مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - The Kastamonu Coastline in Ancient Sources and in the Travelogues of Later Periods

Abstract :

Kastamonu, within the borders of the Paphlagonia Region in antiquity, is today in the Western Black Sea Region. The length of the Black Sea coastline of the province is 170 kilometers. Six of the towns in the province are located on the western coast of Black Sea. These towns were established at the sites of the ancient cities mentioned in the ancient records and the names of some of these towns have changed only a little since antiquity. References to these settlements in written sources began with Homer and continued into the end of the East Roman Period. The sources from later periods provided more detailed information concerning these places. According to these sources, the settlements along this coastline did not play an important role in history due to the lack of natural harbours, like those in nearby Herakleia Pontica (Karadeniz Ereğli), Amastris (Amasra) and Sinope (Sinop). In this study, the way these settlements are mentioned in the ancient sources and in travelogues written from the beginning of the Medieval period into the 20th century are scrutinized, together with information concerning the archaeology, mythology, the social structure, economy and geography of this region.