Tarsus

Tarsus (tär`səs, Turk. tärss`), city (1990 pop. 191,333), S Turkey, in Cilicia, on the Tarsus (anc. Cydnus) River, near the Mediterranean Sea. It is an agricultural trade center; copper, zinc, chromium, and coal are mined in the region. Ancient Tarsus, first mentioned in the 8th cent. B.C., was the capital of Cilicia and one of the most important cities of Asia Minor. It reached the height of its prosperity and cultural achievement under Roman rule. The city was destroyed by the Arabs c.A.D. 660 and was rebuilt by them in the 780s. It was captured by the Ottoman Turks in 1515. The apostle Paul was born there.

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Tarsus

City (pop., 2000: 216,382), south-central Turkey. It is located near the Mediterranean Sea coast. Settled from Neolithic times, it was razed and rebuilt c. 700 BC by the Assyrian king Sennacherib. Later, Achaemenid and Seleucid rule alternated with periods of autonomy. In 67 BC it was absorbed into the new Roman province of Cilicia, becoming one of the principal cities of the Eastern and Byzantine empires. It was the site of the first meeting in 41 BC between Mark Antony and Cleopatra and was the birthplace of St. Paul. It remained a leading industrial and cultural centre through the early Byzantine period. It came under various powers in the 10th–15th century and passed to the Ottoman Empire in the early 16th century. Modern Tarsus is a prosperous agricultural and cotton-milling centre.

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tarsus

1. the bones of the ankle and heel, collectively

2. the corresponding part in other mammals and in amphibians and reptiles

3. the dense connective tissue supporting the free edge of each eyelid

4. the part of an insect's leg that lies distal to the tibia

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Tarsus

1. a city in SE Turkey, on the Tarsus River: site of ruins of ancient Tarsus, capital of Cilicia, and birthplace of St. Paul. Pop.: 231 000 (2005 est.)

2. a river in SE Turkey, in Cilicia, rising in the Taurus Mountains and flowing south past Tarsus to the Mediterranean. Length: 153 km (95 miles)

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tarsus [′tär·səs]

(anatomy)

The instep of the foot consisting of the calcaneus, talus, cuboid, navicular, medial, intermediate, and lateral cuneiform bones.

The dense connective tissues supporting an eyelid.

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Tarsus 

in arthropods, the penultimate (distal) segment of the limb, usually in movable articulation with the tibia, rarely merging with it into a single segment (tibiotarsus). In most insects, the tarsus consists of one to five subsegments, of which the last one usually bears two ungues (more rarely, one) on its tip. In the Scutigera the tarsus consists of numerous small articles. Sometimes there are special appendages under the ungues that serve as suckers when crawling on smooth objects.

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Tarsus 

a city in southern Turkey, in feel Province; situated along a railroad and a highway connecting Adana with Mersin. Population, 75,000 (1970). Tarsus is the commercial center of a major cotton-growing region. Industries include cotton ginning, textile manufacturing, cement production, and food processing.

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Tarsus 

an ancient city in what is now Turkey, near the modern town of the same name; the site was inhabited from the sixth millennium B.C. to the third or fourth century A.D. Excavations at Gözlükule, conducted between 1934 and 1938, established that a settlement existed at the site of Tarsus during the Neolithic period, in the sixth to fifth millennia B.C. In the fourth millennium, Tarsus came under the increasing influence of the El-Obeid culture; in the third millennium it was a fortified town with a developed metallurgical industry; in the second millennium it apparently became a part of the Hittite state, as evidenced by Hittite seals found there. Iron implements, such as axes, adzes, and weapons, first appeared in Tarsus between 1100 B.C. and 850 B.C. and were widely distributed from 850 B.C. to 700 B.C. In the seventh century B.C., Tarsus was part of Assyria. Tombs from the Hellenistic and Roman eras have been excavated from the city’s upper layers.

REFERENCE

Excavations at Gözlü Kule: Tarsus, vols. 1–3. Princeton, N.J., 1950–63. (Contains bibliography.)