Soli (, Sóloi), often rendered Soli/Pompeiopolis (), was an ancient city and port in Cilicia, 11 km west of Mersin in present-day Turkey. Geography Located in Southern Anatolia, on the edge of the timber-rich Taurus Mountains and fertile Cilician alluvial plain, Soli was constantly at or near regional boundaries; Kizzuwatna and Tarḫuntašša during Luwian/Hittite occupation, and Cilicia Trachea and Cilicia Pedia during Graeco-Roman period. This, coupled with the city's good harbor and proximity to the Cilician Gates ensured that Soli was consistently of strategic importance throughout ancient history. History Neolithic Archaeological evidence indicates a human presence in the area as early as 7000 BCE at the Yumuktepe mound, 9 km to the northeast. Late Bronze Age The first known Luwian settlements and fortifications at Soli proper date the 15th century BCE, and the city was an active port from that time onwards. Soli may have functioned as the harbor city of Kizzuwatna, but this is disputed. The region was controlled by the Hittite Empire from the 14th-13th centuries BCE, and recovered Mycenaean bronzes and ceramics indicate trade with the Aegean. The Bronze Age Collapse ended Hittite hegemony in Cilicia, and Soli may have suffered an attack from the Sea Peoples. This "destruction layer" is populated by burned and broken pottery and is followed by a hiatus in human occupation. Archaic Period Achaean and Rhodian colonists reestablished a permanent human presence at Soli between 700 and 690 BCE, leaving behind geometric pottery characteristic of the Archaic period. Persian Period Cilicia became a vassal state to and satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire after the reign of Cyrus the Great, assisting the Persians in multiple military campaigns. Soli briefly allied itself with the Delian League, but otherwise prospered under Achaemenid hegemony, minting coins to the Persian standard until Alexander the Great drove the Persians out of Cilicia in 333 BCE. He imposed a fine of 200 talents on the city for favoring the Persians, imposed a democratic constitution, made a sacrifice to Asclepius and held honorary games. A year later, Alexander extracted three triremes from Soli and nearby Mallus to assist in his siege of Tyre. Hellenistic Period After Alexander's death (323 BCE), Soli fell to the control of Ptolemy I Soter, and was attacked unsuccessfully by Demetrius I Poliorcetes. Cilicia traded hands between Alexander's successors until the end of the Fifth Syrian War (197 BCE), at which point Soli was held by