Tarsus, Mersin in the context of "Baldwin I of Jerusalem"

Byzantine Anatolia refers to the peninsula of Anatolia (located in present-day Turkey) during the rule of the Byzantine Empire. Anatolia was of vital importance to the empire following the Muslim invasion of Syria and Egypt during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in the years 634–645 AD. Over the next two hundred and fifty years, the region suffered constant raids by Arab Muslim forces raiding mainly from the cities of Antioch, Tarsus, and Aleppo near the Anatolian borders. However, the Byzantine Empire maintained control over the Anatolian peninsula until the High Middle Ages (years 1080s), when imperial authority in the area began to collapse.

The Byzantine Empire re-established control over parts of Anatolia during the First Crusade, and following the sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade, Anatolia became the heartland of the successor states of the Empire of Nicaea and Empire of Trebizond. Following the retaking of Constantinople in 1261, the region gradually passed out of Byzantine control and into the hands of the Ottoman Turks as the empire gradually crumbled. The last Byzantine fortress of Philadelphia fell in 1399, and the last Byzantine presence in the area at Trapezus ended in 1461 with the fall of Trebizond.

Mersin Province (Turkish: Mersin ili), formerly İçel Province (İçel ili), is a province and metropolitan municipality in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. Its area is 16,010 km, and its population is 1,916,432 (2022). The provincial capital and the biggest city in the province is Mersin, which is composed of four municipalities and district governorates: Akdeniz, Mezitli, Toroslar and Yenişehir. Next largest is Tarsus, the birthplace of Paul the Apostle. The province is considered to be a part of the geographical, economical and cultural region of Çukurova, which covers the provinces of Mersin, Adana, Osmaniye and Hatay.

Mersin (pronounced [ˈmæɾsin]) is a large city and port on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates, each having its own municipality: Akdeniz, Mezitli, Toroslar and Yenişehir.

Eastward, a larger metropolitan region which will combine Mersin with Tarsus and Adana (the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area) is in the making with more than 3.3 million inhabitants. Çukurova International Airport (COV) situated 74 kilometres (46 mi) from Mersin city centre, is its closest international airport. There are ferry services from Mersin to Famagusta (Mağusa) in Northern Cyprus. Mersin is linked to Adana via Tarsus by way of TCDD trains.

Begdili (also spelled Bekdili or Bigdeli; Middle Turkic: بَكْتِلى Begtili; Turkmen: Begdili taýpasy; Turkish: Beğdili boyu; Azerbaijani: Bəydili boyu) were an Oghuz Turkic people and a sub-branch of the Bozok tribal federation. Currently, the descendants of Begdili tribe and those who identify themselves as such are part of the Geklen Turkmens living in the Balkan velayat of Turkmenistan. They also can be found among Ersari Turkmens, who live predominantly in the Lebap velayat (region) of Turkmenistan and northern provinces of Afghanistan. Turkish Begdili Turkomans live in Tarsus, Aleppo, and in many parts of Anatolia. Cerit/Ceritli Turkomans are a branch of Begdili tribe.

Çukurova International Airport (IATA: COV, ICAO: LTDB) is an airport in the Tarsus district of Mersin Province, southern Turkey. It serves the provinces Mersin and Adana. The airport was built in order to replace its predecessor Adana Şakirpaşa Airport due to the old airport’s location of being in the city centre, and had no room to expand or be modernised. When Adana Şakirpaşa Airport closed to commercial passenger airlines, many airlines switched their route across to the new airport for Adana, namely Çukurova Airport.

Arsames (Old Persian Aršāma, Greek: Ἀρσάμης) was an Achaemenid Persian satrap of Cilicia in 334/3 BC. He succeeded Mazaeus in this position. He took part in the Battle of Granicus where he fought with his cavalry on the left wing, along with Arsites and Memnon of Rhodes. He was able to survive that battle and flee to the capital of Cilicia Tarsus. There he was planning a scorched-earth policy according to that of Memnon which caused the native Cilician soldiers to abandon their posts. He also decided to burn Tarsus to the ground so as not to fall in the hands of Alexander but was prevented from doing so by the speedy arrival of Parmenion with the light armored units who took the city. After that, Arsames fled to Darius who was at this time in Syria. He was slain at the battle of Issus (modern-day Turkey) in 333 BC.

He was succeeded by Balacrus, a bodyguard of Alexander the Great, who became the Hellenistic satrap of Cilica.

In Greek mythology, Anchiale or Ankhiale (Ancient Greek: Ἀγχιάλη) was the name of the following personages:

• Anchiale, said to have founded the town of Anchiale near Tarsus in Cilicia. Her father was named Iapetus, and she had a son named Cydnus.
• Anchiale, a Cretan nymph, who gave birth to the metalworking Idaean Dactyls in the Dictaean cave. She was also seen as a Titan goddess and perhaps represented the warmth of fire. She was the wife of Hecaterus.
• Anchiale, according to Servius, was the mother of Oaxes by Apollo.