Ariarathia orAriaratheia (Ancient Greek:Ἀριαράθεια) was a town ofancient Cappadocia, in theSargarausene region, inhabited duringHellenistic,Roman, andByzantine times.[1]
It was founded byAriarathes IV of Cappadocia (r. 220–163 BCE). It was detached from Cappadocia and assigned to the province ofArmenia Minor when that province was established.[2] The town had city rights.[3] The town belonged to the so-calledArmenian Hexapolis and remained under Byzantine control in the seventh century.[4] In lack of archaeological findings, it seems that the city vanished during the eighth or ninth century when the Muslim onslaught rendered the area betweenCaeserea and Melitene a no man's land.[5]
Its site is located nearPınarbaşı,Asiatic Turkey.[1][6] WhileRamsay identified it with the town ofTzamandos, this is incorrect as Tzamandos is 15 km west of Ariarathia.[3]
It became the seat of a bishop and a certain Acacius of Ariarathia is known to have defended the view ofCyril againstTheodoret and the eastern Bishops in the time of theCouncil of Ephesus, 449.[7] A No longer a residential bishopric, it remains atitular see of theRoman Catholic Church.[8]
38°43′19″N36°23′28″E / 38.722°N 36.391°E /38.722; 36.391
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 | This article about a populated place in theByzantine Empire is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
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