The island Richard I conquered from Isaac Komnenos in 1191 was Cyprus.
Richard was traveling to the Holy Land on the Third Crusade when ships carrying his sister Joan and his fiancée Berengaria were wrecked near Cyprus. Isaac Komnenos, the island’s ruler and a self-proclaimed Byzantine emperor, detained them and seized their belongings. Richard arrived at Limassol in May 1191 and demanded their release.
Negotiations initially produced promises of cooperation, but Isaac soon withdrew them. Richard then launched a campaign across the island, capturing key positions including Limassol and Famagusta. Isaac surrendered, and Cyprus came under Richard’s control. Richard’s conquest was not his main objective in the Crusade, but the island became strategically important as a supply base and staging point for crusading operations.
Richard later sold Cyprus to the Knights Templar, whose brief administration was unpopular. In 1192, Guy of Lusignan acquired the island and founded the Lusignan-ruled Kingdom of Cyprus. Cyprus is sometimes confused with Richard’s campaigns in the eastern Mediterranean, but he did not conquer Sicily, Rhodes, or Crete during this episode.