THE ROMAN ERA CAPPADOCIA
THE ROMAN ERA Three religious leaders have played an important role in the history of Cappadocia during the 4th century A.D. These are Basilius the Great, Gregorius of Nyssa, and Gregorius of Naziansus who have set up the principles of monastic life in this region. Basilius the Great, who descended from a wealthy family of Kayseri ( Caesaria), visited the monasteries of Palestine and Egypt first and investigated the then existing principles of monastic life there. He saw that asceticism and contemplative abstraction were being practiced to achieve spiritual perfection. Basilius did not accept these practices and determined some newer principles: He Stood up for a monastic life where monks would live in small groups and be submissive to the orders of their superiors, hoping to prevent their abstraction from social life. He wanted the monks to indulge in social life, and help the ill and the needy, instead of following an abstinence that would resemble the monastic life in Palestine and Egypt. The first city where his theories were put to practice was the city of Basiliad, founded by himself in the vicinity of Kayseri. Basilius held his principles to be the most effective defence mechanisms against laziness which supposedly destroyed the inner equilibrium of the monks. The monks adopted these ideas and built hundreds of monasteries in the following ages becoming, thus, involved in public life instead of leading an abstract life like the monks of the Athos and the Meteora monasteries in Greece.
The first decorated churches of this region were built in the 6th and 7th centuries A.D. Especially the 7th century was the time of Persian and Arab invasions consecutively, and the most important city of Cappadocia, Kayseri, could not resist these raids and was captured by the invading powers quite a number of times. This threat forced the Byzantine state and the inhabitants to take precautions against possible invasions. They built numerous fortresses upon the roads leading to Cappadocia from the south, and developed a “light signaling system” which would enable the news of the enemy reach Cappadocia and Constantinople and spread like wildfire. This system which we can call a “light telegraph”, rendered the news of a threat from the south reach Constantinople within an hour. The Byzantine army was seperated into independent ” themes” which could draw their own strategies and fight accordingly. The last link of this chain of protection and defence was the underground cities, where thousands of inhabitants could seek refuge and hide in for a long period.
The Byzantine empire went through the Iconoclastic Crisis between 726-843 A.D when figurative painting was prohibited and banned.
Cappadocia was visited by the famous emperor Nicephorus Phocas and his family in 964-965 A.D. This emperor who was a native of Cappadocia himself, was one of the best commanders of the Byzantine army and won consecutive glories in the wars against the invading Arabs. He had married empress Theophano upon the death of her spouse, emperor Romanus II, and had acquired the crown. Though he was a great soldier, the emperor was also interested in monastic life, and the Church of Çavuşin was built in his honor.
