King Richard the Lionhearted brought the island under Crusader control on his way to the 3rd Crusade.
Guy of Lusignon married into the Royal family of the Kingdom of Jerusalem because he was such a hot looking guy, his cousin Joscelin sent for him all the way from France because he thought he could seduce the sister of Baldwin (the Leper King) - Baldwin could not produce heirs - so the husband of his sister would be the next King of Jerusalem.
Picking a King based upon a pretty face turned out to be a disaster - King Guy listened to the idiotic advice of fanatical Templar Knights instead of the practical advice of Raymond of Tripoli - lost a huge battle, lost Jerusalem, and was captured.
Saladin paid Guy the ultimate insult and released him without ransom after a year - knowing it would throw a monkey wrench in Conrad of Montferrat’s plan to unite all the Crusaders under his command.
Not allowed into the city of Tyre, Guy decided to move a small force to besiege Acre. All the Crusaders who arrived from Europe after the fall of Jerusalem were ready for ACTION! So they left Conrad behind and almost all joined Guy!
Unfortunately Guy was joined during the siege by his wife and his two sons - his wife who truly loved him and did everything she could for him - and his wife and sons died when an epidemic hit both armies. Guy, despite fighting so heroically that he won over many of even his fiercest critics, lost any claim he had to the Kingdom of Jerusalem with the death of his wife and sons.
Richard the Lionhearted gave Guy of Lusignon the Kingdom of Cyprus - a rather sweet plum! His family ruled there for ages after the rest of the Crusader kingdoms were eliminated.
And to the movie “Kingdom of Heaven” that took one of the best stories of the Middle Ages and made a total mess of it - I say BLAH!!!!!!!
This is a direct result of Germany’s defense industry making demands on Merkel and German central bankers to enforce the arms purchase agreement before Greece received any further financial aid.
To pay the Germans for the defense contracts for German equipment the Greeks can not afford to maintain, let alone field, the Greek Air Force has had to basically shut down for the last year, and at least going forward until 2016 or later.
In the meantime Cyprus loses the air support of it’s motherland and is left vulnerable.
If youd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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