Strait of Kerch

The Strait of Kerch separates Crimea from the Taman Peninsula and connects the Black Sea with the shallow Sea of Azov. Sandbanks and narrow passages complicate navigation through its waters. In the later Middle Ages Genoese garrisons at Kerch and Matrega watched this gateway, through which merchants sailed toward Tana at the mouth of the Don. Control of the strait gave its holders influence over trade between the two seas.