Tarsus was the home of the young Paul, who was born there about the time Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
By the time of Paul, Tarsus was the capital city of Cilicia, a region in southeastern Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). The
city had been in existence some 4,000 years before him. It was one of the important towns of the Hittites in the second millennium
B.C. When founded it was a seaport; the harbor was a large lagoon opening on the Mediterranean. That lagoon has silted up
gradually through centuries. The city is now 9 miles from the sea and in the midst of rich farmland.
The Cydnus River flows through the city and has played its part in the history of the city. Alexander the Great nearly
drowned in its cold waters in 333 B.C.
Several famous people have been associated with the city. Cicero, the great Roman orator; Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.),
the Roman Emperor; Mark Anthony (83-30 B.C.), the ruler of the east part of the Roman Empire after the assassination of Julius
Caesar; and Cleopatra (69-30 B.C.), the Queen of Egypt, had all either visited or lived in Tarsus.
