Yumuktepe, the ruins of one of the earliest human settlements in
Anatolia is in Toroslar. Excavations by
John Garstang and
Seton Lloyd both of which were directors of the
British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, revealed 23 levels of occupation, the earliest dating from c. 6300 BC. The site however was abandoned during
Byzantine Empire period. Modern settlement began in the 19th century. Originally a part of Mersin municipality, the municipality of Toroslar was established in 1993. In 2008 the district Toroslar was created from part of the former central district of Mersin, along with the districts
Mezitli,
Akdeniz and
Yenişehir. At the same time, the former municipalities Dorukkent, Arpaçsakarlar and Yalınayak were absorbed into the municipality of Toroslar. At the
2013 Turkish local government reorganisation, the rural part of the district was integrated into the municipality, the villages becoming neighbourhoods. == Population ==