After rebuffing Theophilos'offers of peace, the Abbasid army crossed the Cilician Gates and divided into three columns, with the Caliph, his son al-Abbas, and Abu Ishaq at their head.
22.
This route follows the Tarsus River through the rugged G�lek Pass which, known in ancient times as the " Cilician Gates " was used by Alexander the Great during his eastward campaign into Persia.
23.
With the rest of his army, Theophilos then marched to interpose himself between the Cilician Gates and Ancyra, camping on the north bank of the river Halys, close to one of the major river crossings.
24.
The campaign began in June, with a smaller force under al-Afshin attacking through the Pass of Hadath in the east, while the Caliph with the main army crossed the Cilician Gates on 19 21 June.
25.
After the Arab army crossed the Cilician Gates and took Heraclea Cybistra in early July, it divided in three corps, headed by the Caliph, Mu'tasim and Abbas, and proceeded to raid across Cappadocia.
26.
Even after he steadied his resolve to fight, Valens's efforts to forestall Procopius were hampered by the fact that most of his troops had already crossed the Cilician gates into Syria when he learned of the revolt.
27.
According to the Byzantine sources ( Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Theophanes Continuatus and Symeon Magister ), the line of beacons began with the fortress of Loulon, on the northern exit of the Cilician Gates, and continued with Mt.
28.
The Army of the Ten Thousand, Alexander the Great before the Battle of Issus, Paul of Tarsus on his way to the Galatians, and part of the army of the First Crusade all passed through the Cilician Gates.
29.
The area is situated just north of the Taurus Mountains, not far from the Cilician Gates ( G�lek Bo az1 ), the mountain pass leading to Cilicia and Syria, and has long been a place of commercial and military importance.
30.
After passing through the Cilician Gates, Baldwin of Boulogne set off on his own towards the Armenian lands around the Euphrates; his wife, his only claim to European lands and wealth, had died after the battle, giving Baldwin no incentive to return to Europe.
