Joan Tafures or Tafurer (died after 1477) was a Catalan adventurer in the mid fifteenth century. Owner of a merchant ship, Joan landed at

Larnaca Larnaca, also spelled Larnaka, is a city on the southeast coast of Cyprus and the capital of the Larnaca District, district of the same name. With a district population of 155.000 in 2021, it is the third largest city in the country after Nicosi ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in July 1457 when James de Lusignan, bastard son of

John II of Cyprus John II or III of Cyprus (16 May 1418 – 28 July 1458) was the King of Cyprus and Armenia and also titular King of Jerusalem from 1432 to 1458. He was previously a titular Prince of Antioch. History Born 16 May 1418 in Nicosia, John was the ...

and

Archbishop of Nicosia The Latin Catholic archdiocese of Nicosia was created during the Crusades (1095-1487) in Cyprus; later becoming titular. According to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' 31 Latin archbishops served beginning in 1196, shortly after the conquest of Cyprus ...

, was fleeing his father, for he had murdered the royal Chamberlain. Juan gave him ship to

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

. Joan then joined in with him, now deprived of the archbishopric, in his fight against

Charlotte Charlotte most commonly refers to: *Charlotte (given name), a feminine form of the given name Charles ** Princess Charlotte (disambiguation) ** Queen Charlotte (disambiguation) *Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, a city * Charlotte (cake) ...

for the throne of Cyprus. They reconquered the island by September 1460. An intimate of the new king, James became master of the royal household and captain of

Famagusta Famagusta, also known by several other names, is a city located on the eastern coast of Cyprus. It is located east of the capital, Nicosia, and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. During the Middle Ages (especially under the maritime ...

. In 1469, James named him

Count of Tripoli The count of Tripoli was the ruler of the County of Tripoli, a crusader state from 1102 through to 1289. Of the four major crusader states in the Levant, Tripoli was created last. The history of the counts of Tripoli began with Raymond IV, Coun ...

, a titular dignity, since Tripoli was under the control of the

Mamluks Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-sold ...

. It was with this latter title that he appears in 1473 executing the will of the king. Under the reign of James' successor,

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

, Joan violently led the opposition to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. He managed to escape their grasp, but his family was carted off to Venice (1477). After that date, his fate is unknown.

References

Counts of Tripoli {{europe-noble-stub