Asia Minor in the Greco-Roman period - general map - regions and main settlements

Cataonia () was one of the divisions of ancient

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

. It is described by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

, who had visited it, as a level plain surrounded by mountain- on the south by the Amanus, and on the west by the Antitaurus, which branches off from the

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

n Taurus and contains deep narrow valleys (in one of which was situated Comana, a considerable city on the river Sarus, which flows through the gaps of the Taurus into Cilicia and the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

). Through the plain of Cataonia flows the river Pyramus, which has its source in the middle of the plain, and also passes through the gaps of the Taurus into Cilicia. The plain is very productive, except that it has no

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

s. Strabo speaks of a temple of

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

Dacius, where there is a salt-lake of the considerable extent with steep banks, so that the descent to it is like going down steps; it was said that the water never increased, and had no visible outlet. The plain of Cataonia contained no cities, but it had strong forts on the hills, such as Azamora and Dastarcum, round which the Carmalas flowed, probably the modern

Zamantı River Zamantı River is a river in Central Anatolia, Turkey, crossing Kayseri Province in practically its whole course to join Seyhan River further south, of which it is the western, the longest and the most important tributary. Zamantı and Göksu jo ...

.A.H.M. Jones, ''The Cities of the Eastern Roman Provinces'' (The Clarendon Press, 1937), p. 431 n12. It also contained a temple of Cataonian

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

, which was in great repute in all Cappadocia.

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

has a list of eleven places in his Cataonia, including Cabassus and

Heraclea Cybistra Heraclea Cybistra (), or simply Heraclea or Herakleia (Ἡράκλεια), also transliterated as Heracleia, was a town of ancient Cappadocia or Cilicia; located at the site of modern Ereğli in Konya Province, Turkey. History Middle Bronze ...

, which is far beyond the limits of Strabo's Cataonia. In fact Ptolemy's Cataonia, if there is truth in it, must be a different division of the country. Cataonia also contains Mut (Claudiopolis). Cucusus, mentioned in the

Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary (, "Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is an , a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly in part from a survey carried out under Augustus, it describes t ...

, is today Göksun. The inhabitants of Cataonia were distinguished by the ancients from the other Cappadocians as a different people, but Strabo could observe no difference in manners or in language.

References

* Smith, William (editor);
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography
'
"Cataonia"
London, 1854.

Notes

Ancient Cappadocia {{AncientCappadocia-geo-stub