A province of the Roman Empire, located in southeastern Asia Minor. The capital city was Tarsus, Paul’s hometown (Acts 21:39; 22:3). This is why Paul had Roman citizenship even though he was a Jew (16:37).
History of Cilicia
Antiochus the Great settled 2,000 Jewish families in the Asia Minor regions of Lydia and Phrygia in the second century BC (Josephus’s Antiquities 12.3.4). This may be the origin of the Jewish population in the area.
In the Old Testament, Cilicia was called Kue. The region formed a bridge between the country now known as Turkey and Syria. The country was divided between Cilicia Tracheia and Cilicia Pedias.
Cilicia Tracheia is the mountainous region in the western half. Cilicia Tracheia was territory Mark Antony had given to Cleopatra in 36 BC. By the time of Paul, the Greek King Antiochus IV of Commagene ruled this area. He was king from AD 38 to 72. The Cilician Gates, a narrow pass in the Taurus Mountains, provided entry into Turkey.
Cilicia Pedias was the plains to the east. Cilicia Pedias was connected to the province of Syria (about 38 BC). The New Testament refers to Syria and Cilicia as one region (Galatians 1:21).
In AD 72, the Roman emperor Vespasian united the two areas into one Roman province called Cilicia.
Cilicia in Early Christianity
Jews from Cilicia participated in the persecution of Stephen (Acts 6:9). After Paul converted to Christianity, he returned to Tarsus. Paul later traveled with Barnabas to Antioch (Acts 11:25–26). Because of Paul's story, Syria and Cilicia became the first major center of non-Jewish Christianity. Christianity spread from this area to the rest of the gentile population of the Roman Empire.