History
The first Hittite capital, Kaniş, was the chief city of the Hatti people and you can visit the remains at Kültepe, 20km northeast of Kayseri, off the Sivas road. There was probably an early settlement on the site of Kayseri as well.
Under the Roman emperor Tiberius (r AD 14–37), the town was renamed Caesarea. Later it became famous as the birthplace of St Basil the Great, who was responsible for organising the monastic life of Cappadocia. Its early Christian history was interrupted by Arab invasions from the 7th century. The Seljuks took over in 1084 and held the city until the Mongols’ arrival in 1243, except for a brief period when the Crusaders captured it on their way to the Holy Land.
After Kayseri had been part of the Mongol Empire for almost 100 years, its Mongol governor set up his own emirate (1335). This lasted a mere 45 years and was succeeded by another emirate, then captured by the Ottomans, taken by the Mamluks, and finally conquered by the Ottomans again in 1515 – all in just over 100 years.
