John of Caesarea

John's rise in importance during the civil war can be seen in the high spot in which his name appears in the witness lists of many Cypriot charters in the following years. In 1232, he was second only to John of Ibelin among the witnesses to the treaty of King Henry I of Cyprus with the Republic of Genoa.^[2] In October 1232 he was again second of the secular witnesses, after Odo of Montbéliard, in an accord between Henry I and John's uncle-in-law, Eustorge de Montaigu [de], Archbishop of Nicosia.^[3] In October 1233, he was present at a court held by Odo in Acre. There he signed third an agreement between the municipality of Marseille and the Knights Hospitaller and Knights Templar, and fourth a treaty between Jerusalem and Genoa.^[3] In December, at Nicosia, he witnessed another treaty with Genoa, signing his name after the king's and John of Ibelin's.^[3] That same month he was the second witness on two grants issued by the king to Archbishop Eustorge.^[3] In August 1234 his was the second signature on a charter of Henry's issued at Nicosia.^[3]

In February 1236, Pope Gregory IX wrote a letter to the barons of Cyprus and Jerusalem urging them to make peace with the Emperor and offering his own terms. John of Caesarea was one of those lords named by Gregory.^[1] In September, John and his uncle underwrote and annuity sold by Henry I.^[1] That year, the lords of Caesarea and Beirut joined the Hospitallers to unsuccessfully besiege the Muslim-held castle of Montferrand, where John of Ibelin died.^[1]

In 1238, John of Caesarea negotiated with King Theobald I of Navarre when the latter arrived in Palestine on crusade. He may have followed him on his campaign and died in battle, for this is his last appearance in surviving records.^[1] On act of King Henry's in December 1239, where John's name would be expected it is absent. It is also absent from acts of John of Ibelin's sons, Lord Balian of Beirut and Lord John of Arsuf, from May–June 1241.

Philip of Novara records in one passage that "Sir Hugh [i.e., Hugh of Ibelin] and the young lord of Caesarea had already passed from this world, wherefor was great sorrow and loss to all their friends and to the two kingdoms."^[4] This passage is referring to the year 1241, and John's death must have preceded Richard Filangieri's assault on Acre, which occurred while John of Arsuf was at Arsuf, and after Theobald's departure. John was not present when the Haute Cour elected a bailiff for King Conrad II when he attained his majority in 1243. The lord of Caesarea who was present was John's successor, John Aleman, the husband of his daughter and heiress, Margaret.

John and his wife, Alice de Montaigu—who was the niece of the archbishop of Nicosia, of Guerin, Hospitaller grand master, and of Peter, Templar grand master—had one son (perhaps named Eudes), who died in infancy, and several daughters besides Margaret.^[5] The names of the other daughters are uncertain because of contradictions in the principal source, the Lignages d'Outremer. According to one section of the Lignages, a daughter named Alice married Richard de Dampierre and was the mother of Eudes. According to another section, Alice became a nun and died young, while the mother of Eudes de Dampierre was Isabelle, the only other daughter mentioned in the other section. The second section also mentions daughters named Marie, who died without heirs, and Peretine, who died young.^[5]