History of Kastamonu

It is not definitely known when Kastamonu was first founded. However, some sources dating back to the Early Middle Ages refer to the province. There are also some archeological findings dating back to about 100,000 years that suggest the region was inhabited then.

There are theories that the word Kastamonu derives from the Latin name of the Byzantine castle built by the Comnenus dynasty: Castra Comnenus.

What is now Kastamonu Province was inhabited by the Kaska (or Ghashgai) people at least from the 18th century BC who were a perennial problem for the Hittites, and at one point the Kaska raided the Hittite homelands, sacking their capital Hattusa. After a war between these two nations in 13th century BC, the region was occupied by the Phrygians, and in 7th century BC by the Lydians.

With the weakening of the Macedon kings, the whole Paphlagonia and Bithynia regions were engulfed by the newly formed Pontus kingdom. After the fall of the Pontus kingdom in 1st century BC, the area was incorporated by the Roman Empire by joining Paphlagonia with Bithynia. The capitol center of this new city-state was Pompeiopolis, of which the remains still stand near Taşköprü District in Kastamonu.

The region went then under the hegemony of the Seljuk dynasty 11th century AD, followed by the Danishmends, the Byzantines during the crusades, Çobanoğlu and Candaroglu beyliks. The Ottoman sultan Beyazid I conquered the province in 1392 however, following his capture and death in Battle of Ankara, the area was granted back to the Candaroglu by the Mongol warlord Timur Lenk. Ottoman sultan Mehmed II incorporated the region back to the empire in 1461.

During the Ottoman reign, the province boundaries were expanded up to reach Istanbul. The sultan's heirs were often sent to rule the province as governors to gain experience.

After the First World War, during the battles of the Turkish War of Independence, Kastamonu played an important role in the supply of ammuniton and troops to the İnebolu-Ankara front, transporting the war machines that would arrive to İnebolu by sea from Istanbul and the Soviets. When the Greeks noticed this activity, the İnebolu port was bombarded from the sea on June 9, 1921.

source:experiencefestival.com