Medieval Cypriot

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Historical Overview Section

When the Arabs invaded Cyprus in 688, the emperor Justinian II and the caliph Abd al-Malik reached an unprecedented agreement. For the next 300 years, Cyprus was ruled jointly by both the Arabs and the Byzantines despite the nearly constant warfare between the two parties on the mainland. In 1185, the last Byzantine governor of Cyprus, Isaac Comnenus rose in rebellion and although his attempted coup was unsuccessful Comnenos was able to retain control of the island

In the 12th century A.D. Cyprus became a regular toilet stop for bus parties of Early Crusaders shuttling between Europe, Byzantium and The Holy Land. Richard the Lionheart landed in Limassol on the 1st of June 1191 in search of his sister and his bride Berengaria, whose ship had become separated from the fleet in a storm. Upon her arrival, the ruler Isaac Comnenus of Cyprus requested that Berengaria deboard, which she refused, and upon her own refusal was denied supplies from Comnenus. Richard took this as an insult and attacked the island which was easily subdued. Comnenus was bound to lend aid to Richard in his crusade against Saladin, an oath which he later broke, and Richard had him bound in silver chains (as he swore not to bind Comnenus in iron) and kept prisoner till his death in 1194 or 1195. The army of Richard the Lionheart continued to occupy Cyprus and raised taxes. After local revolts he decided to sell the island to the Knights Templar, who were unable to hold the island because of further hostility among the local population due to tax raising. A rebellion which took place on April 6 1192 made the Templars sell the island to Guy de Lusignan (1192-1194) who established himself in May 1192. The crusaders described him as "simplex et minus astutus", though he did set the foundation of Cypriot society in the Lusignan period. He invited Palestinian barons, disenfranchised by Saladin to move on the island, granting them feudal rights over huge estates, using the Cypriots as serfs.

Guy was succeeded by his older brother Aimery (1194-1205). During his reign, the Latin church took over the dioceses of the Orthodox, creating a long standing dispute that also characterized the Lusignan period. Amaury also managed to get Cyprus recognized as "kingdom", a title granted to him by Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI. He then regained officially the title of the King of Jerusalem by marrying Henry II of Champagne's widow, Isabel. Though in name only, this title was something the Lusignan kings were very proud of as it appears on the Cypriot coat of arms. After some skirmishing in Acre with the Ayyubid Egyptian Sultan of Egypt al-Malkik al-Adil, a treaty was granted in 1204 giving him some advantages in Palestine. It is said that his eating too much fish in one sitting was his cause of death in 1205. A long and complex seres of successions followed as the island sought political and military safety from the Turks and Crusaders. Finally, in 1473, the Later Catalan forces who were at that time on the island formed a revolt supporting Ferdinand II of Aragon that was put down by the Venetians (who were of course involved in this strategic port in the mediterranean). Due however to the looming threat of the Early Ottoman Turkish Empire, the Italian Condotta Venitians used the then Queen's brother to convince her to abdicate the throne in 1489, ushering in the Venetian period on the island.

Using the army in FoG

include your tactical tips or advice in here

UK Tournament Results with this army

3 / 12 Medieval Cypriot Chester Doubles 2008 (S&S)
3 / 13 Medieval Cypriot IWF 2008 15mm (open)
4 / 12 Medieval Cypriot Chester Doubles 2008 (S&S)
7 / 12 Medieval Cypriot Chester Doubles 2008 (S&S)
8 / 12 Medieval Cypriot Chester Doubles 2008 (S&S)

Useful Links

User-contributed links about this army:

• Army lists from Nik Gaukrogers site.
• Beautifully painted army fro One Tree Miniatures
• put the link text readers will see in here write some more detail about the link here

Allies

• Egyptian, Mamluk : Dates: 1460 to 1464 Swords and Scimitars page 54 : Mostly textbook Arab ally, but you can squeeze in 6 SuperiorArmoured Cv lancers and some Bedouin LH lancers too

15mm Manufacturers supplying figures suitable for Late Medieval Armies

You can see some of the figures in the Ancients Photo Gallery also on this site

• Essex Miniatures - vast range of generic medieval figures
• Donnington C15 Europe Range, 36-strong WOTR range,
• Museum Miniatures 100YW & WOTR ranges with nice generic mounted and dismounted knights
• Gladiator Miniatures by Fighting 15's (Previously Black Hat) 40+ Medievals, 18 WOTR, plus Feudal/Crusade ranges
• Corvus Belli 30 or so figures in a well-regarded 100YW range
• Old Glory 15's, large number of medieval figures
• Minifigs 2 large and separate 100YW Crecy & Agincourt ranges, plus large WOTR selection
• Irregular Miniatures 60 medievals in a range spanning East/West Europe from Late Feudal to C15
• Lancashire Games Around 30 generic & English medievals
• QRF Models MK Range for early, 20 WOTR figure codes in the Feudal Castings range, as well as some of the Freikorps early renaissance for the 15th Century.
• Tin Soldier 40 C14 & C15 medievals, including Swiss and equipment
• Battle Line Miniatures (NZ) 60 generic Medievals, some noted for WOTR
• Vexilia Extensive Mirliton & Venexia Italian/Burgundian Wars ranges for C15 armies
• Isarus - sold by 15mm.co.uk 70 codes in their C11-C15 Medus ranges
• AlainTouller Figurines A dedicated Spanish/Almughavar late medieval range
• Gallia 21 Late Medievals (a little small)

Core Troops

Which troops are absolutely needed for this army, and what are your thoughts on how to organise, paint and buy them.

Army Lists

Sample army lists for this army

Name of Army / Date

• Using asterisks inthe edit mode creates a bulleted list in the actual site
• This is a lot easier to do than easier than setting up tables
• For FoG I suggest listing your army in order or march
• with troop desctiptions on each line, for example
• 4 HF Armoured Average Drilled Impact Foot Swordsmen
• 8 LG Undrilled Unarmoured Poor Bowen
• Dont forget to include your Generals !!!

Include any notes you want here, including comments on how to use - or play against - the army.

Remember to leave a line before you copy the above section as a template for your own list

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