Taman Peninsula

Taman Peninsula (təmän`), c.20 mi (30 km) long and 8 mi (12.9 km) wide, Krasnodar Territory, SE European Russia, projecting westward between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. It is separated from the Crimea by the Kerch Strait. There are small mud volcanoes and gas and petroleum deposits. In the 6th cent. B.C., the Greeks established several colonies here. The modern Taman, a small port, became, in the 10th cent. A.D., a feudal center which was converted (13th cent.) into a fortress by the Genoese. Taman became a Turkish fortress in 1482 and was ceded to Russia in 1774.