Black Sea–Caspian Steppe Terek River. Between these the rivers are caught by the Malka River which is an east-flowing tributary of the Terek. In the west, since the Caucasus Mountains run parallel and close to the Black Sea coast, no significant rivers from this area reach the Black Sea. The western point is the Taman Peninsula. North of the Taman Peninsula the Kuban River, the Beysug River and the Yeya Rivers reach the Sea of Azov, and the long Manych River and the shorter Sal River reach the lower Don. In the north much of the lower Don is under the Tsimlyansk Reservoir
Black Sea–Caspian Steppe of Islam led to the Arab-Khazar Wars (642-737) and in 737 Arabs briefly reached the lower Volga. The Pechenegs (c. 800 – 1100) moved from north of the Caspian into this area perhaps around 850. They pushed or were pushed westward and were eventually broken up in wars with the Byzantines. Behind them came the Cumans – Kipchaks (?-1241), two peoples that are hard to distinguish. Like the Pechenegs they continued west and fought the Rus’ and Byzantines. The appearance of the Kipchaks may mark the final establishment of Turkic languages north of the Black Sea. After the Mongols conquered