Principality of Theodoro

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The Principality of Theodoro (Greek Θεοδόρο) was a small principality in the south-west of Crimea from the 12th through 14th centuries. Its capital was Mangup. The state was closely allied with the Empire of Trebizond.

The ruling dynasty, allied by marriage with the Megaloi Komnenoi, was called Gabras (in Greek) or Chowra (in Turkish). In the late 14th century, one branch of the dynasty emigrated to Moscow, where they established the Simonov Monastery. The Khovrins, as they came to be known, were hereditary treasurers of Muscovy. In the 16th century, they changed their name to Golovin (see Fyodor Golovin and Avtonom Golovin for representatives).

In May 1475, the Ottoman commander Gedik Ahmet Pasha conquered Caffa and at the end of the year, after five months of besieging Mangup, the city fell to the assaulters. While much of the rest of Crimea remained part of the Crimean Khanate, now an Ottoman vassal, former lands of Theodoro and southern Crimea was administered directly by the Sublime Porte.