1. General Outline

Migration from Cappadocia was a long-term phenomenon, indissolubly connected with the history of the region already from the 15^th century. Apart from external factors, such as a decision of the central administration, people migrated because of the limited agricultural production, population fluctuations and the lack of safety conditions in the countryside, probably due to the activity of irregular armed forces and the competition between powerful local rulers, at least until the early 19^th century.

The most important place of reception for Cappadocian immigrants between the 15^th and the early 20^th century was Constantinople. Migration increased in the 18^th and mainly the 19^th century. These events are connected with the development of the capital and, on the other hand, with the improved means of transportation and the increased transactions. Other places of reception for the Cappadocian immigrants in Asia Minor were the Pontus between the 17^th and the 20^th century (mainly in the 19^th century, due to the development of Samsun / Amisos and other lesser commercial centres), Smyrna and the western coast from the mid-18^th century onwards (mainly after the 1860s, due to the development of cotton farming and trading in the area), and, finally, some cities of Cilicia and the central Asia Minor, such as Adana, Ikonio (Konya), Mersin and Ankara. Although central Asia Minor was an early place of reception for immigrants from Cappadocia,¹ this movement increased mainly in the 19^th century. The immigrants who went there were mainly occupied with drapery trade and tahini (sesame paste) production, or owned oil presses, potteries and groceries; they even were active as animal traders and exporters.² Towards the late 19^th century, in particular as regards Adana, migration was connected with the development of cotton and oil trade.³ Some Cappadocians migrated to regions outside Asia Minor, such as Egypt, the newly established Greek state and –in the late 19^th century– America, although those destinations never became as important as the previous ones.

It should also be noted that workers migrated seasonally on an annual basis. Cilicia and the nearby areas often absorbed those immigrants, who worked as lime - kiln workers,⁴ in tahini production and in quarries⁵ in the winter months, while in the summer they usually returned to their places of origin.⁶ Seasonal movements of builders are also reported in the summer months, as well as small-scale movements, such as the movements of the inhabitants of Floita, who toured as press manufacturers, while in winter they worked in the presses of Kaisareia.⁷

Finally, there were some individual immigrants who aimed at receiving education. During the patriarchal office of Ieremias III, in the early 18^th century, there was a prediction for young Caramanlis from the area of Kaisareia, who wished to study for 4-5 years at the ‘Megali tou Genous Scholi’ (The Greek Patriarchal High School) so that they could understand the Bible and the liturgical books.⁸ A similar movement was also noted in the 19^th century. Some Cappadocian scholars, who had studied at the Megali tou Genous Scholi, the School of Chalki and the "Evangeliki" school of Smyrna, Hellenized and archaized their names.⁹

2. Settlement and Migration Patterns

Migration, particularly after the 18^th century, concerned almost all Cappadocian settlements and mainly those with a limited agricultural production. The immigrants were mostly men in the productive age group. They were in contact with their places of origin, where they returned regularly, since most of the family members lived there. The working immigrants made a significant economic contribution to the survival of the people in their birthplaces; they sometimes were the one and only source of income. The cases when entire families migrated were rare and were noted mainly towards the late 19^th and the early 20^th century.

Family and local networks facilitated the reception and the integration of the new immigrants. This often led to their professional specialisation and the formation of guilds organised on a local basis. The guilds and clubs established during the 19^th century arranged also the relations of the immigrants with their places of origin. Migration patterns different from the traditional pattern were followed in the new commercial centres, such as Samsun and Smyrna, and were related to the professional activities and mentalities of the groups that went there. They were mainly groups of wholesale merchants, but also of unskilled workers, who deviated from the groups of professionals and craftsmen of the guilds. The full integration of those immigrants into the local society and their final assimilation must have been easier, at least in the case of wholesale merchants.