TARSUS, a city of Cilicia Campeatris, on the Cydnus, in Asia Minor, is situated about 12 miles from the sea, in about 36°55' N. let., 34' 59 E. long. There are various fabulous legends about its Stephanus I3yzantinua says it was founded by Sardauapalus. Xeno phon, Anab.,' i. 2, describes Tarsus as a great and flourishing city when it was taken and plundered by the younger Cyrus, who after wards concluded a treaty with Sperling* king of alias, who had his palace there. Alexander the Great arrived at Tarsus just in time to save it from being burnt by the Persians. The city joined the party of Julius Cresar, in honour of whom it took the carne of Jnliopolia ; it was in consequence severely punished by Cassius, and rewarded afterwards by Antony, who made Tarsus a free city. Tarsus enjoyed the favour of Augustus, whose tutor Athenodorus, a Stoic, was a native of this place, and persuaded the emperor to release his country men from all taxation. Tarsus continued to be a wealthy and im portant city under the emperors. The Tarsiana, according to Strabo, excelled io quickness of repartee and every kind of ready wit ; and their schools of philosophy were not leas celebrated than them of Athena cud Alexandria. Tarsus was a metropolis, a free city, and tax-free, as before stated. St. Paul was a native of Tarsus. Jupiter, Apollo, Hercules, and Perseus are frequent types on the coins of Tarsus, and confirm the testimony of Dion Chryeostom (' Ora,' 33, 20), who mentions these among the chief deities of the place.
Tarsus was seized by the Arabs during the early times of their empire, and was strongly fortified by Harun al Rashid, whose son and successor, Al Marnun, was buried there, A.D. 833. It was recovered by
Nicephorua Phocas, the successor of Constantine Porphyrogennetus, after a great resistance. Ebn llaukal, who wrote in the 10th century, describes Tarsous' as a considerable town, with a double wall of etooe, as a strong and pleasant place, and as containing above 1000 horse men. Tarsus was afterwards retaken by the Arabs, but it was wrested from them by the Crusaders, under the command of Tancred. William of Tyre describes It at this time as a metropolis of Cilicia, with suffragan towns, and a population of Greeks and Armenians, much oppressed by the Arabs. In tho 13th century, during the khalifate of Mostazena, the Arabs attempted to recover Tarsus, but failed. It was finally taken by Mohammed IL, io 1459.
Very few remains of ancient Tarsus exist; rat the north-west end of the ancient town is part of an old gateway, and near it a very largo mound, apparently artificial, with a flat top ; ou an eminence to the south-west are the ruins of a spacious circular edifice, probably the gymnasium. The Cydnus (now called the river of Tersoos) was navigable up to Tarsus in ancient times. It flowed into a kind of lake called Rhegma, which had dockyards end formed the port of Tarsus. The deposits of the river have filled up the lake, and the mouth of the Cydnus is so obstructed by sand-bars that only small boats can enter, but inside the bar the river is still deep and about 160 feet wide,