Kingdom of Cappadocia

The Kingdom of Cappadocia was the Iranian-Hellenistic kingdom of central Anatolia, lasting from 331 BC to 17 AD. It grew from the Achaemenid satrapy of the same name: the last satrap, Ariarathes, refused Alexander's heirs and kept his highlands, founding the Ariarathid house that ruled for two centuries. The kings Hellenized on purpose, minting Greek coins, marrying Seleucids and Pontic princesses, while keeping Iranian fire-rites in the hills. After the Ariarathids failed, Rome managed the successions: the Ariobarzanid house, then Archelaus, last king of all, reigned as Rome's friend while Augustus and Tiberius watched. When Archelaus died in 17 AD, Tiberius simply declined to appoint a successor and folded Cappadocia into the empire as a province. Three hundred and fifty years of mountain kings ended with paperwork. The fairy chimneys of the highlands passed from Iranian satraps to Roman tax farmers without changing their shape, and the last king's name survived only on coins.