In the IV century. the great migration of peoples began, which redrawn the map of Europe. Numerous hordes of Huns invaded the Kuban, defeated the Azov Goths, captured the Bosporan cities of Kep, Phanagoria and others, and moved through the Kerch Strait to the West. At this time, Bulgarian tribes roamed in the steppes of the Ciscaucasia. By the name of one of these tribes - the Onogurs - the entire Azov lowland was then called Onoguria. With the appearance of the Huns in the Azov region, the Hunnic-Bulgarian union of tribes with a strong influence of the Sarmatian culture began to dominate. The foothill regions of Trans-Kuban region were occupied by the ancestors of the Adyg tribes - the Zikhi, Sagin and Kasogi.
In 635 the Bulgarian Khan Kubrat united the Azov and Black Sea Bulgarians under his rule. So on the territory of the Kuban Great Bulgaria arose with its center in Phanagoria. But it did not last long, and after the death of its founder, it soon fell apart. In the VII century. The Kuban Bulgarians, or "Black Bulgars" as they were called, were conquered by the Khazars and became part of the Khazar Kaganate. They paid tribute to the Khazars and took part in their military campaigns. The local center, subordinate to Khazaria, moved to the former Hermonassa, which received the Khazar name Tumen-Tarkhan, that is, the place of the headquarters of the head of tumen (tumen - from the Mongolian word for "darkness" - a military-administrative unit or military unit of 10 thousand soldiers) … The Greeks called this city Tamatarkha.
At the end of the IX century. The steppes of the Northern Black Sea region are filled with the roar of new nomadic hordes - the Pechenegs, who, together with other nomads, were shaking the Khazar Kaganate. But the fatal blow to the Khazar Kaganate in 964-65. inflicted by the great Kiev prince Svyatoslav. Having defeated the allies of Khazaria, the Volga Bulgars, Svyatoslav moved to the lower reaches of the Volga and captured the capital of the Kaganate, the city of Itil. Then he defeated the Yases and Kasogs (ancestors of the Ossetians and Circassians) and took possession of Tamatarkha - the center of the Taman Peninsula. Here, on the shores of the Russian (as the Black Sea was then called) and the Surozh (Azov) seas, the Russian Tmutarakan principality arises. The exact time of its formation is not known.
It is possible that the Rus appeared in these places even during the time of Prince Igor, when he made campaigns against Byzantium. So, in the treaty of 944, which he concluded with the Byzantine emperor, the Korsun country is mentioned, apparently the possession of Russia on the Taman Peninsula. But it is known for sure that the son of Svyatoslav Vladimir sent his son Mstislav to rule in the Tmutarakan principality. His rule in Tmutarakan (988-1036) was marked by the expansion and strengthening of this most distant part of Russia. The neighboring tribes paid tribute to Mstislav and supplied warriors for his campaigns. When the Kasog prince Rededya refused to submit to Mstislav, in 1022 he went with his squad to the land of the Kasogs. When the two troops met, Rededya proposed not to destroy the soldiers, but to resolve the dispute in single combat. Mstislav defeated Rededya and again subdued the Kasogs. In honor of his victory, he founded the Church of the Virgin Mary in Tmutarakan, which later became the center of the local diocese. In 1023 he went to war against his brother Yaroslav, leading a large squad, in which there were Russian, Khazar and Kasog (Adyghe) warriors. In 1024, near Listven, near Chernigov, the Varangian-Russian troops of Yaroslav and the squad of Mstislav met. Yaroslav the Wise, striving for the unity of Russia, could not defeat the talented commander Mstislav and was forced to transfer the left bank of the Dnieper to the prince of Tmutarakan. Mstislav began to rule in Chernigov, not forgetting his distant Tmutarakan principality, and Yaroslav - in Kiev. In 1024, near Listven, near Chernigov, the Varangian-Russian troops of Yaroslav and the squad of Mstislav met. Yaroslav the Wise, striving for the unity of Russia, could not defeat the talented commander Mstislav and was forced to transfer the left bank of the Dnieper to the prince of Tmutarakan. Mstislav began to rule in Chernigov, not forgetting his distant Tmutarakan principality, and Yaroslav - in Kiev. In 1024, near Listven, near Chernigov, the Varangian-Russian troops of Yaroslav and the squad of Mstislav met. Yaroslav the Wise, striving for the unity of Russia, could not defeat the talented commander Mstislav and was forced to transfer the left bank of the Dnieper to the prince of Tmutarakan. Mstislav began to rule in Chernigov, not forgetting his distant Tmutarakan principality, and Yaroslav - in Kiev.
The Tmutarakan principality during this period was small, but very influential. In fact, Tmutarakan controlled the area from the Lower Volga to the Don. The city of Tmutarakan itself was a large administrative and economic center. Russians, Greeks, Bulgarians, Khazars, Alans, Goths, Kasogs lived here.
The city was surrounded by a powerful brick wall. Streets and squares are paved with stones. Tmutarakan was the residence of the prince, there were many beautiful houses decorated with marble. A church built of stone towered over the city. The city stood on the shore of a convenient harbor, where merchant ships with goods arrived. Tmutarakan was famous for its artisans, fishermen and warriors. In 1068, Prince Gleb of Tmutarakan measured the distance from Tmutarakan to Korchev (Kerch) along the ice of the Kerch Strait. In 1792, a marble slab with a Russian inscription about this event was found on the Taman Peninsula. Thus began the study of the history of the Russian principality in the Kuban.
In 1061-1074. near the city of Tmutarakan lived the largest church-political figure of Kievan Rus, the writer and chronicler Nikon. Nikon, a monk of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery, fled to Tmutarakan from the wrath of the Kiev prince Izyaslav. Here he founded a monastery, which began to spread the Russian letter in the North Caucasus. In addition, Nikon was a famous chronicler of his time. According to scientists, he is the author of the chronicle collection of 1073 - one of the sources of the Tale of Bygone Years. Nikon also took part in political life.
The last time Tmutarakan was mentioned in Russian chronicles was in 1094. Later, the principality was under the sovereignty of Byzantium. According to the testimony of missionaries, the population and the rulers professed Christianity. According to Pletneva S. A., in the XII century. Polovtsian rule was established in Tmutarakan. According to another version, the Kasog princes ruled there, having dynastic ties with the Russians. In the XIII-XV centuries, the city is a colony of Genoa, at the same time it is ruled by the Adyghe princes. In 1419, the dynastic marriage of the noble Genoese Vincenzo de Gizolfi and the daughter of the Adyg prince Berozokh - Biha-khanum is mentioned. The son of this marriage, Zacharias de Ghizolfi, became the ruler of the city. However, in 1475 the Turks captured Matrega and annexed it to their possessions. Nevertheless, Zechariah's diplomatic activity helped him retain his post as head of the city. The Turkish fortress Hunkala was built to the east of the city, on the ruins of a Genoese fortress, the city itself was named Taman (XVI - late XVIII). The city returned to Russia only after several centuries. As a result of the Russo-Turkish War, Taman became part of the Russian Empire. In 1792, the Zaporozhye Cossacks moved to the Taman Peninsula. On the site of the former Turkish fortress Taman, they founded their first settlement - the village of Taman. That's it, friends, now you know that Taman and Tmutarakan are one and the same city, just separated by several centuries. Zaporozhye Cossacks settled on the Taman Peninsula. On the site of the former Turkish fortress Taman, they founded their first settlement - the village of Taman. That's it, friends, now you know that Taman and Tmutarakan are one and the same city, just separated by several centuries. Zaporozhye Cossacks settled on the Taman Peninsula. On the site of the former Turkish fortress Taman, they founded their first settlement - the village of Taman. So friends, now you know that Taman and Tmutarakan are one and the same city, just separated by several centuries.
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