COLONIA ARCHELAIS
(Aksaray, Niğde) Cappadocia, Turkey.
It was formerly known as Garsaoura, chief town of the strategia of Garsaouritis. Strabo (
12.2.6; 14.2.29) describes it as a
κωμόπολις and a
πολίχνιον;
it was later refounded as Archelaos by King
Archelaus, and became a colony under Claudius (Plin.
HN 6.8). The site is a large oasis SE of Tuz Gölü and
225 km S of Ancyra. No monuments survive though
occasional tombstones are found.
R. P. HARPER