J It calls itself ' AKlia*lp>«vy, ^IWipiatn ' .\yrA/>t*ia¥ii ' A^fiiec¥i; in
an inscription, and coins often give the last three cumulated.
{ Title of the chief magistrate in many Cilician cities ; the titJe is Doric, and points to the old Doric relations of Cilicia.
the koinoboulion (Council of the Koinon of Cilicia) met wtthis its walls ; but Tarsus alone could beast of the festival and games common to the three united provinces. And so on, titta after title was devised to imitate or outshine a rival.
Tarsus was saved by the barrier of Mount Taurus from many of tlie invasions which swept over Asia Minor. Only an enemy who took the route from Syria over ^lt. Amanus through Cilicia would reach Tarsus ; but most invasions preferred the route through Eastern Cappadocia, keeping north of Mt. Taurus. Thus, in the long peace of the empire the defences and the defensive powers of the people in Cilicia must have grown weak, and when at last an enemy entered tne country they found it a helpless prey.
In the Byzantine ecclesiastical and political system Tarsus became even more important than in the older empire, owing to the steady growth of the Eastern provinces in wealth, education, and weight. Thus BasU of Ca>sarea (Ep. 34), in A.D. 373 (or 369), emphasizes its importance as ' a city so placed as to be united with (Jilicia, Cappadocia, and Assyria ' (i.e. Syria).
Two churches are mentioned at Tarsus. In A.D. 485 Leontius forced Verina to proclaim him emperor at Tarsus in the Church of St. Peter out- side the city. Stich an important ceremony is likely to have been held in the principal church of Tarsus, and we may identify this Church of St. Peter as the great church of Tarsus destroyed by the Moslems in A.D. 885.* If so, it is remarkable that the principal church was not dedicated to St. Paul ; but it is recorded that the Church of St. Paul in Tarsus was buUt by the emperor JIaurice (583- 602),t while we may be confident that the great church of Tarsus was built as early as the 4th century.
v. Tarsuo thb AaAB CrrY. — In view of the strongly Syrian associations of Tarsus, it is important to observe the way in which it lost its Western relations, and reverted to a purely Oriental type during the long wars against the Mohammedans. The Arabs lirst crossed into Cihcia by the SjTian Gates from Antioch in lJ41.t In 846 the Arabs found all the fortresses between .Antioch and Tarsus deserted ; presumably the terror of these raids and the neglect of frontier defence by the emperor made the people flee to the mountains.
In 6.o0 the Arabs invaded Isauria (so Theophanes; 649 Ibn Al Athir). This would appear to imply that Tarsus, with Cilici* generally, was in Arab hands, though it must be remembered that the Arab invasions were often only passing raids, in which the forts and cities were left unattacked, or watched by detach- ments of the invading forces, while the open countrj' was ravaged, and captives swept off into slavery. Cilicia, however, having been so neglected by the central government, was exposed defenceless to the Arabs. Yet the military strength of the empire soon revived, while the Arab raids made little permanent impression. Tarsus was quickly reoccupied by the Christians but in 673 it was captured (after a defence presumably) by the Arabs. In the following years the Arab attacks were made chiefly by the north road nearer the Euphrates, or by sea ; Capjiadocia was occupied, and Armenia and Pontus att^icked, while Cilicia was not much molested by formal invasions, but its cities seem to have still remained unprotected, and exposed to any small raids. Thus in 602 an Arab army advanced from the Euphrates nearly to Amorion, and returned by Cilicia.
In 699-700 the Christians recovered Cappadocia, and the Arabs henceforth made regular use of the Cilician route in invading the Byzantine empire. Mopsuestia at the impoilant crossing of the'Pyramus was fortifleJi in 701, and Tarsus was now permanently occupied as an Arab capital on tlieir north- western frontier. The northern part of Eastern Cilicia, with the town of Sision (now called Sis), was conquered in 703 ; in 706 the last struggle of the Romans to retain this country is recorded by Al Tabari. The wars of the following years imply that Cilicia was the permanent basis for the Arab operations! in Lycaonia. Pisidia, Phrygia. and Bithynia. At the same time C-esarea, with Eastern Cappadocia, was again taken by the Arabs in 726. but recovered by Constantino in 746. After this the Arab frontier cities on tlie north were generally Melitene
• Muralt, Etsai de Chnmogr. Bi/zant. p. 740.
♦ Sim. viii. 13. There may have been an older Church of St Paul, of coune, in Tarsus, but this was built, not rebuilt, by Maurice.
t Dates from Arab authorities from 641-760 are given accord- ing to Mr. E. Vf. Brooks' papers in Journal o/ Hellenic Stvdies, IsftS, p. 182 f., 1811!!, p. 19f. ; dates from Byzantine authorities according to Muralt, E»mi de Clironogr. Byzant.
} This appears in incidental expressions, such as Xheopb p. 390,1. Wf.(deBoor).
TAKSUS
TARTAN
689
and Oermaniceia, and a dehateable land lay between them and Ceaareia. tliou(,'h the Christians attacked or even destroyed one or otlier of the two Arab fortresses in 750-764 and 77i>, while the Arahb frequently advanced north and north-west into Cuppa- doeia, Pajihlaironia, etc. In SOa and 830 the Arabs carried for- ward the Cilician frontier to Tvana, buildine a mosque and settling colonists there ; but both attempts failed inmH--diately, and Tarsus reuiained the capital of Orientalism aj^ainst the U est. In (5^*7 the einiK-ror Xicejihorus invaded Cilicia, and deitaled the Arabs near Tarsus ; but the Caliphs Harun and nl-.Mainun tttrenirthened the Arab jtower on this frontier. The latter die<l at (or near) Tarsus in S;U. About the middle of the Uth cent. ISvzantiiic power grew stronj^er, and Cilicia and Tarsus were tiie ^cene of many conflicts, while the Caliphs' vi;rour waned. In fcSii Tarsus is mentioned as a' strong fortress, the capital of an UKlependcnt Mohammedan State. In b:il an Arab fleet is said to have sailed from Tarsus towards the Byzantine coasts; and in 900 the fleet at Tarsus was bunied by the Caliph on account of the dislo.valty of the city. In 89S the Oreck forces land.d near Tarsus and pained a victory over the Arabs. About this lime Tarsus is mentioned frequently as the centre of Mohammedan opposition to the reviving Cbriutiau power. In 904 a Tarsian fleet burned Thessalonica. At length, in 906, after all the rest of Cilicia had been recaptured by the Chris- tians, Tarsus surrendered on favourable terms, the Mo.slem population were given safe retirement to Antio<:h, and only Christians were left in the city. Tlic great gates of Tarsus were carried in triumph to Constantinople.