Editing Cappadocia (section)

===Byzantine periods===
[[File:Fresco Agacalti (Ihlara Valley) Church 5.JPG|thumb|right| Ceiling fresco in Daniel Pantonassa Church, [[Ihlara valley|Ihlara Valley]].]]

The [[Early Muslim conquests|Arrival of Muslim Arab armies]] in the mid-seventh century resulted in the breakdown of civil and military order of the Eastern provinces and a colossal displacement of population.{{sfn|Cooper|Decker|2012|page=21}} Cappdocia became a border region of the Byzantine Empire, frequently raided by the Caliphate. From the 7th century, Cappadocia was divided between the [[Anatolic Theme|Anatolic]] and [[Armeniac Theme|Armeniac]] [[Theme (Byzantine district)|themes]].{{sfn|Cooper|Decker|2012|page=21}} The frontier zone between Caeserea (Kayseri) and Melitene became a no-man's land, in which the [[akritai]] and [[ghazis]] fought each other and which is remembered in the epic ''[[Digenes Akritas]]''.{{sfn|Cooper|Decker|2012|pages=24–25,43}} The warfare, consisting of the yearly [[Razzia (military)|razzias]] as well as major campaigns took a heavy toll on the cities and villages, especially on the favourite Arab lines of march.{{sfn|Cooper|Decker|2012|page=23}}

[[File:Arab-Byzantine frontier zone.svg|thumb|Between the 7th and 10th century, Cappadocia was a border region of the Byzantine Empire]]
Cappadocia contains several [[underground city|underground cities]] (see [[Kaymaklı Underground City]]), many of which were dug by Christians to provide protection during the Arab raids and [[persecution of Christians|periods of persecution]].<ref name="Demir"/> The underground cities have vast defence networks of traps throughout their many levels. These traps are very creative, including such devices as large round stones to block doors and holes in the ceiling through which the defenders may drop spears.

Throughout the Dark Ages to the Middle Byzantine period, [[Armenians in the Byzantine Empire|Armenians immigrated in significant numbers]] into Cappadocia, partly due to imperial policies.{{sfn|Cooper|Decker|2012|page=43}} The [[Arab]] historian [[Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani|Abu Al Faraj]] asserts the following about [[Armenian people|Armenian]] settlers in [[Sivas|Sebasteia]], during the 10th century:

<blockquote>
They [the Armenians] were assigned the Sebaste (now Siwas) district of Cappadocia. Their number grew to such an extent that they became valuable auxiliaries to the imperial armies. They were employed to garrison the fortresses reconquered from the Arabs (probably Membedj, Dolouk, etc.). They formed excellent infantry for the armies of Basileus in all wars, constantly fighting with courage and success alongside the Romans.<ref>{{cite book
 |last=Schlumberger
 |first=Gustave Léon
 |author-link=Gustave Schlumberger
 |year=1890
 |title=Un empereur byzantin au dixième siècle, Nicéphore Phocas
 |url=https://archive.org/details/unempereurbyzant00schluoft/page/250/mode/2up
 |location=Paris
 |publisher=Firmin-Didot
 |pages=250–251
}}</ref>
</blockquote>

As a result of the Byzantine military campaigns and the [[Great Seljuq Empire|Seljuk]] invasion of Armenia, the Armenians spread into Cappadocia and eastward from [[Cilicia]] into the mountainous areas of northern [[Syria]] and [[Mesopotamia]], and the [[Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia]] was eventually formed. This immigration was increased further after the decline of the local imperial power and the establishment of the [[Crusader States]] following the [[Fourth Crusade]]. To the crusaders, Cappadocia was ''terra Hermeniorum'', the land of the Armenians, due to the large number of Armenians settled there.<ref name="The Crusades and the Christian World of the East: Rough Tolerance">{{cite book | last = MacEvitt | first = Christopher | title = The Crusades and the Christian World of the East: Rough Tolerance | url = https://archive.org/details/crusadeschristia00mace | url-access = limited | publisher = University of Pennsylvania Press |year= 2008 | location = Philadelphia | page = [https://archive.org/details/crusadeschristia00mace/page/n64 56]| isbn = 9780812240504 }}</ref>

In the 9th–11th centuries, the region comprised the themes of [[Charsianon]] with its capital at the eponymous city and [[Cappadocia (theme)|Cappadocia]], which had first its capital in [[Nyssa (Cappadocia)|Nyssa]] and then at Koron, after Nyssa had been sacked by the Arabs in 838.{{sfn|Cooper|Decker|2012|page=22}} By the mid-tenth century, the region was again reorganised as much of the no-men's land was resettled, especially around the area of Larissa, [[Tzamandos]], and [[Lykandos]].{{sfn|Cooper|Decker|2012|page=22}} After the Byzantine reconquests in the East finished, Cappadocia was again removed from the frontier and an increasingly demilitarised region in the eleventh century.{{sfn|Cooper|Decker|2012|page=31}}
[[File:Turkey-1879 (2215894943).jpg|thumb|left|Frescos inside [[Churches of Göreme|Tokali Kilise]], "Church of the Buckle".]]