Düzce's known history reaches back to about 1390 BC. The district has been invaded by a great many peoples and states, and the traces of Phrygian, Lydian, Persian, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman civilisations can all be seen around it. The ancient city at Konuralp, a town within the province, goes back to the 3rd century BC.
The Ottoman period begins with a single commander. Konuralp Bey, one of Orhan Gazi's commanders, brought the district under Ottoman rule through the battle he fought with the Byzantine lords in 1323, and the area was named after him — a name it still carries.
He had been working towards it for some time. Having taken the forts of Geyve, Alp Suyu and Karaceebüş, Konuralp, Akçakoca and Abdurrahman Gazi began raiding into Akova, called Regio Torsia in the Byzantine period. Konuralp Bey then campaigned into the territory of Bolu, took Düzpazar, and at Uzunca-Bel — a place still not located — waited two days against the Byzantines before striking the decisive blow. Osman Gazi gave him the Düzce plain and Byzantine Prusias, and from the first quarter of the 14th century the region has been called Konuralp district, or simply Konrapa.
