Kapadokya (Cappadocia) İngilizce Tanıtımı, Tarihi Hakkında İngilizce Bilgi

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Kapadokya (Cappadocia) nerededir? Cappadocia nasıl oluşmuştur, özellikleri ve tarihçesi nedir, Cappadocia hakkında ingilizce bilgi.

Kapadokya (Cappadocia) Hakkında İngilizce Bilgi

Cappadocia, ancient district in east-central Anatolia, situated on the rugged plateau north of the Taurus Mountains, in the centre of present-day Turkey. The boundaries of the region have varied throughout history. Cappadocia’s landscape includes dramatic expanses of soft volcanic rock, shaped by erosion into towers, cones, valleys, and caves. Rock-cut churches and underground tunnel complexes from the Byzantine and Islamic eras are scattered throughout the countryside.

Neolithic pottery and tools found in Cappadocia attest to an early human presence in the region. Excavations at the modern town of Kültepe have uncovered the remains of the Hittite-Assyrian city of Kanesh, dating from the 3rd millennium BCE. The tens of thousands of clay tablets recovered from the remains of an Assyrian merchant colony at Kanesh are among the oldest written documents discovered in Turkey.

History

The earliest appearance of the name of Cappadocia dates from the 6th century BCE, when Cappadocia’s feudal nobility was dominated by a Persian satrapy and Zoroastrian temple cults were widespread. Because of its rugged terrain and modest agricultural output, the area remained underdeveloped in antiquity, with only a few significant cities.

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great bypassed Cappadocia but sent troops under his general Perdiccas (322 BCE). After a power struggle following Alexander’s death, Cappadocia fell into the dynastic orbit of the Seleucids, although a local aristocracy descended from the Persian satraps continued to rule and Persian religious practices persisted. Cappadocia transferred its allegiance to Rome after the Roman victory at Magnesia (190 BCE). Remained faithful despite the Pontic and Armenian attacks of the 1st century BCE. Cappadocia was retained as a Roman client state until Emperor Tiberius annexed it in 17 CE for its command over strategic passes in the Taurus Mountains.

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Cappadocia’s position on the eastern side of the Byzantine Empire left it open to attack. Raids by tribal groups in the 5th century spurred the construction of heavier fortifications in the area. In 611 an incursion by the Sāsānian army ravaged the Cappadocian capital, Caesarea (modern Kayseri). Arab raids into Cappadocia commenced in the 7th century and continued into the 10th. During these periods of instability Cappadocia’s large complexes of man-made caves and tunnels may have been built or expanded from existing structures for use as refuges. However, establishing precise dates for their construction has proven difficult.

10th and 11th centuries

Cappadocia enjoyed a period of prosperity in the 10th and 11th centuries that led to a surge in the construction of rock-cut churches and monasteries. Many of the surviving churches from this period are richly decorated. The Byzantine Empire lost Cappadocia permanently when it came under the control of the Seljuq Turks about the time that they defeated the Byzantine army at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071.

The name Cappadocia is now commonly used in the tourism industry to refer to the area that extends roughly from Kayseri west to Aksaray (95 miles [150 km]), where the largest number of monuments are situated. The most-visited attractions include the sprawling underground cites of Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı and Göreme National Park, where there are a large number of rock-cut churches and dwellings. In 1985 Göreme National Park and other rock sites in the area were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.


Cappadocia

The Cappadocian Region located in the center of the Anatolian Region of Turkey, with its valley, canyon, hills and unusual rock formation created as a result of the eroding rains and winds of thousands of years of the level, lava-covered plain located between the volcanic mountains Erciyes, Melendiz and Hasan as well as its troglodyte dwellings carved out of the rock and cities dug out into underground, presents an otherworldly appearance.

The eruptions of these mountains which were active volcanoes in geological times lasted until 2 million years ago. A soft tuff layer was formed, 150 m in thickness, by the issuing lavas in the valley surrounded by mountains. The rivers, flood water running down the hillsides of valleys.  Strong winds eroded the geological formations consisting of tuff on the plateau formed with tuff layers. Thus creating bizarre shapes called fairy Chimneys. These take on the names of mushroom shaped, pinnacled, capped and conic shaped formations.

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The land of beautiful horses

The prehistoric settlements of the area are Koskhoyuk (Kosk Mound) in Nigde, Aksaray Asikli Mound, Nevsehir Civelek cave and, in the southeast, Kultepe, Kanis and Alisar in the environs of Kayseri. This area with unusual topographic characteristics was regarded as sacred and called, in the Scythian/Khatti language, as Khepatukha, meaning “the country of the people of the chief god Hepat”, although there are more poetic claims on the origin of the region’s name, such as the Old Persian Katpatuka, which allegedly means “the land of beautiful horses”.

The tablets called Cappadocian Tablets and the Hittite works of art in Alisar are of the important remains dating from 2000s B.C. After 1200s B.C., the Tabal principality, of the Khatti Branches of Scythians, became strong and founded the Kingdom of Tabal. Following the Late Hittite and Persian aras, the Cappadocian Kingdom was established in 332 B.C. During the Roman era the area served as a shelter for the early escaping Christians. There are also several underground cities used by early Christians as hideouts in Cappadocia.


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