Editing Kerch (section)

=== Middle Ages ===
[[File:Yenikale fortress in Kerch.jpg|thumb|Yenikale fortress]]

From the 6th century the city was under the control of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. By order of Emperor [[Justinian I]], a citadel named Bospor was built there. Bospor was the centre of a [[bishopric]], the [[diocese of Bosporus]] and developed under the influence of Greek [[Christianity]]. In 576, it withstood a siege by the [[Göktürks]] under Bokhan, aided by Anagai, the last [[khan (title)|khan]] (ruler) of the [[Uturgurs]] (tribe of [[Huns]]).
[[File:Kerch ChurchOfStJohn.jpg|thumb|left|Church of St John the Baptist, built in the 8th century]]

In the 7th century, the [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] [[Khazars]] took control of Bospor, and the city was named '''Karcha''' from Turkic "karşı" meaning 'opposite, facing.' The main local government official during Khazar times was the [[tudun]]. 
During Khazar rule, Kerch was used as a major port for the [[Khazar slave trade]], through which slaves were exported to the [[Black Sea slave trade]].<ref>The World of the Khazars: New Perspectives. Selected Papers from the Jerusalem 1999 International Khazar Colloquium. (2007). Nederländerna: Brill. p. 233</ref>

Christianity was a major religion in Kerch during the period of Khazar rule. Kerch's Church of [[John the Baptist|St. John the Baptist]] was founded in 717; thus, it is the oldest church in Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cohen |first=Saul Bernard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C6PLxz8EMk0C&dq=Kerch+John+Baptist+oldest+church+in+Ukraine&pg=PA1876 |title=The Columbia Gazetteer of the World: A to G |year=2008 |pages=1876}}</ref> The Church of the Apostles existed during the late 8th and early 9th centuries, according to the ''Life of the Apostle Andrew'' by [[Epiphanius of Salamis]]. 

Following the fall of Khazaria to [[Kievan Rus']] in the late 10th century, Kerch became the centre of a Khazar [[successor-state]]. Its ruler, [[Georgius Tzul]], was deposed by a [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]]-[[Kievan Rus'|Rus]] expedition in 1016.

From the 10th century, the city was a [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] settlement named Korchev, which belonged to the [[Tmutarakan]] principality. Kerch was a center of trade between Russia', [[Crimea]], [[Caucasus]] and the [[Orient]]. 

In the 13th century, Crimea including Korchev was invaded by [[Mongol invasion of Rus|Mongols]]. After the Mongols, the city became the [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]] colony of Cerco (Cherkio) in 1318 and served as a sea harbour, where townspeople worked at salt works and fishery.

In 1475, the city was passed to the [[Ottoman Empire]]. During the Turkish rule Kerch fell into decay and served as a [[History of slavery|slave-market]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Inalcik |first=Halil|chapter=Servile Labor in the Ottoman Empire |chapter-url= http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu:80/~fisher/hst373/readings/inalcik6.html |editor1-last=Ascher |editor-first1=Abraham |editor2-last=Király |editor-first2=Béla K. |editor2-link=Béla Király|editor3-last= Halasi-Kun |editor-first3=  Tibor|title=The Mutual Effects of the Islamic and Judeo-Christian Worlds: The East European Pattern|place=Brooklyn, N.Y.|publisher=Brooklyn College Press|year=1979|pages=25–43|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504102244/http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu:80/~fisher/hst373/readings/inalcik6.html|archive-date=4 May 2017}}</ref> It repeatedly suffered from raids of [[Zaporizhian Sich|Zaporizhian Cossacks]].

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