Peter I (9 October 1328 – 17 January 1369) was King of Cyprus and titular King of Jerusalem from his father's abdication on 24 November 1358 until his death in 1369. He was invested as titular Count of Tripoli in 1346. As King of Cyprus, he had some military successes, but he was unable to complete many of his plans due to internal disputes that culminated in his assassination at the hands of three of his knights.
Peter was born in Nicosia in 1328, the second son of Hugh IV of Cyprus, the first by his second wife Alice of Ibelin. Hugh's heir apparent was his first born son, Guy, who had married Marie of Bourbon. Guy died before his father, however; and though his son, also named Hugh, demanded the throne, Peter was crowned King of Cyprus by Guy of Ibelin, bishop of Limassol in the Cathedral of Santa Sophia, Nicosia on 24 November 1359.
In 1349 he traveled secretly to Europe with his brother John. This upset their father who sent ships to find his sons and bring them back. When they were brought back, Peter and John were imprisoned for leaving without his permission. Despite Leontios Machairas stating Peter and John were held for three days, William of Machaut in the Prise d'Alexandrie states that Peter was imprisoned for two months and nine days.
Peter was crowned as titular King of Jerusalem in Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Famagusta on 5 April 1360, succeeding his father. Upon the fall of Acre in 1291, Cyprus became the last stronghold of Christianity in the Middle East. Peter understood the importance of his kingdom, and believed that his mission was to fight Islam. He had ambitions to retake the Kingdom of Jerusalem to which the house of Lusignan yet pretended.
Soon after 28 June 1342 he married Eschiva de Montfort (d. before 1350), only daughter and heiress of Humphrey de Montfort (1305 – 24 June 1326), Constable of Cyprus and titular Lord of Toron, and Eschive d'Ibelin. Eschiva died before 1350 while Peter was still a teenager and the marriage was childless.
In 1353 he married Eleanor of Aragon-Gandia (1333 – 26 December 1416 in Barcelona and buried there), daughter of Pedro, Infante of Aragon, Conde de Ribagorza, Ampurias y Prades, Seneschal of Catalonia, and Jeanne de Foix (died before November 1358). Eleanor was crowned Queen of Cyprus on 24 November 1358 and Queen of Jerusalem on 5 April 1360.
His passion for his second wife was much remarked upon by chroniclers; the chronicle of Machairas tells how Peter always slept with Eleanora's night-dress in his arms:
"[S]o for the love which [King Peter] had promised that, wherever he was, he would take [Queen Eleanora's] shift to lay it at night in his arms when he slept, and he made his chamberlain always bring with him the queen's shift, and had him put it in his bed."
Peter II of Lusignan (c. 1357–1382), succeeded him as King of Cyprus and Jerusalem
Mariette of Lusignan (c. 1360 – c. 1397), once engaged to Carlo Visconti and married in 1385 to her cousin James of Lusignan (d. 1395/1397), titular Count of Tripoli, son of John of Lusignan and wife Alix d'Ibelin, and had issue
Eschiva of Lusignan (d. before 1369), died young
As Peter II of Cyprus remained heirless, the crown of Cyprus was passed to his uncle James I of Cyprus, son of Hugh IV of Cyprus and Alix of Ibelin.
Neighboring Muslim powers were potentially a great threat to Cyprus, the last Christian Crusader stronghold on the mainland of the Near East having been wiped out with the Fall of Acre in 1291. At the moment a new Islamic power had recently come to the fore, but the expanding Ottomans had their eye fixed on what remained of the Byzantine Empire. In addition, they were primarily a land power, and for the moment the remaining Latin Christian entities in the region could hold their own on the seas. Along with the Knights of Saint John (the Hospitallers) the kings of Cyprus were the main inheritors of the Crusading tradition. Peter founded the chivalric Order of the Sword in 1347, which was dedicated to the recovery of Jerusalem.
The royal family were the titular kings of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, who had fled to the island just off the coast of the Levant. Reduced as they were, this Crusader heritage continued in the form of sea-borne raids, and were remarkably successful given their limited resources.
Unlike his father, Peter decided to embrace this tradition and began with in a raid on Korikos, a fortified harbour in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. His primary focus of activity was along the coast of Asia Minor, since the Christian Armenians in Cilicia had strong relations with the Kingdom of Cyprus via marriage ties. In January 1360, the residents of Korikos sent their representatives to Cyprus to ask for protection, since their city was threatened by the Turks. Peter sent some of his men led by the knight Roberto de Luisignan. The Turks were unable to break the Cypriot siege of Korikos.
The siege of Korikos was seen as a threat by Muslim leaders of Asia Minor and they allied against Peter, planning to attack him on his home island. They attacked Cyprus with many ships but Peter obtained aid from the Knights of Saint John from Rhodes. Other help came from the Pope and from pirates. In July 1361, Peter mustered a fleet of 120 ships. With his force, Peter attacked Asia Minor, continuing his policy of preemptive attacks. On 23 August 1361, Cypriot forces landed in Antalya and Peter conquered the city after a siege on 24 August 1361. After this victory, the remaining emirs of the region offered Peter an annual tribute. Peter accepted the offer and sent his flags, coats of arms and symbols to be raised in many cities of Asia Minor. He stayed in Antalya until 8 September 1361. He went to other cities, some of whose emirs knelt to him, gave him presents, keys to castles and other gifts. He returned with his trophies to Cyprus on 22 September 1361.
The emir of Antalya, Teke, after he lost his city, took a large army and after many attacks tried to occupy his city. After hard fighting, Cypriots managed to keep the city and also to siege the guard in the region of Myrres.
Meanwhile, Peter faced a serious problem of his recognition as holder of the throne of Cyprus, since his nephew Hugh went to the Pope to ask for the throne with the support of the King of France. Since Peter had sent nobles as his representatives to the Pope to support him without result, he resolved to visit the Pope himself. At the end of October 1362, he left from Paphos via Rhodes to Venice and he was accepted there with honour. He went to Avignon and visited the Pope together with the claimant of the throne of Cyprus. Peter was recognised as King and Hugh agreed a high annual benefit, solving the problem.