The Cilician Gates

In spring 1137 Emperor John II Komnenos led the Roman army into Cilicia, as part of his effort to reconquer former Roman provinces in Anatolia.

The army entered via the Cilician Gates, a narrow pass 'above the clouds' in the Taurus Mountains. John's men were immediately assaulted by a hail of missiles, thrown down from above by Armenians waiting in ambush. Undismayed, the emperor led his troops onward through the pass, hacking through the Armenians to storm an unnamed fortress held by 'barbarians'.

John's deeds were praised by the poet, Italikos, who compared this battle to the famous Battle of Thermopylae, where the Persians were opposed by just 300 Spartans (and several thousand Greek auxiliaries, lest we forget). Italikos also compared John to the classical Greek hero, Theseus, and his defeat of the bandits Skironas and Sinis Pitukamptes on the road between Troezen and Athens.

The emperor's most recent biographer, Maximilian C.G. Lau, has traced John's route through the mountains and identified the fortress as Gulek Kalesi (castle), the ruins of which still occupy a dizzying height, sixteen hundred metres above sea level. This version is supported by the Anonymous Syriac Chronicle, which describes John arriving in Cilicia through the Gates, and then sending a message to the Latin rulers of the Holy Land, asking them to pay their respects to him.

John's capture of this fortress secured both the pass and entrance to Cilicia from the north. He was then able to enter the province and advance on the city of Tarsus. Along the way his troops attacked lesser towns and strongholds and fought off Armenian skirmishers. Italikos records a fight at the River Lamos (modern Limonlu) where John's cavalry forced passage across the water. Another detachment was sent off to plunder 'watchful Askora', a rich territory north-west of the Cilician Gates.

Finally, the main body of the imperial army arrived before the gates of Tarsus, famous as the birthplace of St Paul and the place where Mark Antony and Cleopatra first met. Here, John was met by Raymond of Antioch and Joscelin of Edessa, who had responded to his summons to come and pay homage to him. Overjoyed by their arrival, according to the Syriac Chronicle, John now prepared to storm the city.