 Hugh III of Cyprus and Jerusalem appointed Balian bailiff, effectively regent, of the kingdom upon returning to Cyprus in October 1276.Hugh's claim to the royal title, however, was disputed by Charles I of Naples, who sent Roger of Sanseverino to Acre as his bailiff in 1277.Balian initially refused to admit Roger into the citadel until papers signed by Charles, Mary of Antioch, and Pope John XXI were produced and the Knights Hospitallers and John of Versailles, Patriarch of Jerusalem, had refused to intervene.