[2] During the conflicts between the Byzantines and the Umayyad Caliphate, the city lay in the disputed no-man's-land between the two empires and changed hands frequently, becoming deserted and ruined in the process.
The city probably remained in Byzantine hands during the Abbasid civil war of the Fourth Fitna, but had returned to Muslim control by 830, when Caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833) recommenced offensive campaigns against Byzantium.
[5] The governors of Tarsus often also exercised the governorship of the entire Syrian marches (al-thughur al-Shamiyya), and their main duty was organizing the annual raids against the Byzantines.
[6] The city remained under direct Abbasid control until 878/9, when it and the marches with Byzantium passed to the autonomous ruler of Egypt, Ahmad ibn Tulun.
Tulunid possession of the thughur lasted until the death of Ibn Tulun's heir, Khumarawayh, in 896, after which Caliph al-Mu'tadid (r. 892–902) re-asserted direct control over the border regions.