Cappadocian Greeks
Cappadocian Greeks, also known as Greek Cappadocians (Greek: Έλληνες-Καππαδόκες, Ελληνοκαππαδόκες, Καππαδόκες; Turkish: Kapadokyalı Rumlar) or simply Cappadocians, are an ethnic Greek community native to the geographical region of Cappadocia in central-eastern Anatolia; roughly the Nevşehir and Kayseri provinces, and their surroundings, in modern-day Turkey. There had been a continuous Greek presence in Cappadocia since antiquity, and the indigenous populations of Cappadocia, some of whose Indo-European languages may have been closely related to Greek, (cf. Phrygian) became entirely Greek-speaking by at least the 5th century.
Έλληνες-Καππαδόκες Kapadokyalı Rumlar | |
|---|---|
Cappadocian Greeks in traditional clothing, Greece | |
| Total population | |
| ~50,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Greece (especially northern Greece) | |
| Greece | 44,432 (More than 50,000 including descendants) – around 50,000 (1920s estimate) |
| Languages | |
| Greek language, Cappadocian Greek, Karamanli Turkish | |
| Religion | |
| Greek Orthodoxy | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Pontic Greeks, Karamanlides | |
In the 11th century Seljuq Turks arriving from Central Asia conquered the region, beginning its gradual shift in language and religion. In 1923, following the mass killing of Christian Ottomans across Anatolia, the surviving Cappadocian Greek native communities were forced to leave their homeland and resettle in Greece by the terms of the Greek–Turkish population exchange. Today their descendants can be found throughout Greece and the Greek diaspora worldwide.