The Limonlu River ( ''Lamos'';

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Lamus''), also known as ''Gökler Deresi'', is a river of ancient

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

, now in

Mersin Province Mersin Province (), formerly İçel Province (), is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast between Antalya Province, A ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The river rises at Yüğlük Dağı in the

Taurus mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...

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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

at Limonlu (the ancient Antiochia Lamotis) in the district of

Erdemli Erdemli is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,279 km2, and its population is 151,928 (2022). It is west of the city of Mersin. Geography Erdemli is located between the districts of Mezitli (to the east) a ...

. 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 and

Corycus Corycus (; also transliterated Corycos or Korykos; ; , lit. "maiden castle") was an ancient city in Cilicia Trachaea, Anatolia, located at the mouth of the valley called Şeytan deresi; the site is now occupied by the town of Kızkalesi (for ...

History

The ancient name of the river was ''Lamos'' (, Latinised as ''Lamus'',

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: 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 Antiochia Lamotis, earlier ''Lamos'', formerly the capital of the surrounding region, the Lamotis. Later it formed the eastern edge of the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

Seleucia Seleucia (; ), also known as or or Seleucia ad Tigrim, was a major Mesopotamian city, located on the west bank of the Tigris River within the present-day Baghdad Governorate in Iraq. It was founded around 305 BC by Seleucus I Nicator as th ...

(

Silifke Silifke is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Mersin Province, Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,692 km2, and its population is 132,665 (2022). It is west of the city of Mersin, on the west end of the Çukurova plain. ...

), 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 ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

. 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 A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

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 Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, an ...

and

Al-Muti Abū ʾl-Qāsim al-Faḍl ibn al-Muqtadir (; 913/14 – September/October 974), better known by his regnal name of al-Mutīʿ li-ʾllāh (), was the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad from 946 to 974, ruling under the tutelage of the Buyid emirs. Al ...

. 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