Twice in its history, Cyprus has been an English colony; first when Richard I occupied the island before completing his journey to the Middle East and participation in the Third Crusade, and later towards the end of the last century. It is this first period which is the basis for this column.

The arrival of Richard I marked the beginning of Cyprus' active participation as a base for Crusader operations until well after the fall of all remaining possessions along the easter Mediterranean coast in the early 14th century. The English occupation was the result of accident rather than design as Richard was simply following some of his ships which had been driven toward Cyprus by a storm. Some historians state that his concern was for his sister, Joanna and fiance, Berengaria of Navarre, who were occupants of one of the ships which took shelter near the modern city of Limassol. Whatever the reasons for choosing Cyprus as a stop in his journey, Richard I was able to establish an important base for future Crusader operations.

In May, 1191, Richard conquered the island in a relatively brief campaign and ended centuries of Byzantine rule in Cyprus. Unfortunately, there are few easily available sources describing this campaign. The three used for this column are as follows: Embury, P.W., Cyprus and the Crusades, 1991, Cambridge; Hill, G.A., A history of Cyprus Volume I, Cambridge, 1972 (first published 1940) ; and Jeffrey, George, Cyprus Under Richard I, Zeno, London, 1973 (first published in 1926.

The first volume provides a general history of the arrival of the English, and then the Lusignan dynasty and is a relatively good, albeit brief review of the initial occupation. The second provides more background material, particularly on the government of Isaac Comnenus, the self-styled Emperor of Cyprus who opposed Richard. The third is detailed but relies on numerous contemporary histories which often contradict one another and is difficult to follow.

Together, these booksdo provide some insight into the events of 1191 and can be used to develop an appreciation of the forces participating in this campaign.

Byzantine Forces

The forces of Isaac Comnenus are mentioned in passing in all of the sources, although few figures are given so that it is difficult to determine the size of his army. The core of his forces were local troops and various mercenaries, probably mainly Armenian. Before the arrival of Isaac, there was a garrison of undetermined size. It consisted of stratiotai maintained by a tax (stratia) levied on a number of hearths (families) but no details on numbers of troop types.

The garrison was required to repel Muslim raiders from the Levant and Egypt,; first established by Basil I (867-886 A.D.) and then re-established as a theme during the reconquest of Nicephorus II Phocas (in the 10th century) following the period of co-dominion of Byzantine and Arab administration. This was augmented by troops raised by Isaac, probably Armenian, as they were commonly recruited by regional armies (including Byzantine, Egyptian, Crusader and the various Cilician Armenian states) during this period.

Isaac was familiar with the Armenians after campaigning in the eastern part of the Byzantine Empire and later as a prisoner of the Armenians (from whom he escaped and then travelled to Cyprus). Cyprus needed a garrison to protect it from two major enemies; the various Islamic states and the Crusader states. Before the arrival of Richard, Cyprus had been the subject of several Crusader raids during the course of the 12th century. Ironically, the Byzantine Empire, to which Cyprus then belonged, was a nominal ally of the Crusaders and, in the case of the Principality of Antioch, the suzerain of that Crusader state. This did not stop greedy Crusaders from pillaging what was then a prosperous Byzantine province.

The first force of stratiotai may have been established by Tiberius III Aspimarus, who was the admiral (drungarius) of the Cibyrrhaeotes theme (naval theme) before he seized the throne in 698 A.D. (Hill, 260-261). Mardaites or other soldiers from Taurus region may have been recruited and were part of the forces under the katapan of Attalia in Pamphylia (modern Turkey). 12,000 Mardiates were settled in Cibyrrhaeotes theme (the maritime theme) by Justinian II from Lebanon (after it was lost to the Arabs) and were mountaineers with the name having obsure origins, possibly rebel (Arabic) or similar to Maronite. The Mardiates were also recruited as sailors and may have formed a coast guard force that acted as marines.

The Armenians may have been settled as part of the garrison during the campaign of Nikephoros, as Armenians provided many of the best Byzantine troops. With the Seljuk Turk conquest of the eastern provonces/themes of the empire, Armenians also settled in Cyprus both as soldiers and in other occupations.

Similar Forces

The military forces were probably similar to those of other themes until the 11th century, when the government reduced the overall size of the military. The garrison under a stratopedarch consisted of warships and cavalry formed by Alexius I Comnenus (1092) and later the governor/commander was referred as Duke of Cyprus (dux). The naval component was later withdrawn as Isaac relied on Italian warships to defeat the Byzantine navy after he declared his independence but these left before Richard I arrived so Cyprus lacked naval forces. The land forces consisted of both infantry and cavlary; however, there is little information on numbers and composition.

Some troops were bow armed as before the Battle of Tremethousha, Cypriot forces harassed Crusaders with archery from ambush in river beds and from heights. Isaac tried to kill Richard with poisoned arrows while on horseback (Parthian shot?). One is given the impression that the mounted arm was relied on for field operations.

Richard's Army

There are no figures or composition given for the English army in the sources mentioned above. The strength of the army was probably considerable as Richard was a major contributor to the Third Crusade. This force was undoubtedly stronger than that of Isaac and was able to twice defeat the local garrison during May of 1191.

In addtion to the troops which arrived with Richard, reinforcements were probably provided by the entourage of Guy of Lusignan, who landed with 160 knights and Syrian nobles.

Progress of the English Army

The Crusaders landed at Limassol (formally known as Amathus, an ancient port now surrounded by the modern city) after the fleet regrouped following the rough passage from Rhodes. From this beachhead, Richard moved to either Kolossi (west of Limassol and the site of a later Hospitaller castle and sugar refinery) or Khirokitai (east of the city, where in the 15th century the Mamlukes defeated a Lusigan army) to meet Isaac Comnenus.

Following an unsatisfactory parley, Richard attacked and scattered Isaac's forces. The English then pursued Isaac along the coast moving to Kiti (modern Larnaca) and Famagusta (near the ancient Salamis/Constantia). Once again the sources are confusing when it comes to the actual movement of Richard after his landing From either Famagusta or Constantia, Richard moved inland towards the modern capital of Nicosia. The local forces harassed the English along the way and near the town of Trmethousa, a confrontation took place.

It is unclear whether this was a skirmish or a battle; however, Isaac did enter the fray as mentioned. The terrain in this area is ideal for the evasive horse archers, who may have been the majority of Isaac's forces. A large relatively flat plain dominates the area flanked by a series of low, gentle hills rising to steeper ones further to the south of Tremethousa. Most of the stream beds would have been dry or shallow as May is usually a dry and hot month in Cyprus. There are a few features that could be considered obstacles or rough ground. Despite the reported use of poisoned arrows, Richard dispersed the garrison forces which retired to various strongpoints to the north and west.

Similar to Arsouf

The engagement may have been similar to the Battle of Arsouf. While this is speculation on my part, Richard may have gained experience in fighting horse archers on Cyprus which enabled him to refine his tactics for use against Saladin in the Levant. At Tremethousa and Arsouf, a well timed charge by Crusader mounted forces resulted in the rout of the opposing troops. Isaac opposed Richard using two tactics; first skirmishers opened fighting and about 700 stradites and/or cavalry (all mounted) attacked the right flank. Both forms of attack were repulsed and then the remainder of the Cypriot army gave way before the counterattack of the Crusaders.

Isaac fled into northern mountains and the remnants of his troops took refuge in the fortified locations which later formed the main castles of the Lusignan kings--Kyrenia, Kantara, St. Hilarion and Buffavento. Isaac may have moved to Kantara or further north to the Karpas which forms the northeastern extreme of Cyprus. His family went to Kyrenia, which was besieged by Guy of Lusignan.

Richard continued to Nicosia, which fell to him without resistance (or at least none worthy of comment by the historians of the day). He then took ill and mopping up operations were conducted by other commanders including Guy. Once Kyrenia was captured resistance to Richard basically ended. Isaac agreed to surrender and according to legend was taken in silver chains to Richard (Isaac insisted upon not being bound by common iron chains so this alternative set was made for him).

The quick capture of Cyprus (basically one month, May 1191) was probably due to two facts; first the lack of support for Isaac which menat that he could not recruit supporters from the local population, and second, the disparity of forces which gave Richard a significant numerical advantage. Many of the byzantine nobles rendered no aid to Isaac and remained neutral throughout the campaign. Once the Crusaders took control, many of the Byzantine nobles emigrated to other Byzantine possessions.

Wargaming Suggestions:

This campaign offers an alternative to the usual Crusader operations against various eastern armies. The Byzantine army of the period offers a varied assortment of troop types; some eastern and some traditional Byzantine ones. Since the armies were relatively small, they can easily be represented by a tabletop army of several hundred figures using a low figure ratio. The terrain is similar to the Middle East and ideal for both Crusader and Turkish tactics. Sieges are also possible to represent the fall of Kyrenia and other fortified towns.

Lusignan Army:

As a footnote, the following information may be of interest on the post-English period. Guy as stated arrived to meet with Richard in order to seek Richard's support for his claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem which was being contested by several other claimants. Guy was accompanied by 160 nobles and knights including his brother-in-law, Humphrey of Toron, Prince Bohemund III of Tripoli and his son, Raymond III of Tripoli, King Leo II of Cilician Armenia and Geoffrey Lusignan, one of Guy's brothers.

While Guy ultimately failed to secure the throne of Jerusalem, His service in Cyprus and ability to pay the asking price for Cyprus (probably more important to Richard) enabled him to gain another kingdom. Although Guy did not seek a royal title for his new possession, his successor, another brother, Aimery did become king of Cyprus as a vassal of the Holy Roman Emperor, but that is another story.

Using John of Ibelin's list depicting the strength of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the other Crusader states between 1174 and 1185 (written about 1265), it is possible to outline the potential military strength of the Lusignan kingdom. Between 577 and 749 knights, and 5025 to 7025 sergeants are identified as the military forces of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the total is incomplete.

Accompanying Guy when he took control of Cyprus in 1192, sources list 300 knights and 200 sergeants/turcopoles. Some historians discount these as being too high, although they are not unrealistic if one considers that many knights would have held lands in both locations which is borne out by the number of joint titles listed amongst the Cypriot/Jerusalem nobility until 1291 and beyond. Guy was supported by many senior nobles during his first visit to Cyprus as idntified above, and many of his supporters (and probably other dispossessed knights) gained titles in Cyprus after 1192. Some would be compensation for the territory lost to Saladin following the Battle of Hattin in 1187.

The armies of the civil war (1228-32), between local lords and the German Emperor Frederick II, are small and composed of usual troop types (knights, sergeants/turcopoles, seamen, crossbowmen and spearmen--mix of mercenaries, Europeans, Armenians, and Syrian/Palestinian). Several hundred knights fought during the war, according to most sources.

In the 13th century, the two kingdoms could raise over 1000 knights (including the military orders) and may be as many as 2000. The Battle of La Forbie or Gaza (1244) saw the largest muster of Crusader forces with Cyprus supplying up to 300 knights (probably including other mounted troops with all being lost).

In addition to the usual troop types listed in Crusader armies, the Lusignan kings could raise forces from the indigenous population and mercenaries from the region. Little information is given in the sources about local native forces and the Lusignan rulers disbanded the Byzantine garrison (stratiotai) but retained the tax which was collected to pay it. Ties with Cilician Armenian indicates that Armenians were probably available as soldiers in addition to local Armenian settlers.