[3] Niksar has been ruled by the Hittite, Persian, Greek, Pontic, Roman, Byzantine, Danishmend, Seljuk and Ottoman Empires.

[7] During the Middle Ages, the Muslims and Christians disputed the possession of Neocaesarea, and in 1068 a Seljuk general, Melik-Ghazi, whose tomb is still visible, captured and pillaged it.

When the Seljuqs raided Anatolia in 1067, Neocaesarea was conquered by Afşın Bey, one of the commanders of Alp Arslan.

The city became part of the domain of Roussel de Bailleul, a Norman mercenary who had rebelled against the Byzantine empire, and who held the town until 1075.

[citation needed] By 1175, during the reign of Kılıç Arslan II, Niksar was dependent on the Seljuks of Rum.

[10] Noted bishops include Saints Gregory Thaumaturgus, Paul of Neocaesarea, and Thomas, a 9th-century martyr.

This became an issue in the case of Novatian, who had received baptism by perfusion when dangerously ill.[12] Being early placed at the head of an ecclesiastical province, Neocæsarea had four suffragan sees about 640 ("Ecthesis" of pseudo-Epiphanius, ed.

Heinrich Gelzer, 539), retaining them until the tenth century, when Trebizond obtained its independence and, by degrees, the other three suffragans were suppressed.

Among the twenty-seven bishops of this city mentioned by Le Quien, the most noted are Saints Gregory Thaumaturgus, Paul of Neocaesarea, and Thomas, a 9th-century martyr.

It is surrounded by Erbaa on the northwest, Tokat on the southwest, Almus on the south, Başçiftlik on the southeast and Akkuş on the north.

[citation needed] The Canik Mountains are covered with plateaus that lie parallel to the Black Sea.

Polecats, rabbits, wolves, foxes, lynxes, bears, and pigs are the main hunting animals that live in the mountains and forests.

Called Aşevi or Aşgana in the local dialect, the kitchen is usually the largest room of the house and serves as a sort of lounge for the family.

The typical kitchen has a fireplace on one side used for cooking or washing and a storeroom on the other in which dried foods, preserves, sauces, cheese and grape leaves are kept.

The famous local foods of Niksar are walnut, tomato paste and grape leaves which is a main ingredient of dolma, a very popular dish in Turkey.