the ‘outside’ other 25
of ‘export’ of Byzantine infl uence in the Black Sea steppe region and
a sort of observation point of the Byzantines to scrutinize the status
quo in the steppe. Th e Bulgar settlements there were divided into two
groups: the fi rst one is dated to the second half of the seventh century
until the fi rst half of the eighth century while the second one dates
from the mid-eighth to tenth centuries. Th e settlements from the for-
mer were situated in the southern part of the Crimean steppe, but far
from the sea coast. In this they were similar to the Bulgar settlements
in the region between Varna and the Danube estuary in the eighth-
ninth centuries, which were situated 1 to 6 km inland, away from the
Black Sea coast. Th e settlements from the latter were situated (with
the exception of Kerch) mainly along the coastal line. In most cases
they were founded on uninhabited places or within the frames of for-
tresses destroyed by the Huns (e.g. Kalos limen, Kerkinitida), but there
were settlements on top of Byzantine fortresses reinforced by addi-
tional walls (e.g. Aluston, Bospor, Sudak/Sugdaya) although they did
not have their former marine importance.^40 So, until the mid-eighth
century, the ‘meetings’ here with the Byzantines were quite restricted.
Later on, Christian churches were built there, a fact which is in total
contrast to the situation in Danube Bulgaria, where it is diffi cult to
fi nd construction of churches in the period from the late seventh till
the mid-ninth century,^41 suggesting no Byzantine missionary activity
existed.
Similar to the Chinese, the Byzantines aft er the fi ft h-sixth century
had one primary goal towards the northern “barbarians”—they did
not want to allow the establishment of a large “barbarian” empire to
the north of the oikoumene. However, aft er the Arab invasion in the
seventh century some concepts about the territory to the north of the
Black Sea had changed—now the Byzantine Empire was in favor of
the existence of a powerful nomadic confederation to act as a barrier
against the barbarian attacks from the Volga River and to block the
Avar khaganate within the territories of Central Europe as well.
(^40) Baranov 1990, 35–36 and the map on p. 8; Rashev 1997, 34–38.
(^41) Baranov 1990, 133–139; Nikolov 2000, 342. Noonan 2000, 17, also claims that
there were no purposeful Byzantine attempts aiming at converting the heathen Bul-
gars in Crimea. As for the missionary politics of Byzantium in details, e.g. the Chris-
tianization of the ‘barbarian’ Crimea Peninsula launched in ninth century, see Ivanov
2003, 142–143.