The City of Famagusta

The ancient Byzantine Ammochostos[1], the Greek bishopric, was renamed Famagusta by the Latins. The pope made the city one of the three suffragan bishoprics of the Latin archbishopric of Nicosia in Cyprus. The position of the city’s harbour, which faces the Syrian coast, explains its remarkable development at the end of thirteenth century: there was an influx of people, refugees, and traders into the city during the period when the last Latin strongholds fell to the Mamluks, culminating in the conquest of Acre in 1291. The merchants transformed Famagusta into a major trading centre for a century until its capture by the Genoese in 1373. Famagusta became a real centre for international trade, ‘the meeting point for every Western nation’[2].

As a result of this demographic expansion and extraordinary prosperity, Famagusta was completely reorganized and extended by King Henry II (reigned 1285–1306 and 1310–1324) and became the new Acre. The urban structure is clearly indicated on Gibellino’s map of 1571, which represents the siege of Famagusta by the Ottomans. In the centre, the Latin Cathedral of St Nicholas, a modest building from the beginning of the thirteenth century, was entirely reconstructed at the beginning of the fourteenth century on a vast scale. It was also used for the crowning of the kings of Cyprus as kings of Jerusalem. As the king often stayed in Famagusta, an urban palace (which no longer exists) was built opposite the cathedral. The king supported the Franciscan order and had their convent built next to the palace—today the convent is in ruins. The Dominicans chose the harbour area of the city, near the castle, which protected the harbour, and was renovated at the same time.

The city was greatly extended to the north, where even today the population is small, and the king introduced religious communities, including the Convent of St Mary of Carmel, which was the monastery of the Benedictine nuns of St Anne, the Church of the Armenians, and the seat of several eastern communities. A new, much longer enclosing wall surrounded the new agglomeration. Famagusta’s development continued under Henry II’s successors, Hugh IV (reigned 1324–1359) and Peter I (reigned 1359–1369). Amongst the constructions from this period, are the well preserved Church of St Peter and St Paul, linked to the palace, and St George of the Greeks Cathedral. However, this prosperity was short lived.

When Peter II was crowned king of Jerusalem in Famagusta in 1372, the ‘conflict of precedence’ (a dispute about who would lead the king’s horse on the right side) between the Venetians and the Genoese led to massacres and pillage. When Peter II hesitated to punish the guilty party, the Genoese mounted an expedition, during which they ravaged the island and imprisoned the king in 1373. Peter was obliged to accept an enormous debt, taken out on Famagusta: until this vast sum was repaid in full, the Genoese administrated Famagusta at the king’s expense. Despite his best efforts, Peter was unable to recover Famagusta and had to renegotiate the terms of his debt. When Peter II died, James I (reigned 1382–1398) was obliged to cede Famagusta, which entered a period of continual decline during this period, as the Venetians and Catalans abandoned the port. It was only in 1364 that James II (reigned 1460–1473) managed to recover Famagusta. The Venetians, who ruled the island in 1489, turned Famagusta into a formidable stronghold when they built a remarkable bastioned wall that surrounds Henri II’s ancient fortifications. Thanks to this construction, the city was able to withstand a siege by the Ottoman armies that lasted several months in 1571 with very few defenders[3]. It was the last city to surrender in Cyprus. Under Ottoman rule, it finally lost its importance.

[2] Expression used at the time by L. de Sudheim, ‘De ictinere Terre Sancte’, quoted by Michel Balard, La place de Famagouste génoise dans le royaume des Lusignan (1374–1464), Les Lusignans et l’Outre-Mer, actes du colloque, Poitiers-Lusignan, 1993, p. 17.

[3] Gibellino’s engraving shows a detailed map of the city and the surrounding Turkish positions.