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What is Tarsus?
        TAR'SUS
        , celebrated as the birthplace of the apostle Paul. Acts 9:11, 1 Kgs 20:30; Eze 11:25; Acts 21:39; Acts 22:3. It was the capital of Cilicia, in Asia Minor, and "no mean city." It stood in the centre of a spacious and fertile plain, 12 miles from the Mediterranean, "which lay to the south, and about the same distance from the Taurus range, on the north. The city stood on both banks of the river Cydnus, which has since changed its channel. At the mouth of the river were docks, and the port of Tarsus was a place of much commerce, being, indeed, identified by some writers with Tarshish, which see. Tarsus was said to have been founded by the Assyrian Sardanapalus. It suffered severely during the civil wars following the assassination of Caesar. Augustus made it a free city. It possessed a Roman stadium and gymnasium, and became famous as the seat of one of the three great universities of the pagan world, ranking next to Athens and Alexandria. The imperial family of Rome selected tutors from the literati of Tarsus. Hence the boyhood of the apostle Paul was passed in a city not only of great commercial importance, but one offering opportunities for secular learning as well. The modern city is called Tersons. It stands about a mile from the Cydnus, and is a mean Turkish town with narrow and filthy streets and low, flat-roofed houses. The population is about 30,000 during the winter season. In summer it is reduced to 4000 or 5000 by the migration of the inhabitants on account of the miasma, which renders the city unhealthy.


Bibliography Information
Schaff, Philip, Dr. "Biblical Definition for 'tarsus' in Schaffs Bible Dictionary".
bible-history.com - Schaff's

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