History of Kayseri

Kayseri has been a continuous settlement since 3000 BC. The city has always been a vital trade center since it is located on major trade routes, particularly along what was called the Great Silk Road. One of the oldest cities founded in Anatolia, Kültepe, lies nearby.

As Mazaca, the city served as the residence of the kings of Cappadocia. In ancient times, it was on the crossroads of the trade routes from Sinope to the Euphrates and from the Persian Royal Road that extended from Sardis to Susa. In Roman times, a similar route from Ephesus to the East also crossed the city.

The city's name was changed to Eusebia in honor of the Cappadocian king Ariathes V (163–130 BC). The name was changed again to Caesarea by the last Cappadocian King Archelaus or perhaps by Tiberius.

Caesarea stood on a low spur on the north side of Mount Erciyes (Mons Argaeus in ancient times). The site, now called the old town, diplays only a few traces from the old town. It was destroyed by the Sassanid king Shapur I of Persia after his victory over the Emperor Valerian I in AD 260. At the time it was recorded to have around 400,000 inhabitants. In the 4th century, bishop Basil established an ecclesiastical centre on the plain, about one mile to the northeast, which gradually supplanted the old town. A portion of Basil's new city was surrounded with strong walls and turned into a fortress by Justinian.

The Arab general Muawija invaded Cappadocia and took Caesarea from the Byzantines temporarily in AD 647. The city was called Kaisariyah by the Arabs and later Kayseri when it was captured shortly by the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan in 1064. It became one of the most prominent center of at first the Danishmendids (1074-1178) , after Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate (1178-1243), until it fell to the Mongols in 1243. Within the walls lies the greater part of Kayseri rebuilt between the 13th and 16th centuries. The city became Ottoman in the 15th century.

Thus, there were three golden-age periods for Kayseri. The first, dating back to 2000BC, was when the city was a trade post between the Assyrians and the Hittites. The second golden age came during the Roman rule (200 - 300 AD). The third golden age was during the reign of Seljuks(1178-1243), when the city was the second capital of the state.

The 1500-year-old castle, built initially by the Romans, is still standing in good shape at the central square of the city. The short-lived Seljuk rule left large number of historical landmarks; historical buildings such as the Hunad Hatun complex, Kilij Arslan Mosque, The Grand Mosque and Gevher Nesibe asylum. The Grand Bazaar dates from the latter part of the 1800s, but the adjacent Caravanserai (where merchant traders gathered before forming a caravan) dates from around 1500. An Armenian church from the 19th century still operates as a church, another from the same period is used as a gymnasium. However, apart from these few, large, religious and secular constructions, most of Kayseri is modern. The town's older districts (which were filled with ornate mansion-houses mostly dating from the 18th and 19th centuries) were subjected to wholesale demolitions starting in the 1970s. The city is famous for its carpet sellers, and a range of carpets and rugs can be purchased reasonably ranging from new to 50 or more years old.

In the 4th century the city becomes central in early Christianity when St. Basil the Great establishes an ecclesiastical centre here. It is a Roman Catholic titular see and was the seat of an Armenian diocese.

The building that hosts Kayseri Lisesi was arranged to host the Turkish Grand National Assembly during the Turkish War of Independence when the Greek army had advanced very close to Ankara, the capital.

source: wikipedia.org