Khazaria is a republic located in eastern Europe, just east of Ukraine and north of the Black Sea. The original Khazaria was located just north of the Caucusus. However, invasions from surrounding groups almost destroyed the empire. A strong relationship with the Byzantine Empire, however, kept it from extinction at the hands of the Kievan Rus. Many Khazars - a historically mobile people - flooded into the Taurican (OTL Crimean) Peninsula from the rest of its former empire, realizing that they needed to be together in one place so that their numbers would ward off enemies that had been able to pick off smaller groups previously. The Khazars more and more became urbanized, and eventually secured not only Taurica, but elsewhere east of the Dneiper River.