. His mother had assumed the regency before his birth, but her power was practiced by her Venetian relatives. In November 1473, there were unsuccessful attempts to seize power by nobles of the Crown of Aragon, during which Catherine Cornaro's uncle, Andrea Cornaro, was assassinated.

James died in Famagusta, probably of malaria, on August 26, 1474, twenty days after his first birthday. His was buried along with his father in the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in Famagusta. With his death, the Lusignan dynasty of Cyprus became extinct and the island lost its independence. His sudden death opened the doors to the rule of the Venetian Republic over the island. His mother, Catherine Cornaro, was appointed as the Queen of Cyprus, under strict Venetian surveillance and was forced to abdicate in 1489 where she spent the rest of her life in Asolo until 1509 where she fled to exile in Venice where she died in 1510.

Sources

• Boni de Nobili, Francesco (2012). Caterina Cornaro (in Italian). Godega di Sant'Urbano: De Bastiani.
• De Girolami Cheney, Liana (2013). "Caterina Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus". In Barrett-Graves, Debra (ed.). The Emblematic Queen Extra-Literary Representations of Early Modern Queenship. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Fileti, Felice (2009). I Lusignan di Cipro (in Italian). Florence: Atheneum.
• Hill, George (1948). A History of Cyprus. Vol. The Frankish Period, 1432–1571. Cambridge University Press.