TARSUS (tar'sus), (Gr. Tapo6s, tar-sos', was a celebrated city, the metropolis of Cilicia, in Asia Minor, on the banks of the river Cydnus, which flowed through it and divided it into two parts.
Tarsus was a distinguished seat of Greek phi losophy and literature, and from the number of its schools and learned men. was ranked by the side of Athens and Alexandria (Strabo, xiv, pp. 673, 674). Augustus made Tarsus free (Appian, Bell. .Civ. v, 7). This seems to have implied the privilege of being governed by its own laws and magistrates, with freedom from tribute; but did not confer the jus coloniarum, nor the jus civi tatis: and it was not therefore, as usually sup posed, on this account, that Paul enjoyed the priv ilege of Roman citizenship. Tarsus, indeed. eventually did become a Roman colony, which gave to the inhabitants this privilege; but this was not till long after the time of Paul (Deyling. Obscrvat. Saer. iii, 391, sq.; comp. CITIZENSHIP; COLONY ) . We thus find that the Roman tribune at Jerusalem ordered Paul w be scourged, though he knew that he was a native of Tarsus, but de sisted on learning that he was a Roman citizen (Acts ix :I ; xxi :39 ; xxii :3). Probably Paul
was there also at the beginning of his second and third missionary tours (Acts xv:4t ; xviii :23). In the time of Abulfeda, that is towards the end of the thirteenth and beginning of the fourteenth century, Tarsus was still large, and surrounded by a double wall, and in the occupation of Ar menian Christians (Tab. Syria-, p. 133). It is now a poor and decayed town, inhabited by Turks; but it is not so much fallen as many other an ciently great towns of the same quarter, the pop ulation being estimated at 30,000. There are some considerable remains of the ancient city (Neu mann, Dc Claris Tarsenensib., Gott. 1748; Alt mann, E.rerc. de Torso. Bern. 1731; Mannert, 97, sq.; Roscnmfiller, Bib. Geog. in, 38; Beaufort, Karainania; Irby and Mangles, Travels, pp. 502 506 ; Ramsay, Paul the Traveler, p. 32).