Phanagoria was an ancient Greek colony on the Taman peninsula between the Black Sea and the Azov, roughly on the site of modern Tmutarakan. It was the capital of Great Bulgaria between 632 and 665. In the late seventh century it became (at least nominally) a Byzantine possession; a Khazar tudun was nonetheless present in the town and de facto control probably rested in Khazar hands until the defeat of Georgius Tzul in 1016. The emperor Justinian II was given a house in Phanagoria by the Khazar Khagan Busir Glavan after his escape from exile in Cherson and before his return to Constantinople by way of Bulgaria.

In the late Middle Ages the town of Matrega was built on its ruins; the site was part of a network of Genoese possessions along the northern Black Sea coast. During the fifteenth century it was the center of the possessions of the de Ghisolfi family.

External links

• Antique coins of Phanagoria

Bosporan Kingdom | History of Bulgaria | Ancient Greek cities

Фанагория