Crusading, Society, and Politics in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Age of King Peter I of Cyprus

The King of Cyprus, Peter I of Lusignan (1359-1369), was one of the most fascinating figures in the history of the Latin East and the later crusades. He was involved in European power politics, his crusading activities brought him into conflict with the Turkish beyliks of Anatolia and the Mamluk sultanate of Egypt, and his rule was closely linked with broader developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, such as the decay of Byzantium, the East-West schism, and the beginning of the Ottoman expansion in the Balkans. His adventurous life constitutes a captivating case study of court life, feudal and chivalric ethos, and political culture in the fourteenth century. This volume investigates developments in the Eastern Mediterranean before and during the reign of Peter I from a comparative perspective. It consists of five parts, which treat the political, diplomatic, and ecological context of the crusading movement in the time between the fall of Acre (1291) and the sack of Alexandria (1365), Peter I's crusading policy and the Alexandrian crusade, Cypriot society and court life in the time of Peter I, the situation in Muslim-Turkish Anatolia, the second target of King Peter's crusading policy, and, finally, Byzantium, its encounter with the Turks, the schism of the Churches, and theological trends in the time of the Hesychast Controversy.