Although the city defences were strengthened with Byzantine help in the 5-6th C they were allowed to deteriorate and in the 711 the whole peninsula was overun by the Khazars and new populations of Goths and Alans moved in. The influx of invaders did not change the prosperity of the city however, and the city retained its independance until about 830 when the Emperor Theophilus sent his brother-in-law Petronus to be their first governor and for 150 years the city was a loyal part of the Empire. It was during this period that the abbreviated form of the city name 'Cherson' was first used to describe the military district (or Theme) of which the city was the capital.
In 987 the Emperor Basil, faced with a rebellion and desperate for troops, approached Vladimir, Prince of Kiev for help. His response was to send a force of 6000 warriors to his aid. His price however was high, he wanted to marry the Emperors' sister Anna. Basil agreed, and early in 989, with an army of veteran warriors at his back he was able to overcome the rebels. At this point he seems to have blanched at the idea of sending his sister to marry a Northern pagan barbarian and tried to delay the wedding. Vladimirs' paitence was growing thin and he siezed Cherson in the hope of reminding the Emperor of their agreement. This, combined with the presence 6000 veteran Scandanavians now living in Constantinople, resulted in a tearful Anna being sent North to marry a man she must have considered an ogre. Immediately on her arrival Vladimir was baptised into the Christian church, (also part of the deal) and then married to Anna.
His 'bride-price' to his new brother- in-law was the city of Cherson, returned to the Empire unharmed and as the future St Vladimir he spent the rest of his life converting the Russians to Christianity and building churches. For the next 400 years Cherson was the principal Byzantine trading post on the northern Black Sea until it was finally destroyed in 1399 by the Tartar-Mongols.
The City of Cherson Today
Today the ancient city of Chersonesus is under threat as the continuing development of the modern city of Sebastapol is now very close to the ruins.Clicking on the photo will take you to the local website which discusses the history and decline of the site.Clicking here will take you to the University of Texas which has an ongoing project to assist with the excavation of the site.
This link talkes you to the Wikipedia page about the city.
