Cappadocia

Cappadocia was a high plateau region in eastern Asia Minor. Several mountain ranges crossed the region.

The name Cappadocia does not occur in the Hebrew Old Testament. Some passages mention Caphtor or Caphtorites (Deuteronomy 2:23; Amos 9:7). But the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament) uses the name “Cappadocia.” A few scholars suggest that Cappadocia was the original home of the Philistines.

In the New Testament, some visitors to Jerusalem came from Cappadocia. On the day of Pentecost, they were amazed to hear people speaking in their own languages (Acts 2:5–13). Later, Christians lived in Cappadocia and other parts of Asia Minor. The apostle Peter addressed his first letter to these believers (1 Peter 1:1).

Pontus bordered Cappadocia on the north. Syria and Armenia bordered it on the east. Cilicia bordered Cappadocia on the south. Lycaonia bordered it on the west.

Cappadocia was famous for its wheat, cattle, and horses. It also exported alabaster, mica, silver, and lead. Important trade routes extended throughout the region. One route went through the Cilician Gates northward to Pontus. One after another, different people groups controlled or dominated the area. First the Hittites, then Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Seleucids, and Romans.

First Maccabees refers to a letter sent to Ariarathes, the king of Cappadocia (1 Maccabees 15:22). This may show that a large Jewish community lived there by the early second century BC. Some Jews from this community were probably in Jerusalem at the time of Pentecost. Christianity may later have spread north into Cappadocia along the road from Tarsus. By the fourth century AD, Cappadocia had become known for several important Christian church leaders.