The Digital Library
The Library of Biblical Tarsus
The world's most comprehensive digital knowledge library about Biblical Tarsus, the Apostle Paul, and the origins of early Christianity. Dates are given as scholarly ranges; claims are labelled Scripture, Tradition or Scholarship — how this Library is written.
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The world of the Apostle Paul
The eastern Mediterranean with real coastlines. Each marker opens a reference place; the dashed line traces the First Missionary Journey, from Antioch across Cyprus to the towns of the Anatolian interior.
Open the full Biblical Atlas — journeys, Roman roads and distances →
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Reference
Paul's Early Travels: Damascus, Arabia and the Silent Years
St. Paul's travels before the missionary journeys: the Damascus road, Arabia, the basket escape, and the silent years in Tarsus and Cilicia, c. AD 33–45.
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Paul's Second Missionary Journey (Acts 15:36–18:22)
Paul's Second Missionary Journey (Acts 15:36-18:22, c. AD 49-52): the land route past Tarsus and the Cilician Gates, the Macedonian call, Athens, and Corinth.
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Paul's Third Missionary Journey (Acts 18:23–21:17)
Paul's Third Missionary Journey (Acts 18:23–21:17, c. AD 52–57): the Cilician Gates road, the Ephesus years, winter in Corinth, and the farewell at Miletus.
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Paul's Voyage to Rome (Acts 27–28): Shipwreck, Malta, and the Road to the Capital
Paul's voyage to Rome (Acts 27–28, c. AD 59–60): the appeal to Caesar, the Euraquilo storm, fourteen nights adrift, shipwreck on Malta, and Roman house arrest.
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The Acts of the Apostles: The Story of Paul
An encyclopedic, cited walk through the Acts of the Apostles as the story of Paul — from Stephen's stoning and the Damascus road, through Antioch, the missionary journeys and the Council of Jerusalem, to the arrest, the appeal to Caesar, and the voyage to Rome where the narrative abruptly ends.
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Cilicia: The Province of Paul
An encyclopedic, cited reference on Cilicia, the ancient Roman province whose chief city, Tarsus, was the birthplace of the Apostle Paul: its geography and the Cilician Gates, its history from the Bronze Age to Rome, its schools of learning, and its place in the New Testament as home to some of the first churches in Anatolia.
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Early Christianity: The World of the Apostle Paul
An encyclopedic, cited reference on the world of early Christianity — Second Temple Judaism, the Jewish diaspora, the Roman Empire under Claudius and Nero, Antioch where believers were first called Christians, and the Council of Jerusalem that opened the faith to the gentiles.
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Paul's First Missionary Journey
An encyclopedic, cited reference on the first missionary journey of the Apostle Paul (c. AD 46-48, Acts 13-14) - from Antioch on the Orontes through Cyprus to Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe, the naming of Paul, and the turn to the gentiles.
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Pilgrimage to Tarsus: A Reference Guide
An encyclopedic, cited reference guide to Christian pilgrimage in Tarsus and the wider Cilician region — the birthplace of the Apostle Paul, its principal sites, how pilgrims reach it, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, and practical notes for a respectful visit.
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Roman Tarsus: Citizenship, the Cydnus, and a City of Learning
An encyclopedic, cited reference on Tarsus in the Greco-Roman period — its position on the Cilician plain, the River Cydnus, its long history from the Bronze Age to Rome, its fame as a centre of learning described by Strabo, the 41 BC meeting of Antony and Cleopatra, and the Roman citizenship that shaped the Apostle Paul.
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The Apostle Paul: Life, Mission and Legacy
An encyclopedic, cited reference on the Apostle Paul — his birth in Tarsus, Roman citizenship, education under Gamaliel, conversion near Damascus, missionary journeys, traditional martyrdom in Rome, and enduring significance.
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Tarsus: The City That Formed the Apostle Paul
An encyclopedic, cited reference on Tarsus in Cilicia — its geography on the Cilician plain, the Cilician Gates, its ancient history from the Bronze Age to Rome, its fame as a university city, its place in the life of the Apostle Paul, and the pilgrimage sites of the modern town.
Read →The Scholarship
The scholarship behind the Library
A working bibliography of the excavation reports, peer-reviewed articles, monographs and primary sources behind the Library — grouped by theme, with access status and links.
Read →Questions and answers
Common questions, answered briefly
Short, sourced answers to the questions most often asked about Paul and Tarsus.
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The First Epistle to the Corinthians
A source entry on 1 Corinthians — one of Paul's seven undisputed letters, its dating from Ephesus (c. AD 53-55), what it reveals about Paul and the early Church, the earliest written statement of resurrection belief, and where to read the full public-domain text.
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The First Epistle to the Thessalonians
A source entry on 1 Thessalonians — an undisputed letter of Paul and, on the standard dating, the earliest surviving Christian document of any kind. What it is, why its dating (c. AD 50-51) matters, what it tells us about Paul's manner of mission and the earliest Christian hope, and where to read the full public-domain text.
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The Second Epistle to the Corinthians
A source entry on 2 Corinthians — one of Paul's seven undisputed letters. What it is, the debate over whether it is a single letter or a later composite, its dating to about AD 55-57, and why its catalogue of hardships and personal disclosures make it a primary source for the life of Paul in his own words.
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The Acts of the Apostles
A source entry on the Acts of the Apostles — what it is, the debate over its Lukan authorship and its dating (c. AD 62 versus c. AD 80–90), why it is the primary continuous narrative for the life of Paul, and where to read the full public-domain text.
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Clement of Rome — 1 Clement
A source entry on 1 Clement, the letter from the church of Rome to the Corinthians (c. AD 95–96) — what it is, the debate over its authorship and dating, and why chapter 5 is the earliest external testimony to the death of Paul and to the tradition that he reached the far west.
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Eusebius of Caesarea: Ecclesiastical History
A source entry on Eusebius of Caesarea and his Ecclesiastical History (c. AD 313-325) — the earliest surviving history of the Church, its method of quoting lost writers, and the early traditions it preserves about Paul's later years, Roman martyrdom under Nero, and beheading.
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The Epistle to the Galatians
A source entry on Paul's Letter to the Galatians — an undisputed Pauline letter, the debate over its dating (c. AD 48 versus the mid-50s), and why its first two chapters are the single most valuable autobiographical source for Paul in his own hand, naming Cilicia, the region of Tarsus.
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Ignatius of Antioch: The Seven Letters
A source entry on the seven letters of Ignatius of Antioch — what they are, the three recensions and the debate over their authenticity and dating (c. AD 107-117), why Antioch matters for Paul, and what the letters tell us about Paul's early authority and the Peter-and-Paul tradition at Rome.
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John Chrysostom: Homilies on Paul
A source entry on John Chrysostom's homilies on Paul — the largest surviving body of ancient verse-by-verse preaching on the Apostle, why it is evidence for Paul's reception rather than new biographical facts, its dating, and where to read the public-domain text.
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Flavius Josephus — Antiquities of the Jews and The Jewish War
A source entry on Flavius Josephus (c. AD 37 – c. 100), the first-century Jewish historian whose Antiquities of the Jews and The Jewish War reconstruct the Judean and Roman world Paul moved in. What the works are, the debate over their reliability and famous disputed passages, and where to read the public-domain Whiston translation.
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The Epistle to the Philippians
A source entry on Paul's Letter to the Philippians — a warm letter of friendship written from prison, undisputed as authentically his and dated about AD 54 to 62, what it tells us about Paul's Pharisaic and Benjaminite background and his equanimity facing death, the Christ-hymn of chapter 2, and where to read the full public-domain text.
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The Epistle to the Romans
A source entry on Paul's Letter to the Romans — the longest and most systematic of his letters, undisputed as authentically his and dated about AD 55 to 58, what it tells us about Paul's self-understanding as apostle to the gentiles and his plan to reach Spain, and where to read the full public-domain text.
Read →A chronological timeline
From Paul's birth in Tarsus to the present. All Paul-era dates are approximate and disputed; ranges reflect scholarly variation.
c. 5 BC – AD 6
Paul born in Tarsus, Cilicia
A diaspora Jew of the tribe of Benjamin and a Roman citizen by birth (Acts 21:39; 22:3). The birth year is inferred, not recorded. (Scripture / Scholarship)
c. AD 30–33
Crucifixion of Jesus and the first Jesus movement
The movement begins within Second Temple Judaism, before it becomes a distinct, largely gentile religion. (Scholarship)
c. AD 33–36
Conversion on the road to Damascus
Saul the persecutor becomes an apostle, followed by time in Arabia and a return to Damascus (Acts 9; Galatians 1:15–17). (Scripture)
c. AD 36–45
The 'silent years' in Tarsus, Cilicia and Syria
Paul returns to his home region; the sources are nearly silent (Acts 9:30; Galatians 1:21). (Scholarship)
c. AD 42–46
Barnabas brings Paul to Antioch
Antioch becomes the mission base, where 'the disciples were first called Christians' (Acts 11:25–26). (Scripture)
c. AD 46–48
First missionary journey
Cyprus and southern Asia Minor with Barnabas; on Cyprus 'Saul' is first called 'Paul' (Acts 13–14). (Scripture / Scholarship)
c. AD 48–50
Council of Jerusalem
Gentile converts are freed from circumcision and the Mosaic Law — the hinge of the gentile mission (Acts 15; Galatians 2:1–10). (Scripture / Scholarship)
c. AD 49–52
Second journey; ~18 months in Corinth
Through Asia Minor and Greece; the Gallio episode at Corinth is the near-fixed anchor for the whole chronology (Acts 18). (Scripture)
c. AD 52–57
Third journey, based at Ephesus
About two to three years at Ephesus, then Macedonia and Achaia; most of the undisputed letters date from this era (Acts 19–20). (Scripture / Scholarship)
c. AD 57–60
Arrest in Jerusalem; appeal to Caesar; voyage to Rome
Held two years at Caesarea, Paul appeals to the emperor as a Roman citizen and is shipwrecked en route (Acts 21–28). (Scripture)
c. AD 60–62
House arrest in Rome
Two years under guard, 'proclaiming the kingdom of God with all boldness' (Acts 28:30–31); Acts ends here. (Scripture)
c. AD 64–67
Martyrdom in Rome under Nero
The New Testament does not record Paul's death. Early tradition holds he was beheaded on the Ostian Way. (Tradition)
AD 325
First Council of Nicaea
A landmark ecumenical council that defined core Christian doctrine (the Nicene Creed). (History)
By the 3rd–4th c. AD
The 29 June feast of Peter and Paul established at Rome
A joint commemoration, first listed in the Roman calendar of AD 354 (the Depositio Martyrum). (Tradition / History)
1862
The present St Paul's Church built in Tarsus
A domeless basilica on a long-venerated site; today a state monumental museum. (History)
28–30 June 2027
St Paul Global Week
A faith-tourism gathering in Tarsus and Mersin, organised by Funny Tourism, held around the 29 June Solemnity.