The Limonlu River ( grc, Λάμος ''Lamos'';

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''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 coa ...

, now in

Mersin Province Mersin Province ( tr, ), formerly İçel Province ( tr, ), is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital and the biggest city in the province is Mersin, which is composed of fo ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. The river rises at Yüğlük Dağı in the

Taurus mountains The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir ...

and flows through deep gorges to the southwest until it reaches the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

Limonlu Limonlu (ancient: ''Antiochia Lamotidos''; Byzantine: ''Lamousia''; Arabic: ''Lāmis''; Armenian: ''Lamos'') is a small town in Mersin Province, Turkey (Popularly called Lamas). Geography Limonlu is a coastal town at It is by the river Limon ...

(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 Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: 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 Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, ...

. Later it formed the eastern edge of the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

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 Silifke ( grc-gre, Σελεύκεια, ''Seleukeia'', la, Seleucia ad Calycadnum) is a town and district in south-central Mersin Province, Turkey, west of the city of Mersin, on the west end of Çukurova. Silifke is near the Mediterranean coast ...

), part of the border region of the empire known as the Kleisoura. Thus, the river formed part of the empire's border with the Islamic

Caliphate A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

. During the 9th–10th centuries, the river was the site of several

Arab–Byzantine prisoner exchanges During the course of the Arab–Byzantine wars, exchanges of prisoners of war became a regular feature of the relations between the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate. The exchanges began in the late 8th century and continued until the late ...

. The first of these exchanges occurred in 797 or 805 in the reign of the

Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

Harun ar-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...

and the Byzantine Emperor

Nicephorus I Nikephoros I or Nicephorus I ( gr, Νικηφόρος; 750 – 26 July 811) was Byzantine emperor from 802 to 811. Having served Empress Irene as '' genikos logothetēs'', he subsequently ousted her from power and took the throne himself. In r ...

. 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 Abū ʾl-Qāsim al-Faḍl ibn al-Muqtadir ( ar, أبو القاسم الفضل بن المقتدر; 913/14 – September/October 974), better known by his regnal name of al-Mutīʿ li-ʾllāh ( ar, المطيع لله, , Obedient to God), was the ...

. 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