Bartın, which is located in the Western Black Sea Region of the Black Sea today, is on the western border of the region called Paphlagonia in Antiquity. This city, which came to the forefront mostly with Amastris during the Byzantine period, is not just about Amastris. Recent researches reveal that there are many Byzantine settlements in the coastal and inland regions of Bartın. A comprehensive survey conducted between 2018 and 2022 detected five castles along the coastline of Bartın. The main purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive and contemporary overview of the castles within the city borders, with a focus on shedding light on the obscurity surrounding Byzantine Bartın. The two castles in Amastris exhibit a divergence in their construction phases, with Parthenios Castle being built during the Early Byzantine period, Kromna and Güzelcehisar Castles built in the medieval. Each of them has its own unique features, as well as regional characteristics. A detailed description of the castles will contribute both to the archaeology of the region and to the literature on Byzantine defense architecture. It is hypothesized that a detailed introduction of the castles addressed in the article will contribute to the archaeology of the region and the literature on Byzantine defensive architecture.
Ercan VERİM (Mon,) studied this question.