ANAZARBUS, an ancient Cilician city, situated in the Aleian plain about Iom. W. of the main stream of the Pyramus (Jihun) and near its tributary, the Sempas Su. A lofty isolated ridge formed its acropolis. Under the early Roman empire the place was known as Caesarea, and was the metropolis of Cilicia Secunda. Rebuilt by the emperor Justin after an earthquake, it became Justinopolis (A.D. 5 2 5) ; but the old native name persisted, and when Thoros I., king of Lesser Armenia, made it his capital early in the 12th century, it was known as Anazarva. Its great natural strength and situation not far from the mouth of the Sis pass, and near the great road which debouched from the Cilician gates, made Anazarbus play a considerable part in the struggles between the Byzantine empire and the early Muslim invaders. It had been rebuilt by Harun al-Rashid in A.D. 796, refortified at great expense by Saif addaula, the Hamdanid (loth century), and Saiked, and ruined by the crusaders.
The present wall of the lower city is of late construction, probably Armenian. It encloses a mass of ruins conspicuous in which are a fine triumphal arch, the colonnades of two streets, a gymnasium, etc. A stadium and a theatre lie outside.