Editing Crimea (section)

===Medieval history===
[[File:Sudak, Crimea, The Genoese Fortress.jpg|thumb|Genoese fortress in [[Sudak]], 13th century, [[Republic of Genoa]], originally a fortified [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] town, seventh century]]

The south coast remained Greek in culture for almost two thousand years including under Roman successor states, the [[Cherson (theme)|Byzantine Empire]] (341–1204 CE), the [[Empire of Trebizond]] (1204–1461 CE), and the independent [[Principality of Theodoro]] (ended 1475 CE). In the 13th century, some Crimean port cities were controlled by the [[Republic of Venice|Venetians]] and by the [[Republic of Genoa|Genovese]], but the interior was much less stable, enduring a [[The Crimean Steppe|long series of conquests and invasions]]. In the medieval period, it was partially conquered by [[Kievan Rus']] whose [[Vladimir the Great|prince]] was baptized at [[Chersonesus Cathedral|Sevastopol]] starting the [[Christianization of Kievan Rus']].<ref name="Norwich2013">{{cite book|author=John Julius Norwich|title=A Short History of Byzantium|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7JtvMQEACAAJ|year=2013|publisher=Penguin Books, Limited|isbn=978-0-241-95305-1|page= 210}}</ref>