Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 5.djvu/87

Rh (sometimes called Great Cappadocia), which alone will be considered in the present article. The history and geography of the region bordering on the Euxine will be found under. Cappadocia. in this sense, was bounded on the S. by the chain of Mount Taurus, on the E. by the prolongation of that ridge and the Euphrates, on the N. by Pontus, and on the W. by Galatia and Lycaonia. But it had no natural boundaries except on the south and east, so that it is impossible to define its limits with accuracy on the other sides. Strabo is the only ancient author who gives any circumstantial account of the country, but he has greatly exaggerated its dimensions ; it was in reality about 250 miles in length by less than 150 in breadth. With the exception of a narrow strip of the district called Melitene, on the east, which forms part of the valley of the Euphrates, the whole of this extensive region is a high upland tract, attaining to the level of more than 3000 feet above the sea, and constituting the central and most elevated portion of the great table-land of Asia Minor. (See .) The western parts of the province, where it adjoins Lycaonia, and extending thence to the foot of Mount Taurus, are open treeless plains, affording pasture in modern as well as ancient times to numerous flocks of sheep, but almost wholly desolate and uncultivated. But out of the midst of this great upland level rise detached groups or masses of mountains, mostly of volcanic origin, of which the loftiest is Mount Argseus (still called by the Turks Erdjish Dagh), which attains to a height of 13,000 feet above the sea, while that of Hassan Dagh to the south west of it rises to about 8000 feet. The eastern portion of the province is of a more varied and broken character, being traversed by the mountain- chain called by the Greeks Anti-Taurus, as well as by several subordinate ridges, some of them parallel with it, others extending eastwards from thence towards the Euphrates. Between these mountains and the southern chain of Taurus properly so called lies the region called in ancient times Cataonia, occupying an upland plain in a basin surrounded on all sides by mountains. This district in the time of Strabo formed a portion of Cappadocia, and though several ancient writers had regarded the Cataonians &3 a distinct people from the Cappadocians, Strabo, who had himself visited the country, could find no distinction between them either in language or manners. The River Pyramus (now called the Jihun) rises in the table-land of Cataonia, and forces its way through narrow and rocky defiles across the chain of Taurus to the plains of Cilicia. The Sarus, or Sihun, rises much farther north, in the Anti-Taurus, near the frontiers of Pontus, and flows through a deep and narrow valley between two parallel ridges of mountains, for a distance of more than 150 miles, till it in like manner forces its way through the main range of the Taurus, and emerges into the plains of Cilicia. The Halys, or Kizil Irmak, which has its sources within the confines of Pontus, traverses the northern part of Cappadocia throughout its whole extent, passing within about 20 miles of the capital city of Kaisariyeh. The other rivers of Cappadocia are of little importance. The kingdom of Cappadocia, which was still in existence down to the time of Strabo, as a nominally independent state, was divided, according to that geographer, into ten districts, viz., Melitene, Cataonia, Cilicia, Tyanitis, and Garsauritis in the south, or adjoining Mount Taurus; and five others, Laviniasene, Sargarausene, Saravene, Cha- manene, and Morimene, on the side of Pontus. The posi tion and limits of these northern subdivisions cannot be determined with any certainty, but the others are better known. Cataonia has been already described, and the adjoining district of Melitene, which did not originally form part of Cappadocia at all, but was annexed to it by Ariarathes I., was a fertile tract adjoining the Euphrates, the chief town of which still retains the name of Malatiyeh. Cilicia was the name given to the district in which Caesarea, the capital of the whole country, was situated, and in which rose the lofty and conspicuous mass of Mount Argreus. Tyanitis, as its name shows, was the region of which Tyana was the capital, a level tract in the extreme south of the province, extending quite to the foot of Mount Taurus. Garsauritis appears to have comprised the western or south-western districts adjoining Lycaonia; its chief town was Archelais, now Ak Serai. The only two cities of Cappadocia in the days of Strabo which were considered by the geographer to deserve that appellation were Mazaca, the capital of the kingdom under its native monarchs, but which, after it had passed under the Roman government, obtained the name of Csesarea, which it has ever since retained under the scarcely altered form of Kaisariyeh ; and Tyana, not far from the foot of the Taurus, the site of which is marked by some ruins at a place called Kiz Hissar, about 1 2 miles south-west of Nigdeh. Archela is, founded by Archelaus, the last king of the country, subsequently became a Roman colony, and a place of some importance. At the present day the only considerable town in this part of Asia Minor is Kaisariyeh, which has a population of about 25,000 souls, and is an important centre of trade, and the resort of mer chants from all parts of Asia Minor, as well as Syria and Armenia. The ancient Cappadocians were much devoted to the practice of religious and superstitious rites, and several localities in their country were the sites of temples that enjoyed a great reputation for sanctity. Among these the most celebrated was that of Comana, dedicated to the goddess Ma, whom the Greeks identified with Enyo, the Bellona of the Romans, and the same deity who was worshipped at the Pontic Comana. The high -priest enjoyed consideration second only to the king, and exercised rule over the greater part of Cataonia, of which Comana was the chief place. It was situated on the river Sarus, but the site has not been identified. Next to him ranked the high-priest of Zeus at Yenasa, in Morimene, which had not less than 3000 slaves. The temple of Artemis Perasia at Castabala also enjoyed a great reputation of sanctity. Cappadocia was remarkable for the number of slaves, which constituted indeed the principal wealth of its monarchs. They were sent in large numbers to Rome, but did not enjoy a good reputation. The province was also celebrated for the number and excellence of its horses, as well as for its vast flocks of sheep ; but from its eleva tion above the sea, and the coldness of its climate, it could never have been a rich and fertile country.

History.—Nothing is known of the history of Cappadocia before it became subject to the Persian empire. It was included in the third satrapy of that empire in the division established by Darius, but continued to be governed by satraps or rulers of its own, who apparently retained the title of kings. These derived their descent from a Persian named Anaphas, who was one of the seven conspirators that slew the false Smerdis. The first ruler who succeeded in establishing himself in a position of virtual independence was Ariarathes (hence called Ariarathes I.), who was a contemporary of Alexander the Great, and maintained himself on the throne of Cappadocia after the fall of the Persian monarchy. After the death of Alexander, Perdiccas, marching into Cappadocia with a powerful and well-disciplined army, succeeded in taking Ariarathes prisoner, and crucified him and all those of the royal blood who fell into his hands. His son Ariarathes II. , however, having escaped the general 