born AD 10?, Tarsus in Cilicia (now in Turkey)
died 67?, Rome

Original name Saul of Tarsus 1st-century Jew who, after first being a bitter enemy of Christianity, later became an important figure in its history.  Converted only a few years after the death of Jesus, he became the leading Apostle of the new movement and played a decisive part in extending it beyond the limits of Judaism to become a worldwide religion. His surviving letters are the earliest extant Christian writings. They reveal both theological skill and pastoral understanding and have had lasting importance for Christian life and thought.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica 2005