Frederick now entered the capital of Cyprus, and there all the princes and barons interceded for Ibelin, who declared that he and all his followers were ready to submit to the emperor, and atone for their delinquencies. The emperor did not seek revenge, but simple justice; and was extremely desirous of securing the support of Cyprus, and the wealth obtainable from that source, and thus the affair was soon arranged; the barons, under the emperor’s command, acquiesced, and a general amnesty was proclaimed upon the following terms:
The emperor was to be the sole guardian of the young king until he completed his twenty-fifth year. The government of Cyprus and its revenues should be placed in the hands of the emperor, and all the fortified places in the kingdom delivered up to him. All the Cyprian knights who had not sworn fealty to the emperor should immediately take the oath of allegiance. Ibelin, in behalf of the ruler of Beyrut, recognised the emperor as King of Jerusalem, and did homage to him under that title, and agreed that all claims, relative to the castle of Beyrut, should be settled by the court of Jerusalem, and an account of all revenues due, since the death of King Hugo, should be laid before the court of Cyprus. The hostages demanded by the emperor were set at liberty. Ibelin and all the Cyprian barons, with their followers, were to accompany Frederick to the Holy Land, and serve him there till the end of the crusade.
All these conditions were punctually carried out, the oath of allegiance administered, and the castles, as well as the revenue, given up. The emperor had achieved a complete victory. Cyprus remained for several years under his command, and its king was formally declared a prince of the German empire. The emperor next appointed revenue officers and treasurers, in all the castles and bailiwicks of the island, and made arrangements that the money thus raised should be sent after him into Syria. To these offices, as well as in garrisoning the castles, the emperor appointed his own knights by preference, and these gladly accepted such desirable appointments.
After all these things were arranged, the emperor came to Famagusta, and the next day, the 2nd of September, seven weeks after his landing in Cyprus, embarked, taking the young king with him, and accompanied by all the chivalry of the island. Their landing was effected at Beyrut, Sidon, Sarepta, and Tyre, as Frederick was desirous of becoming more intimately acquainted with the coast of Syria; he probably likewise intended that the armies of the Crusaders, employed upon the fortifications of Sidon and of Cæsarea, should enter Akkon while he remained upon the coast. In the last-mentioned city, the most populous and the most important in the Holy Land, the emperor was received with great ceremony. The Crusaders, more especially those from Germany, were jubilant; the clergy sang hymns of praise; the Templars and the Knights of St. John did homage to their sovereign, by kneeling before him and kissing his knees, according to the custom of the times. Nevertheless Frederick was well aware that, to use the words of an old writer, he was in a land where neither God nor man had ever yet found truth or loyalty.
