Aimery of Lusignan (Latin: Aimericus, Greek: Αμωρί, Amorí;[1] before 1155 – 1 April 1205), erroneously referred to as Amalric (French: Amaury) in earlier scholarship, was the first king of Cyprus, reigning from 1196 to his death in 1205.

Aimery supported Guy even after he lost his claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem according to most barons of the realm, because of the death of Sibylla and their two daughters.

He signed a truce with Al-Adil I, the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, which secured the Christian possession of the coastline from Acre to Antioch.

[5][6] Earlier scholarship erroneously referred to him as Amalric (or Amaury, its French form), but evidence from documentaries shows he was actually called Aimericus, which is a distinct name (although it was sometimes confused with Amalricus already in the Middle Ages).

A popular tradition (which was first recorded by the 13th-century Philip of Novara and John of Ibelin) held, the King of Jerusalem, Amalric, ransomed him personally.

[11] Amalric of Jerusalem, who died on 11 July 1174, was succeeded by his thirteen-year-old son by Agnes of Courtenay, Baldwin IV who suffered from leprosy.

[14] Ernoul wrote, it was Aimery who had spoken of his brother to her and her mother, Agnes of Courtenay, describing him as a handsome and charming young man.

[18] According to Steven Runciman and Malcolm Barber, he had already been granted the office shortly after his predecessor, Humphrey II of Toron, died in April 1179.

[22] During the campaign, it turned out that most barons of the realm were unwilling to cooperate with Aimery's brother, Guy, who was the designated heir to Baldwin IV.

[26] Ignoring Baldwin IV's decree, Sybilla was proclaimed queen by her supporters and she crowned her husband, Guy, king.

[28] As Constable, Aimery organised the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem into units before the Battle of Hattin, which ended with the decisive victory of Saladin on 4 July 1187.

[32] Most barons of the realm thought that Guy lost his claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem when Sybilla and their two daughters died in late 1190, but Aimery remained loyal to his brother.

[40] Aimery remained in the Kingdom of Jerusalem,[40] which was reduced to a narrow strip of land along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea from Jaffa to Tyre.

[43] Aimery realized that the treasury of Cyprus was almost empty because his brother had granted most landed property on the island to his supporters, according to Ernoul.

[45] Aimery dispatched an embassy to Pope Celestine III, asking him to set up Roman Catholic dioceses in Cyprus.

[47][50] In the same month, the Pope set up a Roman Catholic archdiocese in Nicosia with three suffragan bishops in Famagusta, Limassol and Paphos.

[46] The noblemen who owned fiefs in both Cyprus and the Kingdom of Jerusalem wanted to bring about a reconciliation between Aimery and Henry of Champagne.

Aimery again used the title of Constable of Jerusalem in November 1197, which suggests that he had also recovered that office as a consequence of his treaty with Henry of Champagne.

The aristocratic-yet-impoverished Raoul of Saint Omer was one of the possible candidates to succeed him, but the grand masters of the military orders opposed him vehemently.

[55] Although Aymar, Patriarch of Jerusalem, stated that the marriage would be uncanonical, Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre, started negotiations with Aimery who accepted the offer.

[56] Even before his coronation, Aimery united his forces with the German crusaders who were under the command of Duke Henry I of Brabant to launch a campaign against the Ayyubid troops.

[60] Aimery signed a truce with Al-Adil on 1 July 1198, securing the possession of the coast from Acre as far as to Antioch for the crusaders for five years and eight months.

After Aimery reminded him that more than 300 soldiers were needed to wage war against the Ayyubids, Reynald left the Kingdom of Jerusalem for the Principality of Antioch.

His six-year-old son, Hugh I, succeeded him in Cyprus; and Queen Isabella ruled the Kingdom of Jerusalem until her own death four days later.

[2][67] Historian Mary Nickerson Hardwicke described Aimery as a "self-assured, politically astute, sometimes hard, seldom sentimentally indulgent" ruler.