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.