ancient Pontus
Pontus or Pontos (; ,) is a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in the modern-day eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region and its mountainous hinterland (rising to the Pontic Alps in the ...
in
Asia minor
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
Lycus
Lycus (Lykos, Lycos, ) may refer to:
Mythology
* Lycus (mythology), the name of numerous people in Greek mythology, including
** Lycus (brother of Nycteus), a ruler of the ancient city of Ancient Thebes
** Lycus (descendant of Lycus), son of Ly ...
.
History and views
Eupatoria was in the midst of the plain called Phanaroea, whereas Cabira, as
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 ...
says was at the base of the Paryadres.
Mithridates VI
Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator (; 135–63 BC) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an effective, ambitious, and r ...
built a palace at Cabira; and there was a water-mill there (Greek: ὑδραλέτης), and places for keeping wild animals, hunting grounds, and mines. Less than 200 stadia from Cabira was the remarkable rock or fortress called Caenon (Greek: Καινόν ωρίον, where Mithridates kept his most valuable things. Cn. Pompeius took the place and its treasures, which, when Strabo wrote, were in the Roman Capitol. In Strabo's time a woman, Pythodoris, the widow of King Polemon, had Cabira with the
Zelitis
Zile, anciently known as Zela () (still as Latin Catholic titular see), is a city in Tokat Province, Turkey. It is the seat of Zile District.
and Magnopolitis. Pompeius made Cabira a city, and gave it the name Diospolis (Διόσπολις). Pythodoris enlarged it, gave it the name Sebaste (Σεβαστή), which is the Greek equivalent to ''Augusta'', and used it as her royal residence. Near Cabira probably at a village named ''Ameria'', there was a temple with a great number of slaves belonging to it, and the high priest enjoyed this benefice. The god Men of Pharnaces (Μήν Φαρνάκου) was worshipped at Cabira. Mithridates was at Cabira during the winter that L. Lucullus was besieging
Amisus
Samsun is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and a major Black Sea port. The urban area recorded a population of 738,692 in 2022. The city is the capital of Samsun Province which has a population of ...
and Eupatoria. Lucullus afterwards took Cabira. There are some autonomous coins of Cabira with the epigraph "Καβηρων".
Strabo
Strabo, a native of Amasia, could not be unacquainted with the site of Cabira. The only place that corresponds to his description is
Niksar
Niksar, historically known as Neocaesarea (Νεοκαισάρεια), is a city in Tokat Province, Turkey. It is the seat of Niksar District.Pliny, who says that it is on the Lycus. There is no trace of any ancient city between Niksar and the junction of the two rivers, and the conclusion that Niksar is a later name of Cabira, and a name more recent than Sebaste, seems certain. Neocaesarea seems to have arisen under the early Roman emperors.
John Cramer
John Cramer states that the earliest coins of Neocaesarea bear the effigy of
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...
; but Sestini, quoted by Albert Forbiger, assigns the origin of Neocaesarea to the time of
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...
, about 64 CE, when Pontus Polemoniacus was made a Roman province. The simplest solution of this question is that Neocaesarea was a new town, which might be near the site of Cabira. It was the capital of Pontus Polemoniacus, the birthplace of Gregorius Thaumaturgus, and the place of assembly of a church council in 314.
Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus, occasionally anglicized as Ammian ( Greek: Αμμιανός Μαρκελλίνος; born , died 400), was a Greek and Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquit ...
calls it the most noted city of Pontus Polemoniacus: it was, in fact, the metropolis. According to
Paulus Diaconus
Paul the Deacon ( 720s 13 April in 796, 797, 798, or 799 AD), also known as ''Paulus Diaconus'', ''Warnefridus'', ''Barnefridus'', or ''Winfridus'', and sometimes suffixed ''Cassinensis'' (''i.e.'' "of Monte Cassino"), was a Benedictine monk, sc ...
the place was destroyed by an earthquake.
Cramer supposes that Neocaesarea is identical with Ameria, and he adds that Neocaesarea was the principal seat of pagan idolatry and superstitions, which affords another presumption that it had risen on the foundation of Ameria and the worship of Men Pharnaces. But Ameria seems to have been at or near Cabira; and all difficulties are reconciled by supposing that Cabira, Ameria, Neocaesarea were in the valley of the Lycus, and if not on the same spot, at least very near to one another.
Stephanus of Byzantium
Stephanus or Stephen of Byzantium (; , ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD) was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethnica'' (). Only meagre fragments of the dictionary survive, but the epit ...
adds to our difficulties by saying or seeming to say that the inhabitants were also called ''Adrianopolitae'', suggesting that ''Adrianopolis'' or ''Hadrianopolis'' was still another name of the city in his time. Where he got this from, nobody can tell. Modern scholars identify Hadriane as a name borne by the town.
Hamilton was informed at Niksar that on the road from Niksar to
Sivas
Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...
, and about fourteen hours from Niksar, there is a high perpendicular rock, almost inaccessible on all sides, with a stream of water flowing from the top, and a river at its base. This is exactly Strabo's description of Caenon.
Modern location
Modern scholars fix its site at modern
Niksar
Niksar, historically known as Neocaesarea (Νεοκαισάρεια), is a city in Tokat Province, Turkey. It is the seat of Niksar District.Asiatic Turkey.
See also
*
Battle of Cabira
The Battle of Cabira was fought in 72 or 71 BC between forces of the Roman Republic under proconsul Lucius Licinius Lucullus and those of the Kingdom of Pontus under Mithridates VI. It was a decisive Roman victory.
Background
Rome had already ...