When Cappadocia was captured by the Assyrian King Asurbanibal (668-626 B.C.), the king of Tabal (as Cappadocia was then known) sent his daughter and other gifts as tribute. Asurbanibal, however, declined these gracious offerings and asked instead for the famous Cappadocian horses.
According to the 1 st century geographer Strabo, the Cappadocians sent at least 1,500 horses to the Persian King Darius and his son Xerxes to enhance the legendary military strength of the Persians. History also records that when Alexander fought the Persians in the battle at Granicos, Cappadocian horsemen were among his opponents. In 190 B.C. the .Cappadocians helped Antiochus, king of Syria, in his battle against the Romans by sending him 2,000 horsemen. The fame of the Cappadocian horses and horse-breeding farms continued through Roman and Byzantine times.
Mount Erciyes (Argeus), a volcano venerated in ancient times by the local inhabitants as well as by the Hittites and Romans, was also referred to as the "Father of Fast (Cappadocian) Horses."
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Love Valley- Goreme.
Love Valley- Goreme.
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