Difference between revisions of "Cappadocia"

<p> [[Cappadocia]] (''Kăp'Pa-D'' ''Ô'Shĭ-Ah'' . The largest and most easterly province of Asia Minor. It was high table-land, intersected by ranges of mountains, sparsely wooded, but good for grain or grazing. Cappadocia was conquered by Cyrus, ruled by [[Alexander]] the Great, tributary to the Seleucidæ, and became a Roman province, a.d. 17. Some of its people were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, &nbsp;Acts 2:9, and afterward [[Christians]] of the province were addressed by Peter. &nbsp;1 Peter 1:1. </p>

<p> (Καππαδοκία, explained by Herod. 7:72, as Persic, and lately thought by Lassen to be found on inscriptions in the form ''Katpadhula;'' but Benfey, ''Monatsnamen,'' p. 117, interprets as ''Kappadakja,'' "province of good horses"), an ancient and the easternmost province of Asia Minor, bounded on the north by Pontus, on the east by the Euphrates and Armenia Minor, on the south by Mount Taurus (beyond which are Cilicia and Syria), and on the west by [[Phrygia]] and Galatia (Strabo, 12, p. 533 sq.; Ptolemy, 5:6; Pliny, 6:3). The country is mountainous and abounds in water, and was celebrated for the production of wheat, for its fine pastures, and for its excellent breed of horses, asses, and sheep (Strabo, 12:539; Solin. 47). The inhabitants were notorious for their dullness and vice (Isidor. Pelus. 1:281; 4:197; Justin. 38:2; comp. Porphyrog. Them. 1:2). They were called "Syrians" (comp. Jablonsky, De lingua Lycaon. in his Opusc. 3:1 sq.; Gesen. Mon. Phan. p. 11) in the age of [[Herodotus]] (1:72; 5:49), and even in Strabo's days they bore the name of Λευκόσυροι, or "White Syrians" (12, p. 544), in contradistinction to those dwelling beyond the Taurus, whose complexion was darkened by the sun (Strabo, 16:737). By the ancient interpreters (see Philo, ''Opp.'' 2:676) they were thought to be meant by "the land of Caphtor" (q.v.); but the ancient name of Cappadocia was ''Katpatuk'' or ''Katapatuka'' (Rawlinson, ''Jouin. Of The Asiat. Soc.'' 11:1, 95). Cappadocia was subjugated by the [[Persians]] under Cyrus, but after the time of Alexander the Great it had kings of its own, although tributary to the Seleucide. Its geographical limits on the west and north were variable. In early times the name reached as far northward as the Euxine Sea. The region of Cappadocia, viewed in this extent, constituted two satrapies under the Persians, and afterward two independent monarchies. One was Cappadocia on the Pontus, the other Cappadocia near the Taurus. Here we have the germ of the two Roman provinces of Pontus and Cappadocia. (See Pontus). </p> <p> Several of the monarchs who reigned in Cappadocia [[Proper]] bore the name of [[Ariarathes]] (q.v.). One of them is mentioned in &nbsp;1 Maccabees 15:22. The last of these monarchs was called Archelaus (see Joseph. Ant. 16:4, 6). He was treacherously treated by the emperor Tiberius, who reduced his kingdom to a province A.D. 17, including what was anciently called [[Lesser]] Armenia (Tacit. Ann. 2:42; [[Dio]] Cass. 57:17). Christianity was very early propagated in Cappadocia, for the apostle Peter names it in addressing the Christian churches in Asia Minor (&nbsp;1 Peter 1:1). Cappadocians (prop. Καππάδοκες, also Καππαδόκαι ) were present at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (&nbsp;Acts 2:9). The Jewish community in this region doubtless formed the nucleus of the Christian; and the former may probably be traced to the first introduction of Jewish colonists into Asia Minor by Seleucus (Josephus, Ant. 12:3, 4). The Roman period, through the growth of large cities and the construction of roads, would afford increased facilities for the spread both of Judaism and Christianity. It should be observed that Cappadocia was easily approached from the direction of Palestine and Syria by means of the pass called the Cilician Gates, which led up through the Taurus from the low coast of Cilicia, and that it was connected, at least under the later emperors, by good roads with the district beyond the Euphrates (see [[Penny]] Cyclopcedia, s.v.; Smith, Dict. of Class. Geogr. s.v.). (See [[Asia Minor]]). </p> <p> Cappadocia was one of the seven provinces assigned to the diocese of Pontus, at its erection, by [[Constantine]] the Great and Constantius. Under the emperor [[Valens]] the province of Cappadocia was divided into the provinces of Cappadocia Prima and Secunda, which last was by the emperor Justinian subdivided, the new province being styled Cappadocia Tertia, and having for its metropolitan see Mocissus, or, as it was thenceforward styled, Justinianopolis. The chief see of the second Cappadocia was Tyana, and of the first, Caesarea, which last church was the mother and head of the whole Pontic diocese. (See Caesarea). </p>

<p> '''''kap''''' -'''''a''''' -'''''dō´shi''''' -'''''a''''' ( ἡ Καππαδοκία , <i> '''''hē Kappadokı́a''''' </i> ): An extensive province in eastern Asia Minor, bounded by the Taurus mountains on the South, the [[Anti-Taurus]] and the Euphrates on the East, and, less definitely, by Pontus and Galatia on the North and West. [[Highest]] mountain, Argaeus, over 13,000 ft. above sea-level; chief rivers, the Pyramus now Jihan, Sarus now Sihon, and Halys now the Kuzul; most important cities, Caesarea Mazaca, Comana, Miletene now Malatia, and Tyana now Bor. At Malatia the country unrolls itself as a fertile plain; elsewhere the province is for the most part composed of billowy and rather barren uplands, and bleak mountain peaks and pastures. </p> <p> The Greek geographers called Cappodax the son of Ninyas, thereby tracing the origin of Cappadocian culture to Assyria. [[Cuneiform]] tablets from Kul Tepe (Kara Eyuk), deciphered by Professors Pinches and Sayce, show that in the era of K'''''H̬ammurabi''''' (see ''''' H}AMMURABI''''' ) this extensive ruin on the ox-bow of the Halys and near Caesarea Mazaca, was an outpost of the Assyr-Bah Empire. A H ittite civilization followed, from about 2000 bc onward. Malatia, Gurun, Tyana and other old sites contain important and undoubted Hittite remains, while sporadic examples of Hittite art, architecture and inscriptions are found in many places, and the number is being steadily increased by fresh discovery. After the [[Hittites]] fade from sight, following the fall of Carchemish, about 718 bc, Cappadocia emerges as a satrapy of Persia. At the time of Alexander the Great it received a top-dressing of Greek culture, and a line of native kings established an independent throne, which lasted until Cappadocia was incorporated in the Roman Empire, 17 ad. [[Nine]] rulers bore the name of Ariarathes (the Revised Version (British and American) Arathes) the founder of the dynasty, and two were named Ariobarzanes. One of these kings is referred to in 1 Macc 15:22. The history of this Cappadocian kingdom is involved, obscure and bloody. </p> <p> Pagan religion had a deep hold upon the population prior to the advent of Christianity. Comana was famous for its worship of the great goddess Ma, who was served, according to Strabo, by 6,000 priestesses, and only second to this was the worship paid to [[Zeus]] at Venasa. </p> <p> Representatives from Cappadocia were present at Pentecost (&nbsp;Acts 2:9 ), and Peter includes the converts in this province in the address of his letter (&nbsp;1 Peter 1:1 ). Caesarea became one of the most important early centers of Christianity. Here the Armenian youth of noble blood, Krikore, or Gregory the Illuminator, was instructed in the faith to which he afterward won the formal assent of his whole nation. Here Basil governed the churches of his wide diocese and organized monasticism. His brother, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory Nazianzen, lived and labored not far away. Cappadocia passed with the rest of Asia Minor into the Byzantine Empire, but from its exposed position early fell under the domination of the Turks, having been conquered by the Seljukians in 1074. </p>