The Mithraic evidence documented in Cappadocia reflects the province’s strategic position between central Anatolia, the Euphrates frontier and the wider eastern Mediterranean. The material remains limited but is significant for understanding the circulation of Mithraic practices through military routes, administrative centres and cross-cultural Anatolian contexts.
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
Deus Invictus altar from Caesarea
Altar inscription dedicated to Deus Invictus, found at Cherchel (ancient Caesarea of Mauretania).
CIMRM 155
Inscription to Mithras from Tyana
Brief dedicatory inscription to Mithras the Just, found at Tyana (modern Kemerhisar), Cappadocia.
CIMRM 18
Rock inscription of Sagarios at Farasha
Rock inscription of Sagarios, strategus of Ariaramneia, recording a Mithraic ceremony near Farasha (ancient Ariaramneia), Cappadocia, likely 1st century A.D.
CIMRM 19
Sol Invictus inscription from Caesarea
White marble plate inscription dedicated to Soli Invicto pro salute, from Caesarea of Mauretania (modern Cherchel).
CIMRM 156
Brothers attested in Cappadocia
Provinces of Cappadocia
Cappadocia
Cappadocia formed a major frontier and military region linking central Anatolia to the eastern limits of the Roman empire.
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.
Tyana
Tyana, earlier known as Tuwana during the Iron Age, and Tūwanuwa during the Bronze Age, was an ancient city in the Anatolian region of Cappadocia, in modern Kemerhisar, Niğde Province, Central Anatolia, Turkey.
