The city of Amasra, or Sesamos, as it was known in history, was built in XII. It has a history that goes back to the century. During this period, the city was used by the Phoenicians as a commercial colony after the Gasgas and Hittite rule in the region. After the Phoenician domination for a short time, the city was captured by the sailors of Miletus and Megara with the Ionian colonization movements and soon became an important commercial attraction center of the entire Western Black Sea coast. The rich forest products of the region (especially boxwood, acorns, chestnuts) are the most important factors in the development of trade.

The city, which was dominated by Lydian for a period, BC IV. Century passed under Persian rule. We see that after the Macedonian Alexander the Great rescued Anatolia from the Persian invasion, Sesamos’ rule passed to Amastris, a Persian princess. During this period, the city experienced the brightest period of its history with a lively commercial life.

After Amastris, the city, which was bound to the Kingdom of Pontus for two centuries, came under the rule of the Romans in 70 BC. The city, which is the center of the state of Paflagonia, remained within the borders of Eastern Rome with the division of the Roman Empire into two in 395. Known as “Amastedos” in the Eastern Roman administration, the city gradually lost its commercial functions and became a religious center.

After the 1071 Battle of Malazgirt, the conquests that started under the leadership of Kutalmışoğlu Süleyman Shah extended to Amasra, the city besieged by Emir Kara Tigin, one of the Turkish commanders, could not be taken, but the Byzantine Garrison here was taxed. The city, which was a base center from time to time during the throne fights in Byzantium, established friendly relations with the Seljuk ruler Rükneddin Süleyman during the Anatolian Seljuks period and ensured the revival of trade.