Tarsus (ancient Cydnus), city in southern Turkey, on the Tarsus River, near Adana and also near the Mediterranean Sea. An agricultural and cotton-milling center, Tarsus is also involved in the export of corn, cotton, wool, skins, and hides. Tarsus was first mentioned in historical records as being ruled by the Assyrians in the late 8th century BC. After the Romans captured it in the 1st century BC, Tarsus became the chief city of Cilicia and one of the most prominent in Asia Minor. Antony and Cleopatra first met in Tarsus in 41 BC, and the apostle Saint Paul was born there in about AD3. In ancient times Tarsus was located on a highway that ran from the Mediterranean Sea through a narrow mountain pass called the Cilician Gates (Gülek Bogazi), making the city an important market for the trade carried on between Syria, Egypt, and central Asia Minor. The city was destroyed by Arabs around 660; rebuilt in the late 8th century, it was ruled successively by Arabs, Byzantines, Crusaders, Mamluks, and other groups, before falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1515. Population (1996 estimate) 238,814.
