Person

James II of Cyprus

c. 1438–1473 · 15th century

James II of Cyprus was the illegitimate son of King John II. With Mamluk help he ousted his half-sister Queen Charlotte and ruled Cyprus from 1463, taking Famagusta back from the Genoese in 1464. He married the Venetian Catherine Cornaro, who succeeded him after his death in 1473 and ceded the island to Venice in 1489.

James II of Cyprus
Image: Classical Numismatic Group (CNG), Inc., www.cngcoins.com · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 3 state histories

Kingdom of CyprusGenoese FamagustaVenetian Cyprus

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). James II of Cyprus. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/james-ii-of-cyprus
MLA
“James II of Cyprus.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/james-ii-of-cyprus. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “James II of Cyprus.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/james-ii-of-cyprus.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘James II of Cyprus’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/james-ii-of-cyprus (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻