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During the reign of king Artaxerxes
the Mnemon , Kappadokia became a kingdom, having Ariarathis I as her
first king. During the reign of Ariarathis II both “ Great” and “Pontiki”
Kappadokia were under the same ruler. So Macedonians conquered a united
Kappadokia. After the death of Alexander the Great, Kappadokia was
divided in two. There two parts became free and independent by Ariarathis
III, king of “ Great or Kappadokia near Taurus” and Mithridatis II
king of “Pontiki or Kappadokia near the Euxine Sea”. According to
recent linguistic research , the name Kappadokia has its origin the
word “ KATWATNA” found in written Hettite documents which means “
the Lower land”. Although originally referred to the land south of
Mt. Taurus, it finally referred to an area almost as vast as Asia
Minor itself. It was believed that the name “ Kappadokia” was Persian
and it had its origin in “ Katpatuka” which means “ the land of good
horses”. Before the Indo-Europeans arrive there lived Husites and
Turanians . The Hatti was another tribe which was settled in central
Anatolia between 2500BC and 2000BC. They left no traces of their civilization.
The Hatti was another tribe which was settled in central Anatolia between 2500BC and 2000BC. They left no traces of treir civilization.
During the late copper period (1950-1800BC), new people arrived bringing writing with them. The Assyrians, coming from Northern Mesopotamia, settled in the vergion between Iconio and Melitini (Malatia). They were not conquerors but traders and chose Kioltepe as their base, a place east of Caesaria.
At the beginning of the second millenium the Indo-Europeans came. The Hettites came to Asia Minor from Caucasus.They were the first to establish a government, having all the thriving cities under their rule.
Labarna I(1680-1600) is considered to be the first leader to establish Hettite ruling Kioltepe- Kanes, which used to be the Assyrian base east of Caesaria , is identified with Nissa, the first capital of the Hettite kingdom. During Labarna's II reign (1600-1620) their capital was moved to Hettusa (today Bojazkioi). Another important city of Hettites in Kappadokia was Adzem-hojouk, west of Akserai which had been an important city since the Assyrian times.
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