Juan Tafures or Tafurer (died after 1477) was a Catalan adventurer in the mid fifteenth century.

Owner of a merchant ship, Juan landed at Larnaca

Larnaca

Larnaca, is the third largest city on the southern coast of Cyprus after Nicosia and Limassol. It has a population of 72,000 and is the island's second largest commercial port and an important tourist resort...

 in Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

 in July 1457 when James de Lusignan

James II of Cyprus

James II of Cyprus or Jacques II le Bâtard de Lusignan , was the illegitimate son of John II of Cyprus and Marietta de Patras.-Archbishop of Nicosia:...

, bastard son of John II of Cyprus

John II of Cyprus

John II or III of Cyprus was the King of Cyprus and Armenia and also titular King of Jerusalem from 1432 to 1458. He was previously a Titular Prince of Antioch...

 and Archbishop of Nicosia, was fleeing his father, for he had murdered the royal Chamberlain

Chamberlain (office)

A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....

. Juan gave him ship to Rhodes

Rhodes

Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...

. Juan then joined in with him, now deprived of the archbishopric, in his fight against Charlotte

Charlotte of Cyprus

Charlotte , was Queen of Cyprus and Princess of Antioch, as well as titular Queen of Jerusalem and Armenia.She was the eldest and only surviving daughter of King John II of Cyprus and Helena Palaiologina. At the age of 14, she succeeded to the Cypriot throne upon the death of her father in 1458...

 for the throne of Cyprus. They reconquered the island by September 1460.

An intimate of the new king, James became master of the royal household and captain of Famagusta

Famagusta

Famagusta is a city on the east coast of Cyprus and is capital of the Famagusta District. It is located east of Nicosia, and possesses the deepest harbour of the island.-Name:...

. In 1469, James named him Count of Tripoli, a titular dignity, since Tripoly had long lain in Turkish

Ottoman Turks

The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...

 hands. It was with this latter title that he appears in 1473 executing the will of the king.

Under the reign of James' successor, Catherine

Catherine Cornaro

Nobil Donna Catherine Cornaro was Queen of Cyprus from 1474 to 1489 and declared a "Daughter of Saint Mark" in order that Venice could claim control of Cyprus after the death of her husband, James II .-Family:She was born in Venice in 1454 and was the daughter of a well-known and powerful family of...

, Juan violently led the opposition to Venice

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

. He managed to escape their grasp, but his family was carted off to Venice (1477). After that date, he is unknown.