The material documented in Cappadocia reflects the province’s strategic importance within the military and communication systems of eastern Anatolia. Frontier mobility and regional circulation contributed to the spread of Mithraic cults through the province.
Mithraic monuments of Cappadocia
Mithraeum of Zerzevan
A Mithraeum was discovered in 2007, during the excavations at the Zerzevan Castle.
Column of Callimorphus
Callimorphus dedicated this image of the sun god to the invincible sun ’Mythra’.
CIMRM 17
CIMRM 19
Near Frasha (T&: cI>&:potcrot), situated near the Zamanti-Sou, on a considerable height a grotto has been hewn out, which can be reached by way a fly of steps.
CIMRM 19
Brothers active in Cappadocia
Places in Cappadocia
Caesarea
Caesarea, also known historically as Mazaca, was an ancient city in what is now Kayseri, Turkey.
Castrum Zerzevan
Zerzevan Castle, also known as Samachi Castle, is a ruined Eastern Roman castle, a former important military base, in Diyarbakır Province, southeastern Turkey.
Inscriptions from Cappadocia
Column of Callimorphus
References
- Aytaç Coşkun, E. Deniz Oğuz-Kirca (2022) Beyond the Roman East. An archaeological evaluation of the mithraeum based on its architectural authenticity at castrum Zerzevan (Diyarbakir, Turkey). Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology
- UNESCO (2020) Zerzevan Castle and Mithraeum
