Abstract
From the early fourteenth century onwards, the Kingdom of Cilician Armenia was surrounded by enemies, Mamluks, Seljuk Turks, and Mongols, recently converted to Islam. Only to the south did the kingdom have access by sea to Lusignan Cyprus, a Latin state since 1192, and even the seas separating the two kingdoms teemed with pirates. This tenuous lifeline centred on the port of Famagusta in particular. A considerable volume of trade with Cilician Armenia was conducted through the port, including much needed grain shipments at a time when Mamluks raids had caused widespread devastation, threatening Cilician Armenia with famine. Early in the fourteenth century, Armenians settled there and found a refuge there from the attacks of their enemies, especially in 1322, when the Mamluks stormed and sacked Laiazzo, the Armenian kingdom’s chief port. The multi-faceted role of Famagusta in assisting the Armenians of Cilicia forms the subject of this paper.
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Coureas, N. (2017). Famagusta: A Lifeline for the Kingdom of Cilician Armenia. In: Walsh, M. (eds) The Armenian Church of Famagusta and the Complexity of Cypriot Heritage. Mediterranean Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48502-7_2
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