Cited by the geographer
Ptolemy as an important city center, in 113 BC, in
Roman times housed the
Legio Pontica. In
Byzantine times it was the seat of a
bishopric and the patron saint of the city took the name of Άγια Σοφία (
Hagia Sophia). After the collapse of the Byzantine power in Anatolia in 1199, the city became part of the possessions of the
Armenian prince Kervard with the name of "Surp Sope". The name was derived directly from the Armenian church dedicated to St. Sophia. After that date the city disappears from history. ==Bishopric==