Outremer
After Frederick
The people of Outremer were glad to see Frederick go, but they were far from being rid of him, and he was far from being defeated. He was still regarded himself as Regent of Jerusalem and he was determined that his authority should be obeyed. Only the fact that he was faced with war with the papacy back in Italy kept him from asserting himself more vigorously in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, that summer, Muslim fanatics—who were furious with al-Kamil for having given away Jerusalem without a fight—attacked the city in a sudden raid. They entered, of course, because there was no defense and few defenders, but a relief force from Acre drove them out again, and they were disavowed by Cairo and Damascus. The Tower of David was fortified, but little else. Al-Kamil stuck by the truce. The Patriarch lifted the interdict and returned to the city.
The next few years were reasonably quiet, but not on Cyprus. There, the locals rebelled against the rule of the baillis and asked John of Ibelin to intervene. He did, was victorious, and took over the government until King Henry should reach his majority in 1232. The Emperor of course would not tolerate this. Having settled matters with the pope, he sent troops Ricardo Filangieri, whom he designated as Imperial Legate, technically to rule the Kingdom on behalf of the Regent (Frederick).
But Filangieri went directly to Cyprus. John of Ibelin was tipped off to his approach, though, and moved first, occupying key castles. Filangieri demanded Henry dispossess John, but he refused. The Imperials lacked sufficient troops to pry the Cypriots from their castles, so Ricardo went to Beirut, which he occupied along with Sidon and Tyre. At Acre he got the barons to recognize him as bailli, whereupon he declared all Ibelin lands confiscated. The barons had given him his office because technically they could not refuse, but they were shocked by Ricardo's radical act. Along with the city's merchants they formed the Commune of St Andrews and declared themselves indpendent. On the Imperial side, Ricardo could count on his Lombards and Sicilians, and upon the Pisans. In this dispute, the Templars, Hospitallers and Patriarch remained neutral.
John of Ibelin was now in possession of Cyprus, Ricardo Filangieri was in possession of Tyre and Beirut, and the city of Acre was under the control of the Commune. Filangieri had to defeat Ibelin or his authority in the East would never be anything but a shadow. At the same time, John had to defeat the Imperial forces or be forever an exile.