Cappadocia

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Country
Cappadocia is defined as the country between the Black Sea, the Upper Euphrates, the Taurus Mountains, and the river Halys. East of the Euphrates is Armenia; if a traveller crosses the Taurus through the Cilician Gate to the south, he reaches Cilicia; and to the west of the Halys is the country that was known as Phrygia and (later) Galatia. The rocky landscape that is called Cappadocia today, is only a part of the ancient country.
The plain north of the Taurus might be called Cappadocia Proper; it is essentially the land around Mazaka (near modern Kayseri). This country, originally called Tabal, is extremely green and fertile. Greater Cappadocia includes territories to the north, which are sometimes called Paphlagonia or Pontus, along the Middle Euphrates, which is called Melitene, and to the west, Lycaonia.
CountryEarly HistoryAchaemenid AgeHellenistic AgeRoman ProvinceLate Antiquity
King Warpalas of Tyana, relief in the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul. Photo Ab Langereis (©*)
Early History
In the Bronze Age, Cappadocia was the heartland of the empire of the Hittites. The people spoke Luwian. After the collapse of the Hittite world, the inhabitants of Tabal were divided into several small states (e.g. Tyana), loosely held together by the prince of Bit Burutaš, a fort near modern Kululu. Pottery finds prove that these little states had trade contacts with Phrygia, and it appears that the Assyrians watched this economic influence with some suspicion, but during the reign of Sargon II, the two nations concluded an alliance (710/709). Perhaps, the Royal Road between the two capitals, Nineveh and Gordium, dates back to this period.At the beginning of the seventh century, the Cimmerians invaded Urartu, Cappadocia, and Phrygia. The Phrygian king Midas, defeated in 696/695 by the invaders, committed suicide. While the Cimmerians settled on the plains of Cappadocia, Midas' kingdom was taken over by a dynasty that was based in Sardes, Lydia. Its king Gyges defeated the Cimmerians in c.665, but was killed in action in 644. However, later Lydian rulers (e.g., Alyattes) warded off the invasion, and started an offensive to the east, gradually approaching Cappadocia.A similar development started in the east, where the Median tribal federation became increasingly powerful. In 612, the Medes and Babylonians had sacked Nineveh and overthrown the Assyrian Empire; while the Babylonian king Nebukadnezzar was occupied in Syria, the Medes annexed Armenia and proceeded to Cappadocia. On 28 May 585, the armies of the Lydian king Alyattes and the Median leader Cyaxares met in battle, but after a solar eclipse, they decided to conclude a peace treaty. The Halys became the border between the two states; Cappadocia was to be subject to the Medians. Their rule was short-lived, though: in 550/549, they were conquered by the Persian king Cyrus the Great, who went on to invade Anatolia, and in c.547 he conquered Cappadocia and Lydia.**
A Cappadocian, shown on the Eastern Stairs of the Apadana in Persepolis.
Achaemenid AgeCappadocia is derived from Old-Persian Katpatuka, the name used by the Achaemenid administration to describe the satrapy beyond the Taurus and Euphrates. According to the Greek researcher Herodotus of Halicarnassus, the Cappadocians, together with the Hellespontines, Asian Thracians, Mariandynians, Paphlagonians, Phrygians, belonged to the third tax district and paid a yearly tribute that was worth about 360 talents. What they had to contribute exactly can perhaps be deduced from the relief on the Eastern Stairs of the Apadana at Persepolis, where the Cappadocian tribute bearer offers a bridled stallion, an overcoat, a coat, and trousers.The first satrap known by name is one Ariaramnes, who is mentioned by Ctesias of Cnidus (Persica, 20) as conducting an expedition to Scythia at the beginning of the reign of Darius I the Great (522-486). Ariaramnes' successors are not known for certain, although a prince named Gobryas commanded the Cappadocians in 480 when Darius' son Xerxes invaded Greece. He was the king's half-brother, which suggests that the Cappadocian unit was of some importance.We happen to have a description of Cappadocia in Xenophon's Anabasis, which is the history of the civil war between the Persian king Artaxerxes II Mnemon and his brother Cyrus the Younger in 401. From this, we can deduce that the southwestern part of Cappadocia now belonged to a satrapy called Greater Phrygia. We also learn the names of the tribes that lived along the shores of the Black Sea: Mossynoeci, Macrones, Tibarenes, and Paphlagonians. The description gives the impression that control by the central government was not very strong, and this is more or less confirmed by other information: we know that the Cappadocian town of Castabala was an almost independent temple state. On the other hand, in Mazaca was an Iranian fire shrine with Magians, which shows a very strong Persian presence.During the reign of Artaxerxes II, Cappadocia was divided into two halfs (Paphlagonia and Cappadocia Proper). The satrap of southern Cappadocia, a man named Datames (abridged from Datamithra) played an important role in suppressing a revolt and in a war against the Cadusians. Because of his valor, he was charged with the reconquest of rebellious Egypt, but when he discovered he had insufficient support at the great king's court, Datames decided to return to his satrapy. After the invasion of Egypt, led by Pharnabazus, had failed (373), Datames revolted. His coins show motifs that suggest that he courted native support. He defeated several opponents, cooperated with other rebels (Ariobarzanes in Hellespontine Phrygia; Maussolus in Caria, Orontes in Armenia, Autophradates in Lydia), but was assassinated before 362.The next satrap known by name is Mithrobouzanes, who was killed in action during the battle at the Granicus (334), in which the Macedonian king Alexander defeated the Persian troops of Asia Minor. Alexander appointed Sabictas as new satrap, but his grip appears to have been weak, because we find a Cappadocian unit (commanded by Ariarathes) fighting in the army of the Achaemenid king Darius III Codomannus during the battle of Gaugamela (331). During Alexander's reign, his officer Antigonus the One-Eyed fought several battles to keep the roads through Cappadocia open.

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Hellenistic AgeAfter the death of Alexander, on 11 June 323 in Babylon (text), his commanders elected Perdiccas as regent of the great conqueror's brother Philip Arridaeus and his still unborn son Alexander IV. A Greek officer named Eumenes was made satrap of Cappadocia (text). He had to fight against the Ariarathes who had fought for the last Persian king, Darius III Codomannus, at Gaugamela, and had continued to war against the local Macedonian commander Antigonus the One-Eyed. However, when Perdiccas invaded Cappadocia, Antigonus did not appear, which was one of the reasons why the successors of Alexander (the Diadochi) started to quarrel: the First Diadoch War. However, for the time being, Perdiccas was successful and Ariarathes was captured and killed.The main consequence of the First Diadoch War was the end of Perdiccas, his attempt to keep the empire unified, and the end of Eumenes' main supporter. At a conference in Triparadisus, a general named Antipater reorganized the the Macedonian Empire (text), and appointed Nicanor as satrap of Cappadocia. With Antigonus, he had to expel Eumenes. This was the beginning of the Second Diadoch War (318-315), which was won by Antigonus, and when Nicanor died during the Babylonian War, the old one-eyed general added Cappadocia to his territories. However, he was defeated decisively in the battle of Ipsus (301), and the southern fringe of Cappadocia was added to the realms of Seleucus I Nicator (the Seleucid Empire).A nephew of Ariarathes, Ariarathes II, seized the central and northern part of Cappadocia, and was accepted by Seleucus as a semi-dependent ruler. (Northern Cappadocia became the new kingdom Pontus.) When Seleucus had died and his succession was contested by Ptolemy II Philadelphus, Ariarathes II and Orontes III of Armenia defeated the Seleucid army (c.280 BCE), which meant the beginning of independence. The lawful king Antiochus I Soter acquiesced in this situation because he was involved in the First Syrian War against the Ptolemaic Empire.Ariarathes was succeeded by his son Ariaramnes, whose son Ariarathes III was the first to accept the royal title. Nearly all Cappadocian kings called themselves Ariarathes, just like Egyptian kings of that age all called themselves Ptolemy and all Parthian rulers were known as Arsaces. The third Ariarathes was able to normalize relations with the powerful Seleucid neighbors and married Stratonice III, the daughter of Antiochus II Theos. This diplomatic alliance was further strengthened when their son, Ariarathes IV Eusebes, married Antiochis, daughter of his Seleucid cousin Antiochus III the Great.However, the decline of Seleucid power forced the Cappadocian kings, who by now had come to claim descent from the Achaemenid prince Pharnaces, to look for other allies. During the Second Macedonian War (200-196), the Roman commander Titus Quinctius Flamininus had defeated the Macedonian king Philip V, and because the legions had been recalled, a power vacuum had been created. Antiochus III was more or less forced to intervene in the chaos Rome had created, which offered the Romans the opportunity to intervene again. In the Syrian War (192-188), the legions swept away the Seleucid armies (battle of Magnesia, 190). Immediately, Ariathes IV switched sides. His daughter Stratonice IV married king Eumenes II of Pergamon, a Roman ally. Rome accepted this diplomatic gambit and supported Cappadocia when war broke out with king Pharnaces I of Pontus (182-179). Some ten years later, Rome requested Cappadocian support in the Third Macedonian War.In 163, Ariarathes V Philopator succeeded his father. He intervened in a crisis in Sophene (along the Upper Tigris), where he put Mithrobuzanes on the throne, a puppet king. The Seleucid ruler Demetrius I Soter now proposed to renew marriage ties, which Ariarathes refused. Demetrius now supported an insurrection by Ariarathes' brother Orophernes. The Roman Senate ordered the two dynasts to split the kingdom, but in 158, Ariarathes V was restored by king Attalus II Philadelphus of Pergamon, second husband of Ariathes' sister Stratonice.In 152, Ariarathes saw an opportunity to avenge himself on Demetrius. He joined a Rome-supported anti-Seleucid coalition; the other members were Attalus II Philadelphus of Pergamon and Ptolemy VI Philometor of Egypt. Together, they put the Seleucid pretender Alexander I Balas on the throne.Some twenty years later, king Attalus III Philometor, the son of Stratonice, died, leaving the Pergamene kingdom to Rome. Because a native leader, Aristonicus, tried to regain independence, war broke out, and Ariarathes V supported Rome again. In return, it received Lycaonia. When he was killed in action in 131/130 and was succeeded by Ariarathes VI Epiphanes, independent Cappadocia was larger than it had ever been. The Roman alliance had been a wise policy.However, Rome was not yet able to protect its ally against the new regional power: Pontus, which had survived the war of 182-179 and was rapidly increasing its strength. Ariarathes VI tried to appease his northern neighbor and married Laodice, a sister of its young king Mithridates, who became the real power in Cappadocia, saw to the assassination of her husband, and in 103 allied herself to king Nicomedes III Euergetes of Bithynia against her son Ariarathes VII Philometor. Two years later, Mithridates of Pontus intervened, expelled his sister and Nicomedes, restored Ariarathes VII, but on second thoughts decided to put his own son on the throne, Ariathes Eusebes.This was only the beginning of a series of civil wars, in which the last member of the dynasty, Ariarathes VIII, was soon killed. The Cappadocian nobility elected a new king, Ariobarzanes I Philoromaeus, who was recognized by the Roman Senate, but found it difficult to rule. In 95/94, he was expelled from his land by king Tigranes the Great of Armenia, returned, and was expelled again in 90 and 89 by Mithridates of Pontus, but returned and expelled Ariarathes Eusebes in c.88. During the Third Mithradatic War (73-63), Ariobarzanes had to leave his country again, but the Roman general Pompey the Great, who utterly defeated Pontus, put the Cappadocian leader back on the throne, added Sophene and Gordyene (east of the Tigris) to his realm, and took away Lycaonia. Ariobarzanes abdicated in 62 and was succeeded by his son Ariobarzanes II Philopator, who was killed in 51 and succeeded by Ariobarzanes III Eusebes, who was immediately faced with the greatest challenged a loyal ally of Rome could have to face: civil war in Rome. Be choose to support Pompey, but the war was won by his enemy Julius Caesar (48, battle of Pharsalus). Ariobarzanes, however, managed to switch sides and when a son of Mithridates VI, Pharnaces, tried to restore the power of Pontus, Julius Caesar came to the help of Cappadocia and defeated the rebel at Zela (47: "I came, saw, conquered"). Even better, parts of western Armenia were added to Cappadocia.However, a new Roman civil war broke out after the assassination of Caesar in Rome. The assassins occupied the eastern provinces, and Gaius Cassius Longinus put an end to the rule of Ariobarzanes III, who was replaced by his brother Ariarathes IX Philadelphus. After the civil war had been won by the leaders of the Caesarian faction (Marc Antony and Octavian; battle of Pilippi, 42), the Romans decided to recognize the high priest of Comana as new king, Archelaus. Cappadocia was expanded even more when Octavian had become sole ruler (emperor Augustus), and added parts of Rough Cilicia. In 17 CE, the Roman emperor Tiberius added Cappadocia as province to the empire. Its first governor was Quintus Veranius, an adjutant of the Roman prince Germanicus.
CountryEarly HistoryAchaemenid AgeHellenistic AgeRoman ProvinceLate Antiquity
Ariarathes I
c.350 - 322
Ariarathes II
301- after c.280
Ariaramnes
c.275-c.255
Ariarathes III
c.255-220
Ariarathes IV Eusebes
220-c.163
Ariarathes V Philopator
c.163-131/130
Ariarathes VI Epiphanes
131/130- 116 or 111
Ariarathes VII Philometor
116 or 111-101
Ariathes Eusebes
101-c.88
Ariarathes VIII
c.96
Ariobarzanes I Philoromaeus
c.95-62
Ariobarzanes II Philopator
62-51
Ariobarzanes III Eusebes
c.51-42
Ariarathes IX Philadelphus
42-36
Archelaus
36 BCE - 17 CE

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Roman ProvinceThe Roman annexation of Cappadocia was only the last step of a process of self-romanization that had began when Ariarathes IV Eusebes had allied himself to the empire in 188 BCE. But although the country had had much time to get acquainted to its new overlords, it had a strong native character. An interesting example is the philosopher Apollonius of Tyana, who was very popular in the greater, Greek-speaking world, but wrote his treatise On Sacrifice in the Cappadocian language.The new capital was Caesarea (modern Kayseri), and the Romans saw to the rapid urbanization of the country. To judge by the rank of its equestrian governors (procurators) and the presence of auxiliary military units only, Cappadocia was not regarded as a very important province. Its eastern frontier, the river Euphrates, was part of the zone of influence of the governor of Syria, who used IIII Scythica and XII Fulminata, to defend this sector against possible invasions from the Parthian Empire. It was only during the civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors (69) that Cappadocian received its first governor of senatorial rank, a man named Gnaeus Pompeius Collega. This was probably related to the merging of Cappadocia with Galatia and the annexation of Comagene, an old principality along the Euphrates and the new base of IIII Scythica. Several years later, XVI Flavia Firma was stationed at Satala; at some stage it was replaced by XV Apollinaris.The frontier was usually well-defended, but war was always possible in the ancient world. During the reign of Hadrian, governor Arrian of Nicomedia, better known as author of a book on Alexander the Great, fought against the tribe of the Alans, a war that he described in his Order of Battle. In 161, Marcus Sedatius Severianus was defeated (and VIIII Hispania was annihilated) by the Parthians, who tried to benefit from the death of the emperor Antoninus Pius and the accession of Marcus Aurelius. He sent his brother Lucius Verus to avenge this Roman defeat, and he was quite successful. In the third century, however, the Parthian Empire collapsed and was replaced by the Sasanian Empire, which had more efficient armies. In 256, they even attacked Satala, and in 260, the Cappadocian cities Caesarea, Tyana, Comana, Cybistra, and Sebastea were sacked. Several emperors were active in the east, and Rome ultimately restored its prestige during the reign of Diocletian (284-305).
CountryEarly HistoryAchaemenid AgeHellenistic AgeRoman ProvinceLate Antiquity
During the crisis of the second half of the third century, Christianity appears to have spread. During the council of Nicaea (in 325), at least ten bishops of Cappadocia were present. The circle of scholars around Saint Macrina, which included her brothers Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzus together with Gregory of Nyssa, is usually called the "Cappadocian fathers". They played an important role in the discussions on the Trinity.
Late AntiquityThe age of prosperity ended in the fifth century, when the great migrations started. In the end, Roman power in the west collapsed, but in the east, the Byzantine Empire continued to exist. Its emperor Justinian reorganized Cappadocia, and there are many buildings known from this age. The historian Procopius mentions that Caesarea was rebuilt and refers to similar projects elsewhere (Buildings).However, when at the end of the sixth century war with the Persians was resumed, after an essentially quiet period that had started in the 360's, Cappadocia became a war zone. The Sasanian king Khusrau II occupied parts of the province from 611 to 628, but was expelled by the emperor Heraclius. However, the the two empires were weakened, and the Sasanian world collapsed when the Islamic troops invaded Iran. The Byzantine Empire survived, but Cappadocia remained a border zone. It was in this age, the seventh and eighth centuries, that the Christian rock churches in Cappadocia were made - essentially hiding places.

History

Cappadocia was known as Hatti in the late Bronze Age, and was the homeland of the Hittite power centred at Hattusa. After the fall of the Hittite Empire, with the decline of the Syro-Cappadocians (Mushki) after their defeat by the Lydian king Croesus in the 6th century, Cappadocia was left in the power of a sort of feudal aristocracy, dwelling in strong castles and keeping the peasants in a servile condition, which later made them apt for foreign slavery. It was included in the third Persian satrapy in the division established by Darius, but long continued to be governed by rulers of its own, none apparently supreme over the whole country and all more or less tributary to the Great King.
After bringing the Persian Empire to an end, Alexander the Great met with great resistance in Cappadocia. He tried to rule the area through one of his commanders named Sabictus, but the ruling classes and people resisted and declared Ariarathes, a Persian aristocrat, as king. This sent a message to Alexander that not all Persians would submit to his rule. Ariarthes I (332 - 322 BC) was a successful ruler, and extended the borders of the Cappadocian Kingdom as far as the Black Sea. The kingdom of Cappadocia lived in peace until the death of Alexander, when the kingdom fell, in the general partition of the empire, to Eumenes. His claims were made good in 322 BC by the regent Perdiccas, who crucified Ariarathes; but in the dissensions which brought about Eumenes's death, the son of Ariarathes recovered his inheritance and left it to a line of successors, who mostly bore the name of the founder of the dynasty.

Fairy chimneys in Cappadocia
Under Ariarathes IV, Cappadocia came into relations with Rome, first as a foe espousing the cause of Antiochus the Great, then as an ally against Perseus of Macedon. The kings henceforward threw in their lot with the Republic as against the Seleucids, to whom they had been from time to time tributary. Ariarathes V marched with the Roman proconsul Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus against Aristonicus, a claimant to the throne of Pergamon, and their forces were annihilated (130 BC). The imbroglio which followed his death ultimately led to interference by the rising power of Pontus and the intrigues and wars which ended in the failure of the dynasty.
The Cappadocians, supported by Rome against Mithridates VI of Pontus, elected a native lord, Ariobarzanes, to succeed (93 BC); but in the same year Armenian troops under Tigranes the Great (Tigran) entered Cappadocia, dethroned king Ariobarzanes and crowned Gordios as the new client-king of Cappadocia, thus creating a buffer zone against the encroaching Romans.[3] It was not until Rome had deposed the Pontic and Armenian kings that the rule of Ariobarzanes was established (63 BC). In the civil wars Cappadocia was now for Pompey, now for Caesar, now for Antony, now against him. The Ariobarzanes dynasty came to an end and a certain Archelaus reigned in its stead, by favour first of Antony and then of Octavian, and maintained tributary independence until AD 17, when the emperor Tiberius, on Archelaus' death in disgrace, reduced Cappadocia at last to a Roman province. Much later it was a region of the Byzantine Empire.
Cappadocia contains several underground cities (see Kaymaklı Underground City), largely used by early Christians as hiding places before they became a legitimate religion. The Cappadocian Fathers of the 4th century were integral to much of early Christian philosophy. It also produced, among other people, another Patriarch of Constantinople, John of Cappadocia, who held office 517–520. For most of the Byzantine era it remained relatively undisturbed by the conflicts in the area, first with the Sassanid Empire and later against the Islamic expansion led by Arabs.

A rock-cut temple in Cappadocia
Cappadocia shared an always changing relation with the neighbouring Armenia, by that time a region of the Empire. The Arab historian Abu Al Faraj purports the following about Armenian settlers in Sivas, during the 10th century: "Sivas, in Cappadocia, was dominated by the Armenians and their numbers became so many that they became vital members of the imperial armies. These Armenians were used as watch-posts in strong fortresses, taken from the Arabs. They distinguished themselves as experienced infantry soldiers in the imperial army and were constantly fighting with outstanding courage and success by the side of the Romans in other words Byzantine".[4] As a result of the Byzantine military campaigns, the Armenians spread into Cappadocia and eastward from Cilicia into the mountainous areas of northern Syria and Mesopotamia. This immigration was increased further after the decline of the local imperial power and the establishment of the Crusader States following the 4th Crusade. Cappadocia became part of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, a state formed in the 12th century by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia and a close ally of the Crusaders.
Following the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, various Turkish clans under the leadership of the Seljuks began settling in Anatolia. With the rise of Turkish power in Anatolia, Cappadocia slowly became tributary to the Turkish states that were established to the east and to the west, and some of the population converted to Islam. By the end of the early 12th century, Anatolian Seljuks had established their sole dominance over the region. With the decline and the fall of the Konya-based Seljuks in the second half of the 13th century, they were gradually replaced by the Karaman-based Beylik of Karamanoğlu, who themselves were gradually succeeded by the Ottoman Empire over the course of the 15th century. Cappadocia remained part of the Ottoman Empire for the centuries to come, and remains now part of the modern state of Turkey. A fundamental change occurred in between when a new urban center, Nevşehir, was founded in the early 18th century by a grand vizier who was a native of the locality (Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha), to serve as regional capital, a role the city continues to assume to this day.
In the meantime many former Cappadocians had shifted to a Turkish dialect (written in Greek alphabet, Karamanlıca), and where the Greek language was maintained (Sille, villages near Kayseri, Pharasa town and other nearby villages), it became heavily influenced by the surrounding Turkish. This dialect of Greek is known as Cappadocian Greek. Following the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the language is now only spoken by a handful of the former population's descendants in modern Greece.

Cappadocia Etymology

The earliest record of the name of Cappadocia dates from the late 6th century BC when it appears in the trilingual inscriptions of two early Achaemenid kings, Darius I and Xerxes, as one of the countries (Old Persian dahyu-) which are part of the Persian Empire. In these lists of countries the Old Persian name is Katpatuka, but it is clearly not a native Persian word. The Elamite and Akkadian language versions of the inscriptions contain a similar name from Akkadian katpa "side" (cf. Heb katef) and a chief or ancestor's name, Tuka.[2]
Herodotus tells us that the name of the Cappadocians was applied to them by the Persians, while they were termed by the Greeks "Syrians" or "White Syrians" (Leucosyri). One of the Cappadocian tribes he mentions are the Moschoi, associated by Flavius Josephus with the biblical figure Meshech, son of Japheth, "and the Mosocheni were founded by Mosoch; now they are Cappadocians". AotJ I:6. Also see Ketubot 13:11 in the Mishna.
Cappadocia is also mentioned in the Biblical account given in the book of Acts 2:9, with the Cappadocians being named as one of the people groups hearing the Gospel account from Galileans in their own language on the day of Pentecost shortly after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Acts 2:5 seems to suggest that the Cappadocians in this account were "God-fearing Jews". See Acts of the Apostles.
Under the later kings of the Persian Empire they were divided into two satrapies, or governments, with one comprising the central and inland portion, to which the name of Cappadocia continued to be applied by Greek geographers, while the other was called Pontus. This division had already come about before the time of Xenophon. As after the fall of the Persian government the two provinces continued to be separate, the distinction was perpetuated, and the name Cappadocia came to be restricted to the inland province (sometimes called Great Cappadocia), which alone will be the focus of this article.

Photo of a 15th-century map showing "Capadocia"
The kingdom of Cappadocia was still in existence in the time of Strabo as a nominally independent state. Cilicia was the name given to the district in which Caesarea, the capital of the whole country, was situated. The only two cities of Cappadocia considered by Strabo to deserve that appellation were Caesarea (originally known as Mazaca) and Tyana, not far from the foot of the Taurus.

Cappadocians in popular culture

In The Simpsons episode "Brother from Another Series", the character Sideshow Bob grudgingly acknowledges the Cappadocians as the only "civilization in history [that] considered 'chief hydrological engineer' a calling". This referred to the Cappadocians being famous for underground cities, although not specifically dams.[7]
Dama the Cappadocian merchant is a major character in several early heroic fantasy stories set around the third century A.D. written by David Drake, Latin scholar and science fiction and fantasy author. The physical and temporal locale was a Roman frontier society in Asia Minor exposed to new conflicts with Christianity and continuing old conflicts with bandits and Persian invaders, where a merchant could experience exotic cultures and find occasion to demonstrate some skill with personal arms.[8]
Wu tang Affiliate Darryl Hill styles himself as "Cappadonna" in reference to this civilization and also goes by the pseudonym "Lebanon don" in reference to Lebanon being a part of this civilization.
In the popular role playing game series Vampire: The Masquerade, a fallen Clan of Vampires known as the Cappadocians played an integral part in the existence of the modern clan known as the Giovanni. Their relation to Cappadocia seems to be only titular and possibly geographical.
The Fairy Chimneys of Cappadocia are shown in the film The Stone Merchant.
In the computer game Rome: Total War, by The Creative Assembly, one can recruit a heavy cavalry unit called Cappadocian Cavalry, a Cataphract unit, but with weaker defence and attack, in comparison with the other Cataphracts (for example, the Armenian Cataphract).
Electronic musicians Autechre feature the Cappadicians on the cover of their second album, Amber.

Modern tourism

The area is a famous and popular tourist destination, as it has many areas with unique geological, historic and cultural features.
The region is southwest of the major city Kayseri, which has airline and railroad service to Ankara and Istanbul.
The Cappadocia region is largely underlain by sedimentary rocks formed in lakes and streams, and ignimbrite deposits erupted from ancient volcanoes approximately 9 to 3 million years ago (late Miocene to Pliocene epochs). The rocks of Cappadocia near Göreme eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars and minaret-like forms. The volcanic deposits are soft rocks that the people of the villages at the heart of the Cappadocia Region carved out to form houses, churches, monasteries. Göreme became a monastic center between 300-1200 AD. First period settlement in Göreme reaches to the Roman period from Christianity. Yusuf Koç, Ortahane, Durmus Kadir and Bezirhane churches in Göreme, houses and churches carved into rocks till to Uzundere, Bağıldere and Zemi Valley carries the mystical side of history today. The Göreme Open Air Museum is the most visited site of the monastic communities in Cappadocia and is one of the most famous sites in central Turkey. It is a complex comprising more than 30 rock-carved churches and chapels containing some superb frescoes, dating from the 9th to the 11th centuries.

Sumbullu Kilise (The Church of the Hyacinth)

The name comes from the abundant hyacinths around the church. Sumbullu Kilise has a domed single nave and was part of a two-storied monastery, the upper floor being living quarters. The arched doorways which are divided by pillars and linked with an architrave in the facade of the church carry the traces of Persian influence.
Central dome; Christ pantocrator. North wall; (next to the altar) St. George and St. Theodore. West wall; (in the niche) Constantine and Helena. Altar section; Gabriel and Michael. On the following wall Annunciation is depicted.

Yilanli Kilise (The Church of the Serpent)

It is a cruciform church with a horseshoe-shaped apse. It has a burial chamber in the north side. There is not enough light inside the church so the visitor might need a flashlight.
West wall; Christ, the judge, flanked by angels, is seated in a mandorla. Below him are the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste in oriental robes and the Twenty-four Elders of the Apocalypse. Below the west wall again, on the left, Day of Reckoning by weighing the Souls, a monster with three heads, and the body of a serpent devouring some of the damned representing the torments of hell. The name of the church derives from this painting. Next to it, on the right, naked women are being assaulted by snakes. One of them is in the coils of eight snakes probably because of her adultery. Another one’s breasts are being gnawed by snakes because she left her children. Others guilty of disobedience and calumny are attacked on the ear and mouth.
To the right of the door of the burial chamber is Entry into Jerusalem. To the left is St. Onesimus.
Apse; Last Supper, Crucifixion.
East wall; At the top is a cross in a halo, on the inclined wall to the left is the Crucifixion (not well preserved) and Visitation. Top of the north face; St. John the Baptist, right hand raised and left hand holding an amulet. Top of the wall, east of the altar; Christ sitting on a rainbow, Christ dressed in red and holding a book surrounded by archangels Michael, Raphael, Gabriel and Uriel.
South wall; Michael and Gabriel on both sides. Below the window is the Dormition, near the cross is the fresco of Constantine and Helena.

Agacalti Kilisesi (The Church under the Tree)

It is a cruciform church with two small aisles and an apse. Due to a few collapses the entrance to the church is from the altar section. In the dome there is a fresco of Christ in a mandorla being carried up to heaven by four angels. It is in primitive style, the faces orange and white with eyes unfocused and empty.
South; Annunciation, Visitation, Joseph, Nativity, Presentation. North; Flight into Egypt, Baptism, Dormition of Mary. West; Daniel in the lions’ den.

IHLARA CANYON (PERISTREMA)

Ihlara Canyon is a deep, narrow river gorge cut through the tufa by the Melendiz River. The river running through the Ihlara Canyon at its lowest level is still contributing to the erosion of it. The canyon runs for 20 km / 12 miles offering one of the most enjoyable trekking routes to those people who can spare the minimum of half a day.
The canyon is approximately 150 m / 500 ft below the ticket office and reached by more than 300 steps. It has to be noted that the way back is not an easy climb. In the canyon there are about 60 churches, monasteries and cells of anchorites. There are a few major churches which are easier to reach.

Derinkuyu Yeralti Kenti (Underground City of Derinkuyu)

The underground city of Derinkuyu which means "deep well", like Kaymakli, is one of the largest. It was opened in 1965. It is 70-85 m / 230-300 ft deep with 53 airshafts. The original ventilation system still functions remarkably well. It is not recommended that visitors having problems of claustrophobia or restricted movement go inside since there are many passageways where one has to squat.
The first two floors under the surface housed a missionary school with two long rock-cut tables, baptismal place, kitchens, storehouses, living quarters, wine cellars and stables. Third and fourth floors were for the tunnels, places to hide and armories. The last floors had water wells, hidden passageways, a church, graves and a confession place.

Kaymakli Yeralti Kenti (Underground City of Kaymakli)

It is one of the largest underground cities in Cappadocia with eight stories. It covers an area of approximately 4 km² / 1.5 sq mi. Visitors can see only about 10% of the city by going down a maximum of five floors. It probably is connected to nearby Derinkuyu. It was opened to visitors in 1964. The population of Kaymakli is thought to have been about 3,000.

YERALTI KENTLERI (UNDERGROUND CITIES)

No one knows when the underground cities of Cappadocia were built, perhaps in Hittite times or as late as the 6C AD. There were certainly underground cities as early as the 5C BC. They are referred to by a 5 and 4C BC Athenian historian Xenophon in his Anabasis. So far 36 underground cities have been discovered some of them being very recent. It is also estimated that most of them are connected to each other. But it is difficult to identify these connections.
The ground consists of the same volcanic tufa. Cappadocians created vast cities which cannot be noticed from the ground level. They carved airshafts as deep as 85 m / 300 ft into the rock and then made holes laterally at different levels in all directions. They hewed an elaborate system of staircases and tunnels to connect all layers to the surface. They dug dwellings, bathrooms, kitchens, dining halls, storage rooms, wine cellars, chapels, graves and suchlike. In times of danger they provided security by rolling big round hard stones across strategic tunnels. Entrances at the surface were also camouflaged.
Today even from some of the modern houses there are man-made holes leading to underground passages most of which are used as cellars.

Zelve Open Air Museum

Zelve was the name of a village which was inhabited until the 1950s in the Zelve Valley. The population of this settlement was moved further away to Yeni Zelve, and Zelve itself was made an open air museum because of the danger of collapse. The museum of Zelve consists of three canyons intersecting at the entrance of the museum. The first canyon on the right is entered through a pathway between the first two canyons passing by the Geyikli Kilise (the Church of the Deer) with paintings of a cross, fish and deer. Figures of fish are frequently used in churches of Cappadocia symbolizing the faithful who were called pisciculi and who became members of the church by being baptized in the piscina (fishpond in L). The acrostic of the Greek word for fish formed the phrase, Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. A cross in a circle with fish on both sides symbolized the faithful people who believed in Jesus Christ.
In the first canyon on the left there is a mosque which was converted from a church. Towards the end of the canyon, two rock faces are honeycombed with caves of dwellings, dovecotes, a monastery, storage rooms, chapels and tunnels leading to the second canyon. It is recommended that visitors not climb up these caves or pass through the tunnels.
A dwelling room with storage bins and stone wheels used for grinding grain and the Uzumlu Kilise (the Church of the Grapes) can be found in the third canyon. Grape juice here represents the blood of Christ.

AVANOS (VENESSA)

It is a small town famous for its pottery and carpets. It is built along the banks of the Kizilirmak (Halys River), the longest river originating and ending within the borders of Turkey; 1,355 km / 842 miles. Halys means "salty river". It originates from the northeast of Central Anatolia (Kizildag 3,025 m / 9,920 ft.) after making a curve, flows into the Black Sea at Bafra Cape. Its water is colored by Cappadocia’s rich deposits of clay, hence Kizilirmak, the Red River.

Tokali Kilise (The Church of the Buckle)

Tokali Kilise, which for convenience is called the "New Church" is the most spectacular of all the rock-cut churches in Cappadocia. The 10C church is different in plan to others in the vicinity, having a transverse nave (Mesopotamian type) with three apses and a narthex hewn out of an earlier church, known as the "Old Church". On the left of the transept is a small chapel and below the floor is a crypt. The most striking feature after entering the church is the dominant bright blue color used in the background of the frescoes. Because it was difficult to obtain, the color blue was very rare in Cappadocia. It was probably taken there from somewhere else which implies its cost. From this it is understood that the church was special among others. In the New Church, the niches in the walls of the nave serve to give a sense of depth and substance to the paintings

Carikli Kilise (The Church of the Sandal)

This is a church with a cruciform nave, two columns, three apses and four domes (one central dome and three cupolas). Its frescos date from the 13C. The name of the church derives from a footprint below the Ascension fresco. The entrance to the church is from the north and the apse is directed to the east.
Three donors are mentioned by their names in frescoes. The way they are dressed in the picture gives the impression that they were not from the upper class but they were probably rich peasants. The fact that there were many donors shows that financing a church was beyond the limits of a single person.

Refectory

In addition to churches, suitably to the monastic lifestyle, there was also a refectory, a dining complex, consisting of three rooms in line, a storehouse, a kitchen and a dining hall with a long table cut from the rock for about 30 people and an apsidal place for the father abbot at the top of the table

Yilanli Kilise (The Church of the Serpent)

This 11C church has a single nave covered by a barrel vault and a small apse on the left after entering. An interesting feature in this church is that the frescoes are framed like icons. The name of the church derives from the serpent in one of the frescoes on the left above the apse. Here, like in the Church of St. Barbara, two soldier saints St. George and St. Theodore are fighting against evil forces in the appearance of a serpent. Next to them is St. Onesimus.
On the right above the apse is another picture showing Constantine the Great and his mother Helena. They are holding the true cross. Constantine is very important in the name of Christianity as he is the emperor who declared Christianity the official religion in 330 AD. Helena was the mother of Constantine. After her conversion to Christianity, she used her position to promote the cause of the faith. She is the subject of many legends and is said to have found the cross of Christ during a trip to the Holy Land after receiving a vision at the age of 80. In art her emblem is the cross.
On the wall opposite the entrance is Jesus Christ. The small figure next to him is probably either the donor of the church or the artist of the painting as found in Italian art.
Opposite the apse are shown three saints, St. Onophrius, St. Thomas and St. Basil the Great. St. Onophrius, with raised hands in a dismissive gesture, was a hermit who spent a life of solitude in the desert in Egypt. He used desert leaves for a loincloth and became the patron saint of weavers. Because of his breasts and the way he is dressed he became a subject of some apocryphal stories according to one of which he was originally a beautiful, lecherous girl who repented of her sins and prayed God to help her. Her prayer was accepted and she woke up one day as an ugly old man.

The Church of St. Barbara

It is an 11C cruciform church with two columns, three apses and a side entrance. According to some sources this church was believed to have come from the Iconoclast period. However considering its plan which is similar to 11C and 12C buildings, it can easily be concluded that this cannot be right. Its name derives from a legendary saint, Barbara. According to legend, Barbara, after becoming a Christian, was shut up and eventually killed by her father. Her father was later punished by being struck by lightning. Barbara was remembered as the patron saint of architects, stonemasons and artillery men. Her attribute is generally a tower with three windows representing the Holy Trinity. St. Barbara is depicted on the north wall.
In the apse Christ, pantocrator is shown enthroned with his right hand in the gesture of blessing. On the wall opposite the entrance are painted two soldier saints on the horseback, St. George and St. Theodore. These two equestrian figures battling against a dragon symbolize the fight between the divine heroes and the forces of evil. St. Theodore was a recruit in the Roman army who was burned to death for setting fire to the Temple of Cybele in Amasya.
The dark colored bird-like creature was believed to represent the evil.
The predominant color in the frescoes of the church is red which was obtained from ocher. The two pits to the left after entering are interpreted as being either baptismal or for wine production.

Kizlar Manastiri (Convent)

The convent to the left of the entrance of the museum is only a ruin today. However, in its heyday, it was a huge complex of more than five floors. The first two floors were used for the kitchen, refectory, nuns’ parlor and storehouses. There was a chapel on the third floor. Large round stones at the gates on the fourth and fifth floors were used for security in times of danger.

Goreme Open Air Museum

Goreme museum consists of steep cliffs and many hidden churches dating from the second half of the 9C and afterwards. Two beautiful churches, Elmali Kilise (The Church of the Apple) is not open to visitors due to deteriorating condition.

UCHISAR (UCHISAR FORTRESS)

Uchisar is the name of a town and the fortress in the town. The name of the town probably derives from the name of the fortress. Uc is "tip", hisar is "fortress" and Uchisar is the "fortress at the tip (of the vicinity)" in Turkish.
This 60-meter-high (200 ft) fortress was not built but carved out of a natural hill dominating the area with a breathtaking view of all the surrounding Cappadocian formations. In the village directly below the fortress are dozens of tufa cones inside of which are hollowed out rooms. Many of these are still in use

Nevsehir

Size
62nd largest city in Turkey
Altitude
1260 m / 4133 ft
Industry
Textiles, flour, wine and fruit juice factories, carpet weaving, pottery
Agriculture
Grain (80%), sugar beet, potatoes, chickpeas, apples, grapes
Animal husbandry
Sheep
History
Byzantine, Seljuk, Ottoman, Turkish Republic
It was called Muskara and the Grand Vizier of the Tulip Period in the Ottoman Empire, Damat Ibrahim Pasa was from this city. He donated to his hometown many hans, kitchens, hamams, medreses and suchlike giving the town a new vision. Since then the town was called Nevsehir which means "new town". "Nev" in Persian means new. At the top of the hill there is a Byzantine castle which was restored many times during Seljuk and Ottoman periods

Churches of Cappadocia

It is estimated that there are more than 600 rock-cut churches in Cappadocia. These churches that people carved were similar in plan to the ones in the capital. Walls were covered with beautiful frescoes and they were also influenced by the Iconoclast period in the 8C and 9C. Most of the frescoes date from the 11C and 12C.
Two different techniques were employed for the frescoes, they were either painted directly on the rock or on a very thin coat of plaster. In churches where it was not plastered over, the painting became extensive. The predominant color of this style was red ocher.
In many pictures it is noted that eyes or faces of people are obliterated as it was believed that this action killed the painted subject in the Islamic period. In addition to this there are also many scratches of vandals’ initials which is strictly forbidden today. The visitor should be reminded that the use of flash with cameras inside the churches is not allowed.
The simplest church had a rectangular vaulted nave with an apse covered by a projecting arch. There are many variations of the churches, some with triple apse and a dome, cross-planned and so on. Because the churches were carved into the rock, they did not need to be supported by columns. Therefore columns and vaults are only structural symbols. Names of the churches are based on their archeological style or decoration, for instance the Buckle or Sandal Church. The apses of the churches face different directions as they are carved in accordance with the natural formations and availability of suitable rock pieces.
In most churches there are many grave pits which are thought to have probably belonged to donors or the church dignitaries as this was the tradition

CAPPADOCIA

Cappadocia (Kapadokya in Turkish) is the ancient and modern name of a remarkable region in Central Anatolia. It is a geological wonderland which is sometimes considered to have covered a triangular area between Kayseri, Nigde and Kirsehir, or more specifically, a smaller triangular area from Urgup to Avanos and to Nevsehir.
Its harsh climate limits agricultural pursuits to growing grain and fruit. Its vast grassland was ideal for raising horses, sheep and other small stock. Silver, copper and salt have been mined.
Cappadocia can be viewed from three different aspects, natural, historical and religious.
The Natural Aspect
The strange but beautiful formation of Cappadocia has had this appearance for millions of years. When the volcanoes in the region were active, the lava which poured out covered all previously formed hills and valleys forming a high plateau. This newly formed plateau consists mainly of tufa and some rare layers of basalt. This is the constructive stage of Cappadocia’s formation. The destruction of the tufa and the basalt layers by erosion (heavy rains and melting snow in spring) and sharp temperature changes has continued for thousands of years and is still in process today. Wind in general has a circling effect while rivers have horizontal and rain vertical effects on the landscape.
The basalt is less affected by erosion when compared to the tufa and has served as a protective cover. This juxtaposition of different materials has produced capped columns, pyramids and conical formations with dark-colored caps known as peribacalari, fairy chimneys. A block of hard rock which resists erosion is left standing alone as the tufa around it is worn away, until it stands at the top of a large cone. A fairy chimney exists until the neck of the cone is eroded and the cap falls off.
History of Cappadocia
During the 19C BC, Old Assyrian traders were established among the numerous native city-states of Cappadocia. Between c.1750-1200 BC, Cappadocia formed the "Lower Land" of the Hittite Kingdom.
The Persians made Cappadocia a satrapy (province), through which passed the famous Persian Royal Road from Sardis to Susa.
Cappadocia avoided submitting to Alexander the Great. After 190 BC Cappadocia was ruled by a native dynasty and the rulers became friendly to Rome. In 17 AD Cappadocia became a Roman province and was joined with the provinces of Galatia under Vespasian in 72 AD. Soon after, under Trajan, it was united with Pontus. The Roman period of Cappadocia continued from the 1C through the 4C AD followed by the Byzantine, Seljuk and Turkish periods.
The monasteries of Cappadocia were abandoned after the arrival of the Turks and later occupied by the local people. Some of the Christian population continued to live here until the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey in 1923.
The Religious Aspect
Christianity came early to Cappadocia. St. Paul passed through Caesarea (today Kayseri) on the way to Ankyra (Ankara). In the 4C AD Cappadocia produced three saints from the area. These are St. Basil the Great from Caesarea, his younger brother St. Gregory of Nysa and St. Gregory Nazianzus. St. Basil the Great was the son of devout parents and received his higher education in Constantinople and Athens but renounced a promising career to become a monk. Impressed by the ascetic life, he settled as a hermit in Cappadocia where he was joined by Gregory of Nazianzus. Basil ably defended the Christian faith among the churches of Anatolia, which had suffered from divisions caused by the Arian controversy. In 370 he succeeded Eusebius as bishop. As a leader who had brilliant organizational skills, Basil established hospitals, fostered monasticism, and reformed the liturgy. His Rule, a code for monastic life, became the basis of eastern monasticism, and the liturgy of St. Basil, probably compiled by him though later revised, is still used on certain Sundays in Orthodox churches.
Anchorites of the Early Church, who sought refuge from the distractions of the world in wild and remote places, chose Cappadocia which led monasticism to develop in the area. They devoted their lives to prayer, penance and fasting, often living in man-made or natural caves. Martyrdom was the ultimate aim of a devout Christian.
After Christianity was accepted as the official religion by Constantine the Great in 330 AD, the days of martyrdom went and a peaceful and secure life did not satisfy these people. The geography of Cappadocia was suitable for people who preferred ascetic lifestyles.
In the 7 and 8C AD when the Arabs began to raid Anatolia, monastic communities had to hide themselves and, where it was geographically easy, dug their underground shelters. In time these shelters developed into large underground cities.