The Limonlu River ( grc, Λάμος ''Lamos''; Latin: ''Lamus''), also known as ''Gökler Deresi'', is a river of ancient

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coas ...

, now in Mersin Province, Turkey. The river rises at Yüğlük Dağı in the Taurus mountains and flows through deep gorges to the southwest until it reaches the Mediterranean Sea at Limonlu (the ancient

Antiochia Lamotis Antiochia Lamotis ( el, Αντιόχεια η Λαμωτίς), Antiochia in Isauria (), or Antiochia super Cragum is a Hellenistic city in ancient Cilicia, Anatolia at the mouth of Lamos (or Lamus) river. The site is on the coast a few km southw ...

) in the district of

Erdemli Erdemli is a town and district of Mersin Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey, west of the city of Mersin. Geography Erdemli is located between the districts of Mezitli (to the east) and Silifke (to the west). In the north, Erdemli i ...

. About halfway along its course it is receives the ''Susama Deresi'' from the west as a tributary. In the town of Limonlu, about 500 metres west of the river mouth on a flat hill on the right bank is the Medieval castle . Below the castle a late Ottoman bridge crosses the river, probably on the site of an earlier Roman bridge. North of the town are the remains of an aqueduct, which carried water from the river west to the ancient towns of

Elaiussa Sebaste Elaiussa Sebaste or Elaeousa Sebaste ( el, Ελαιούσα Σεβαστή) was an ancient Roman town located from Mersin in the direction of Silifke in Cilicia on the southern coast of Anatolia (in the modern-day town of Ayaş (there is a like-n ...

and

Corycus Corycus ( el, Κώρυκος; also transliterated Corycos or Korykos; hy, Կոռիկոս, translit=Koṙikos; tr, Kız Kalesi, lit. "maiden castle") was an ancient city in Cilicia Trachaea, Anatolia, located at the mouth of the valley called ...

History

The ancient name of the river was ''Lamos'' (, Latinised as ''Lamus'', Arabic: اللامس, ''al-Lāmis''). The river formed the boundary between Rough Cilicia ''(Kilikia Tracheia)'' to the west and Flat Cilicia ''(Kilikia Pedias)'' to the east. At its mouth was the city

, earlier ''Lamos'', formerly the capital of the surrounding region, the

Lamotis Lamotis ( grc, Λαμωτίς) was an ancient region on the eastern coast of Cilicia Trachea, later Cilicia Aspera, between the Calycadnus river and the Lamos river. Its capital was Antiochia Lamotis(Ptolemy Book V, ch. 8, § 6; Strabo Strabo ...

. Later it formed the eastern edge of the Byzantine

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

Seleucia Seleucia (; grc-gre, Σελεύκεια), also known as or , was a major Mesopotamian city of the Seleucid empire. It stood on the west bank of the Tigris River, within the present-day Baghdad Governorate in Iraq. Name Seleucia ( grc-gre, Σ ...

( Silifke), part of the border region of the empire known as the

Kleisoura Kleisoura ( el, Κλεισούρα, "enclosure" or "pass") may refer to: *Kleisoura (Byzantine district), a Byzantine military frontier province *Kleisoura, Kastoria, a village and a municipality in Kastoria regional unit, Greece ** Battle of Kleis ...

. Thus, the river formed part of the empire's border with the Islamic Caliphate. During the 9th–10th centuries, the river was the site of several Arab–Byzantine prisoner exchanges. The first of these exchanges occurred in 797 or 805 in the reign of the Caliph Harun ar-Rashid and the Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus I. Within twelve days, 3700 Arabic prisoners were released. The final prisoner exchange took place in 946 under

Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Kar ...

and Al-Muti. 2482 Muslim men and women were released, 230 were kept in captivity. Later exchanges took place elsewhere, since it subsequently belonged to the Byzantines.

References

Geography of ancient Cilicia Rivers of Turkey Rivers of Mersin Province {{AncientCilicia-geo-stub