His grandfather Isaac had been bypassed by a younger brother, Manuel I Komnenos, in the succession to the Byzantine throne, instead taking the auxiliary position of sebastokrator.

Appointed governor of Isauria and the town of Tarsus by Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, Isaac started a war against the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and was captured by its soldiers.

He used leftover ransom money to hire a troop of mercenaries and sailed to Cyprus, where he made himself ruler with the help of falsified imperial letters ordering the local administration to obey him in everything.

A water-oracle conducted by Hagiochristophorites had given the letter I (iota) as the initial of the succeeding emperor, leading Andronikos I to fear that Isaac would usurp the throne.

A subsequent oracle ruled out this possibility, placing the start of the new reign on an imminent date that would leave Isaac no time to make the crossing from Cyprus.

The fleet landed in Cyprus, but after the troops had disembarked, the ships were captured by Margaritus of Brindisi, admiral of King William II of Sicily.

From the time of his coronation, Isaac quickly started to plunder Cyprus, raping women, defiling virgins, imposing overly cruel punishments for crimes, and stealing the possessions of the citizens.

"Cypriots of high esteem, comparable to Job in riches now were seen begging in the streets, naked and hungry, if they were not put to the sword by this irascible tyrant."

A seeming league with William II of Sicily, a powerful thorn in the side of the Byzantine Empire, helped Isaac to hold the island for the duration of his reign, and he was also closely connected to Saladin, sultan of Egypt and Syria.

Returning to Europe after the Third Crusade, Richard was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria and Styria, and imprisoned by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, accused of murdering his cousin Conrad of Montferrat.

In 1194, as part of ransom agreement of King Richard, the English released the Cypriot princess into the care of Leopold of Austria, a distant relative.

The couple sailed from Marseille in 1204 with a convoy of warriors who intended to join the Fourth Crusade, but on reaching Cyprus, they attempted to claim the island as inheritors of Isaac.