Fortifications of Famagusta

The fortifications of Famagusta are a series of defensive walls and other fortifications which surround the city of Famagusta in Northern Cyprus. The walls were built by the Lusignan Kingdom of Cyprus in the 14th century, and redesigned by Republic of Venice in 15th and 16th centuries before the siege of Ottoman Empire in 1571. The fortifications of Famagusta withstood an 11-month siege before the city capitulated to the Ottoman Empire in August 1571.

Fortifications of Famagusta
Famagusta, Northern Cyprus[lower-alpha 1]
San Luca Bastion
Map of Famagusta's fortifications
Coordinates35°7′41.2″N 33°56′6.8″E
TypeCity wall
Site information
ConditionIntact
Site history
Built15th–16th centuries
Built byKingdom of Cyprus
Battles/warsSiege of Famagusta

History
Curtain Wall, Famagusta (1900)
Walls of Famagusta (traveller's handbook, 1906)

Medieval period

In the 13th century, Famagusta's harbour was defended by a tower, and it is possible that some form of fortification existed earlier.[1] In the 14th century, the Lusignans built the Othello Castle to defend both the harbour and the town.[2] Famagusta fell to the Genoese in 1373, and in 1489 it was taken over by the Republic of Venice along with the rest of Cyprus.[3]

Venetian rule

While Famagusta was under Venetian rule, the city was essentially a military base.[4] The Othello Castle was modernized, and fortifications surrounding the entire city began to be built.[3] The fortifications were designed by a number of military engineers, including Michele Sanmicheli and his nephew Giovanni Girolamo Sammichele. The latter arrived in Famagusta in around 1550, and he designed the Martinengo Bastion, which served as a prototype for various other fortifications in Europe and America.[5] He died in Famagusta in 1559, while the fortifications were still under construction.[6]

The Fourth Ottoman–Venetian War broke out in 1570, when an Ottoman force invaded Cyprus and took control of most of the island including Nicosia within a few months. On 15 September, Ottomans surrounded Famagusta, which was the last Venetian stronghold on the island, and began the Siege of Famagusta. The city held out until August 1571, when the Venetians asked for terms of surrender. Although terms were agreed and the inhabitants began to evacuate the city, at the surrender ceremony Lala Mustafa Pasha learned that some Muslim prisoners had been killed and he had the Venetian commander Marco Antonio Bragadin mutilated and flayed alive, and the remaining Christians in the city were massacred.[7]

Ottoman rule to present day

The Ottomans repaired the damaged parts of the walls,[8] but did not make any major alterations. The city began to expand outside its walls in the late Ottoman period, and this increased after Cyprus fell under British rule.[4]

Although many buildings within the old city of Famagusta is in a state of disrepair,[9][10] the fortifications are still in relatively good condition.[11]

Layout

The fortifications of Famagusta consist of an enceinte which is surrounded by a rock-hewn ditch on the landward side, and the harbour on the seaward side. Like the fortifications of Rhodes, which were built by the Knights Hospitaller between the 14th and 16th centuries, the walls of Famagusta show the transition between medieval fortification and the bastioned fortifications of the early modern period.[5]

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References
  1. Hill, George (2010). A History of Cyprus, Volume 2. Cambridge University Press. p. 15. ISBN 9781108020633.
  2. "Othello's Tower and Citadel". cypnet.co.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  3. "Part one - The Walls of Famagusta". romeartlover.tripod.com. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  4. "Story of a Town". Famagusta Municipality. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  5. Walsh, Michael J. K.; Coureas, Nicholas; Edbury, Peter W., eds. (2012). Medieval and Renaissance Famagusta: Studies in Architecture, Art and History. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 191–194. ISBN 9781409435570.
  6. "The Venetian Period in Cyprus". cypnet.co.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  7. "Brief History". Ammochostos (Famagusta) Municipality. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  8. Elevating and Safeguarding Culture Using Tools of the Information Society: Dusty traces of the Muslim culture. Earthlab. 2008. p. 27. ISBN 9789602331873.
  9. Starkweather, Helen (March 2009). "Endangered Site: Famagusta Walled City, Cyprus". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  10. "The Walled City of Famagusta: A Compendium of Preservation Studies, 2008–2012" (PDF). World Monuments Fund. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  11. Luedke, Tilman. "From Boom to Backwater: The fate of Famagusta in the 16th century and after" (PDF). Central European University. Retrieved 4 October 2015.

Notes

  1. De jure part of Cyprus
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