Caesarea, Cappadocia (Kayseri, Turkey)

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Caesarea, Cappadocia (now Kayseri, Turkey) is located at the foot of Mount Argaeus (now Mount Erciyes). The city has been continuously inhabited since c. 3000 B.C. with the establishment of a Hittite trading colony. It was originally known as Mazaca. Under Persian rule the city was the center of a satrapy under Persian rule until it was conquered by Perdikkas, one of the generals of Alexander the Great when it became the seat of a transient satrapy by another of Alexander 's former generals, Eumenes of Cardia. The city was subsequently passed to the Seleucid empire after the battle of Ipsus but became once again the center of an autonomous Cappadocian kingdom under Ariarathes III of Cappadocia c. 250 B.C. In the ensuing period, the city came under the sway of Hellenistic influence and was given the Greek name of Eusebia in honor of the Cappadocian king Ariarathes V Eusebes Philopator, 163 - 130 B.C. The city came under Roman sway during the eastern campaigns of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great) from 66 to 62 B.C. It continued to be ruled by the native kings until Mark Antony replaced Ariarathes X in 36 B.C. with Archelaus, the great-grandson of a Greek general who had deserted to the Romans from the service of the Pontic King Mithradates VI. Archelaus he changed the name of the city to Caesarea sometime between 12 B.C. and 9 B.C. Archelaus was deposed by Tiberius in 17 A.D. and Cappadocia was annexed to the Empire as a province, with Caesarea as its capital. In 72 A.D. Vespasian merged Cappadocia with the neighboring province of Galatia. Trajan re-aligned Cappadocia, merging it with Pontus, but keeping the name of Cappadocia, with Caesarea as its capital. The city was seized by the Parthians about 260. At the time it was recorded to have around 400,000 inhabitants. It was recovered by Rome and eventually became the capital of the province of Cappadocia Prima, created during the time of Valens, 364 - 378.  It was turned into a fortress by Justinian. Caesarea in the 9th century became a Byzantine administrative center as the capital of the Theme of Chersianon. Only a few traces of the ancient site survive today.

The city served as an Imperial mint from the time of Tiberius through the reign of Septimius Severus, a period of almost 200 years, although it was not continuously active. Originally it struck in the Greek denominations of drachms and didrachms (although with Latin legends). It struck drachms with Latin legends for Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero and didrachms for the same emperors except Tiberius. Silver 24-as and 12-as pieces were struck for Nero as well. The mint issued Greek Imperial types (with Greek legends) from the time of Tiberius until Trebonianus Gallus, with the predominant reverse type being Mt. Argaeus.


Moneta Historical Research by Tom Schroer

CAESAREA (Kayseri, Turkey - 38°42'N, 35°28'E), situated at the foot of Mt. Argaeus, was created by the Cappodocian Kings to be their capital and was originally known as Mazaca. About the middle of the second century BC the name was changed to Eusebia, and it came under Roman sway during the eastern campaigns of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great) from 66 to 62 BC. It continued to be ruled by the native kings until Mark Antony replaced Ariarathes X in 36 BC with Archelaus, the great-grandson of a Greek general who had deserted to the Romans from the service of the Pontic King Mithradates VI. Archelaus was eventually deposed by Tiberius in 17 AD, but he changed the name of the city to Caesarea sometime between 12 BC and 9 BC. After his deposition, Cappodocia was annexed to the Empire as a province, with Caesarea as its capital. In 72 AD Vespasian merged Cappadocia with the neighboring province of Galatia. Trajan re-aligned Cappodocia, merging it with Pontus, but keeping the name of Cappodocia, with Caesarea as its capital. The city was seized by the Parthians about 260, but was recovered and eventually became the capital of the province of Cappodocia Prima, created during the time of Valens (364-378).

The city served as an Imperial mint from the time of Tiberius through the reign of Septimius Severus, a period of almost 200 years, although it was not continuously active.  Originally it struck in the Greek denominations of drachms and didrachms (although with Latin legends). It struck drachms with Latin legends for Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero and didrachms for the same emperors except Tiberius. Silver 24-as and 12-as pieces were struck for Nero as well.  The mint issued Greek Imperial types (with Greek legends) from the time of Tiberius until Trebonianus Gallus, with the predominant reverse type being Mt. Argaeus.


References

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Also see:
Caesarea Mauretania
Cappadocia