Its inclusion in Latin loanwords into Proto-Albanian and phonetic evolution coincides with the historical existence of a large Roman town (near present-day Elbasan), which gave the river its new name.

[8] After descending from the Valamaras, it flows northwards through Proptisht and Qukës with many deep gorges and canyons and passes the Gora Mountains.

Close to Librazhd the river turns some 50 km (31 mi) westwards of its origin and joins the Rapun stream.

[12][13] The ancient Via Egnatia followed the river, giving it the role of a strategically important corridor between orient and occident.

[15] In Roman Imperial times, the line of division between the administrative provinces of Illyricum and Epirus Nova ran from the west somewhere between Scodra and Dyrrachium, to the east somewhere between the north side of the Shkumbin and Lake Ohrid.