Armenians and the Christian Society of Famagusta: Evidence from Spatial Analysis

This chapter examines the spatial position of the Armenian church in the context of the urban development and arrangement of public spaces in medieval Famagusta. It makes use of four study techniques derived from the field of architectural studies and robotics: plan analysis, access analysis, visibility graphs, and agent analysis. The aim of the first method is to reconstruct the development of the medieval layout of Famagusta while the latter three serve to investigate how it was used. The analysis suggests the existence of a strict, spatially enforced hierarchy among religious groups in the city. The results demonstrate the disadvantaged position occupied by the Armenian church: its visual and spatial segregation and limited contact with other non-Latin groups in Famagusta, especially the Greeks. Thus, spatial analysis complements the study of art which, so far, has dominated modern discussion concerning the Armenian church as well as other medieval monuments in Famagusta.