James III, King of Cyprus

He survives well into adulthood instead of dying as an infant. He was the son of James II and his Venetian Queen Caterina Cornaro. Would Venice still have annexed the island?
 
The only problem, I can see with this is that both James II and James III's death were under suspicious circumstances.

Surviving one assassin attempt, doesnt mean the Venetian government will stop.

If he is able to get into his late teens, he could marry:
- Margaret of Austria, daughter of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
- Anne of Foix-Candale, the daughter of Gaston of Foix, Count of Candale, and Infanta Catherine of Navarre, IOTL married Vladislaus II of Hungary.
- Anna Jagiellon, the fifth daughter of King Casimir IV of Poland of Poland and Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria.
- Barbara Jagiellon, the sixth daughter of King Casimir IV of Poland of Poland and Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria.
- Contessina Antonia Romola de' Medici, daughter of and Maddalena Orsini, sister of Pope, Leo X and Step-sister of Pope Clement VII

Is he able to produce a line of smart strong rulers who would either avoid war altogether with the Ottoman Empire or be able to defend the island in 1570
 
James III

The only problem, I can see with this is that both James II and James III's death were under suspicious circumstances.

Surviving one assassin attempt, doesnt mean the Venetian government will stop.

If he is able to get into his late teens, he could marry:
- Margaret of Austria, daughter of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
- Anne of Foix-Candale, the daughter of Gaston of Foix, Count of Candale, and Infanta Catherine of Navarre, IOTL married Vladislaus II of Hungary.
- Anna Jagiellon, the fifth daughter of King Casimir IV of Poland of Poland and Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria.
- Barbara Jagiellon, the sixth daughter of King Casimir IV of Poland of Poland and Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria.
- Contessina Antonia Romola de' Medici, daughter of and Maddalena Orsini, sister of Pope, Leo X and Step-sister of Pope Clement VII

Is he able to produce a line of smart strong rulers who would either avoid war altogether with the Ottoman Empire or be able to defend the island in 1570
Why not a Greek/Byzantine princess? The kingdom was more Hellenized by then.
 
Why not a Greek/Byzantine princess? The kingdom was more Hellenized by then.

Because the Byzantine Empire rule ended in 1453, following the conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror.
There is no point, marrying a Princess if they bring no political or military advantage, if anything a Byzantine princess, would bring the added headache of their children being the rightful heirs to the Byzantine thone, meaning the Turks will want to conqueror the island quicker, where as marrying a princess from a strong neighbour, who is also an enemy of the Ottoman empire is good.
 
If he is able to get into his late teens, he could marry:
- Margaret of Austria, daughter of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

Isn't Cyprus a bit too small and peripheral for an emperor to waste a daughter (especially an only daughter) on?
 
Why not the daughter of a Genovese patrician? That way you get a counterweight to Venetian power on the island? Or even Giovanna of Naples, niece of the Catholic Monarchs? James II was originally supposed to marry an Aragonese bastard, I can't remember why the plan fell through though.
 
Isn't Cyprus a bit too small and peripheral for an emperor to waste a daughter (especially an only daughter) on?
I thought it as well. Wouldn't a Venetian or other Italian noblewoman be more likely?
The reason, Emperor Max, would marry his only daughter is because by 1505, she had been married twice, to John, Prince of Asturias and Philibert II, Duke of Savoy, both dying young with no childrenm, instead of leaving her to live the rest of her life (25 years) as a widow, why not offer the 25 year old to the prince of Cyprus (for a small fortune)

After the death of Philibert II, Duke of Savoy, she vowed never to marry againand would gain the title "Dame de deuil" (Lady of Mourning). But if her father, suggest she just tries to fall in love with James III, she may just enjoy a third.
Yeah definitely. The Venetians still have the fleet and the power to at least protect them whilst not provoking the Ottomans too much :p
But her father already married a Venetian and it is suggested that the Venetians were behind the death of his father.

Why not the daughter of a Genovese patrician? That way you get a counterweight to Venetian power on the island? Or even Giovanna of Naples, niece of the Catholic Monarchs? James II was originally supposed to marry an Aragonese bastard, I can't remember why the plan fell through though.

If you want a bastards, you could have:
- María de Aragón, daughter of Alfonso de Aragón y de Escobar, who inturn was an illegitimate son of John II of Aragon
- Madonnna, Felice della Rovere, the illegitimate daughter of Pope Julius II
 
The reason, Emperor Max, would marry his only daughter is because by 1505, she had been married twice, to John, Prince of Asturias and Philibert II, Duke of Savoy, both dying young with no childrenm, instead of leaving her to live the rest of her life (25 years) as a widow, why not offer the 25 year old to the prince of Cyprus (for a small fortune)

Okay, but if we're considering James as Margaret's potential third husband circa 1505, isn't it likely that James will already of married- he'd be 32-ish by that point. You'd also think that given Cyprus' precarious position (from Italian merchants, Muslims, and ex-Queen Charlotte, whom James II deposed) that getting a marital alliance and heir would be important, yeah?
 
Okay, but if we're considering James as Margaret's potential third husband circa 1505, isn't it likely that James will already of married- he'd be 32-ish by that point. You'd also think that given Cyprus' precarious position (from Italian merchants, Muslims, and ex-Queen Charlotte, whom James II deposed) that getting a marital alliance and heir would be important, yeah?

James II was not married until he was 30. There is no point marrying James III off to a nation who will turn the kingdom of Cyprus as a puppet state.
 
James II was not married until he was 30. There is no point marrying James III off to a nation who will turn the kingdom of Cyprus as a puppet state.
Does he have a choice?You make it as though nobility and royalty marry because of choice rather than strategic need.Problem is that Cyprus is already a puppet state more or less.The guy wouldn't have much of a choice as to who he would marry.It might be more beneficial in the event he doesn't want to marry a Venetian to marry a local noblewoman instead in order to gain more support against the foreigners.
The reason, Emperor Max, would marry his only daughter is because by 1505, she had been married twice, to John, Prince of Asturias and Philibert II, Duke of Savoy, both dying young with no childrenm, instead of leaving her to live the rest of her life (25 years) as a widow, why not offer the 25 year old to the prince of Cyprus (for a small fortune)

After the death of Philibert II, Duke of Savoy, she vowed never to marry againand would gain the title "Dame de deuil" (Lady of Mourning). But if her father, suggest she just tries to fall in love with James III, she may just enjoy a third.

Why would the Emperor feel attracted of marrying his daughter to a minor ruler is just beyond me.If he would try to push his daughter for a third marriage,he would probably try and marry her to a more prominent ruler in Europe itself.If anything,her record might indicate that she's not particularly fertile.
 
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Does he have a choice?You make it as though nobility and royalty marry because of choice rather than strategic need.Problem is that Cyprus is already a puppet state more or less.The guy wouldn't have much of a choice as to who he would marry.It might be more beneficial in the event he doesn't want to marry a Venetian to marry a local noblewoman instead in order to gain more support against the foreigners.

Why would the Emperor feel attracted of marrying his daughter to a minor ruler is just beyond me.If he would try to push his daughter for a third marriage,he would probably try and marry her to a more prominent ruler in Europe itself.If anything,her record might indicate that she's not particularly fertile.
Maybe a marriage to the daughter of a military commander such as Marco Antonio Bragadin. There is not much information on noble Cyprus families but you could always elevate a lady and her family to a dukedom.

As for Margaret of Austria, it was only a suggestion. He could even marry one if the daughters of Edward V giving the English a link to the Middle East?
 
Maybe a marriage to the daughter of a military commander such as Marco Antonio Bragadin. There is not much information on noble Cyprus families but you could always elevate a lady and her family to a dukedom.

As for Margaret of Austria, it was only a suggestion. He could even marry one if the daughters of Edward V giving the English a link to the Middle East?
Even more unlikely.Edward V planned to marry his daughters to strong royal families and to establish alliances.Marrying his daughter so far to the Middle East and to the ruler of a minor state does nothing to benefit England.Trade in the Mediterranean is too heavily dominated by the Italians at this stage for the English to butt in just because the King of Cyprus married a Princess of England. On the other hand,Henry Tudor CAN try and dispose his sister-in-laws who have claims on the English throne to Cyprus.But then,why would the King of Cyprus want to marry such a woman?
 
Cyprus Maiestas

Well his mother was Catarina Cornaro, perhaps marrying back into the Venetian nobility or even a Doges daughter; perhaps maintaining a better alliance with Venice. Thus avoiding shunting poor ol' Catarina off to Asolo and the demise of Cyprus.
(yes I know Lepanto was a hundred years later)
 
We can have better ideas of who could marry him if we analyse who the other monarchs and claimants of Cyprus married:

James II: Catherine Cornaro (the daughter of a Venetian patrician with business in Cyprus)

Charlotte: 1) John of Portugal (an exiled Portuguese member of a younger branch of the House of Aviz who lived under the protection of the Duke of Burgundy after his father rebelled against the king); 2) Louis, Count of Geneva (a second son of the Duke of Savoy and, more importantly, Charlotte's cousin)

John II: 1) Amadea Palaiologina of Montferrat (daughter of the Marquis of Montferrat, marriage made by the interests of the Byzantine Palaiologos); 2) Helena Palaiologina (daughter of a son of a Byzantine Emperor and a minor Italian noblewoman, Cleofa Malatesta)

Janus: Charlotte of Bourbon (daughter of the Count of La Marche, a distant French Prince of the Blood)

James I: Helvis of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (her father served as Constable of Jerusalem, and she was a cousin of James)

Peter II: Valentina Visconti (daughter of the Lord of Milan - it wasn't a duchy yet)

Peter I: 1) Eschive de Montfort (daughter of the Constable of Cyprus); 2) Eleanor of Aragon-Gandia (from a younger branch of the House of Barcelona, cousin of king Peter IV of Aragon)


I could go on, but you can see that the kings of Cyprus didn't marry into high nobility. You can find daughters of their constables, Italian minor noblewomen, with luck some relatives of monarchs, but never a daughter of a king or Emperor. And James III could probably be considered an even lower match for the daughter of a monarch, as he was the son of a bastard with a Venetian woman that would be viewed as a commoner in some courts.
My guess is that his best luck is an Italian noblewoman, probably related to the Lusignans or linked to Venetian families, or the bastard daughter of a monarch. If he doesn't have it, than a daughter of an important subject.
 
I did some research, but couldn't find much information about possible daughters of doges. If Catherine wants her son married to family, she could choose Petronilla Crispo, daughter of her cousin James III Crispo, 17th Duke of Naxos and of the Archipelagos. She would be seven years older than James III of Cyprus, but she is family, after all.

Other option would be one the grandaughters of Pope Innocent VIII from the marriage of his daughter Teodorina Cybo and the Genoese nobleman Gherardo Usodimare. The first is Battistina Usodimare (who IOTL married Louis of Aragon, the son of Henry of Aragon, bastard son of Ferdinand I of Naples). The other is Peretta Usodimare (born in 1478), who was IOTL wife of Alfonso I del Carretto, Marquis of Finale, and later of the Genoese Admiral Andrea Doria.

Keeping the choice among descendants of bastards, there is Giovanna of Aragon, Duchess of Amalfi, who was a daughter of the above mentioned Henry of Aragon, and therefore a relative of the kings of Naples. Still among the Neapolitans, there is Sancha of Aragon, the bastard daughter of Alfonso II of Naples.
 
James II was not married until he was 30. There is no point marrying James III off to a nation who will turn the kingdom of Cyprus as a puppet state.

You forget that James was also a cleric (Archbishop of Nicosia) before he took the throne. Not to mention a bastard. Those two things definitely had a role in his late marriage.
 
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