Tarsus

Tarsus

Understand Cleopatra Gate Tarsus was so-named by the Hittites around 1700 BC, when it was already ancient. It stands on the Çukurova or Cilician plain, with sea access and routes inland, so it commands trade routes. Little is known of its early years as the modern city has paved over everything, but it was important during the Roman Empire. After the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, the empire was divided between a triumvirate, a trio of rulers, and Mark Antony got the eastern portion including Cilicia. Cleopatra VII of Egypt had been Julius Caesar's unofficial consort and needed to ally with the new man, so she visited and lushed up his court. The town's other famous citizen was Saul or Paul, born here circa 5 AD. Like many, he had a Hebrew or Jewish name (Saul, שָׁאוּל, Sha'ûl) and a Graeco-Roman name (Paulos, Παῦλος) and used whichever fitted the company. From a pious Pharisee family, he was sent to Jerusalem for his education, then was later employed persecuting the Christian converts in that…

Source: Wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 4.0.