Editing Cappadocia

{{short description|Historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey}}
{{other uses|Cappadocia (disambiguation)|Cappadocian (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Cappadocia
| native_name        = 
| native_name_lang   = <!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead -->
| settlement_type    = Ancient region of [[Central Anatolia Region]], [[Turkey]]
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image|total_width=270px|perrow=1/2/2/2|border=infobox
| image1                          = Cappadocia balloon trip, Ortahisar Castle (11893715185).jpg
| alt1                            = 
| image2                          = Cappadocia Aerial View (6998755984).jpg
| alt2                            = 
| image3                          = Uçhisar, Cappadocia 01.jpg
| alt3                            = 
| image4                          = Göreme Open Air Museum (cropped) (cropped)2.jpg
| alt4                            = 
| image5                          = Wild horses1 (cropped).jpg
| alt5                            = 
| image6                          = Ihlara Valley - panoramio (31).jpg
| alt6                            = 
| image7                          = Rose Valley, Cappadocia - Kızılçukur Vadisi, Kapadokya 08 (cropped).jpg
| alt7                            = 
}}
| image_alt          = 
| image_caption      = '''Clockwise from top:''' [[Ortahisar, Nevşehir|Ortahisar Castle]], View of [[Uçhisar|Uçhisar Castle]], [[Mount Erciyes]], Rose Valley, [[Ihlara valley|Ihlara Valley]], [[Göreme Historical National Park|Göreme Open Air Museum]], Aerial view over Cappadocia
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| image_map          = Asia Minor in the Greco-Roman period - general map - regions and main settlements.jpg
| map_caption        = Cappadocia among the classical regions of [[Anatolia]] (Asia Minor)
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| coordinates        = {{Coord|38|39|30|N|34|51|13|E|region:TR|display=title}}
| coordinates_footnotes = 
| subdivision_type   = [[Satrap|Persian satrapy]]
| subdivision_name   = [[Cappadocia (satrapy)|Katpatuka]]
| subdivision_type1  = [[Roman provinces|Roman province]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Cappadocia (Roman province)|Cappadocia]]
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{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| WHS         = [[Göreme|Göreme National Park]] and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia
| Image       = Monks_Valley.jpg
| Criteria    = Cultural: i, iii, v; Natural: vii
| ID          = 357
| Year        = 1985
| Area        = 9,883.81 ha
| Includes    = [[Göreme|Göreme National Park]], [[Kaymakli Underground City]], [[Derinkuyu underground city]]
}}

'''Cappadocia''' ({{IPAc-en|k|æ|p|ə|ˈ|d|oʊ|ʃ|ə|,|_|-|ˈ|d|oʊ|k|i|ə}}; {{langx|tr|Kapadokya}}, from {{langx|grc|Καππαδοκία}}) is a historical region in [[Central Anatolia region]], [[Turkey]]. It is largely in the provinces of [[Nevşehir Province|Nevşehir]], [[Kayseri Province|Kayseri]], [[Aksaray Province|Aksaray]], [[Kırşehir Province|Kırşehir]], [[Sivas Province|Sivas]] and [[Niğde Province|Niğde]]. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in [[Nevşehir Province|Nevşehir]] province.

According to [[Herodotus]], in the time of the [[Ionian Revolt]] (499 BC), the Cappadocians were reported as occupying a region from the [[Taurus Mountains]] to the vicinity of the Euxine ([[Black Sea]]).<ref>[Herodotus, The Histories, Book 5, Chapter 49]</ref> Cappadocia, in this sense, was bounded in the south by the chain of mountains that separate it from [[Cilicia]], to the east by the upper [[Euphrates]], to the north by the [[Pontus (region)|Pontus]], and to the west by [[Lycaonia]] and eastern [[Galatia]].<ref name="books.google.com">
Van Dam, R.  ''Kingdom of Snow: Roman rule and Greek culture in Cappadocia.'' Philadelphia: [[University of Pennsylvania Press]], 2002, p.13. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Iskwzsz51KMC]
</ref>

The name, traditionally used in [[Christianity|Christian]] sources throughout history, continues in use as an international [[Tourism in Turkey|tourism]] concept to define a region of exceptional natural wonders, in particular characterized by [[Hoodoo (geology)|fairy chimneys]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Demir |first1=Ömer |title=Cappadocia: Cradle of History |date=1997 |publisher=Azim Matbaacılık |location=16 |language=English|pages=15|quote=History, nature and mankind have created many important wonders in Cappadocia: 1- The unique natural landscape, include fairy chimneys, rock formations and valleys. 2- The rock-hewn churches decorated with frescoes from the 6th-12th C of scenes from the Bible, especially the lives of Jesus, Mother Mary and saints. 3- The underground settlements many consider to by the 8th wonder of the ancient world.}}</ref> in addition to its religious heritage of being a centre of [[Early Christianity|early Christian]] learning, evidenced by hundreds of churches and monasteries (such as those of [[Churches of Göreme|Göreme]] and [[Ihlara valley#Churches|Ihlara]]), as well as underground cities that were dug to offer protection during [[Persecution of Christians|periods of persecution]].<ref name="Demir1997">{{cite book |last1=Demir |first1=Ömer |title=Cappadocia: Cradle of History |date=1997 |publisher=Azim Matbaacılık |location=16 |language=English|pages=11–15, 70}}</ref><ref name="Demir">{{cite book |last1=Demir |first1=Ömer |title=Cappadocia: Cradle of History |date=1997 |publisher=Azim Matbaacılık |location=16 |language=English|pages=70|quote=However, the longest working and living period was the century when underground cities in Cappadocia were dug by Christians who could not bear Arabic and Sassanid threat after Capadocia was conquered … It is clearly visible in some underground cities in Cappadocia that the rooms located near the entrance are profoundly different from those that are inside. Saratli and Özlüce underground cities are given as an example regarding these differences.}}</ref>

==Etymology==
[[Image:AciksarayFassade.jpg|thumb|upright|Facade of an ancient church called Açık Saray, literally meaning "Open Palace", carved into the valley walls in [[Gülşehir]], Cappadocia.]]

The earliest record of the name of Cappadocia ({{IPAc-en|k|æ|p|ə|ˈ|d|oʊ|ʃ|ə|,|_|-|ˈ|d|oʊ|k|i|ə}}; {{langx|tr|Kapadokya}}; {{langx|grc|Καππαδοκία|Kappadokía}}, {{langx|syc|ܩܦܘܕܩܝܐ|Kəp̄uḏoqyā}}, from {{langx|peo|𐎣𐎫𐎱𐎬𐎢𐎣}} {{Transliteration|peo|Katpatuka}}; {{langx|hit|𒅗𒋫𒁉𒁕|Katapeda}}; {{langx|hy|Կապադովկիա, |Kapadovkia}}) dates from the late sixth century BC, when it appears in the trilingual inscriptions of two early [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid emperors]], [[Darius the Great]] and [[Xerxes I]], as one of the countries ([[Old Persian]] ''dahyu-''). In these lists of countries, the Old Persian name is ''Katpatuka''. It was proposed that ''Kat-patuka'' came from the [[Luwian language]], meaning "Low Country".<ref>Coindoz M. Archeologia / Préhistoire et archéologie, n°241, 1988, pp. 48–59</ref>

Subsequent research suggests that the adverb ''katta'' meaning 'down, below' is exclusively [[Hittite language|Hittite]], while its Luwian equivalent is ''zanta''.<ref>Petra Goedegebuure, "The Luwian Adverbs ''zanta'' 'down' and *ānni 'with, for, against'", ''Acts of the VIIIth International Congress of Hittitology'', A. Süel (ed.), Ankara 2008, pp. 299–319.</ref> Therefore, the recent modification of this proposal operates with the Hittite ''katta peda-'', literally "place below" as a starting point for the development of the [[toponymy|toponym]] Cappadocia.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Yakubovich|first=Ilya|year=2014|editor-last=Kozuh|editor-first=M.|title=From Lower Land to Cappadocia|url=https://www.academia.edu/6798289|journal=Extraction and Control: Studies in Honor of Matthew W. Stolper|publisher=Oriental Institute|location=Chicago|pages=347–52}}</ref>

The earlier derivation from Iranian ''Hu-apa-dahyu'' 'Land of good horses' can hardly be reconciled with the phonetic shape of ''Kat-patuka''. Several other etymologies have also been offered in the past.<ref>See R. Schmitt, "Kappadoker", in ''Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie'', vol. 5 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1980), p. 399, and L. Summerer, "Amisos – eine Griechische Polis im Land der Leukosyrer", in: M. Faudot et al. (eds.), ''Pont-Euxin et polis. Actes du Xe Symposium de Vani'' (2005), 129–66 [135] According to an older theory (W. Ruge, "Kappadokia", in A.F. Pauly – G. Wissowa, ''[[Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft]]'', vol. 10 (Stuttgart: Alfred Druckenmüller, 1919), col. 1911), the name derives from Old Persian and means either "land of the ''Ducha''/''Tucha''" or "land of the beautiful horses". It has also been proposed that ''Katpatuka'' is a Persianized form of the [[Hittite language|Hittite]] name for Cilicia, ''Kizzuwatna'', or that it is otherwise of Hittite or Luwian origin (by Tischler and Del Monte, mentioned in Schmitt (1980)). According to A. Room, ''Placenames of the World'' (London: MacFarland and Company, 1997), the name is a combination of [[Akkadian language|Assyrian]] ''katpa'' "side" (cf. Heb ''katef'') and a chief or ancestor's name, ''Tuka''.</ref>

[[Herodotus]] wrote that the name of the Cappadocians was applied to them by the [[Persia]]ns, while they were termed by the [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]] "White Syrians" (''[[Leucosyri]]''),{{sfn|Bunbury|Hogarth|1911|p=286}} who were most probably descendants of the [[Hittites]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Janse |first1=Mark |title=The resurrection of Cappadocian (Asia Minor Greek)|journal=ΑΩ International |date=2009 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294141546}}</ref> One of the Cappadocian tribes he mentions is the [[Mushki|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.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

[[File:Turkey-1864 (2216687352).jpg|thumb|right|Fresco of [[Christ Pantocrator]] on the ceiling of Karanlık Kilise [[Churches of Göreme]].]]
Cappadocia appears in the [[Christian Bible|biblical]] account given in the book of {{bibleverse||Acts|2:9|!}}. The Cappadocians were named as one group (among "Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia")<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Acts 2 NIV |url=https://biblehub.com/niv/acts/2.htm |access-date=2022-11-02 |website=biblehub.com}}</ref> hearing the [[Gospel]] account from [[Galilee|Galileans]] in their own language on the day of [[Pentecost]] shortly after the [[Death and resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]] of [[Jesus]] Christ. {{bibleverse||Acts|2:5|!}} states "Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven," seeming to suggest that some of the Cappadocians were [[History of the Jews in Turkey|Jews]], or part of the diaspora of Jews present in Jerusalem at the time.<ref name=":0" />

The region is also mentioned in the Jewish [[Mishnah]], in [[Ketubot]] 13:11, and in several places in the [[Talmud]], including [[Yevamot]] 121a, [[Hullin]] 47b.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sefaria.org/Chullin.47b.5 | title=Chullin 47b:5 }}</ref>

Under the later kings of the Persian Empire, the Cappadocians were divided into two [[satrapy|satrapies]], or governments, with one comprising the central and inland portion, to which the name of Cappadocia continued to be applied by [[History of geography#Ancient geography|Greek geographers]], while the other was called [[Pontus (region)|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.{{sfn|Bunbury|Hogarth|1911|pp=286–287}}

The kingdom of Cappadocia still existed in the time of [[Strabo]] ({{Circa|64 BC|AD 24}}) as a nominally independent state. [[Cilicia]] was the name given to the district in which [[Caesarea Mazaca|Caesarea]], the capital of the whole country, was situated. The only two cities of Cappadocia considered by Strabo to deserve that appellation were [[Caesarea Mazaca|Caesarea]] (originally known as [[Mazaca]]) and [[Tyana]], not far from the foot of the [[Taurus Mountains|Taurus]].{{sfn|Bunbury|Hogarth|1911|p=287}}

==Geography and climate==
[[File:Uchisar Castle.jpg|thumb|Fairy chimneys in [[Uçhisar]], Cappadocia.]]
Cappadocia lies in eastern [[Anatolia]], in the heartland of what is now Turkey. The relief consists of a high plateau over 1000 m in altitude that is pierced by volcanic peaks, with [[Mount Erciyes]] (ancient Argaeus) near [[Kayseri]] (ancient Caesarea) being the tallest at {{Nowrap|3916 m}}. The boundaries of historical Cappadocia are vague, particularly towards the west. To the south, the Taurus Mountains form the boundary with [[Cilicia]] and separate Cappadocia from the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. To the west, Cappadocia is bounded by the historical regions of Lycaonia to the southwest, and [[Galatia]] to the northwest. Due to its inland location and high altitude, Cappadocia has a markedly continental climate, with hot dry summers and cold snowy winters.<ref>Van Dam, R. ''Kingdom of Snow: Roman rule and Greek culture in Cappadocia.'' Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002, p.14. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Iskwzsz51KMC]</ref> Rainfall is sparse and the region is largely semi-arid.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

Cappadocia contained the sources of the [[Seyhan River|Sarus]] and [[Ceyhan River|Pyramus]] rivers with their higher affluents, and also the middle course of the [[Kızılırmak River|Halys]], and the whole course of the tributary of the [[Euphrates]] later called Tokhma Su. But as no one of these rivers was navigable or served to fertilize the lands along its course, none has much importance in the history of the province.{{sfn|Bunbury|Hogarth|1911|p=287}}

==Geology==
[[Ignimbrite]]s of [[Miocene]] age are present within the area.

===IUGS geological heritage site===
In respect of the 'voluminous eruption deposits in a fluvio-lacustrine sequence with 'fairy-chimney' development produced by uplift and erosion', the [[International Union of Geological Sciences]] (IUGS) included 'The Miocene Cappadocian ignimbrites sequence' in its assemblage of 100 'geological heritage sites' around the world in a listing published in October 2022. The organisation defines an IUGS Geological Heritage Site as 'a key place with geological elements and/or processes of international scientific relevance, used as a reference, and/or with a substantial contribution to the development of geological sciences through history.'<ref>{{cite web |title=The First 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites |url=https://iugs-geoheritage.org/videos-pdfs/iugs_first_100_book_v2.pdf |website=IUGS International Commission on Geoheritage |publisher=IUGS |access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref>

==History==
===Ancient history===
{{see also|Cappadocia (satrapy)|List of rulers of Cappadocia}}
{{multiple image
| title             = Achaemenid Cappadocia
| align             = right
| caption_align     = center
| total_width       = 400
| image1            = Xerxes I tomb Cappadocian soldier circa 470 BCE cleaned up.jpg
| caption1          = Cappadocian soldier of the [[Achaemenid army]] circa 470 BC. [[Xerxes I]] tomb relief.
| image2            = Achaemenid Cappadocia.jpg
| caption2          = Location of Achaemenid Cappadocia.<ref>[[:File:Map of the Achaemenid Empire.jpg|Map of the Achaemenid Empire]]</ref>
}}

Cappadocia was known as [[Hittite empire|Hatti]] in the late [[Bronze Age]], and was the homeland of the [[Hittites|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 [[Lydia]]n king [[Croesus]] in the 6th century BC, Cappadocia was ruled by a sort of [[feudal]] aristocracy, dwelling in strong castles and keeping the peasants in a servile condition, which later made them apt to foreign slavery. It was included in the third [[Persian Empire|Persian]] [[satrap]]y in the division established by [[Darius I of Persia|Darius]] but continued to be governed by rulers of its own, none apparently supreme over the whole country and all more or less tributaries of the [[Great King]].{{sfn|Bunbury|Hogarth|1911|p=287}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wDcd41aCRLQC&q=Cappadocia+was+known+as+Hatti+in+the+late+Bronze+Age,+and+was+the+homeland+of+the+Hittite+power+centred+at+Hattusa.&pg=PA282|title=Natural Heritage from East to West: Case studies from 6 EU countries|date=2010-01-19|isbn=9783642015779|last1=Evelpidou|first1=Niki|last2=Figueiredo|first2=Tomás|last3=Mauro|first3=Francesco|last4=Tecim|first4=Vahap|last5=Vassilopoulos|first5=Andreas|publisher=Springer }}</ref>

===Kingdom of Cappadocia===
{{main|Kingdom of Cappadocia}}
After ending the Persian Empire, [[Alexander the Great]] tried to rule the area through one of his military commanders. But [[Ariarathes I of Cappadocia|Ariarathes]], previously satrap of the region, declared himself king of the Cappadocians. As Ariarathes I (332–322&nbsp;BC), he was a successful ruler, and he extended the borders of the Cappadocian Kingdom as far as to the [[Black Sea]]. The kingdom of Cappadocia lived in peace until the death of Alexander. The previous empire was then divided into many parts, and Cappadocia fell to [[Eumenes]]. His claims were made good in 322&nbsp;BC by the regent [[Perdiccas]], who crucified Ariarathes; but in the dissensions which brought about Eumenes's death, [[Ariarathes II of Cappadocia|Ariarathes II]], the adopted son of Ariarathes I, recovered his inheritance and left it to a line of successors, who mostly bore the name of the founder of the [[List of rulers of Cappadocia|dynasty]].{{sfn|Bunbury|Hogarth|1911|p=287}}

Persian colonists in the Cappadocian kingdom, cut off from their co-religionists in Iran proper, continued to practice [[Zoroastrianism]]. [[Strabo]], observing them in the first century BC, records (XV.3.15) that these "fire kindlers" possessed many "holy places of the Persian Gods", as well as [[fire temple]]s.<ref name="books.google.nl">Mary Boyce. [https://books.google.com/books?id=a6gbxVfjtUEC&dq=armenians+zoroastrianism+christianity&pg=PA84 ''Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices''] Psychology Press, 2001 {{ISBN|978-0415239028}} p. 85</ref> Strabo furthermore relates, were "noteworthy enclosures; and in their midst there is an altar, on which there is a large quantity of ashes and where the magi keep the fire ever burning."<ref name="books.google.nl"/> According to Strabo, who wrote during the time of [[Augustus]] ({{Reign|27 BC|AD 14}}), almost three hundred years after the fall of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, there remained only traces of Persians in western [[Asia Minor]]; however, he considered Cappadocia "almost a living part of Persia".{{sfn|Raditsa|1983|page=107}}

Under [[Ariarathes IV of Cappadocia|Ariarathes&nbsp;IV]], Cappadocia came into relations with [[Roman Republic|Rome]], first as a foe espousing the cause of [[Antiochus III the Great|Antiochus the Great]], then as an ally against [[Perseus of Macedon]]. The kings henceforward threw in their lot with the Republic as against the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucids]], to whom they had been from time to time tributary. [[Ariarathes V of Cappadocia|Ariarathes&nbsp;V]] marched with the Roman [[proconsul]] [[Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus]] against [[Eumenes III|Aristonicus]], a claimant to the throne of [[Pergamon]], and their forces were annihilated (130&nbsp;BC). The imbroglio which followed his death ultimately led to interference by the rising power of [[Pontus (region)|Pontus]] and the intrigues and wars which ended in the failure of the dynasty.{{sfn|Bunbury|Hogarth|1911|p=287}}<ref>The coinage of Cappadocian kings was quite extensive and produced by highest standards of the time. See [http://www.asiaminorcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=288 Asia Minor Coins – regal Cappadocian coins]</ref>

===Roman and early Christian period===
{{main|Cappadocia (Roman province)}}
[[File:Tyana, Cappadocia, Turkey (23777522658).jpg|thumb|Ancient city of [[Tyana]], Cappadocia]]
[[File:Orophernes of Cappadocia.jpg|thumb|left|King [[Orophernes of Cappadocia]].]]
The Cappadocians, supported by Rome against [[Mithridates VI of Pontus]], elected a native lord, [[Ariobarzanes I Philoromaios of Cappadocia|Ariobarzanes]], to succeed (93&nbsp;BC); but in the same year [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenian]] troops under [[Tigranes the Great]] entered Cappadocia, dethroned king Ariobarzanes and crowned [[Gordius of Cappadocia|Gordios]] as the new [[Client state|client-king]] of Cappadocia, thus creating a buffer zone against the encroaching Romans. It was not until Rome had deposed the Pontic and Armenian kings that the rule of Ariobarzanes was established (63&nbsp;BC). In the civil wars Cappadocia was first for [[Pompey]], then for [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]], then for [[Mark Antony|Antony]], and finally, [[Augustus|Octavian]]. The Ariobarzanes dynasty came to an end, a Cappadocian nobleman [[Archelaus of Cappadocia|Archelaus]] was given the throne, by favour first of Antony and then of Octavian, and maintained tributary independence until AD&nbsp;17, when the emperor [[Tiberius]], whom he had angered, summoned him to Rome and reduced Cappadocia to a Roman province.{{sfn|Bunbury|Hogarth|1911|pp=287–288}}

In 70 AD, [[Vespasian]] joined [[Lesser Armenia|Armenia Minor]] to Cappadocia, and made the combined province a frontier bulwark. It remained, under various provincial redistributions, part of the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Empire]] for centuries.{{sfn|Bunbury|Hogarth|1911|p=288}} In 314, Cappadocia was the largest province of the Roman Empire, and was part of the [[Diocese of Pontus]].{{sfn|Mitchell|2018|page=290}} In 371, the western part of the Cappadocia province was divided into ''Cappadocia Prima'', with its capital at Caesarea (modern-day Kayseri); and ''Cappadocia Secunda'', with its capital at [[Tyana]].{{sfn|Mitchell|2018|page=290}} By 386, the region to the east of Caesarea had become part of ''Armenia Secunda'', while the northeast had become part of ''Armenia Prima''.{{sfn|Mitchell|2018|page=290}} Cappadocia largely consisted of major estates, owned by the Roman emperors or wealthy local families.{{sfn|Mitchell|2018|page=290}} The Cappadocian provinces became more important in the latter part of the 4th century, as the Romans were involved with the [[Sasanian Empire]] over control of [[Mesopotamia]] and "Armenia beyond the Euphrates".{{sfn|Mitchell|2018|page=290}} Cappadocia, now well into the Roman era, still retained a significant [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] character; Stephen Mitchell notes that "many inhabitants of Cappadocia were of [[Persian people|Persian]] descent and Iranian fire worship is attested as late as 465"{{Sfn|Mitchell|2018|page=290}} and the area also contained a sizeable Armenian population since antiquity.{{sfn|Cooper|Decker|2012|page=43}} For most of the [[Byzantine]] era it remained relatively undisturbed by the conflicts in the area with the Sasanian Empire, but the [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628|Persian Wars of the 610s and 620s]] placed Cappadocia on the frontline for the first time since the first century.{{sfn|Cooper|Decker|2012|page=21}}

The exact date of arrival of Christianity in uncertain, but latest from the third century it was firmly established in society and the Church was fully developed.{{sfn|Cooper|Decker|2012|page=139}} The [[Cappadocian Fathers]] of the 4th century were integral to much of early [[Christian philosophy]]. It also produced, among other people, [[John of Cappadocia]], [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]] from 517 to 520, and [[Macrina the Younger|Macrina]], an early champion of women's monasticism.{{sfn|Cooper|Decker|2012|page=184}} The region suffered [[famine]] in 368 described as "the most severe ever remembered" by [[Gregory of Nazianzus]]:

[[File:Göreme-12.jpg|thumb|left|An early Christian [[Hermitage (religious retreat)|hermitage]] in Cappadocia]]
<blockquote>The city was in distress and there was no source of assistance [...] The hardest part of all such distress is the insensibility and insatiability of those who possess supplies [...] Such are the buyers and sellers of corn [...] by his word and advice [<nowiki />[[Basil of Caesarea|Basil's]]<nowiki />] open the stores of those who possessed them, and so, according to the Scripture, dealt food to the hungry and satisfied the poor with bread [...] He gathered together the victims of the famine [...] and obtaining contributions of all sorts of food which can relieve famine, set before them basins of soup and such meat as was found preserved among us, on which the poor live [...] Such was our young furnisher of corn, and second [[Joseph (Genesis)|Joseph]] [...] [But unlike Joseph, Basil's] services were gratuitous and his succour of the famine gained no profit, having only one object, to win kindly feelings by kindly treatment, and to gain by his rations of corn the heavenly blessings.<ref name="ReferenceA">The Hungry are Dying: Beggars and Bishops in Roman Cappadocia by Susan R. Holman</ref></blockquote>

This is similar to another account by [[Gregory of Nyssa]] that [[Basil of Caesarea|Basil]] "ungrudgingly spent upon the poor his patrimony even before he was a priest, and most of all in the time of the famine, during which [Basil] was a ruler of the Church, though still a priest in the rank of presbyters; and afterwards did not hoard even what remained to him".<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Basil also famously constructed near Caeserea the [[Basileias]], a vast complex with hospices for sick, churches, quarters for travellers and facilities for doctors and nurses.{{sfn|Cooper|Decker|2012|pages=30,161}}

===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".]]

===Turkish Cappadocia===

Following the [[Battle of Manzikert]] in 1071, various [[Turkish people|Turkish]] [[clans]] under the leadership of the [[Seljuk dynasty|Seljuks]] began settling in [[Anatolia]]. With the rise of Turkish power in Anatolia, Cappadocia slowly became a tributary to the Turkish states that were established to the east and to the west; some of the native population converted to Islam<ref name="DH in Asia Minor">{{cite book|last=Vryonis|first=Speros|year=1971|title=The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the Process of Islamization from the Eleventh through the Fifteenth Century|location=Berkeley, CA|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-52-001597-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wBpIAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> with the rest forming the remaining [[Cappadocian Greeks|Cappadocian Greek]] population. 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 successive Turkic ruled states: the [[Karaman]]-based [[Bey]]lik of [[Karamanids|Karaman]] and then the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Cappadocia remained part of the Ottoman Empire until 1922, when it became part of the modern state of [[History of Turkey|Turkey]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

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]], ''[[Karamanli Turkish|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 [[Rûm|Eastern Roman]] Greek is known as ''[[Cappadocian Greek]]''. Following the foundation of Turkey in 1922, those who still identified with this pre-Islamic culture of Cappadocia were [[population exchange between Greece and Turkey|required to leave]], so this language is now only spoken by a handful of their descendants, most now located in modern Greece.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

==Modern tourism==
{{see also|Rock-cut architecture of Cappadocia}}
[[Image:Dere Suites Cappadocia.jpg|thumb|left|Cappadocia is famous for traditional cave hotels.]]

The area is a popular tourist destination, as it has many areas with unique geological, historic, cultural, and religious features. Touristic Cappadocia includes four cities: [[Nevşehir]], [[Kayseri]], [[Aksaray]] and [[Niğde]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

The region is located southwest of the major city [[Kayseri]], which has [[airline]] and [[Turkish State Railways|railway]] service to [[Ankara]] and [[Istanbul]] and other cities.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

The most important towns and destinations in Cappadocia are [[Ürgüp]], [[Göreme]], [[Love Valley, Cappadocia|Love Valley]], [[Ihlara valley|Ihlara Valley]], [[Selime, Güzelyurt|Selime]], Güzelyurt, [[Uçhisar]], [[Avanos]] and Zelve.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

Sedimentary rocks formed in lakes and streams and [[ignimbrite]] deposits that erupted from ancient volcanoes approximately nine to {{Nowrap|three million}} years ago, during the late [[Miocene]] to [[Pliocene]] epochs, underlie the Cappadocia region. The rocks of Cappadocia near Göreme eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars and [[minaret]]-like forms. People of the villages at the heart of the Cappadocia region carved out houses, churches and monasteries from the soft rocks of volcanic deposits. Göreme became a Christian monastic centre in 300–1200&nbsp;AD. The Yusuf Koç, Ortahane, Durmus Kadir and Bezirhane churches in Göreme, and houses and churches carved into rocks in the Uzundere, Bağıldere and Zemi Valleys, all evidence Cappadocia as a centre of early Christian learning and are thus a place of pilgrimage. The [[Göreme Open Air Museum]] is the most visited site of the Christian monastic communities in Cappadocia (see [[Churches of Göreme]] and [[Churches of the Ihlara Valley]]) and is one of the most famous sites in central Turkey. The complex contains more than 30 carved-from-rock churches and [[chapel]]s, some having superb [[fresco]]es inside, dating from the ninth century to the eleventh century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Demir |first1=Ömer |title=Cappadocia: Cradle of History |date=1997 |publisher=Azim Matbaacılık |location=16 |language=English|pages=19|quote=The Christians taking shelter in the valleys of Göreme because of Arab raids, named this place 'gor emi' meaning 'you cannot see this place'. The name was changed to Korama and then to Göreme. With its very interesting fairy chimneys and the rock-cut churches, the valley of Avcılar, 17 km from Nevşehir and 6 cm from Ürgüp, attracts travellers' attention. St Paul considered Göreme to be more suitable for the training of missionaries. There are about 400 churches in the vicinity of Göreme which was one of the most important centres of Christianity between the 6th and the 9th C, including churches found in and around Zelve, Mustafapaşa, Avcılar, Uçhisar, Ortahisar and Çavuşin.}}</ref>

The three main castles in Cappadocia are [[Uçhisar]] Castle, [[Ortahisar, Nevşehir|Ortahisar]] Castle, and [[Ürgüp]] Kadıkalesi (Temenni Tepe). Among the most visited underground cities are [[Derinkuyu Underground City|Derinkuyu]], [[Kaymakli Underground City|Kaymakli]], Gaziemir and [[Özkonak Underground City|Ozkonak]]. The best historic mansions and cave houses for tourist stays are in [[Ürgüp]], [[Göreme]], [[Güzelyurt]] and [[Uçhisar]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

[[Hot-air balloon]]ing is very popular in Cappadocia and is available in Göreme. [[Backpacking (wilderness)|Trekking]] is practised in Ihlara Valley, Monastery Valley ([[Güzelyurt]]), [[Ürgüp]] and [[Göreme]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}
[[File:Goreme banner2.jpg|none|thumb|512x512px|Hot air ballons]]

==Mesothelioma==
In 1975, a study of three small villages in central Cappadocia—Tuzköy, Karain and Sarıhıdır—found that [[mesothelioma]] was causing 50% of all deaths. Initially, this was attributed to [[erionite]], a [[zeolite]] mineral with similar properties to [[asbestos]], but detailed epidemiological investigation demonstrated that the substance causes the disease mostly in families with a genetic predisposition to mineral fiber carcinogenesis. The studies are being extended to other parts of the region.<ref>{{cite journal |last = Dogan |first = Umran |s2cid = 110334356 | title = Mesothelioma in Cappadocian villages | journal = Indoor and Built Environment | volume = 12 | issue = 6 | pages = 367–75 | publisher = Sage | location = Ankara | year = 2003 | doi = 10.1177/1420326X03039065 | issn= 1420-326X}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Carbone | first = Michelle | s2cid = 9440201 | title = A mesothelioma epidemic in Cappadocia: scientific developments and unexpected social outcomes | journal = [[Nature Reviews Cancer]] | volume = 7 | issue = 2 | pages = 147–54 | year = 2007 | doi = 10.1038/nrc2068 | issn= 1474-175X | pmid = 17251920 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>

==Media==
{{stack|[[File:Cappadocia 4K - TURKEY.webm|thumb|upright=1.2|A video showing all the different landscapes and terrain of [[Göreme]] and Cappadocia]]}}
The area was featured in several films due to its topography. The 1983 Italian/French/Turkish film ''[[Yor, the Hunter from the Future]]'' and 1985's ''[[Land of Doom]]'' were filmed in Cappadocia. The region was used for the 1989 science fiction film ''[[Slipstream (1989 film)|Slipstream]]'' to depict a cult of wind worshippers. In 2010 and early 2011, the film ''[[Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance]]'' was also filmed in the Cappadocia region.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://spiritofvengeance.com/?tag%3Dcappadocia |title=Cappadocia « the Spirits of Vengeance |access-date=2012-06-18 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120253/http://spiritofvengeance.com/?tag=cappadocia |archive-date=2014-08-26 }}</ref>

[[Autechre]]'s second album, [[Amber (Autechre album)|Amber]], features a photo of this region's fairy mountains as the [[cover art]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/12edit/autechre-amber-story-behind-the-artwork-13207d77f70a|title=Autechre — Amber. Short story behind the artwork|work=12edit|date=9 February 2018|access-date=15 May 2019|last=Palladev|first=George}}</ref> being their only album whose cover isn't computer-generated.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

Cappadocia's winter landscapes and broad panoramas are prominent in the 2014 film ''[[Winter Sleep (film)|Winter Sleep]]'' (Turkish: Kış Uykusu), directed by [[Nuri Bilge Ceylan]], which won the [[Palme d'Or]] at the 2014 [[Cannes Film Festival]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/112394/winter-sleep-cannes-winner/|title=Winter Sleep: Can a Three-Hour-Plus Prize-Winner Be Just Pretty Good?|last=Corliss|first=Richard|magazine=Time|access-date=2017-08-15}}</ref>

The 2011 video game ''[[Assassin's Creed Revelations]]'' features the city as a major location, where the protagonist [[Ezio Auditore]] travels to in a bid to stop the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] [[Templars]] and their operations, kill [[Manuel Palaiologos]] and recover the final [[Masyaf]] key.

==Sports==
Since 2012, a [[multiday race|multiday]] [[track running]] [[ultramarathon]] of desert concept, called [[Runfire Cappadocia Ultramarathon]], is held annually in July. The race tours {{convert|244|km|mi|abbr=on}} in six days through several places across Cappadocia reaching out to [[Lake Tuz]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.icvbbulletin.org/index.php/turkey-news/838-elite-athletes-to-run-at-the-runfire-cappadocia |newspaper=Istanbul Convention & Visitors Bureau |title=Elite Athletes to run at The Runfire Cappadocia |date=July 2013 |access-date=2013-11-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805015358/http://icvbbulletin.org/index.php/turkey-news/838-elite-athletes-to-run-at-the-runfire-cappadocia |archive-date=2013-08-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Between September 9 and September 13, 2016, for the first time, the Turkish Presidential Bike Tour took place in Cappadocia where more than 300 cyclists from around the globe participated.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.trtspor.com/haber/diger-sporlar/video-bisiklet-festivali-basladi-103729.html |title=VİDEO &#124; Bisiklet festivali başladı - TRT Spor - Türkiye'nin güncel spor haber kaynağı |access-date=2016-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220141221/http://www.trtspor.com/haber/diger-sporlar/video-bisiklet-festivali-basladi-103729.html |archive-date=2016-12-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Amaseia]]
* [[Ancient regions of Anatolia]]
* [[Cappadocian Fathers]]
* [[Cappadocia (Achaemenid)|Cappadocia under the Achaemenids]]
* [[Kandovan, Osku|Kandovan]], Iran
* [[Gondrani]], Pakistan
* [[Khndzoresk]], [[Armenia]]
* [[Syunik (historical province)]]
* [[List of colossal sculpture in situ]]
* [[List of traditional Greek place names]]
* [[Mokissos]]
* [[Tourism in Turkey]]
{{Div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{EB1911 |wstitle=Cappadocia |volume=5 |pages=286–288 |first1=Edward Herbert|last1=Bunbury|author-link1=Edward Bunbury |first2=David George|last2=Hogarth|author-link2=David George Hogarth}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Eric |last2=Decker |first2=Michael J. |title=Life and Society in Byzantine Cappadocia |date=24 July 2012 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-137-02964-5 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Life_and_Society_in_Byzantine_Cappadocia/nGyQMmtzckAC |access-date=6 February 2025 |language=en}}
* {{cite book|last=Mitchell|first=Stephen|chapter=Cappadocia|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2018|isbn=978-0192562463| editor-given1 = Oliver | editor-surname1 = Nicholson }}
* {{cite book|last=Raditsa|first=Leo|chapter=Iranians in Asia Minor|title=The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 3 (1): The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian periods|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=1983|isbn=978-1139054942| editor-given1 = Ehsan | editor-surname1 = Yarshater }}
* {{cite encyclopedia | article = Cappadocia | last = Weiskopf | first = Michael | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cappadocia | encyclopedia  = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. IV, Fasc. 7–8 | pages = 780–86 | year = 1990 }}
* Ene Drăghici-Vasilescu, Elena, book "Byzantine and Medieval Cappadocia', [[Scientific Research Publishing]] |2024|978-1649979582|and Ene Drăghici-Vasilescu, Elena, "Shrines and Schools in Byzantine Cappadocia", Journal of Early Christian History, volume 9, Issue 1, 2019, pp.&nbsp;1–29
{{Ancient kingdoms in Anatolia}}
{{Historical regions of Anatolia}}
{{History of Anatolia|state=expanded}}
{{Late Roman Provinces}}
{{World Heritage Sites in Turkey}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary|Cappadocia}}

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[[Category:Geography of Nevşehir Province]]
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[[Category:First 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites]]