Eschiva of Ibelin (French: Echive; died c. 1197) was a Latin noblewoman of the House of Ibelin from the Kingdom of Jerusalem. She was the first wife of Aimery of Cyprus, who was crowned the first king of Cyprus in 1197. The 13th-century source narrating her abduction by the pirate Kanakes refers to her as queen. She may have died before her husband was crowned.
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Family
Eschiva belonged to the House of Ibelin, one of the oldest and most powerful noble families in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. According to the Lignages d'Outremer, Eschiva's parents were Baldwin of Ibelin, lord of Ramla, and his first wife, Richilda, sister of Adam, lord of Bethsan. The historian Wipertus Hugo Rudt de Collenberg has challenged this parentage as chronologically improbable. Eschiva was the elder of Baldwin's daughters; because Baldwin's son, Thomas, is last mentioned as living in 1187 and apparently died childless, the right to Ramla passed to Eschiva. Ramla, however, had been lost to the Ayyubid sultan Saladin after the Battle of Hattin in 1187.
By 1176, Eschiva had married Aimery of Cyprus, a newcomer from Europe. The marriage was arranged by the king of Jerusalem, Baldwin IV. At the time Aimery served as the king's chamberlain. Aimery's marriage with Eschiva secured his rise, and he was later promoted to the office of constable. Eschiva and Aimery had six children: Burgundia, Alice (who died young), Helvis, John, Guy, and Hugh. In 1194 Aimery succeeded his brother Guy as lord of Cyprus. In September 1197 he was crowned the first king of Cyprus, although he may have started using the title already in early 1196. Eschiva is frequently named queen of Cyprus. According to historian Hans E. Mayer, she died as lady of Cyprus before Aimery was crowned.