Tarsus during the first century was one of the important urban centers of the Eastern Mediterannean. The Southeastern coast of modern Turkey was known as Cilicia and was divided into two halves. A rugged mountain coastline to the West which was notorious as a hideout for pirates and a smooth fertile plain on the East. Boundaries defining regions were not fixed and had no permanent borders between nations. Rather, they were fluid and often overlapping. A region was identified by its inhabitants, or geography, or by its occupying forces. Names could change at times of natural disaster, invasion, or immigration. Cities were defended by massive fortifying walls, and supported by what outlying resources and agricultural areas they could control. The ancient geographer Strabo claims a mythical foundation for Tarsus, and modern archeology shows that the site had been inhabited since at least the third millennium BC. Located on the river Cydnos, and near a mountain pass known as the Cilician Gates, it was an important hub for the movement of goods and people to and from the interior of of what is now modern Turkey. Since the conquests of Alexander in the fourth century BC, Greek had been the common language of the Eastern Mediterranean, and Tarsus was no exception. After Alexander's death, his generals carved his empire into kingdoms, and this period was known as the Hellenistic era. Like all the cities of the Hellenistic world, Tarsus' fortunes would rise and fall depending on political alliances with the players in Rome's foreign and civil wars. Rome annexed the city in 67 BC as part of a campaign against piracy. After the assassination of Julius Caesar rival Roman generals rushed to carve their personal empires out of the territories he had controlled. One of these, Marc Antony, took a special liking to Tarsus, and it was here that he and the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra struck an alliance.

Tarsus has been continuously inhabited since before 1000 BC. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of over 2.75 million residents. Even in the modern city, there are Roman era remains. Current excavations are uncovering ancient roads and houses. Outside the city, large sections of these Roman roads can still be found leading from Tarsus into the mountains with a six lane highway running through the Cilician Gates. The city museum has collections of coins and other artifacts, and the archeological and ethnographic museums in nearby Adana have even more extensive collections from the area.