History and ethnology. Data

Today I had an extra movie. I see a newspaper with color photographs, a modern newspaper, an ordinary one, like Rossiyskaya Gazeta, for example. I start reading, and I can’t understand in any way what language it is written in. On the front page there is a photo of Erdogan, and the caption to it and the text of the article are written in a letter unknown to me. This is neither Georgian nor Armenian. Not Hebrew or hieroglyphs. Looks more like runic writing, but I've never seen one like this before. I ask: “What language is the newspaper in?” The answer sounds in my head: - “Khazar”.

What nonsense. I “turned over” so much material in search of material evidence of the existence of Khazaria, and became convinced that reliable information about the Khazar writing simply does not exist.

In the morning, over a cup of coffee, I come across an unsolved crossword puzzle that my wife “tormented” last night, and in the most prominent place I come across the question “Prophetic Avenger of the Khazars,” with four letters. “Oleg” - written in the boxes by his wife’s hand. I haven’t forgotten the school curriculum yet. And then I remember my vision, and how I was scalded with boiling water. A sign, though. You need to think. And this is what my thoughts led to.

What do we even know about Khazaria? Even if you briefly run your mind through the known facts, very serious doubts already arise about the existence of the Khazar Kaganate in the form it was discussed in textbooks. Everything, absolutely everything that is known to the average citizen on this issue is based on one paragraph from a textbook, and the map of “ancient Khazaria” imprinted in the memory, which someone completely arbitrarily painted over on a modern map with one color.

Today, this version of the presence of the Kaganate on the territory of modern Russia is actively exaggerated by those who are sure that the Jews want to “chop off” its ancestral lands from Russia under the guise of restitution. In general, the concerns are fair. They “chopped off” Palestine only on the basis that some kind of Jehovah promised them this land as their property, and no one except the Jews themselves ever knew about this promise.

Moreover, what is actually happening now is completely consistent with these plans. Even if there are no plans, Jewish expansion is beyond doubt for a sane person. It is forbidden to talk about it in “independent” Russian media, but there is no escaping the facts. Plans for the construction of “New Khazaria” are being implemented before our eyes.

But today we have a different task. It is necessary to understand how information about the Khazar Kaganate appeared in world history. We will not touch Pushkin, he died quite recently, and it is unlikely that he knew the truth about how everything really happened. What other sources do we have? Again, everything comes down to “The Tale of Bygone Years,” or rather to its Radzivilov list, which today only the President of the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation believes, probably, and even then I doubt it.

The Cambridge Document, or otherwise Schechter's letter (named after the discoverer. Who would doubt it! A Kyrgyz could not have found a document of such importance.) is a manuscript in Hebrew. Contains a fragment of a letter from an unnamed Jew, a subject of the Khazar king Joseph, to an unnamed gentleman from a Mediterranean country. One of two (along with the letter of King Joseph) written monuments of Khazar origin.

The author was in Constantinople at the time of writing (Let's remember this important point!). The addressee of the letter with a high degree of probability is the Cordoba dignitary Hasdai ibn Shaprut, who collected information about Khazaria. The time of writing can be dated to around 949.

The letter contains unique information on the history and religion of the Khazars, the resettlement of Jews to Khazaria, and the activities of the last three Khazar kings: Benjamin, Aaron and Joseph. Of particular interest is the story about the author’s contemporary Russian-Khazar-Byzantine war in the Black Sea region, where the Russian leader is named H-l-g-w, which conveys the exact Scandinavian form of the name Oleg.

Is it a coincidence that the Prophetic Oleg was mentioned in Shekhter’s letter? Of course no. The one who falsified this “document” was definitely familiar with the work of A.S. Pushkin, and so that no one would doubt that the letter was genuine, I could not resist the temptation to mention Oleg in it. Probably on the eve of the First World War, it looked quite convincing, but not today.

There is another “convincing” document... Consisting of as much... From one phrase in “ancient Khazar”:

Allegedly, it was a Khazar official - the censor who signed the Kyiv charter. The inscription was translated as “I READ THIS.” And can we take this seriously?

So... What else do we have besides the works of historians of the 19th and 20th centuries? Yeah! Probably, as in the cases of ancient civilization, Sumerian or Egyptian, coins, brooches, jugs and rings with inscriptions in the Khazar language remained on the territory of ancient Khazaria? Pipes! All archaeological finds in this region have clear signs of belonging to the Scythian and Sarmatian culture. This suggests that not only were there never Jews here, but the Polovtsians and Pechenegs were not Turks, but the same Slavs as the sedentary inhabitants around them.

Look at the scam I discovered on Wikipedia. In the article about Khazaria there is a reference to a certain treasure with Khazar treasures:

The discoverer of this masterpiece, as one might expect, is again not Ivanov. Click on the link to find out what Comrade Finkelstein found there. And for some reason we end up on an English-language article on Wikipedia. Okay, let's not be lazy, click on the page forward, and we get...

This is what the Jews themselves call chutzpah. Proving the existence of Khazar material culture in the Kuban, they refer to the Bulgarian Tsar! Unprecedented impudence!

Okay... What else do we have Khazar? Without a doubt, in the wake of Ukrainian events, a little bauble, which was previously known only to specialists, mainly in the field of customs law, became widely known to everyone. This is tamga.

People don’t understand what tamga is, and they think that it’s Hebrew, Khazar money. In some ways they are right, since the word “money” itself is derived from “tamga”. What is tamga?

Tamga is the seal that the publican put on bags of goods on which the carriage duty was paid, so that at the next outpost the merchant would not be charged a second customs duty - tamga. Thus, tamga is not coins, and not these pendants with tridents, but actually paid customs duties, no matter in what currency, they were often paid in kind as a percentage of the transported goods. You are carrying ten jugs of oil, you gave one to customs, and the other nine received a “tamga” stamp.

From the word “tamga” the word “customs” arose (the place where tamzhat - they collect tamga). And in Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish and some other languages, another name was fixed - “mytnya” (mitnya, mitnitsa), after the name of the tax collectors - tax collectors.

But it is logical that the publican’s seal was periodically changed in order to avoid forgeries. Merchants have always been cunning, and they could stick as many fraudulent seals on customs goods as they wanted. And if so, then the types of tamga - the seal were visible - invisible. But modern professors explain this issue in their own way, so as to stretch the facts so that everyone believes in the existence of the Khazaria, and they explain such diversity by the fact that each “Khazar” had his own ancestral tamga... Oh, it’s not even funny.

I don’t know who first launched the “canard” that the picture above shows Khazar tamga money. I only know that such signs with a trident were previously called “dshchitsy”, and served as a mandate, visa, and safe conduct. Marco Polo writes about this in his book “On the Diversity of the World.”

Here again it is necessary to clarify. Brothers, this is the father and uncle of Marco Polo; Marco himself was still a boy while traveling through Great Tartary.

So here it is. The table is not a table at all, but a table. The travelers came to the Great Khan of Tartary (today he would be called the President of Russia), and he gave them a personal medal, a tablet with his personal seal - a diving falcon. This is NOT tamga. This is a talisman confirming that foreigners travel with his personal permission, and the bearers of this enjoy immunity. Having presented the document to the khans and princes (in our opinion, governors and heads of regions) of the provinces through which the route of the Veneti (Apennine Slavs), also known as Venetians, lay, travelers could count on all possible assistance. Security, assistance, and even provision of provisions and pit horses.

The guards also differed in the metal from which they were minted. Gold ones gave maximum powers, silver ones gave the owner less rights, and iron ones were given to many service people. More recently, archaeologists in Yaroslavl discovered a piece of clothing that supposedly belonged to Alexander Nevsky himself. So much for the debate about the “Mongol-Tatar yoke.” The fact that the President vests the governor with local powers with a certificate is not considered a yoke now. And historians call the fact that Nevsky went to the Great Khan to get a title (label) almost a betrayal of the prince!

But the fact that the Kiev Prince Vladimir minted coins with the seal of the Great Khan most likely indicates that he received permission to mint his own Kyiv coins from the Great Khan of Tartary himself. Who was there before Chingiz? And Javan himself! Son of Japeth, grandson of Noah.

Although by blood he was most likely a Jew. The son of the Jewish housekeeper Malushka (Malka, Malanya) could not be Russian; among Jews, kinship is transmitted through the mother. His portrait is more than eloquent.

The surnames Malakhov, Malkov, Malkin, and their derivatives were borne only by Jews in Russia.

And he took the “Christian” faith again from... Constantinople. Remember at the beginning of the note I drew attention to the fact that the “Cambridge” document was written in Constantinople? Now I again draw attention to the fact that Prince Oleg, who went down in history as the first fighter against the Khazar ghouls, and even suffered death from them, nailed his shield to the gates of Constantinople. Now the question is: why did he kill the Khazars and hang up a shield for the Byzantines?

Well, onwards. There is no Khazar language, no household items, no tools, no weapons, no documents, maybe on the maps somewhere? And there are big problems with this. Cartography during the period to which the existence of Khazaria is attributed (650-969) was in its infancy. I have a map, presumably from the eighth century, and it has a lot of interesting details, but there is no hint of Khazaria.

This is a fragment of Claudius' map; to view it in its entirety, click on the image.

The island in Azov has long been gone. The Riphean mountains have turned into Northern ridges, and they are not observed at all on the territory of Ukraine. The Volga is quite recognizable. Both the Kuban and Don rivers are indicated quite accurately. Two other rivers nearby are also quite identifiable, only now they have become very shallow, and are called Mius and Kagalnik. Ta-Dam!! KAGALNIK. So there was a Kaganate!

And who says that it wasn’t? Prince Vladimir, among other titles, was also Kagan! But this does not mean at all that at the end of the tenth century the Khagans were Jewish kings. In the Bible, the Jews simply have kings, or am I wrong?

Yeah! You say what to do with the Jewish surnames Kogan, Koganovich, Cohen and Hogan? And the answer is right before your eyes. Kogan is spelled with an “O”, and Kagan with an “A”. and It is not the result of linguistic transformation. Because from Persian, “Khazar” (هَزَارْ‎, hâzâr) means “thousand”, and “Kagan” most likely also has a Persian (Farsi) etymology.The words “Caesar” and “king”, according to A. Rona-Tash, appeared precisely from the word hâzâr. Why not? And Kogan is the surname of Ashkenazis - German and Polish Jews, and it means... Lyubimov. In Ukrainian, even now, “love” is “kohannya”.

Theater director Yuri Lyubimov is also an Ashkenazi, and his parents probably became his favorites when they received Soviet passports. At that time, all the kohans (kohans) became favorites, and the tsukermans became sugar ones.

Ask why I was looking for the etymology of “Khazar” in Farsi? It's that simple. The Khazar tribes still live in northern Iran, i.e. in Persia, and this is what they look like:

And you want to say that these are Jews? No, guys are democrats... Of course, the Khazars existed and did not disappear anywhere. As they were a small nation, they remained so. And no Jewish empire called the “Khazar Khaganate” has ever existed in the territory occupied by modern Russia. This is confidently confirmed by DNA genealogy studies. If Jews had ruled Sarmatia for more than three hundred years, how did it happen that there were no traces of Jewish chromosomes left in the blood of the modern original inhabitants of the Kuban and the North Caucasus? There is no way this can happen. We have neither Mongolian nor Jewish traces. Consequently, the “Jewish Kaganate” is the same fiction as the “Mongol yoke.”

The Khazars could live in the Kuban, and their princes could be called Khagans, but they were not Jews, but the same Slavs, only their language was Persian or Arabic, like the Pechenegs and Polovtsians. And they could periodically plunder the settlements of the Northern Slavs, but no one paid them tribute for sure. And Vladimir added the post of Kagan to his titles, most likely because he became the ruler of the Khazars. This is a common practice of monarchs; with each new subject of the federation, a new title was added.

Here Ivan the Terrible went on a business trip to Pleskavia and Novgorod, and immediately became, in addition to his previous specialties, the Prince of Pskov and the Prince of Novgorod. So does Vladimir. Isn't this normal?

In general, we have a retreat on all fronts. No tongue. There is no writing, no artifacts, no maps, nothing. There is not a single clue that gives a reasonable reason to assume the existence of a Jewish empire in the Kuban and northern Caucasus. Maybe there are legends about the famous Khazar Khagans, or military leaders? Eat. Kagan Bulan, supposedly the founder of the Khazar empire, but we also know about him from the false Radzivilov list.

What other Presidents of Khazaria have we heard about? Chanukah and Passover were also supposedly Khazar leaders. Well, I don’t know what to say. Purim is just not enough. And besides them they remember Joseph and Aaron. But where did they rule? In Constantinople. Those. in Constantinople. In Byzantium. Again, all roads lead to Istanbul. Accidentally? No, I don't think so. The true Jewish state was Byzantium. And true Jewish culture is Christianity with all the attributes now attributed to Byzantium. Well, it was necessary to fill in the 1000 years missing in history with something?

Jews have been unsuccessfully searching for traces of their culture in Palestine and the Kuban for 150 years, and cannot find anything. Why? Yes, because they themselves were treated like suckers. They told stories about “ancient Judea” and convinced them that their culture was special, unlike anything else, and in fact, Jerusalem was Byzantium. And Jesus is the prophet Isa, aka Yusha, who came from the east and began to teach wisdom to the Jews who were mired in depravity.

And they fled not from Egypt, but from the Bosporus to Europe. They fled from the Ottomans. That is why Arab and Jewish genes were so intertwined in Asia Minor. This is where it all comes together.

And Fomenko’s version that Jerusalem is Constantinople, and Jesus was crucified on the shore of the Bosporus Strait, is fully confirmed.

And the tomb of Jesus still exists in the suburbs of Istanbul, on Beykos Hill, which in the Bible bears the name of Golgotha.

Painting from the 17th century. "The rest of the inhabitants of Constantinople at the tomb of Saint Jesus." In the perspective are the ruins of the Yoros fortress. This is the real Jerusalem.

And this is how Beykos and Jerusalem look today. View from the grave of Isa Khazarin (Yushi Khazar).

The Latin version of the Bible of the 15th century contains references to the fact that Jesus was executed on the Bosphorus in the area where biblical Jerusalem was located:

“Obadiah 1:20 et transmigratio exercitus huius filiorum Israhel omnia Chananeorum usque ad Saraptham et transmigratio Hierusalem quae in Bosforoest possidebit civitates austri..."

In the Ostrog Bible, a description of the weather of the area in which Jerusalem was supposedly located was preserved, and it has nothing in common with the desert climate of today's Jerusalem. It talks about cold, rainy and snowy weather! Under Empress Catherine, this was removed and they wrote that it was simply very cold. And then this paragraph was removed altogether.

This is what Jesus' tomb looks like today:

On the sign at the entrance there is the inscription: Нz. YUSA (Khazreti - Saint Yusha), and next to it are signs with quotes from the Koran. For the uninitiated, it is worth explaining that in Islam, Yusha - Isa (Jesus) is highly revered as someone who endured suffering for his faith. His name is mentioned in the Holy Book of Muslims over 100 times!

The famous Old Russian text “The Walking of Abbot Daniel” contains a description of the Gospel Jerusalem.

In the modern Russian translation, a fragment of this text sounds like this:

“The Crucifixion of the Lord is located on the eastern side ON A STONE. It was high, HIGHER THAN A COPY. THAT STONE WAS ROUND, LIKE A SMALL SILL.

AND IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT STONE, AT THE VERY TOP, THERE IS A HOLE CARVED ABOUT AN ELBOW DEPTH, AND LESS THAN A SPATH WIDE IN THE CIRCLE (in the perimeter). THE CROSS OF THE LORD WAS PLACED HERE.

In the ground, under that stone, lies the head of the primordial Adam... And that stone broke apart over Adam's head... AND THERE IS THIS CRAFT ON THE STONE TO THIS DAY... THE CRUCIFIX OF THE LORD AND THAT HOLY STONE ARE SURROUNDED WITH A WALL... OF DOORS THE SAME (IN THE WALL) TWO."

This description by Daniel of the site of Christ's crucifixion corresponds perfectly to what we see today on Mount Beykos on the outskirts of Istanbul. Namely, a round stone like a small slide with a hole at the very top, in the center. There is a crack in this stone.

Now attention! In Turkish, “Saint Yusha” sounds like “Hazreti Yusa”. HAZRETI is... A NAZORITE? The Slavic letter N and the Latin H are written the same way, but are read differently: one as N, and the other as X. So “N” and “X” could turn into each other, and from the word NAZORITE they could get HAZORITE or HAZRETI.

Those. Yusha (Jesus) was not any “Nazarene”; he was not from Nazareth, but from Khazaria. Then everything comes together. In the Bible it is so funny that it is written that the Magi saw a star in the EAST, and followed it, found a baby, brought him gifts, etc. But the Bible also says that the Magi came from the EAST with gifts. Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Stop Zorka! They saw a star in the EAST and went to the EAST, but came again from the EAST. How is that?

Aw! Christians, who can tell where the Magi came from and where they were going? Everything falls into place if in Constantinople they saw a star that lit up in the east, and so it was, this is a supernova outbreak, the Crab Nebula, which happened in the first half of the 12th century. And then, 33 years later, Yusha came from the east. Who differed from the Byzantines in that he cut through the truth.

He went into Christian churches and drove out priests selling candles and Cahors. And from the doors of the temples he drove away the moneylenders sitting on banks (folding chairs), who gave money at interest. Bankers sitting on banks is an original Jewish business, isn't it?

"In the summer of 5500, the eternal king, the Lord our God Jesus Christ, was born in the flesh on the 25th day of December. The circle of the Sun was then 13, the Moon was 10, the index of the 15th, on the day of the week at the 7th hour of the day"(Palea, sheet 275, verso).

“The third kingdom of Tiberius of Caesar. In the summer of August 5515, the Caesars took over the kingdom of Tivirius, son of the Caulians, and reigned in Rome for 23 years. With this, the great coward was quick and ruined, 13 degrees even the earth was crushed. At the age of 15, Christ FROM IVAN IN THE JORDAN RECE, 30 years of age in his month of Genvar on the 6th day at the 7th hour days of indictment 15 circle of the Sun 3 ring fingers. And from that time I chose a disciple for myself, 12, and began to work miracles, and after baptism he was on earth 3 years until his holy passion. With this Tivirius there was both the SAVED PASSION and the RESURRECTION of our Lord Jesus Christ. Years in the 18th year of the kingdom of Tiviri, our Lord Jesus Christ suffered for salvation for man in the year 5530 March on the 30th day, on Friday at the 6th hour of the day, indict 3, circle of the Sun 7, Moon 14, and Easter to the Jew"(Palea, sheet 256, verso, sheet 257).

And then, when the Muslims learned about what the Jews had done to their beloved prophet Isa, they went to war against Jerusalem - Constantinople, and they coddled everyone who participated in earnest, as they know how. But most of the bankers managed to collect 40 tons of gold, and fled to Spain - Iberia, and the Rhine. The first became Sephardim, the second Ashkenazi. Now do we understand the roots of the mutual hatred of Jews and Arabs, which smolders at the genetic level?

This is probably not all I wanted to say about the Khazars. Yes, definitely not everything. But this is not a scientific work, not a dissertation, just thoughts. To put an end to a matter that can only be stopped, but not completed, I will express a couple more thoughts.

It seems to me that modern Cossacks are also Khazars. It’s not for nothing that people called them “barracks”! And the northern goose, the goose, also got its name from the Khazars. And the hussars are also Cossacks - Khazars. Agile, sharp, tough, born warriors who were the first to domesticate horses.

And no moneylenders.

P.S. Unbelievable but true. I had just posted a note when I “accidentally” came across a picture with a font that I instantly recognized! Rune hieroglyphs from a newspaper with a photo of Erdogan in my extrafilm!

Do you know what this “doodle” is?

This is Mongolian writing! That's what it is!

(A. Polyak, A. Rona-Tash),

to the Turkic verb with the meaning “to oppress”, “to oppress” (L. Bazin).

Origin

According to some researchers (B.N. Zakhoder), the Khazar ethnic group had a dualistic basis, uniting two main tribes - white and black Khazars (Kalis-Khazars and Kara-Khazars). Supporters of a different point of view (M. I. Artamonov, A. P. Novoseltsev) consider this division not ethnic, but social and point to a more complex organization. In close connection with the Khazar tribal union were the Barsils, Savirs, Balanjars, etc. Later they were partially assimilated. The closest to the Khazars were the Barsils, together with whom they were often mentioned in the initial period of history, and the country of Bersilia appears in the sources as the starting point from which the Khazar expansion in Europe began.

The following hypotheses have been put forward regarding the origin of the Khazars and their ancestral home:

• The Khazars are descendants of the Hun tribe Akatsir, known in Europe since the 5th century (A.V. Gadlo, O. Pritsak).
• The Khazars are of Uyghur origin, from the Central Asian Kho-sa people mentioned in Chinese sources. (D. Dunlop) (see main article Uyghur theory of the origin of the Khazars).
• The Khazars are descendants of the Hephthalites who migrated to the Caucasus from Khorasan (Eastern Iran) (D. Ludwig).
• The Khazars descend from a tribal union formed by the Ogurs, Savirs and, at the final stage, the Altai Turks. (P. Golden, M. I. Artamonov, A. P. Novoseltsev, D. Nemeth).

The latter point of view (in different variations) occupies a dominant position in Russian and Ukrainian science.

Territory of settlement, political expansion

Until the 7th century, the Khazars occupied a subordinate position in successive nomadic empires. In the 560s they became part of the Turkic Khaganate, after the collapse of the latter in the middle of the 7th century they created their own state - the Khazar Khaganate (-), which became one of the most durable nomadic associations in this region.

Originally inhabiting the region north of Derbent within modern lowland Dagestan, the Khazars began to settle in controlled regions: the Crimea, the Don, and especially the Lower Volga region, where the state capital was moved in the 8th century. Several groups of Khazars, as a result of long wars against Iran and the Arab Caliphate, were forcibly resettled in Transcaucasia. Later, many high-ranking ghulams of the Abbasid Caliphate were of Khazar origin. It is also known about the existence of a Khazar garrison in Constantinople and a Khazar-Jewish community in Kyiv (the Kozary tract exists in Kyiv to this day). In the first half of the 9th century, three Khazar families, called Kavars, left the country due to political strife and joined the Hungarians, with whom they came to Pannonia and were later assimilated.

Culture, religion and social system

The social organization as a whole did not differ from similar ethnopolitical formations of nomads, but as statehood became established, it progressively evolved. Initially, elected rulers gave way to a hereditary dynasty of Khagans, which in turn gave way to the diarchy of Khagan and Bey. By the 10th century, the Khazars switched from a nomadic lifestyle to a semi-nomadic one, spending winter time in cities.

Religious beliefs consisted of common Turkic pagan rituals, a characteristic feature of which was the worship of the god Tengri and the deification of the Kagan. Thanks to the geographical location and the government's tolerant policy, Christianity and Islam intensively penetrated into the Khazar environment. In the VIII-IX centuries. part of the Khazars, led by the ruling family, converted to Judaism.

The Saltovo-Mayak archaeological culture is considered common to the Khazar Khaganate, but monuments firmly associated with the Khazars themselves have not yet been identified.

Extinction, possible descendants

Some of the ethnic Khazars who professed Judaism, in all likelihood, joined the Central European Jewish communities. Some representatives of the Turkic-speaking Jewish peoples - Karaites and Krymchaks, as well as Iranian-speaking Mountain Jews, consider themselves descendants of the Khazars. Some Turkic-speaking peoples of the North Caucasus may have Khazar roots.

The problem of the descendants of the Khazars is the subject of various theories and speculations in popular literature.

Gallery of archaeological finds (Saltovo-Mayak culture)

Women's jewelry, 8th-9th centuries		Details of a man's belt set, 8th-9th centuries		Dishes

see also

• The spread of Judaism in Khazaria according to archaeological data

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Notes

Literature

• Artamonov M.I./ Ed. and with notes L. N. Gumileva. - L.: State Publishing House. Hermitage, 1962. - 523 p.
• Zakhoder B. N. Gorgan and the Volga region in the 9th-10th centuries]. - M.: Nauka, 1962. - 279 p.
• Ivik O., Klyuchnikov V. Khazars / Oleg Ivik, Vladimir Klyuchnikov. - M.: Lomonosov, 2013. - 336 p. - (History. Geography. Ethnography). - 1500 copies. - ISBN 978-5-91678-148-9.(in translation)
• Koestler A. The Thirteenth Tribe: The Collapse of the Khazar Empire and Its Legacy. - St. Petersburg. : Eurasia, 2001. - 320 p. - (Barbaricum). - 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-8071-0076-X.(in translation)
• Novoseltsev A.P.. - M.: Nauka, 1990. - 264 p. - ISBN 5-02-009552-4.
• Petrukhin V., Flerov V. Judaism in Khazaria according to archaeological data // History of the Jewish people in Russia. From antiquity to early modern times. Volume 1 - M.: Bridges of Culture / Gesharim, 2010. - P. 149-161.
• Pletneva S. A./ Rep. ed. B. A. Rybakov. - M.: Nauka, 1976. - 96 p. - (Popular science series). - 120,000 copies.

Links

• Audio. Archaeologist, Doctor of History. Sciences Magomedov M.G. about the proto-Bulgarians and Khazars.
• Petrukhin V. Ya.// Jewish magazine. 2007.

Rulers Figures Places Associated peoples and tribes main sources Khazar scholars Related Articles

Excerpt characterizing the Khazars

Kutuzov and his retinue were returning to the city. The commander-in-chief gave a sign for the people to continue walking freely, and pleasure was expressed on his face and on all the faces of his retinue at the sounds of the song, at the sight of the dancing soldier and the soldiers of the company walking cheerfully and briskly. In the second row, from the right flank, from which the carriage overtook the companies, one involuntarily caught the eye of a blue-eyed soldier, Dolokhov, who especially briskly and gracefully walked to the beat of the song and looked at the faces of those passing with such an expression, as if he felt sorry for everyone who did not go at this time with the company. A hussar cornet from Kutuzov's retinue, imitating the regimental commander, fell behind the carriage and drove up to Dolokhov.
The hussar cornet Zherkov at one time in St. Petersburg belonged to that violent society led by Dolokhov. Abroad, Zherkov met Dolokhov as a soldier, but did not consider it necessary to recognize him. Now, after Kutuzov’s conversation with the demoted man, he turned to him with the joy of an old friend:
- Dear friend, how are you? - he said at the sound of the song, matching the step of his horse with the step of the company.
- I am like? - Dolokhov answered coldly, - as you see.
The lively song gave particular significance to the tone of cheeky gaiety with which Zherkov spoke and the deliberate coldness of Dolokhov’s answers.
- Well, how do you get along with your boss? – asked Zherkov.
- Nothing, good people. How did you get into the headquarters?
- Seconded, on duty.
They were silent.
“She released a falcon from her right sleeve,” said the song, involuntarily arousing a cheerful, cheerful feeling. Their conversation would probably have been different if they had not spoken to the sound of a song.
– Is it true that the Austrians were beaten? – asked Dolokhov.
“The devil knows them,” they say.
“I’m glad,” Dolokhov answered briefly and clearly, as the song required.
“Well, come to us in the evening, you’ll pawn the pharaoh,” said Zherkov.
– Or do you have a lot of money?
- Come.
- It is forbidden. I made a vow. I don’t drink or gamble until they make it.
- Well, on to the first thing...
- We'll see there.
Again they were silent.
“You come in if you need anything, everyone at headquarters will help...” said Zherkov.
Dolokhov grinned.
- You better not worry. I won’t ask for anything I need, I’ll take it myself.
- Well, I’m so...
- Well, so am I.
- Goodbye.
- Be healthy…
... and high and far,
On the home side...
Zherkov touched his spurs to the horse, which, getting excited, kicked three times, not knowing which one to start with, managed and galloped off, overtaking the company and catching up with the carriage, also to the beat of the song.

Returning from the review, Kutuzov, accompanied by the Austrian general, went into his office and, calling the adjutant, ordered to be given some papers related to the state of the arriving troops, and letters received from Archduke Ferdinand, who commanded the advanced army. Prince Andrei Bolkonsky entered the commander-in-chief's office with the required papers. Kutuzov and an Austrian member of the Gofkriegsrat sat in front of the plan laid out on the table.
“Ah...” said Kutuzov, looking back at Bolkonsky, as if with this word he was inviting the adjutant to wait, and continued the conversation he had begun in French.
“I’m just saying one thing, General,” Kutuzov said with a pleasant grace of expression and intonation, which forced you to listen carefully to every leisurely spoken word. It was clear that Kutuzov himself enjoyed listening to himself. “I only say one thing, General, that if the matter depended on my personal desire, then the will of His Majesty Emperor Franz would have been fulfilled long ago.” I would have joined the Archduke long ago. And believe my honor, it would be a joy for me personally to hand over the highest command of the army to a more knowledgeable and skilled general than I am, of which Austria is so abundant, and to relinquish all this heavy responsibility. But circumstances are stronger than us, General.
And Kutuzov smiled with an expression as if he was saying: “You have every right not to believe me, and even I don’t care at all whether you believe me or not, but you have no reason to tell me this. And that’s the whole point.”
The Austrian general looked dissatisfied, but could not help but respond to Kutuzov in the same tone.
“On the contrary,” he said in a grumpy and angry tone, so contrary to the flattering meaning of the words he spoke, “on the contrary, your Excellency’s participation in the common cause is highly valued by His Majesty; but we believe that the present slowdown deprives the glorious Russian troops and their commanders-in-chief of the laurels that they are accustomed to reaping in battles,” he finished his apparently prepared phrase.
Kutuzov bowed without changing his smile.
“And I am so convinced and, based on the last letter with which His Highness Archduke Ferdinand honored me, I assume that the Austrian troops, under the command of such a skillful assistant as General Mack, have now won a decisive victory and no longer need our help,” said Kutuzov.
The general frowned. Although there was no positive news about the defeat of the Austrians, there were too many circumstances that confirmed the general unfavorable rumors; and therefore Kutuzov’s assumption about the victory of the Austrians was very similar to ridicule. But Kutuzov smiled meekly, still with the same expression, which said that he had the right to assume this. Indeed, the last letter he received from Mac's army informed him of the victory and the most advantageous strategic position of the army.
“Give me this letter here,” said Kutuzov, turning to Prince Andrei. - If you please see. - And Kutuzov, with a mocking smile at the ends of his lips, read in German to the Austrian general the following passage from a letter from Archduke Ferdinand: “Wir haben vollkommen zusammengehaltene Krafte, nahe an 70,000 Mann, um den Feind, wenn er den Lech passirte, angreifen und schlagen zu konnen. Wir konnen, da wir Meister von Ulm sind, den Vortheil, auch von beiden Uferien der Donau Meister zu bleiben, nicht verlieren; mithin auch jeden Augenblick, wenn der Feind den Lech nicht passirte, die Donau ubersetzen, uns auf seine Communikations Linie werfen, die Donau unterhalb repassiren und dem Feinde, wenn er sich gegen unsere treue Allirte mit ganzer Macht wenden wollte, seine Absicht alabald vereitelien. Wir werden auf solche Weise den Zeitpunkt, wo die Kaiserlich Ruseische Armee ausgerustet sein wird, muthig entgegenharren, und sodann leicht gemeinschaftlich die Moglichkeit finden, dem Feinde das Schicksal zuzubereiten, so er verdient.” [We have quite concentrated forces, about 70,000 people, so that we can attack and defeat the enemy if he crosses Lech. Since we already own Ulm, we can retain the benefit of command of both banks of the Danube, therefore, every minute, if the enemy does not cross the Lech, cross the Danube, rush to his communication line, and below cross the Danube back to the enemy, if he decides to turn all his power on our faithful allies, prevent his intention from being fulfilled. Thus, we will cheerfully await the time when the imperial Russian army is completely ready, and then together we will easily find the opportunity to prepare for the enemy the fate he deserves.”]
Kutuzov sighed heavily, ending this period, and looked attentively and affectionately at the member of the Gofkriegsrat.
“But you know, Your Excellency, the wise rule is to assume the worst,” said the Austrian general, apparently wanting to end the jokes and get down to business.
He involuntarily looked back at the adjutant.
“Excuse me, General,” Kutuzov interrupted him and also turned to Prince Andrei. - That's it, my dear, take all the reports from our spies from Kozlovsky. Here are two letters from Count Nostitz, here is a letter from His Highness Archduke Ferdinand, here is another,” he said, handing him several papers. - And from all this, neatly, in French, compose a memorandum, a note, for the sake of visibility of all the news that we had about the actions of the Austrian army. Well, then, introduce him to his Excellency.
Prince Andrei bowed his head as a sign that he understood from the first words not only what was said, but also what Kutuzov wanted to tell him. He collected the papers, and, making a general bow, quietly walking along the carpet, went out into the reception room.
Despite the fact that not much time has passed since Prince Andrei left Russia, he has changed a lot during this time. In the expression of his face, in his movements, in his gait, the former pretense, fatigue and laziness were almost not noticeable; he had the appearance of a man who does not have time to think about the impression he makes on others, and is busy doing something pleasant and interesting. His face expressed more satisfaction with himself and those around him; his smile and gaze were more cheerful and attractive.
Kutuzov, whom he caught up with in Poland, received him very kindly, promised him not to forget him, distinguished him from other adjutants, took him with him to Vienna and gave him more serious assignments. From Vienna, Kutuzov wrote to his old comrade, the father of Prince Andrei:
“Your son,” he wrote, “shows hope of becoming an officer, out of the ordinary in his studies, firmness and diligence. I consider myself lucky to have such a subordinate at hand.”
At Kutuzov's headquarters, among his comrades and colleagues, and in the army in general, Prince Andrei, as well as in St. Petersburg society, had two completely opposite reputations.
Some, a minority, recognized Prince Andrei as something special from themselves and from all other people, expected great success from him, listened to him, admired him and imitated him; and with these people Prince Andrei was simple and pleasant. Others, the majority, did not like Prince Andrei, considered him a pompous, cold and unpleasant person. But with these people, Prince Andrei knew how to position himself in such a way that he was respected and even feared.
Coming out of Kutuzov’s office into the reception area, Prince Andrei with papers approached his comrade, the adjutant on duty Kozlovsky, who was sitting by the window with a book.
- Well, what, prince? – asked Kozlovsky.
“We were ordered to write a note explaining why we shouldn’t go ahead.”
- And why?
Prince Andrey shrugged his shoulders.
- No news from Mac? – asked Kozlovsky.
- No.
“If it were true that he was defeated, then the news would come.”
“Probably,” said Prince Andrei and headed towards the exit door; but at the same time, a tall, obviously visiting, Austrian general in a frock coat, with a black scarf tied around his head and with the Order of Maria Theresa around his neck, quickly entered the reception room, slamming the door. Prince Andrei stopped.
- General Chief Kutuzov? - the visiting general quickly said with a sharp German accent, looking around on both sides and walking without stopping to the office door.
“The general in chief is busy,” said Kozlovsky, hastily approaching the unknown general and blocking his path from the door. - How would you like to report?
The unknown general looked contemptuously down at the short Kozlovsky, as if surprised that he might not be known.
“The general in chief is busy,” Kozlovsky repeated calmly.
The general's face frowned, his lips twitched and trembled. He took out a notebook, quickly drew something with a pencil, tore out a piece of paper, gave it to him, walked quickly to the window, threw his body on a chair and looked around at those in the room, as if asking: why are they looking at him? Then the general raised his head, craned his neck, as if intending to say something, but immediately, as if casually starting to hum to himself, he made a strange sound, which immediately stopped. The door to the office opened, and Kutuzov appeared on the threshold. The general with his head bandaged, as if running away from danger, bent down and approached Kutuzov with large, fast steps of his thin legs.
“Vous voyez le malheureux Mack, [You see the unfortunate Mack.],” he said in a broken voice.
The face of Kutuzov, standing in the doorway of the office, remained completely motionless for several moments. Then, like a wave, a wrinkle ran across his face, his forehead smoothed out; He bowed his head respectfully, closed his eyes, silently let Mac pass by him and closed the door behind himself.

The Khazars are one of the nomadic, warlike tribes that lived in ancient times on the territory of modern southern Russia.

Gradually, the Khazars captured vast territories from the Black Sea to the Lower Volga region and turned into a strong state - the Khazar Khaganate.

It acquired its greatest power around the 7th-10th centuries AD. The capital of the state was the city of Itil at the mouth of the Volga, not far from the present city of Astrakhan.

What do we know about the Khazars

All that we know about the Khazars today are just hypotheses of scientists from different countries. They rely on a few written and archaeological sources. These are mainly Western European and Arabic documents and chronicles.

The etymology of the word “Khazars” itself does not have an unambiguous interpretation. According to some information, the Khazars were a nomadic Turkic-speaking people, or a union of Turkic tribes, headed by a ruler - the Khagan.

But as the Khazar Kaganate expanded, it began to include numerous nationalities. They all spoke different languages ​​and had different beliefs. Islam, Christianity, Judaism, paganism - all these religions flourished here.

According to fragmentary information, it is assumed that the Kagan himself and his heirs converted to Judaism around the 8th century. Be that as it may, the Khazar Kaganate became famous for its religious tolerance.

Some sources report cases when residents adhered to three religions at the same time. Gradually, the Khazars created a prosperous state.

They fought a lot, were skilled diplomats, and successfully conducted international trade. And yet, in the 10th century, Khazaria fell into decline. The Old Russian state played a decisive role in this.

First, the Novgorod prince Svyatoslav Igorevich defeated the Khazar army in 965. Later, Prince Vladimir again goes on a campaign against Khazaria and imposes tribute on it. Further information about the state becomes fragmentary and gradually disappears.

Brief chronicle of the Khazars

• 626g. - The Turkic-Khazar army captures Derbent.
• 650g. - Khazars gain independence.
• 700g. - first mention in Western European literature.
• VIII century - Arab-Khazar wars. The capital is in the city of Itil.
• 859 - Khazars take tribute from Slavic tribes.
• 861 — Constantine (St. Cyril) baptizes the Khazars.
• 965 - defeat of the Khazar army by Svyatoslav.
• XIII century - The Khazars are conquered by the Mongols.

The short but vivid history of Khazaria disturbs the minds of scientists and writers, remaining largely a mystery. It is no coincidence that the classic of European literature Milorad Pavic simply called one of his bizarre works “The Khazar Dictionary.”

As they say, “the Prophetic Oleg is going to take revenge on the unreasonable Khazars.” Were they really below the Slavs in terms of development? What do we even know about this people?

Let's get answers to these questions together.

The Mystery of the Vanished People

Thanks to mentions in written sources of the Kievan Rus period, we know that Prince Svyatoslav destroyed the main cities of the Khazar Kaganate.

Sarkel, Semender and Itil were destroyed, and the position of the state was undermined. After the 12th century nothing is said about them at all. The latest information available suggests that they were captured and subjugated by the Mongols.

Until this time - from the 7th century - Khazaria was spoken of in Arab, Persian, and Christian sources. Its kings have enormous influence in the territories of the North Caucasus and the Caspian steppes near the mouth of the Volga. Many neighbors paid tribute to the Khazars.

Until now, this people is shrouded in mystery, and many information does not agree. Researchers have difficulty getting through the national specifics of eyewitness accounts.

The Arabs have one measure of distance and time, the Turks have completely different ones, add here Byzantine, Jewish, Slavic and Khazar concepts. The names of cities are often given in one paragraph in an Islamic manner, in another in Hebrew or Turkic. That is, it is quite possible that there were more or fewer cities, since it has not yet been possible to completely compare ethnonyms. As well as discovering the remains of all major settlements.

Judging by the correspondence, the result is complete confusion and nonsense. In the king’s descriptions, the cities are huge, 500 kilometers long, and the provinces are tiny. Perhaps, again, this is a feature of the nomadic distance measure. The Khazars, Pechenegs, and Polovtsians counted the journey in days and distinguished the length of the road in the mountains and on the plain.
How did it really happen? Let's figure it out gradually.

Origin hypotheses

In the middle of the 7th century, in the vast expanses of flat Dagestan, in the Eastern Ciscaucasia, a hitherto unknown but very strong people appeared - the Khazars. Who is this?

They call themselves “Kazars”. The word, according to most researchers, comes from the common Turkic root “kaz”, which denotes the process of “nomadism”. That is, they can simply call themselves nomads.

Other theories concern Persian ("Khazar" - "thousand"), Latin (Caesar) and Turkic ("enslave") languages. In fact, we don’t know for sure, so we’re adding this question to the list of open questions.

The origin of the people themselves is also shrouded in mystery. Today, the majority still considers it Turkic. What tribes claim to be the ancestors?

According to the first theory, these are the heirs of the Akatsir tribe, one part of the once great Hunnic empire.

The second option is that they are considered migrants from Khorasan.
These hypotheses have little evidence.

But the next two are quite strong and are confirmed by some facts. The only question is which sources are more accurate.

So, the third theory classifies the Khazars as descendants of the Uyghurs. The Chinese in their chronicles refer to them as the "Ko-sa people." During the collapse of the Hunnic Empire, taking advantage of the weakening of the Avars, some of the Oguzes went west. The self-names of the groups are translated as “10 tribes”, “30 tribes”, “white tribes”, and so on.

Were there Khazars among them? Who can confirm this? It is believed that these people were among them.

In the process of resettlement, they find themselves in the Northern Caspian region and Kuban. Later, with growing influence, they settled in the Crimea and near the mouth of the Volga.

With the advent of cities, crafts developed. Jewelers, blacksmiths, potters, tanners and other craftsmen form the basis for domestic trade.

The nobility and the ruling elite, as well as the army, lived off plunder and tribute from conquered neighbors.

In addition, a significant source of income came from duties and taxes on goods transported through the territory of the Kaganate. Since the history of the Khazars is inextricably linked with the east-west crossroads, they simply could not help but take advantage of the opportunities.

The route from China to Europe was in the hands of the Kaganate; navigation along the Volga and the northern part of the Caspian Sea was under state control. Derbent has become a wall separating two warring religions - Orthodoxy and Islam. This gave an unprecedented opportunity for the emergence of intermediary trade.

In addition, Khazaria became the largest transit point in the slave trade. Captured northerners were well sold by the Persians and Arabs. Girls are like concubines for harems and servants, men are like warriors, housekeepers and other hard labor.

Also, the state minted its own coins in the 10th and 11th centuries. Although it was an imitation of Arab money, a noteworthy point is that in the inscription “Muhammad is a prophet” on Khazar coins, the name “Moses” was written.

Culture and religion

Researchers obtain the main information about the people from original written sources. With nomadic tribes such as the Khazars, Pechenegs, and Cumans, things are more complicated. An ordered set of any documents simply does not exist.
And scattered inscriptions of a religious or everyday nature do not carry much meaning. From them only grains of information are obtained.

How much do we learn about a tribe's culture from the inscription "made by Joseph" on a pot? Here you can only understand that pottery and some linguistic traditions were widespread, for example, the belonging of names to different nations. Although this is not entirely true. This vessel could simply be bought and brought, for example, from Byzantium or Khorezm.

In fact, only one thing is known. The “foolish Khazars” included several nationalities and tribes who spoke Slavic, Arabic, Turkic and Jewish dialects. The elite of the state communicated and kept documentation in Hebrew, and the common people used runic writing, which leads to the hypothesis of its Turkic roots.

Modern researchers believe that the closest existing language to the Khazar language is Chuvash.

Religions in the state were also different. However, by the era of the decline of the Kaganate, Judaism became increasingly predominant and dominant. The history of the Khazars is thoroughly connected with it. In the 10th and 11th centuries, the “peaceful coexistence of faiths” came to an end.

Troubles even began among the Jewish and Muslim quarters of large cities. But in this case, the followers of the Prophet Muhammad were attacked.

We can hardly judge the state of things at the bottom of society due to the lack of any sources, except for a few brief mentions. But more on that later.

Khazar documents

Amazing sources about the state of affairs in the state, its history and structure came to us thanks to one Spanish Jew. A Cordoba courtier named Hasdai ibn Shafrut wrote a letter to the Khazar king asking him to tell him about the Khaganate.

This action was caused by his surprise. Being a Jew himself, and a highly educated one at that, he knew about the absent-mindedness of his fellow tribesmen. And here merchants visiting from the east talk about the existence of a centralized, powerful and highly developed state, in which Judaism predominates.

Since diplomacy was among Hasdai’s duties, he acted as an ambassador and turned to the kagan for truthful information.

He still received an answer. Moreover, it was written (rather dictated) by “Melekh Joseph, son of Aaron,” the Kagan of the Khazar Empire himself.

In the letter he provides a lot of interesting information. The greeting states that his ancestors had diplomatic ties with the Umayyads. Next, he talks about the history and structure of the state.

According to him, the ancestor of the Khazars is the biblical Japhet, the son of Noah. The king also tells a legend about the adoption of Judaism as the state religion. According to it, a decision was made to replace the paganism that the Khazars had previously professed. Who could do it best? Of course the priests. A Christian, a Muslim and a Jew were invited. The last one turned out to be the most eloquent and outdid the rest.

According to the second version (not from the letter), the test for the priests consisted of deciphering unknown scrolls, which by “lucky chance” turned out to be the Torah.
Next, the Kagan talks about the geography of his country, its main cities and the life of the people. They spend the spring and summer as nomads, and return to their settlements during the cold season.

The letter ends with a boastful remark about the position of the Khazar Kaganate in the role of the main deterrent that saves Muslims from the invasion of northern barbarians. Rus' and the Khazars, it turns out, were at great odds in the 10th century, which led to death

Where have all the people gone?

And yet, Russian princes such as Svyatoslav and Oleg the Prophet could not completely destroy the entire people. The Khazars had to stay and assimilate with the invaders or neighbors.

In addition, the army of mercenaries of the Kaganate was also not small, since the state was forced to maintain peace in all occupied territories and confront the Arabs and Slavs.

To date, the most plausible version is the following. The empire owes its disappearance to a combination of several circumstances.

Firstly, the rise in the level of the Caspian Sea. More than half the country ended up at the bottom of the reservoir. Pastures and vineyards, homes and other things simply ceased to exist.

Thus, pressed by the natural disaster, people began to flee and move to the north and west, where they encountered opposition from their neighbors. So the Kyiv princes had the opportunity to “take revenge on the foolish Khazars.” The reason was long ago - the taking of people into slavery, duties on

The third reason, which served as a control shot, was the confusion in the conquered tribes. They sensed the weakness of the oppressors' position and rebelled. Provinces were gradually lost one after another.

As the sum of all these factors, the weakened state fell as a result of the Russian campaign, which destroyed three main cities, including the capital. The prince's name was Svyatoslav. The Khazars were unable to oppose worthy opponents to the northern pressure. Mercenaries do not always fight to the end. Your life is more valuable.

The most plausible version of who the surviving descendants are is as follows. During assimilation, the Khazars merged with the Kalmyks, and today they are part of this people.

Mentions in literature

Due to the small amount of surviving information, works about the Khazars are divided into several groups.

The first is historical documents or religious polemics.
The second is a fiction based on the search for the missing country.
The third is pseudo-historical works.

The main characters are the Kagan (often as a separate character), Tsar or Bek Joseph, Shafrut, Svyatoslav and Oleg.

The main theme is the legend of the adoption of Judaism and the relationship between peoples such as the Slavs and Khazars.

War with the Arabs

In total, historians identify two armed conflicts in the 7th and 8th centuries. The first war lasted about ten years, the second - more than twenty-five.

The confrontation was between the Khaganate and three caliphates, which replaced each other in the process of historical development.

In 642, the first conflict was provoked by the Arabs. They invaded the territory of the Khazar Kaganate through the Caucasus. Several images on vessels have survived from this period. Thanks to them, we can understand what the Khazars were like. Appearance, weapons, armor.

After ten years of unsystematic skirmishes and local conflicts, the Muslims decided to launch a massive attack, during which they suffered a crushing defeat at Belenger.

The second war was longer and more prepared. It began in the first decades of the eighth century, and continued until 737. During this military conflict, Khazar troops reached the walls of Mosul. But in response, Arab troops captured Semender and the Kagan's headquarters.

Similar clashes continued until the 9th century. After this, peace was concluded in order to strengthen the positions of Christian states. The border passed behind the wall of Derbent, which was Khazar. Everything to the south belonged to the Arabs.

Rus' and the Khazars

The Khazars were defeated by the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav. Who will deny this? However, the fact reflects only the ending of the relationship. What happened during the couple of centuries preceding the conquest?

The Slavs are mentioned in the chronicles as separate tribes (Radimichi, Vyatichi and others), which were subordinate to the Khazar Kaganate until they were captured by the Prophetic Oleg.

It is said that he imposed a lighter tribute on them with the only condition that they would not pay the Khazars now. This turn of events undoubtedly caused a corresponding reaction from the empire. But the war is not mentioned in any source. We can guess about it only by the fact that peace was concluded and the Rus, Khazars and Pechenegs went on joint campaigns.

This is such an interesting and complex fate for this people.

The ancient and medieval history of mankind holds many mysteries. Even with the current level of technology, there are still blind spots in the study of most issues.

Who were the Khazars? This is one of those problems with no exact answer. We know little about them, but even if we collect all the existing references to this people, even more questions arise.

Let's get to know these interesting people better.

Who are the Khazars

This tribe - the Khazars - was first mentioned in Chinese sources as part of the population of the great Hunnic Empire. Researchers present several hypotheses regarding the origin of the ethnonym and the ancestral homeland of the Khazars.

Let's first deal with the name. The root "goats" in many Central Asian languages ​​means a number of words associated with nomadism. This version seems the most plausible, because the others look like this. In Farsi, “Khazar” means “thousand”, the Romans called the emperor Caesar, and the Turks understand oppression by this word.

They try to determine the ancestral home from the earliest records that mention the Khazars. Where did their ancestors live, who were their closest neighbors? There are still no clear answers.

There are three equivalent theories. The first considers them the ancestors of the Uyghurs, the second considers them to be the Hunnic tribe of the Akatsirs, and the third is inclined to the version that the Khazars are the descendants of the tribal union of the Ogurs and Savirs.

Whether this is true or not is difficult to answer. Only one thing is clear. The origin of the Khazars and the beginning of their expansion to the west is connected with the land they called Barsilia.

Mention in written sources

If we analyze the information from the notes of contemporaries, we also get confusion.

On the one hand, existing sources say that it was a powerful empire. On the other hand, the fragmentary information contained in the notes of travelers cannot illustrate anything at all.

The most complete source that reflects the state of affairs in the country is considered to be the correspondence of the Kagan with the Spanish dignitary Hasdai ibn Shaprut. They communicated in writing on the topic of Judaism. The Spaniard was a diplomat who became interested in the Jewish empire that, according to merchants, existed near the Caspian Sea.

Three letters contain a legend about where the ancient Khazars came from - brief information about the cities, political, social and economic state of affairs.
Other sources, such as Russian chronicles, Arabic, Persian and other references, mainly describe only the causes, course and results of local military conflicts on the borders.

Geography of Khazaria

Kagan Joseph in his letter tells where the Khazars came from, where these tribes lived, and what they did. Let's take a closer look at its description.

So, the empire spread during its period of greatest prosperity from the Southern Bug to the Aral Sea and from the Caucasus Mountains to the Volga in the area around the latitude of the city of Murom.

Numerous tribes lived in this territory. In forest and forest-steppe regions, a sedentary method of farming was common, in the steppe - nomadic. In addition, there were a lot of vineyards near the Caspian Sea.

The largest cities that the Kagan mentioned in his letter were the following. The capital, Itil, was located in the lower reaches of the Volga. Sarkel (the Russians called it Belaya Vezha) was located on the Don, and Semender and Belenger were on the coast of the Caspian Sea.

The rise of the Khaganate begins after the collapse of the Turkic Empire, in the middle of the seventh century AD. By this time, the ancestors of the Khazars lived in the area of ​​modern Derbent, in lowland Dagestan. Hence the expansion to the north, west and south.

After the capture of Crimea, the Khazars settled in this territory. She was identified with this ethnonym for a very long time. Even in the sixteenth century, the Genoese referred to the peninsula as "Gazaria".

Thus, the Khazars are an association of Turkic tribes that were able to create the most durable nomadic state in history.

Beliefs in the Khaganate

Due to the fact that the empire was at the crossroads of trade routes, cultures and religions, it became akin to medieval Babylon.

Since the main population of the Kaganate were Turkic peoples, the majority worshiped Tengri Khan. This belief is still preserved in Central Asia.

The nobility of the Kaganate adopted Judaism, which is why it is still believed that the Khazars are Jews. However, this is not entirely true, because only a very small segment of the population professed this religion.

Christians and Muslims were also represented in the state. Due to unsuccessful campaigns against the Arab caliphs in the last decades of the existence of the Kaganate, Islam gained greater freedom in the empire.

But why do they stubbornly believe that the Khazars are Jews? The most likely reason is the legend described by Joseph in a letter. He tells Hasdai that when choosing a state religion, an Orthodox and a rabbi were invited. The latter managed to out-argue everyone and convince the Kagan and his retinue that he was right.

Wars with neighbors

The campaigns against the Khazars are most fully described in Russian chronicles and Arab military records. The Caliphate fought for influence in the Caucasus, and the Slavs, on the one hand, opposed the southern slave traders who robbed villages, and on the other, they strengthened their eastern borders.

The first prince who fought with the Khazar Khaganate was He was able to recapture some lands and forced them to pay tribute to themselves, and not to the Khazars.

More interesting information is about the son of Olga and Igor. He, being a skilled warrior and wise commander, took advantage of the weakness of the empire and dealt a crushing blow to it.

The troops he gathered went down the Volga and took Itil. Next, Sarkel on the Don and Semender on the Caspian coast were captured. This sudden and powerful expansion destroyed the once powerful empire.

After this, Svyatoslav began to gain a foothold in this territory. Vezha was built on the site of Sarkel, and the Vyatichi, a tribe bordering on Russia on one side and Khazaria on the other, were subject to tribute.

An interesting fact is that despite all the apparent strife and wars, a detachment of Khazar mercenaries stood in Kyiv for a long time. The Tale of Bygone Years mentions the Kozary tract in the capital of Rus'. It was located near the confluence of the Pochayna River and the Dnieper River.

Where did the whole people go?

Conquests, of course, affect the population, but it is noteworthy that after the Slavs defeated the main cities of the Kaganate, information about this people disappears. They are no longer mentioned in a single word or in any chronicle.

The researchers consider the following to be the most plausible solution to this issue. Being a Turkic-speaking ethnic group, the Khazars were able to assimilate with their neighbors in the Caspian region.

Today, scientists believe that the bulk dissolved in this region, some remained in Crimea, and most of the noble Khazars moved to Central Europe. There they were able to unite with Jewish communities living in the territory of modern Poland, Hungary, and Western Ukraine.

Thus, some families with Jewish roots and ancestors in these lands can, to some extent, call themselves “descendants of the Khazars.”

Traces in archeology

Archaeologists clearly say that the Khazars are the Saltovo-Mayak culture. It was isolated by Gautier in 1927. Since that time, active excavations and research have been carried out.
The culture received its name as a result of the similarity of finds at the two monuments.

The first is a settlement in Verkhny Saltov, Kharkov region, and the second is the Mayatskoye settlement in the Voronezh region.

In principle, the finds are correlated with the Alan ethnic group, who lived in this territory from the eighth to the tenth centuries. However, the roots of this people are in the North Caucasus, so they are associated directly with the Khazar Kaganate.

Researchers divide the finds into two types of burials. The forest version is Alan, and the steppe version is Bulgar, which also includes the Khazars.

Possible descendants

The descendants of the Khazars are another blank spot in the study of the people. The difficulty is that it is almost impossible to trace continuity.

The Saltovo-Mayak culture as such accurately reflects the life of the Alans and Bulgars. The Khazars are listed there conditionally, since there are very few monuments of them. In fact they are random. Written sources “fall silent” after Svyatoslav’s campaign. Therefore, we have to rely on joint hypotheses of archaeologists, linguists and ethnographers.

Today, the most likely descendants of the Khazars are the Kumyks. This is Turkic-speaking. This also includes partially the Karaites, Krymchaks and Judaized mountain tribes of the Caucasus.

Dry residue

Thus, in this article we talked about the fate of such an interesting people as the Khazars. This is not just another ethnic group, but, in fact, a mysterious white spot in the medieval history of the Caspian lands.

They are mentioned in many sources of the Russians, Armenians, Arabs, and Byzantines. Kagan corresponds with the Cordoba Caliphate. Everyone understands the power and strength of this empire...
And suddenly - the lightning campaign of Prince Svyatoslav and the death of this state.

It turns out that an entire empire can, within a short period, not only disappear, but sink into oblivion, leaving descendants with only guesses.