This study traces the development of Latin Greek and Oriental Christian aristocratic groups
and their interaction in 15th-century Cyprus. Since 1192 the island was under the rule of the
Lusignan Crusader dynasty which had introduced a nobility of Crusader families. However due
to various moments of political crisis from the end of the 14th century on autochthonous
Greeks and Oriental Christians (so-called Syrians) rose high in the state administration and
challenged the power balance.
