1. Αnthropogeography

Ancient city of Cappadocia located within 8 km from the modern little town of Bor and identified with the modern village of Kemerhisar. The three sides of the city’s territory are defined by mountainous ranges: Bolkar Dağları to the south, Melendiz Dağı to the north and Pozantı Dağı to the east.¹ During its long history Tyana was given several names. It is first reported in the Hittite period under the name Tuwanuwa or Tuhanuwa, which probably produced the name Thoana, handed down by Αrrian. Tyana may also be identified with Dana of the Persian period. A variant of the Hittite place name is also the name Tyana, which was first reported on coins minted by the Cappadocian ruler Αriaramnes (c. 255-220 BC).

The Greek name “Eusebeia ad Taurum” was decided by a Cappadocian king with the agnomen Eusebes, possibly Αriarathes V Eusebes (164/3-159 and 157/6-130 BC), who adopted a clearly pro-Greek policy. Τhe new place name remained in use at the latest until the Cappadocian Kingdom became a Roman province in 17 AD, when the former name of Tyana was restored and established. Finally, in 213 AD Tyana was renamed Colonia (Aureliana) Antoniana Tyanorum by Emperor Caracalla.²

The population of Tyana, as it happened with the entire wider south Cappadocia, was of Cappadocian, Pontic, Phrygian and Iranian origin. Although almost half of the surviving personal names are Greek, their large number does not account for the settlement of a respectively extensive Greek community at Tyana, as a lot of these names are Hellenized versions of native names. With the exception of the numerous Roman colonists and officers, few foreigners settled in the city. According to sources, there were also some Syrians and Egyptians.³

2. History

The local tradition of Tyana must have attributed the foundation of the city to the mythical heroes Orestes and Pylades. According to a different myth, the city was founded by the queen of the Αssyrians, Semiramis, which is a version that possibly maintains the recollection of an Assyrian trading colony that may have existed at that point in the early 2^nd millennium BC. The first historical reference to the settlement concerns the Hittite period, when Tuwanuwa was the capital of local kingdoms. In the late 8^th- early 7^th c. BC the city allied with the Phrygian Kingdom. In the late 7^th c. BC it came under the Median Kingdom and in the mid-6^th c. it was incorporated into the Persian state.

During the campaign of the Ten Thousand (401 BC), Cyrus II stopped at Dana, which is described by Xenophon as a “worldwide, big and blessed city”. If Tyana is actually identified with Dana, it must have been a strategically important centre of the Persian administration, possibly the seat of a satrapy.⁴

During the Hellenistic period, Tyana was incorporated into the state of the Ariarathid Cappadocian dynasty and was first mentioned under this name during the rule of the oppressor Αriaramnes. In the same period, as well as during the rule of King Αriarathes III (c. 255-220 BC), one of the dynasty’s mints operated in the city. Tyana was the capital of the strategia of Tyanitis and became the second important city of the Cappadocian Kingdom.⁵ After the Cappadocian Kingdom was incorporated into the Roman Empire in 17 AD, it became a key station along the significant military road connecting Byzantium with Antioch. Several emperors visited the city on their way to the East, while their benefactions contributed greatly to its development.

Tyana reached the peak of its prosperity in the period of the Severus Dynasty (193-217 AD) as a result of the deep interest expressed by the members of the imperial house in the teachings of Apollonius of Tyana. Among others, the teachings of Apollonius are also associated with the long stay of the imperial family in Tyana in 202/3 BC, when a number of privileges were granted to the city and several public buildings were constructed. Perhaps the admiration of the next emperor, Caracalla, for Apollonius was responsible for the preferential political status of the Roman colony the city was granted in 213 AD, which resulted in the settlement of Roman veterans there.⁶

In the early 3^rd c. AD Tyana was threatened by enemy raids, while the extensive riots that broke out in the province of Cappadocia in the years of Emperor Decius (249-251 AD) must have helped the emergence of one, or possibly two, usurpers to the imperial throne. The only usurper handed down by the sources is Palmatius, a squire that occupied Tyana until his forces were totally defeated by Emperor Valerian. Some years later, in 260 AD, the defeat and arrest of Valerian by the Sassanid army resulted in the capture and possible sack of Tyana. The Persians were chased off perhaps a few months later by his general Μacrianus I.

After the Persians left Tyana, the city was incorporated into the kingdom of Palmyra and, as a result, when Emperor Αurelian campaigned against Zenobia, the queen of Palmyra, in 272 AD, the city strongly resisted the imperial army. It was captured by treason, but was neither sacked nor destroyed thanks to the emperor’s leniency. During the rule of Emperor Tacitus the city put up stiff resistance, probably successfully, to Goth raids, although country settlements and sanctuaries did not have the same fate. In 276 AD, during a battle against them near the city, Tacitus was killed. In subsequent years, life in Tyana was marked by the religious conflicts that afflicted the empire.⁷

3. Economy

One of the factors responsible for the historical importance of the city is the fertile, mostly flat, land and the abundant water resources. Economy was mainly based on agriculture, with grains and grapes being the chief crops. Horse husbandry also played an important role in the city's economy.

The Roman occupation had contradictory consequences for the economy of Tyana. Because the city was along the road followed by the Roman forces, it was burdened with the expenses of the armies' long stay on its land. On the other hand, the new role of the city as a hub must have promoted trade and other economic activities. The economy of Tyana was not exclusively based on monetary transactions, but also on the exchange of goods – mostly in the country. This is indicated by the limited number of coins issued by the mint of Tyana, which became inactive or significantly reduced its production after 213 AD.⁸

4. Society – Institutions – Polity

The political organization of Tyana is first reported in the 1^st c. BC, but it is very likely that the city was politically organized already from an earlier period and was based on the legislation of Charondas, which is known to have been introduced into Mazaka, although it could also have been implemented in other cities of the kingdom as well. It should be mentioned that a Cappadocian king granted the city the honorary title of the “sacred, inviolate and autonomous city”, which was further consolidated in the Imperial period. Also, Τyana, as it happened with all the other Cappadocian cities, was not subjected to the administrative system of strategiai. However, the central royal administration imposed restrictions on its autonomy, as indicated by epigraphic evidence. According to this evidence, an official of the king, the so-called “epi tis poleos”, was responsible for managing the affairs of Tyana. Another official, bearing the title of archidioiketes, supervised the economic affairs of the Cappadocian cities. As regards the social structure of Tyana, only the institution of the gymnasiarch is known. The above official titles are a strong indication that the administrative and social organization of Tyana included institutions also found in other kingdoms of the Hellenistic world.⁹

5. Religion

The deities worshipped at Tyana reflect the various political and cultural influences that marked the city's history in the course of time. The main deity of the city was Astarte, of Assyrian origin. Relics of the Hittite past of the settlement were the cults of the bull and Zeus, under the local epithet Asbamaeus, whose sanctuary at Tyana was of interregional importance. Particularly popular might have been the cult of Ηeracles, which possibly was a Syro-phoenician influence. As for Greek deities, Αthena was identified with the Cappadocian goddess Μa. There is also evidence about the cults of Αsclepieus, Hygeia and Telesphorus, which is possibly associated with the existence of several hot springs around the city. Within the framework of religious syncretism it is very possible that all the deities with Greek names were identified with some eastern cults. The cult of the goddess Rome and probably the Imperial cult were introduced in the Imperial years. The Assyrian goddess Semiramis, Perseus, Apollonius of Tyana and, possibly, Orestes and Pylades as well as the Αmazons were worshipped as heroes of the city.¹⁰

6. Culture

As a meeting point of road arteries and cultures, Tyana was found in the sphere of influence of Assyrians, Hittites, Phrygians, Phoenicians and Persians, peoples that decidedly marked the area. The principles of the Greek political life as well as the Greek language and culture must have been introduced into the city by the Iranian-rooted Ariarathid dynasty, when its members tried to promote the Hellenization of the Cappadocian state and demonstrate themselves as Hellenistic rulers. The city probably achieved an impressive cultural development, considering the situation of the Cappadocian Kingdom, where urban life was little developed. However, in comparison with the coastal cities of Asia Minor, the cultural level of Tyana must have been lower.

The situation did not change significantly in the Imperial years. Tyana remained a Hellenized spot in a country where the Iranian mores of Cappadocia were prevalent. Although it looked like a Greek city, it is rather questionable whether the true spirit of Greek mainland or Ionia ran through Tyana. The most famous intellectual offspring of Tyana, the neo-Pythagorean philosopher Apollonius, is a typical example of Hellenized Cappadocia.¹¹

7. Τopography – Monuments

Τyana was a hub along the ancient road system and controlled the communication of East and West, and the Cilician Gates. The strategic importance of the site, the existence of a fresh water spring within 4 km from the city, in combination with the hot springs of the wider area, favoured habitation already from prehistoric years.

The city was built on a low, artificial hill 15 m high, at the centre of a plain, and covered an area of approximately 45 hectares. A wall surrounded the city in the Hellenistic and Roman years, part of which has survived to date. The very few preserved architectural remains of the Hellenistic city, including the oldest Ionic capital discovered in Cappadocia, witness an ambitious building plan that must have beautified Tyana with public buildings, according to Greek standards. As they are dated to the second quarter of the 2^nd c. BC, it is indicated that the plan was possibly inspired by the evidently philhellene king of Cappadocia Αriarathes V.

Among the finds are water reservoirs, thermae and parts of an aqueduct, whose preserved visible length is 1170 m and the overall length 4 km. Τhese constructions were functionally connected with each other and are dated to the second half of the 1^st c. or the early 2^nd c. AD. The location of the thermae to the SE of the city, along with the discovery of the ruins of a building from the Severus period, suggests that a number of public buildings stood in this area in Imperial times. Except for the reference of the sources to a temple of Astarte, there is no other proof of monuments in the city. However, according to the available evidence, it can be concluded that the urban organization of Tyana in that period followed the standards of the cities of the Middle Imperial period.¹²