Khazaria And International Trade In Eastern Europe 161
The Rus’ penetration of Eastern Europe did not have such importance for
the development of the Dnieper road as did the Byzantine policy in the north
during the second half of the ninth century. During the Iconoclast period
(726–843), the influx of Byzantine coins dropped sharply and it could be
asserted that until the 830s Byzantium did not have a significant influence on
the Northern Black Sea region.55 The reign of the Byzantine emperor Michael
III (843–867) dissipated the disputes that polarized the Byzantine society and
revived the missionary activity. The rise of Byzantium began after 856, when
Michael III ousted his mother from the regency council with the help of his
uncle Bardas. Bardas restored secular education by creating the Magnaura
School. In 858, the Magnaura teacher Photios ascended the patriarchal throne
(858–867, 877–886).56 During his time in office, the Khazar (860–861) and
the Great Moravian (863) missions of the saint brothers Cyril and Methodius
became possible, as well as Bulgaria’s conversion to Christianity in 864. The
first accounts of the spread of Christianity from Byzantium among the Rus’
date from 867.57
The Byzantine center in the Northern Black Sea region was Chersonesus. It
was located on the southwest coast of the Crimean Peninsula. The settlement
was an important port, situated on the direct sea route that began at the mouths
of the Danube and ran through the Dnieper towards the Caucasus. It provided
Byzantium with goods from the Northern Black Sea region—furs, honey, wax,
slaves, fish and salt. Of particular importance both for Chersonesus and for
Byzantium were the contacts with the peoples, inhabiting the steppe. Not only
because they mediated in the trade with the northern areas (in the ninth cen-
tury, such a role was played by the Magyars and in the tenth, the Pechenegs),
but because the city was vulnerable from the direction of the steppe as it was
located far from the main mountain ridge of the peninsula. Twenty kilome-
ters eastwards, situated deep in the mountains, was the center of the Crimean
Goths, Doros (the Goths had settled there after the Hunnic invasion). Being
55 Darkevich 1973, 95. This mainly concerned trade and the direct political influence of
Byzantium and did not impact the spread of Christianity among the population subject
to the Khazar Khaganate. The spread of Christianity can also be largely associated with
the iconodules that were banished from Byzantium and found refuge in the Crimea. On
the Byzantine-Khazar relations in the Crimea during the seventh and eighth centuries,
see Naumenko 2004b.
56 Ostrogorski 1996, 304–307.
57 On the Byzantine missionary work, see Ivanov 2001. See also Stepanov 2005a, 73–74 and
84; Naumenko 2005.