Cilicia

Cilicia, ancient region of Asia Minor, extending along the north and northeast shores of the Gulf of İskenderun (Gulf of Alexandretta), from the Taurus Mountains to the Nur Mountains (Amanos Mountains), now comprising the south-central provinces of İçel and Adana in Turkey. The western part of Cilicia (Cilicia Trachia) is mountainous and forested; much of the eastern part (Cilicia Pedias) consists of fertile plains. The principal rivers were the Cydnus (now Tarsus), the Adana (now Seyhan), and the Jihun (now Ceyhan); the principal cities were Tarsus, Seleucia (now Silifke), and Issus, which was prosperous during the Roman Empire. From the 6th to the 4th century bc, when most of Asia Minor was under the control of the Persian Achaemenids, Cilicia was an independent kingdom paying tribute to Persia or part of a Persian satrapy. After the conquests of Alexander the Great, during the Hellenistic period, from the 4th to the 2nd century bc, most of Cilicia was part of the Seleucid Empire. Eastern Cilicia was conquered by the Romans in 103 bc, and all of Cilicia became a Roman province about 67 bc. Under the Romans, the region was noted for the export of so-called cilicium, cloth made of goat hair, valued for the manufacture of tents. In the 1st century ad the apostle Paul lived in the city of Tarsus. The province was later included in the Byzantine Empire until it was captured in the 8th century by Arabs. In the 11th century it became the center of the important kingdom of Lesser Armenia. In the 15th and 16th centuries Cilicia became part of the Ottoman Empire.