Guy of Lusignan

Guy of Lusignan
Coin of Guy as Lord of Cyprus
King of Jerusalem
Reign	1186–1192
Coronation	1186
Predecessor	Baldwin V
Successors	Isabella I and Conrad I
Co-ruler	Sibylla (1186–1190)
Contenders	Isabella I and Conrad I (1190–1192)
Lord of Cyprus
Reign	1192 – 18 July 1194
Successor	Aimery
Born	c. 1150 Lusignan, Poitou
Died	18 July 1194(1194-07-18) (aged 43–44) Nicosia, Kingdom of Cyprus
Spouse	Sibylla, Queen of Jerusalem
Issue	Alix Maria
House	House of Lusignan
Father	Hugh VIII of Lusignan
Mother	Bourgogne (or Burgondie) de Rancon, Dame de Fontenay
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Guy of Lusignan (c. 1150 – 18 July 1194) was King of Jerusalem, first as husband and co-ruler of Queen Sibylla from 1186 to 1190 then as disputed ruler from 1190 to 1192. He was also Lord of Cyprus from 1192 to 1194.

A French Poitevin knight, Guy was the youngest son of Hugh VIII of Lusignan and the younger brother of Aimery of Lusignan. Having arrived in the Holy Land (where his brother Aimery was already prominent) at an unknown date, Guy was hastily married to Sibylla in 1180 to prevent a political incident within the kingdom. As the health of his brother-in-law Baldwin IV of Jerusalem deteriorated, Sibylla appointed Guy as regent for his stepson, Baldwin V. Baldwin IV died in 1185, followed shortly by Baldwin V in 1186, leading to the succession of Sibylla and Guy to the throne. Guy's reign was marked by increased hostilities with the Ayyubids ruled by Saladin, culminating in the Battle of Hattin in July 1187—during which Guy was captured—and the fall of Jerusalem itself three months later.^[1]

Following a year of imprisonment in Damascus, Guy was released by Saladin. After being denied entry to Tyre, one of the last crusader strongholds, by Conrad of Montferrat, Guy besieged Acre in 1189. The siege, during which Guy's wife died, developed into a rallying point for the Third Crusade, led by Philip II of France and Richard I of England. Guy entered a bitter row with Conrad over the kingship of Jerusalem; despite Richard's support for the widower king, Conrad married Sibylla's half-sister Isabella and was elected king by the kingdom's nobility. Conrad was killed by Assassins days after the election; Richard's and Guy's involvement in the incident is suspected but unproven. Nevertheless, Guy was compensated for the dispossession of his crown by being given lordship of Cyprus in 1192, which Richard had taken from the Byzantine Empire en route to the Levant. Guy ruled the Kingdom of Cyprus until he died in 1194 when he was succeeded by his brother Aimery.