Cappadocia - Kappadocia (English spelling)

Japanese: カッパドキア - かっぱどきあ（英語表記）Cappadocia

An ancient name for the plateau region in eastern Asia Minor (present-day eastern Turkey). It borders the Taurus Mountains to the south, the Black Sea to the north, Armenia and the Euphrates River to the east, and Lake Tuz to the west. However, the northern part came to be called Cappadocia-Pontus or simply Pontus, while the central and southern parts came to be called Greater Cappadocia. From the 15th to the 12th century BC, it was the center of the Hittite Kingdom, and from the 6th century BC, it became a satrapy (state) of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. After the conquest by Alexander the Great, an independent kingdom was established in 301 BC, but it gradually came under the influence of Rome, and was annexed to the Roman Empire as a state in 17 AD.

[Kinji Hidemura]

World Heritage Registration

In 1985, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) registered the site as a mixed World Heritage Site under the title "Göreme National Park and the Rock Caves of Cappadocia" (Mixed World Heritage Site).

[Editorial Department]

Cappadocia
The village spreads out around a fortress made of strange rocks (far left in the photo). There are many strange rocks at the foot of the mountain. World Heritage Site "Göreme National Park and the Rock Caves of Cappadocia" (Turkey, registered in 1985) Uchisar, Turkey ©Shogakukan ">

Cappadocia

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

小アジア東部の高原地帯（現在のトルコ東部）の古代地名。南はトロス山脈、北は黒海、東はアルメニアおよびユーフラテス川、西はトゥズ湖に接している。ただし北部はカッパドキア・ポントゥスまたは単にポントゥス、中部と南部は大カッパドキアとよばれるようになった。紀元前15～前12世紀にはヒッタイト王国の中心となり、前6世紀よりアケメネス朝ペルシア帝国のサトラピ（州）となった。アレクサンドロス大王の征服後、前301年独立王国が建設されたが、しだいにローマの勢力下に置かれ、紀元後17年ローマ帝国にその一州として併合された。

［秀村欣二］