Caesarea was one of the most populous settlements in the Ottoman Empire where Armenians lived since the reign of The Byzantine Empire. In the 11th cen­­tury, a huge emigration from Armenia caused demographic changes in Cap­padocia. Thus Armenians became the majority according to the sources (Mi­chael Psell, sister Kasia). This fact explains the existence of Armenian manu­scripts, churches and monasteries, other cultural and architectural monuments in Caesarea and its surroundings as well as “the presence of Armenians in Cap­padocia”. At the beginning of the Turkish dominion, the situation remained un­changed. In the 15-16th centuries, Turks took control of the situation and oc­ca­sionally evicted and forcibly relocated a large number of Armenians and Greeks and instead of them the territory was inhabited by Muslims. This policy con­tinued until the 1990s in the 19th century, reaching 1915 and up to the "revo­lution­ary" Kemalists in the 20s of the 20th century.

Due to the above mentioned action, Turkish regime succeeded to change the ethnic image of the people for the benefit of the Muslims. In fact, in the mid-19th century, the majority of the Caesarean population were Turks, Christian representatives were Armenians and Greeks who were mainly Turkish-speakers.

Bishop Drtad Balian investigated the issues of Caesarea's manuscripts, an­cient literature, monasteries and folklore. As a diocese leader (1887-1910) he managed to rebuild and reopen St. Karapet’s seminary and was involved in edu­ca­tion.