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St. Paul`s
Birthplace
Tarsus :
St. Paul`s birthplace,Tarsus is one of the oldest settlements in
Cilicia.Excavator working on the mound rising in the north-west quarter in
the city have uncovered evidence of settlements here in the
Chalcolithic,Early Bronze,Hittite,Hellenistic and Roman periods.Among the
famous people of Tarsus is the name of Sit Aleyhisselam,known as Adam`s son
Seth;he is reputedly buried in a mauseloum on the eastern side of Ulu
Mosque.A somewhat later,and likewise legendary,burial is that at Donuk Tas
of Sardanapalus,the Assyrian king who is sometimes credited with founding
Tarsus in about 820 BC.The Emperor Julian the Apostate was buried in Tarsus
after his defeat in his battles with the Persians in 364.The Emperor also
died here,and his heir,Hadrian,who was with him,assumed the power.Alexander
the Great marched through southern Anatolia in 334 BC enroute to his
lightning conquest of the East.He stopped long enough in Tarsus to catch
what was almost his death of cold swimming in the Cydnus River,The city has
changed hands many times.The most famous person associated Tarsus in
religious history is Paul the Apostle.Paul was born A Jew of the tribe of
Benjamin in Tarsus about AD 10 and spent his early years here.While still a
youth he was sent to Jerusalem to study with Gamaliel,a leading Jewish
theologian.In Jerusalem he persecuted members of the new Christian community
and was present when Stephen was stoned.Continuing his intent to stop the
new group from spreading,Paul went to Damascus.Shortly before he arrived,he
was struct blind with the vision of Jesus who called him to witness to the
Gospel.From then on his life was devoted to that mission.Paul was back
living in Tarsus when Barnabas recruited him to work with the church in
Antioch-on-the-Orontes.Paul made two subsequent missionary journeys through
western Anatolia and into Greece.Tarsus originally was a seaport on a lagoon
at the mouth of the Cydnus River and into the 10th century it was
a hideout for Arab pirates.Since then the coast has gradually moved farther
and farther out into the Mediterranean Sea.Other Roman remains have been
found in Tarsus.For example,the foundations of the Tarsus American Lycee are
on top of vaults that probably were part of a Roman or Hellenistic
hippodrome.
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