Cappadocia summary

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Cappadocia , Ancient district, eastern Anatolia. It is a mountainous area located in present-day Turkey; its earliest records date from the 6th century bc, when it was a Persian satrapy. A period of semi-autonomy followed Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Persian empire (330 bc). Important as a Roman ally and client, it was annexed by the emperor Tiberius in ad 17 and made a Roman province. With its command over strategic passes in the Taurus Mountains, the area was a bulwark of the Byzantine Empire until the 11th century. Part of the district was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985.

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