Attractors, repellers and fringe belts: origins and medieval transformations of Arsinoe, Ammochostos, al-Mau’dah, Famagusta, Magusa

Abstract

This research poses a number of historical questions about the urban settlement of Famagusta: is it a Medieval, Crusader or a Frankish city? Is there any evidence of an earlier (pre-Lusignan) phase in the urban fabric and in the city walls? Can the application of the attractor theory give some results in the reconstruction of the medieval and late antique phases of Famagusta? We can analyse the urban structure of a city synchronically or diachronically, the theory of attractors, assuming that the deformations of urban routes follow the changing morphology of urban limits and centres, can shed some light on a reconstruction of the city. We can consider the city itself as a material historical document, without any opposition with archaeological data and other documents, such as quantitative notarial sources, cadastres, plans and city views. Most of the written histories identify this settlement with that of Arsinoe, and Ammochostos, interpreting Famagusta as the franchized version of Ammochostos. Starting with a toponymic interpretation the paper seeks evidence of a Roman or earlier phase of the urban settlement, by considering written and epigraphic sources, and analysing the urban tissues with the attractor theory. This analysis is essential to the understanding of the different parts of the urban settlement. The research is an experimental application of some of the urban morphology theories, namely the fringe belts and the attractor analysis, to the understanding of the early history of Famagusta.