the capital of Cilicia, and the native city of St. Paul, Acts 9:11; Acts 21:39 . Some think it obtained the privileges of a Roman colony because of its firm adherence to Julius Caesar; and this procured the inhabitants the favour of being acknowledged citizens of Rome, which St. Paul enjoyed by being born in it. Others maintain that Tarsus was only a free city, but not a Roman colony, in the time of St. Paul, and that his privilege as a Roman citizen was founded upon some other right, perhaps gained by his ancestors.