Comana was a city of
Cappadocia
Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde.
According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...
( el, τὰ Κόμανα τῆς Καππαδοκίας) and later
Cataonia
Cataonia ( grc, Kαταoνία) was one of the divisions of ancient Cappadocia.
It is described by Strabo, who had visited it, as a level plain surrounded by mountains: on the south by the Amanus, and on the west by the Antitaurus, which bran ...
( la, Comana Cataoniae; frequently called Comana Chryse or Aurea, i.e. "the golden", to distinguish it from
Comana in Pontus). The
Hittite toponym ''
Kummanni Kummanni ( Hittite: ''Kummiya'') was the name of the main center of the Anatolian kingdom of Kizzuwatna. Its location is uncertain, but it may have been near the classical settlement of Comana in Cappadocia.
Recent research also proposed as a loca ...
'' is considered likely to refer to Comana, but the identification is not considered proven. Its ruins are at the modern
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
village of ,
Tufanbeyli
Tufanbeyli is small city and a district in Adana Province of Turkey, 196 km north-east of the city of Adana, on an uneven, sloping plateau high in the Tahtalı range of the Toros mountains. It has been bounded economically to Kayseri, 178 km ...
district,
Adana Province
Adana Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey located in central Cilicia. With a population of 2.26 million, it is the sixth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 79% of the r ...
.
History
According to ancient geographers, Comana was situated in Cappadocia (and later Cataonia). Another epithet for the city, found in inscriptions, is Hieropolis /ˌhaɪəˈræpəlɪs/ ( grc, Ἱεράπολις) 'sacred city', owing to a famous temple of the Syrian Moon goddess Enyo or, in the local language:
Ma (cf.
Men
A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chrom ...
, the moon goddess of
Caria
Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionians, Ionian and Dorians, Dorian Greeks colonized the west of i ...
).
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 "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
and
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
visited it; the former
[Strabo, XI, 521; XII, 535, 537.] enters into long details about its position in a deep valley on the
Sarus (Seihoun) river. The temple and its fame in ancient times as the place where the rites of
Ma-Enyo, a variety of the great west Asian nature-goddess, were celebrated with much solemnity. The service was carried on in a sumptuous temple with great magnificence by many thousands of ''
hieroduli'' (temple slaves). To defray expenses, large estates had been set apart, which yielded a more than royal revenue. The city, a mere apanage of the temple, was governed directly by the chief priest, who was always a member of the reigning Cappadocian family, and took rank next to the king. The number of persons engaged in the service of the temple, even in
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 "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
's time, was upwards of 6,000, and among these, to judge by the names common on local tomb-stones, were many Persians. Under the Romans the temple was reassigned to
Bellona Bellona may refer to:
Places
*Bellona, Campania, a ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta, Italy
*Bellona Reef, a reef in New Caledonia
*Bellona Island, an island in Rennell and Bellona Province, Solomon Islands
Ships
* HMS ''Bellona'' (1760), a 74 ...
and
Lycomedes
In Greek mythology, Lycomedes ( grc, Λυκομήδης), also known as Lycurgus, was the most prominent king of the Dolopians in the island of Scyros near Euboea during the Trojan War.
Family
Lycomedes was the father of seven daughters inclu ...
established as high priest. Emperor
Caracalla
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...
made Comana a Roman colony, and the temple-city received honors from later emperors down to the official recognition of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. Comana Chryse, or the golden, appears from one of the
Novellae In Roman law, a novel ( la, novella constitutio, "new decree"; gr, νεαρά, neara) is a new decree or edict, in other words a new law. The term was used from the fourth century AD onwards and was specifically used for laws issued after the publi ...
of
Justinian
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
(''Nov.'' 31. c. 1), to distinguish it from the Comana in Pontus. It was in the division which he named the
Third Armenia
Roman Armenia refers to the rule of parts of Greater Armenia by the Roman Empire, from the 1st century AD to the end of Late Antiquity. While Armenia Minor had become a client state and incorporated into the Roman Empire proper during the 1st ce ...
, and which, he observes, contained
Melitene, near the
Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
.
There was a tradition that
Orestes
In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and ...
, with his sister, brought from
Tauric Scythia
The recorded history of the Crimean Peninsula, historically known as ''Tauris'', ''Taurica'' ( gr, Ταυρική or Ταυρικά), and the ''Tauric Chersonese'' ( gr, Χερσόνησος Ταυρική, "Tauric Peninsula"), begins around the ...
the sacred rites of this temple, which were those of Tauropolos
Artemis
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
. Here Orestes deposited the hair that he cut from his head to commemorate the end of his sufferings (), and hence, according to a folk etymology of the Greeks, came the name of the place, Comana. And in later times, to make the name suit the story better, as it was supposed, it was changed to . (Eustath. ''ad Dionys.'' v. 694; Procop. ''Persic.'' i. 17.)
The city minted coins in antiquity that bear the epigraphs ''Col. Aug. Comana'', and ''Col. Iul. Aug. Comanenoru'' or ''Comainoru''.
The site lies at Şarköy or Şar (once usually transcribed Shahr), a village in the
Anti-Taurus
The Anti-Taurus (Greek: Αντίταυρος, Latin: Anti-Taurus (ANTITAVRVS), its western part is called today by the Turks ''Aladağlar'') is the central chain of the mountain ranges of the Armenian Highlands, which runs from west to east acro ...
on the upper course of the
Sarus (
Sihun), mainly
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
, but surrounded by later settlements of
Avshar Turkomans and
Circassians. The place has derived importance both in antiquity and now from its position at the eastern end of the main pass of the western Anti-Taurus range, the
Kuru Çay, through which passed the road from
Caesarea-Mazaca
Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large industrialised city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is composed of five districts: the two central districts of Kocasinan ...
(modern
Kayseri
Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large Industrialisation, industrialised List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is comp ...
) to
Melitene (modern
Malatya
Malatya ( hy, Մալաթիա, translit=Malat'ya; Syro-Aramaic ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ku, Meletî; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a large city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city ha ...
), converted by
Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa (Roman province), Africa. As a young man he advanced thro ...
into the chief military road to the eastern frontier of the empire. The extant remains at Şar include a theatre on the left bank of the river, a fine Roman doorway and many inscriptions; but the exact site of the great temple has not been satisfactorily identified. There are many traces of Severus's road, including a bridge at Kemer, and an immense number of milestones, some in their original positions, others reused in cemeteries.
Ecclesiastical history
It remains a Roman Catholic
titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...
of Asia Minor.
St. Basiliscus was put to death at Comana and was buried there; according to Palladius, the historian of
St. Chrysostom
John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of a ...
, he was bishop of the city, but this is very doubtful. Its bishop, Elpidius, was present at the
First Council of Nicaea
The First Council of Nicaea (; grc, Νίκαια ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325.
This ecumenical council was the first effort ...
, in 325. Leontius, a semi-Arian, held the see in the time of the Emperor Jovian. Bishop Heraclius appeared at the
Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bith ...
in 451: Comana was then a
suffragan
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...
of
Melitene, the metropolis of
Armenia Secunda
Roman Armenia refers to the rule of parts of Greater Armenia by the Roman Empire, from the 1st century AD to the end of Late Antiquity. While Armenia Minor had become a client state and incorporated into the Roman Empire proper during the 1st ce ...
; since then it figures as such in most of the ''
Notitiae episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') are official documents that furnish Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church.
In the Roman Church (the -mostly Lati ...
'' to the twelfth century. Two other bishops are known: Hormizes, or Mormisdas, about 458 (letter to the Emperor Leo; see also
Photius
Photios I ( el, Φώτιος, ''Phōtios''; c. 810/820 – 6 February 893), also spelled PhotiusFr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., & Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Materia ...
, Biblioth., Cod. 51) and Theodorus at the
Fifth Ecumenical Council
The Second Council of Constantinople is the fifth of the first seven ecumenical councils recognized by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. It is also recognized by the Old Catholics and others. Protestant opinions and rec ...
, in 553.
The ruins of Comana are visible ten miles north-west of
Guksun (
Cocussus), in the Ottoman
vilayet of Adana (
Lequien
Michel Le Quien (8 October 1661, Boulogne-sur-Mer – 12 March 1733, Paris) was a French historian and theologian. He studied at Plessis College, Paris, and at twenty entered the Dominican convent in Faubourg Saint-Germain, where he made his pro ...
, I, 447;
William Mitchell Ramsay
Sir William Mitchell Ramsay, FBA (15 March 185120 April 1939) was a Scottish archaeologist and New Testament scholar. By his death in 1939 he had become the foremost authority of his day on the history of Asia Minor and a leading scholar in th ...
, ''The Historical Geography of Asia Minor'').
Homonymous dioceses
*Another episcopal see named Comana, suffragan of
Neocaesarea
Niksar, historically known as Neocaesarea (Νεοκαισάρεια), is a city in Tokat Province, Turkey. It was settled by many empires, being once the capital city of the province. Niksar is known as " Çukurova of the North-Anatolia" due to i ...
, was situated in
Pontus Polemoniacus
Pontus or Pontos may refer to:
* Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea)
* Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology
* Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
; it had also a temple of Ma and was surnamed ''Hierocaesarea'' 'Caesar's sacred
ity. It was captured by
Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force.
Sulla had ...
, 83 B.C. Six bishops are mentioned by Lequien (I, 517); the first is
St. Alexander the Charcoal-Seller
Saint Alexander of Comana (died c. 251), known as "the charcoal burner", was Bishop of Comana in Pontus. Whether he was the first to occupy that see is unknown. The saint's curious name comes from the fact that he had, out of humility, taken u ...
, consecrated by
St. Gregory the Wonder-Worker. This town became modern
Gomenek, or
Gomanak, a village south-west of
Neocaesarea
Niksar, historically known as Neocaesarea (Νεοκαισάρεια), is a city in Tokat Province, Turkey. It was settled by many empires, being once the capital city of the province. Niksar is known as " Çukurova of the North-Anatolia" due to i ...
(Niksar), in the Ottoman
vilayet of Sivas
The Vilayet of Sivas (, ota, ولايت سيوس, Vilâyet-i Sivas) was a first-level administrative division ( vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, and was one of the Six Armenian vilayets. The vilayet was bordered by Erzurum Vilayet to the east, ...
.
*Lequien (I, 1009) gives another Comana in
Pamphylia Prima
Pamphylia (; grc, Παμφυλία, ''Pamphylía'') was a region in the south of Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean to Mount Taurus (all in modern-day Antalya province, Turkey). It was bounded on the north by ...
, suffragan of
Side
Side or Sides may refer to:
Geometry
* Edge (geometry) of a polygon (two-dimensional shape)
* Face (geometry) of a polyhedron (three-dimensional shape)
Places
* Side (Ainis), a town of Ainis, ancient Thessaly, Greece
* Side (Caria), a town of ...
; the true name is Conana.
Zoticus Zoticus may refer to:
People
Zoticus is a Latin masculine given name of Greek origin (from ''Zotikos'', meaning "full of life"). Its French form is Zotique. It may refer to:
*Zoticus of Comana (died 204), saint and bishop
* Aurelius Zoticus (''fl. ...
, who lived at the time of
Montanus
Montanus was the second century founder of Montanism and a self proclaimed prophet. Montanus emphasized the work of the Holy Spirit, in a manner which set him apart from the Great church.
Life
Only very little is known about the life of Montanu ...
, was bishop of Conana in Pamphylia or of Comama in Pontus, not of Comana in Cappadocia. Cosmas of Conana appeared at the
Third Council of Constantinople
The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, as well by certain other Western Churches, met in 680–681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical a ...
in 680. Conana became modern
Gunen, in the Ottoman
vilayet of Adana.
See also
*
Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
, whose head was found at Comana in the 9th century, according to Church tradition
Sources and references
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Populated places in ancient Cappadocia
Populated places in ancient Cataonia
Roman towns and cities in Turkey
Archaeological sites in the Mediterranean Region, Turkey
History of Adana Province
Former populated places in Turkey
Tourist attractions in Adana Province
Holy cities
Catholic titular sees in Asia