Arsinoe () was a city on the coast of

ancient Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

between

Anemurium Anemurium (), also called Animurium, is an ancient city whose ruins, now called ''Eski Anamur'' or ''Anemuryum'', are close to the modern Turkish city of ''Anamur''. It was in the Roman province of ancient Cilicia, Cilicia, later Isauria, and was ...

and Kelenderis; the site is near the modern city of

Bozyazı Bozyazı is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 642 km2, and its population is 26,812 (2022). It is on the Mediterranean coast, west of the city of Mersin. Geography Bozyazı is a remote coastal district with ...

Mersin Province Mersin Province (), formerly İçel Province (), is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast between Antalya Province, A ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

mentions Arsinoe as having a port. In the 19th century,

William Martin Leake William Martin Leake FRS (14 January 17776 January 1860) was an English soldier, spy, topographer, diplomat, antiquarian, writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society. He served in the British Army, spending much of his career in the Mediterrane ...

placed it at or near the ruined modern castle, called Softa Kalesi (Sokhta Kálesi), just west of Bozyazı, below which is a port, such as Strabo describes at Arsinoe, and a peninsula on the east side of the harbor covered with ruins. This modern site is east of Anemurium, and west of, and near to, Kızil Burnu (Cape Kizliman). The city was founded by Aetos, a

Strategos ''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also use ...

of king,

Ptolemy Philadelphus Ptolemy II Philadelphus (, ''Ptolemaîos Philádelphos'', "Ptolemy, sibling-lover"; 309 – 28 January 246 BC) was the pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 284 to 246 BC. He was the son of Ptolemy I, the Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian Greek general ...

, and named for Arsinoe II of Egypt, the sister and wife of Ptolemy. The city of Nagidos, on whose territory Arsinoe was founded, initially protested against the new foundation. The conflict was resolved by declaring Arsinoe the daughter city of Nagidos. See Nagidos#The Hellenistic period and the foundation of Arsinoe. The site of Arsinoe is located near modern an archaeological site named Maraş Harabeleri about east of Bozyazı in

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

References

Populated coastal places in Turkey Ruins in Turkey Ptolemaic colonies Populated places in ancient Cilicia Former populated places in Cilicia History of Mersin Province {{Mersin-geo-stub