During Roman times, it was the capital of the Lamotis Region, Cilicia.[2] The town also bore the name Lamus or Lamos (Λάμος). The river is mentioned by Stephanus of Byzantium,[3] and both the river and the town by Strabo[4] and Ptolemy.[5] The river, which is otherwise of no importance, formed the boundary between Cilicia Aspera and Cilicia Propria.
The town later became the seat of a bishop; no longer a residential bishopric, it remains a titular see in the Roman Catholic Church under the name of Lamus.[6]