Khazar Khaganate. Ideology (religion)

In a special book about Khazaria, it would be advisable to give a section on the culture of the Khazars. However, a number of reasons do not allow this to be done. Firstly, the extreme scarcity of written sources, Secondly, the uncertainty of archaeological data, where material on the Khazars themselves hardly emerges.

Because of this, I will focus on one issue - the ideology (religion) of the Khazars. I deliberately pose it this way, and not in the traditional way of studying the adoption of Judaism by the Khazars, since (as I will try to show) the latter question is important, but is only part of a larger problem.

The Khazars, like the ethnic components that comprised them (Turks, Ugrians, Iranians), were originally pagans, or, as Muslim writers called them, “ahl al-ausan” (lodi, idolaters, idolaters). Movses Kalankatvatsi talks about Khazar paganism in some detail, referring to the Albanian bishop Israel. Israel, as a Christian clergyman, describes pagan rituals with indignation and, perhaps, sometimes distorts them, wanting to show the “hons” as savages and, as he writes, “loyal to Satan.” Thus, describing the funeral rites, the bishop notes that the “khons” beat drums over the corpses, inflicted wounds on their faces, arms, and legs; naked men fought with swords at the grave, competed in horse riding, and then indulged in debauchery.

The customs described by Israel resemble some of the customs of the ancient Scythians, described by Herodotus, and seem to prove continuity between the ancient Iranian nomads and the Khazars of the 7th century.

This is further confirmed by Israel’s information about the deities worshiped by the “hons.” Among these, Kuar, the god of lightning, appears in the foreground. The name of this deity is Iranian, although it is not easy to find a known analogy for it (maybe from the Iranian name for the sun?). Herodotus and Ammchan Marcellinus mention the deity of the Scythians and Alans, whom these authors call Ares or Mars. The Iranian name of this deity is unknown. Scientists compare it with Batraz of the Nart epic, but the versions of this epic known to us may not have preserved the original Iranian name.

Israel talks more at length about another Khazar deity, who bore a double name - Tangri Khan and Ashandiat. Movses Kalankatvatsi directly connects the second with the Persians (“parsikk”). According to Israel's description, this deity was represented in the form of a huge, ugly giant, to whom horses were sacrificed in the sacred groves described by the bishop. The double name of this deity is very curious. Tangri is a well-known Turkic tribal deity, variants of which are found among all Turkic tribes and peoples (Turks, Azerbaijanis, Turkmen, Yakuts, Chuvash, etc.), although now it seems that his name is not originally Turkic. But Kalankatvatsi himself, having mentioned Tangri Khan only once, then constantly calls him by the name of the Iranian equivalent of Aspandiat; Presumably, this option was more common.

Commenting on this passage from Kalankatvatsi, Sh. Smbatyan writes that it is unknown whether the ancient Persians had a cult of the god Aspandiat, and believes that “Kalankatvatsi could have been misled by the root “asp” in the name Aspandiat, which he identified with Pahlevi and Zend.” aspa" - "horse". Then Smbatyan brings up the fact of horse sacrifice among the Sarmatians and refers to the commentary of N. Adonts (who, in turn, used the book of J. Marquart) about the hero of the Iranian epic Spandiat, the son of Vistasp, and his possible connection with Spandarat, whose name is found in the Nakharars family Kamsarakov. N. Adonts, in addition, suggested that in Persia the cavalry was in the hands of the Spandiata clan.

Let's try to understand this issue. First of all, it is hardly legitimate to connect the Khazar Aspandiat with the ancient Persian or, especially, the Armenian gods. In ancient Armenian there was a deity S(n)andaramet, which J. Dumezil defines as earth and compares with the Iranian Spenta Armaiti.

Meanwhile, the name Spandiatus is ancient Iranian; it is found in Ctesias in the form Sfendadat. This was the name, according to this author, of the magician who proclaimed himself the son of Cambyses.

Let us remember the name of the hero of the Iranian epic Spentodat (Spentadata, Ispandata). In the Iranian epic set forth in the Shahnama, Spentodat appears in the New Persian form of this name, Isfendiyar; The last cycle of the epic part of the poem is dedicated to the exploits of this hero, his struggle with Arjasp, and then Rustam.

According to at-Tabari, Isfendiyar made a campaign to Bab-e Sud, i.e. Derbent, and this suggests his connections with the Caucasus. Spentodat-Isfendiyar is a hero of the pan-Iranian epic and could well have existed among the Sarmatian tribes. At the same time, in the form of Aspandiat, as well as in the cult of this god among the Khazars, there is undoubtedly another foundation associated with the Iranian “aspa” - “horse”. It was probably a Sarmatian (Massaget-Alan) deity, reflecting the cult of the horse, so important among the nomads. In this environment, the ancient Iranian cult of the hero Spendodat could also be associated with him.

In addition to Kuar and Tangri Khan-Aspandiat, Bishop Israel notes among the "khons" the worship of fire, water, the moon, gods of roads, etc. With special care, he emphasizes the presence of polygamy, as well as other forms of marriage - two brothers take one wife, children take their father's wives, etc. Perhaps this is evidence of unequal marriage customs that existed among different tribes.

If the cult of the horse leads to the nomadic steppes, then the worship of sacred trees is evidence of other influences, possibly dating back to the Finno-Ugric tribes that became part of the Khazars. The same Israel describes a huge oak tree to which horses were sacrificed, whose heads and skins were hung on its branches.

Thus, there is reason to conclude that Khazar paganism was a complex amalgam of cults of different content and origin.

In conditions of contacts with countries where monotheistic religions (Christianity, Islam) dominated, already in the 7th century. the question arose about accepting any of these faiths, since they were more consistent and general conditions era, and the interests of the early class Khazar state.

The first attempt to adopt a monotheistic religion by the Khazars dates back to the 80s of the 7th century. After the murder of Ishkhan Caucasian Albania Juanshera, the nobility of this country elected the nephew of the murdered Varaz-Trdat as ruler. " Grand Duke honov" Alp-Ilutver invaded Albania, but the Catholicos of Albania Eliazar, sent by Varaz-Trdat to Alp-Ilutver, managed to convince the ruler of the Khazars that the new Albanian prince was not involved in the murder of his uncle.

The already mentioned Bishop Israzl went to the Armenian Catholicos Sahak and Ishkhan Grigor Mamikonyan. Officially, the purpose of the mission was to participate in the transfer of the remains of Grigory Lusavorich from Western Armenia to Valarshapat, but in reality it was about an alliance with Armenia. Against who? A. N. Ter-Ghevondyan believes that he is against the Khazars, but this is unlikely to be the case, since Israel immediately headed the embassy to the north after returning from Armenia. Most likely, the alliance of Albania and Armenia in the early 80s was directed against the Caliphate, where at that time the unrest ceased, and the Umayyads, having crushed their opponents, began the second wave of Muslim conquests in the north and northwest.

It is not surprising that Israel's embassy was greeted with great honor by Alp-Ilutver, who, apparently, was the governor of the Khakan of the Khazars. The consequence of Israel's embassy was the adoption of Christianity by Alp-Ilutver and his entourage. Movses Kalankatvatsi's story about this is compiled in the traditional style of Christian legends with signs and wonders. However, the main thing - the baptism of Alp-Ilutver - is beyond doubt. Pagan temples were destroyed and sacred trees were cut down. According to Kalankatvatsi, the Payrapet throne was established in the city of Varachan, that is, an independent church was founded headed by the Payrapet Catholicos. Alp-Ilutver's return embassy was addressed not only to the Albanian Ishkhan and Catholicos, but also to the Catholicos and Ishkhan of Armenia. The ambassadors of Alp-Ilutver went there, and upon returning to Albania they asked to give them the Catholicos of Israel. Varaz-Trdat and Catholicos Eliazar initially resisted, but when the Khazar ambassadors stated that they did not want another Vardapet, Bishop Israel himself expressed a desire to go to the “khons”.

Here the information about further events among the Khazars ends. Bishop Israel is mentioned again, but in connection with Albanian affairs, so the end of the so colorfully described conversion of the “Prince of the Hones” to Christianity is unclear. According to other sources, it is known that two years later there was a crushing invasion of the Khazars in Transcaucasia, during which the Ishkhan of Armenia Grigor Mamikonyan died. One can only guess what caused it. It seems that Alp-Ilutver’s adoption of Christianity was met with hostility by the main part of the Khazar nobility; perhaps Alp-Ilutver did this, trying to create an independent possession for himself within Primorsky Dagestan, and was defeated in the fight against the Khakan of the Khazars. There is no news about him after the events of 682, and as a participant in the campaign of 684-685. he doesn't appear. Consequently, we can assume that his attempt to establish Christianity among the “hons” ended in failure.

Subsequently, until the 30s of the 8th century, there is no news of attempts to change the religion of the Khazars. Obviously this was not necessary. Pagan Khazaria successfully (in whole or in part) waged wars that enriched the Khazar nobility with booty, and the old pagan gods, from the point of view of this nobility, fulfilled their role perfectly.

In 737, Mervai ibn Muhammad took the Khazar capital, after which the Khakan fled to the north. The Arabs persecuted him and he eventually sued for peace, promising to convert to Islam. Al-Kufi, in his colorful story, replete with details, claims that the Khazar ruler and with him “many people from among his relatives and fellow tribesmen” converted to Islam. There is, however, every reason to doubt this. In Islam, even during the period of its expansion beyond the Arabian Peninsula, a specific attitude towards other religions was developed. After some hesitation, the caliphs and their entourage, recognizing Islam as the only true faith, agreed to a certain tolerance towards religions that have written revelations (Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism). And although the practical attitude towards these religions changed, in general they remained in the position of protected ones. Pagan cults were not like that.

The Khazars were pagans, and the conqueror Merwan, in accordance with Muslim practice, offered them conversion to Islam. Probably, under those conditions, the Khakan was forced to agree to this, but it is unlikely that he carried it out. Two sources report about the Khakan's promise to become a Muslim (al-Belazuri and al-Kufi). Neither al-Yaqubi, nor at-Tabari, nor Ibn al-Athir mention this. And here the silence of Ibn al-Athir, a late author, but very accurate in his information, is especially noteworthy. Ibn al-Athir knew the work of al-Kufi and used it, but he omitted the story about the adoption of Islam by the Khazars, and this is not accidental. Al-Kufi, more than any other early Arabic writer, used all kinds of oral traditions, it has the most dialogue, which indicates the apocryphal nature of its material. About the adoption of Islam by the Khazars in the 8th century. Nor does such an erudite as al-Mas’udi mention it. In addition, it must be borne in mind that there were no Muslims in Khazaria at that time, there were few of them even in Transcaucasia and Central Asia, and the Khakan could hardly accept a religion that no one professed in his state.

A little more than a hundred years have passed, and Muslim sources record Judaism as the state religion of Khazaria. It is to this time (approximately 50-70s of the 9th century) that a message dates back, an early version of which is found in Ibn Ruste. According to the latter, in Khazaria, Judaism was professed by the “highest head” (i.e., Khakan), Shad, as well as leaders (“Kovvad”) and nobility (“Uzama”), while the rest of the people adhered to a faith similar to the religion of the Turks. Thus, in the second half of the 9th century. The nobility of Khazaria professed the Jewish religion, while the people continued to adhere to the old pagan cults.

The question of Judaism among the Khazars has an old historiographical tradition, the ancestor of which can be considered King Joseph, who launched his version of this event around the world. Later it was supplemented by Jewish scribes of the 10th-12th centuries, and only in modern times was it shaken thanks to the involvement of Arabic sources. During the period after Buxtorf's publications (1660) and up to the present time, a huge and contradictory historiography has grown up, which is inappropriate to analyze here. It is more important to identify several questions and try to answer them based on sources and taking into account the main literature. This is, firstly, the time of the adoption of Judaism by the elite of Khazaria and, secondly, the initiators of this act.

The answer to the second question has already been essentially given above. The initiator was the Shad, who then became the Bak - the king of Khazaria, pushing the Khakan into the background, but forcing him to accept the Jewish faith.

The first question is more difficult to answer. Here we have at our disposal, first of all, the version of King Joseph, who refers to the Khazar books (“sfarim”), known to “all the old men of our land” (“l-kol ziknei artsanu”). Probably, in Khazaria there really were some books (in Hebrew?) designed to consolidate and substantiate the legends canonized at the direction of the Khazar kings. The essence of these legends is that the Khazar king Bulan received divine revelation, which ordered him to convert to the true, i.e., Jewish, faith. Just in case, however, Bulan arranged a kind of dispute between a Muslim qadi and a Christian priest. Each of them blasphemed the faith of the other, but they both allegedly agreed that “the faith of Israel is best faith and all of it is the truth."

The date of this event is missing in the short version of Joseph’s letter, but in the long version it is indicated that it happened 340 years before Joseph. Many immediately considered it a later addition to the text, others began to argue that this date replaced another, reliable one in the manuscript, but opinions differed. After the story of Bulan’s miraculous conversion, Joseph adds several phrases about the activities of King Obadiah, who “strengthened the faith according to law and rule,” that is, he is believed to have converted to rabbinic Judaism. Obadya appears as the son of Bulan's sons, that is, as his descendant. And then the subsequent kings of Khazaria are listed, numbering 11-12, starting with the son of Obadiah Hezekiah and ending with the author of the letter Joseph. It is difficult to judge the reliability of this list, since there is no parallel data. In addition to Joseph, the Cambridge document mentions his father Aaron and grandfather Benjamin. The main thing for us is not this list, but the date of the adoption of Judaism, which cannot be established on the basis of Joseph’s letter. Involving the Cambridge document does not help either.

It contains a slightly different version of the story of the conversion of the Khazars to Judaism. This act is attributed to a certain Jew who allegedly saved the Khazars, who were in a state of anarchy, without a king or order. This option for converting the Khazars is even more vague and contradictory. An unknown author connects the adoption of Judaism with this anonymous Jew, who became the “big head” of the Khazars, while the Khakan, according to this version, appeared later as a judge (“shofet”) from among the Khazars themselves. At the same time, the “big head” turned into a king, etc. There are no dates here.

Such a vague idea of ​​the date of Judaization of the Khazars quite naturally prompted later Jewish scribes who dealt with the problem of the Khazars to specifically address this issue. The Jewish scholar Yehuda na-Levi, writing around 1140, citing some chronicle books, believed that the Khazar king accepted Judaism 400 years before him, i.e., around 740. This date was accepted and tried to be substantiated by D. Dunlop, who in his monograph devoted to the problem of Judaism among the Khazars Special attention. However, taking into account the instructions of al-Mas'udi about the adoption of Judaism by the Khazars during the time of Harun al-Rashid (786-809), D. Dunlop formulated the final conclusion as follows: in 740 the Khazars adopted a modified Judaism, and around 800. - rabbinic.

The news of al-Mas'udi is especially valuable to us. Unfortunately, he discussed this problem in detail in his unsurvived works, and in Muruj al-Dhahab, apparently, gave only a brief summary. The latter boils down to the fact that the Khazar king accepted the Jewish faith during the reign of Harun al-Rashid, and during the Byzantine emperor Roman Lekapin (919-944), who carried out persecution of Jews, the latter fled to Khazaria. B. N. Zakhoder concluded from this that we can talk about two periods of Judaization of Khazaria: during the time of Harun ar-Rashid and during the life of al-Mas’udi himself, a contemporary of Roman Lekapin.

Al-Mas'udi's text does not provide any basis for such a conclusion. It is this text that is our only credible evidence of the date of the adoption of Judaism by the Khazar king. The question of dating Yehuda na-Levi is complicated not only because it is a late author. It is impossible to abstract from the fact that he said “about 400 years ago,” so on this basis it is hardly correct to give an exact date of about 740. Obviously, those “chronicle books” to which he refers exact date did not contain, and this allows us to extend the conclusion of the 12th century author. about an event that occurred about 400 years before, for the entire 8th century, and then it becomes possible to date it to the time of Harun ar-Rashid, who ascended the throne in 786. Obviously, i-al-Mas did not know a more exact date 'udi, who lived one and a half hundred years after that. We cannot date it more precisely.

What were the reasons for the adoption of Judaism by the elite of Khazaria?

The adoption of one or another monotheistic religion is a natural phenomenon in any feudalizing society, where the struggle of the central government, on the one hand, with strong relics of the tribal system, and on the other, with the emerging feudal decentralization, urgently required the replacement of polytheism with monotheism, sanctifying the power of one sovereign. But the form of monotheism could be different, and this depended on many factors, including foreign policy ones.

Taking approximately the last quarter of the 8th century as the date for the Judaization of the Khazar nobility, let us see what reasons led to this event. The Khazar Shad, who initiated it, had a choice among three monotheistic religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Of these, the first two were the state religions of the two largest powers of that time, with which Khazaria had a wide variety of relations - Byzantium and the Arab Caliphate. Christianity was widespread among the subjects of Khazaria - the inhabitants of Crimea. This faith was professed by most of the inhabitants of Transcaucasia - Armenia, Georgia, Caucasian Albania. It would seem that the adoption of Christianity by the Khazars was to be expected, especially since an attempt of this kind had already taken place in the 7th century. And yet there were reasons that did not contribute to this. If in the first half of the 8th century. Byzantium was an ally of Khazaria against the Arabs, but in the second half of this century the situation changed. The Khazars intervened in Transcaucasian affairs and helped the Abkhaz prince Leon, whose father was married to the Khakan's daughter, become independent from the empire. This happened in the 80s of the 8th century. Moreover, Leon II of Abkhazia (758-798) annexed Egrisi, that is, a significant part of Western Georgia, to his possessions. This was a strong blow to Byzantium, and in order for it to be restored between it and Khazaria a good relationship, it took fifty years. In such conditions, there could hardly be any talk of accepting Christianity, especially since the Christian countries of Transcaucasia in the second half of the 8th century. were subjected to Khazar invasions at least twice.

The conditions for the adoption of Islam were equally unfavorable. The Caliphate remained the main enemy of the Khazars, although the great Arab-Khazar wars in the second half of the 8th century. did not have.

But the circumstances were favorable for the adoption of the Jewish religion. In the conditions of Europe, which fell into decline after the barbarian invasions, Jewish communities and Jewish trading capital not only retained their strength and influence, but also practically monopolized European trade. Special patronage was given to Jewish Carolingian merchants, who, when in need of money, always turned to Jewish moneylenders. Obviously, the same importance of the Jewish merchants in European trade explains their patronage from the Spanish Umayyads. In the 9th century. It was the Jewish merchants who controlled the transit trade between Europe and Asia. These were enterprising traders who spoke different languages(Arabic, Persian, Greek, Frankish, Spanish-Roman, Slavic). One of their routes ran through the Czech Republic, Hungary, Rus' and Volga Bulgaria and the Volga region in general into the Khazar Kaganate.

Naturally, in parallel with trade trips, Jewish colonies arose in different regions of Eastern Europe. Their appearance was stimulated by periodic occurrences in Byzantine Empire persecution of Jewish communities, as a result of which Jews emigrated to Khazaria. There, according to al-Mas'udi, there were especially favorable conditions for merchants and artisans.

Judging by Jewish sources, the bulk of Jewish emigrants to Khazaria arrived in three ways: from Baghdad, i.e., obviously, from Arab Iraq, where the second most important Jewish colony had long existed, from Khorasan, i.e. from the eastern regions of the Caliphate, including Central Asia, and from Byzantium. In the latter case, undoubtedly, the Crimean possessions of the empire were also meant. In this regard, the dispute between S.P. Tolstov, who defended the “Khorezmian version” of the main center of Jewish emigration to Khazaria, and M.I. Artamonov, who equally vehemently denied it, loses its main meaning, although Artamonov’s criticism had grounds in the details. At the same time, Artamonov, in principle, correctly emphasized the role of the old Jewish communities of Dagestan in the spread of Judaism among the Khazars.

The Crimean Jewish colonies cannot be discounted either. It is no coincidence that in this regard, Tsar Joseph paid special attention to the geography of Crimea.

According to Joseph, the Khazar king, who converted to Judaism, bore the Turkic name Bulan (“elk, deer”); all the other kings he mentioned bore traditional Jewish (biblical) names (Obadiah, Chanukah, Isaac, Zabulon, Moshe, Menachem, Benjamin, Aaron, Joseph). It is possible that they, like the Russian princes of the 11th-12th centuries, who bore a pagan and Christian name, had two names - Turkic and Jewish. The Cambridge document mentions a certain Pesach, whose name does not go back to the Bible, but is known in medieval Jewish circles. A recently published document in Hebrew originating from the community ("kahal") of Kyiv (Kiyuv), dating from the 10th century, lists several names that show that this community was more religious than ethnic. Along with such traditionally Jewish names as Abraham, Isaac, Shmuel, etc., we find there the names Kibr, Mns, etc. The Turkologist O. Pritzak, who studied them, proposed interesting, although not indisputable, interpretations of them, in particular and on the basis Chuvash language- a descendant of the language of the Volga Bulgars, closest to the Khazar.

The most important question that needs to be answered is who confessed in Khazaria in the 9th-10th centuries. Judaism: is it the whole people or some part of it? In modern literature there is a certain tendency to exaggerate the role of Judaism in Khazaria and even in Rus'. Meanwhile, sources for the 10th century. give a completely clear answer. As we have already seen, Jews (ethnic) and part of the Khazars who converted to Judaism lived in Khazaria. Both of them, however, differ in their sources, although not entirely clearly. At the same time, it is known that the Khazars themselves professed Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and pagan cults, and it is significant that when listing these religions, Judaism comes in last place. Al-Istakhri and Ibn Haukal even directly point out that the followers of the Jewish faith are the fewest, and the most in Khazaria are Muslims and Christians. According to al-Mas'udi, the majority of the inhabitants of "al-balad" (it is not clear whether we are talking about Khazaria or its capital, it seems to me that it is about the country) are Muslims.

The same sources say that Judaism was professed by the king, the Khakan, the king’s entourage and his family (“jineh”). In the 10th century the king and the Khakan had to be Jews by religion, although one specific case, which is narrated by al-Istakhri, indicates that there were Muslims among the Khazar nobility.

So oh widespread Jewish religion among the population of Khazaria even in the 10th century. there is no need to talk. The bulk of them professed Islam, Christianity or various pagan cults. The king and his entourage, who converted to Judaism, became increasingly alienated from their subjects. Strengthening in the 10th century. the influence of some of the latter who professed Islam, and especially the Al-larisiya guard, put the kings in an even more difficult position. Eventually central government increasingly lost its strength and influence.

It remains to be seen what impact the adoption of Judaism by the Khazar elite had on the Khazar culture. This influence cannot be denied, although it should not be exaggerated. The fact that the Hebrew language and writing were widespread in Khazaria is proven by the correspondence of Hasdai ibn Shafrut and King Joseph. But the extent of this spread remains questionable. The famous scholar al-Nadim (late 10th century) noted that the Khazars used Hebrew writing. The later Persian writer Fakhr ad-din Mubarak Shah ( beginning of XIII c.) connected the Khazar letter with the Russian and Rumian (i.e. Greek) alphabets. Based on this, V.V. Bartold suggested the use of the Khazars for their own language the Greek alphabet and connected this with the well-known activities of the Slavic educator Cyril-Constantine. It is advisable to pay attention to al-Mas'udi's message about Muslim schools in Atila, where teaching could only be conducted in Arabic. And since some of the Khazars professed Islam, this indicates the well-known prevalence of Arab culture. Some modern scientists consider it possible to talk about the influence of Persian culture on the Khazars.

In short, the diversity of religious cults led to the spread of different cultural influences, none of which, apparently, finally prevailed in Khazaria. The absence of a unified culture, literary language and writing speaks of the weak consolidation of Khazaria in cultural terms.

Contemporaries often remember about the Khazar Kaganate, or Khazaria, only thanks to Pushkin’s immortal “ Prophetic Oleg", who was going to "revenge foolish Khazars" But the “Khazar Kaganate” in the distant past was almost the most serious external enemy Kievan Rus.

Formation of the Khazar Khaganate

The Khazars were ancient Turkic people and were contemporaries of the Polovtsians and Pechenegs. Exact year The formation of the Khazar Khaganate is unknown, but historians suggest that this could have happened around 650. The heir to the Western Kaganate, fleeing from other contenders for the throne, fled to Khazaria, where he founded his own Khazar Kaganate, conquering the scattered Khazar tribes.

In 958, the Western Kaganate finally collapsed and, thus, the Khazar Kaganate became the largest state in all of South-Eastern Europe. The Khazars, like most peoples of that time, professed paganism, and their main activity was cattle breeding and slave trading.

Later, in order to improve trade relations, the Khazars converted to Judaism. However, on the territory of the Khazar Kaganate people of different faiths coexisted: Christians, pagans, Muslims. But, at the same time, they were all excellent warriors, so the main source of income for the state was the conquest of foreign lands, and then the collection of tribute from the conquered territories.

Thus, the Khazars managed to conquer the Vyatichi, Radimichi, Polyans, and also conquer territories Volga Bulgaria. The annexation of these lands to the Khazar Khaganate occurred in the eighth century.

Relations between Kievan Rus and the Khazar Khaganate

Kievan Rus, like the Khazar Kaganate, and most of the ancient states, lived by wars, and not by agriculture and trade. Therefore, one should not be surprised that the history of relations between Kievan Rus and the Khazar Kaganate is not a history of diplomatic cooperation, but a history of wars.

Many princes of Kievan Rus fought against the Khazars, but to no avail. Only Prince Svyatoslav in 964 finally managed to tip the scales of confrontation to his side. The prince went to war against the Khazar Kaganate not alone, but with his allies: the Pechenegs and the Guzes.

Together with the allied tribes, Svyatoslav managed to reach the capital of the Khazar Kaganate - the city of Atil, where the prince managed to crush the Khazar army. Then Semender, the second most important city in the Khazar Kaganate, fell, and then the Sarkel fortress was conquered.

Collapse of the Khazar Khaganate

The military campaign of Prince Svyatoslav actually put an end to the existence of the Khazar Kaganate as a state. Since Svyatoslav was absolutely merciless towards the conquered peoples, many Khazars were forced to leave their native lands, fleeing from imminent death on the islands of the Caspian Sea.

Together with the Khazars, their ruler, the Kagan, also managed to escape. Until 980, the Rus ruled the former lands of the Khazars, but then the Khazars unexpectedly received help from one of the regions of Western Asia - Khorezm, thanks to which the Kagan managed to return to his native lands himself and bring his people home.

In exchange for this support, the Khazars, along with their ruler, converted to Islam. Already in 985 Prince of Kyiv Vladimir conquered the Khazars again, obliging them to pay him tribute. But the final point in the history of the Khazar Kaganate was put in the eleventh century by the nomads - the Polovtsians. It was after their invasion that the Khazar state completely collapsed.

Subsequently, this people, already without a state, fought on the side of one of the sons of Prince Vladimir - Mstislav. This happened in 1024, when Mstislav fought with his brother Yaroslav. And the latest historical evidence about the Khazars dates back to the years 1079 and 1083. At this time, Prince Oleg, who was nicknamed the Prophetic, went on a military campaign against the Khazars, but lost, was captured and sent to Byzantium.

What was the Khazar Khaganate like?

The Khazar state existed in the 7th – 10th centuries. The capitals are the cities of Semender on the Sulak River in Dagestan and Atil at the mouth of the Volga. The Khaganate was formed by the Finno-Ugric tribe of the Savirs and several Turkic tribes that invaded the Eastern Ciscaucasia in the 6th century. Among these Turks there was also the Kosa tribe - it, according to scientists, gave the name to the Khazar people. The Khazar Khaganate was an influential force in Eastern Europe, and therefore a lot of written evidence about it has been preserved in Arabic and Persian literature, among the Byzantines. The Khazars are mentioned in Russian chronicles. There are also actual Khazar sources, among which the most important is a letter from the 10th century. from the Khazar king Joseph to the Spanish Jew Hasdai ibn Shafrut, in which the king briefly tells the entire history of Khazaria. But despite the many sources, very little is known about Khazaria. We will consider only what happened before and during the existence of the Russian Kaganate, that is, until the first half of the 9th century.

This is what the quintessence of the history of the Khazars from the 7th – early 9th centuries looks like. according to written sources. At first, the Khazars roamed in the Eastern Ciscaucasia, from the Caspian Sea to Derbent, and in the 7th century. gained a foothold in the Lower Volga and part of the Crimean Peninsula. Then the Khazars were formally dependent on the Turkic Khaganate, which by the 7th century. weakened. And in the first quarter of the 7th century. the nascent Khazar state was already independent, but was not yet called the Kaganate. After all, the Kagan in the Eurasian steppes is a title that was equated to the imperial title among Europeans, and the Kaganate is a strong and powerful state, under whose authority there are many tribes.

Near the Khazars, in Western Ciscaucasia, in the 7th century. races - another nomadic state was supposed - Great Bulgaria. In the 660s. the Khazars, in alliance with the North Caucasian Alans, defeated it, pursuing the Bulgarians, according to Tsar Joseph, to the Danube River, by which we must understand not the Danube, but the Don, judging by the words of the Byzantine chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor. From that moment, according to some scientists, Khazaria became a kaganate.

It is known that the Khazars made constant raids on the lands of the Arab Caliphate in Transcaucasia. Already from the 20s. VII century Periodic invasions of the Khazars into the Derbent region begin with the aim of plundering this rich trading center. These actions of the Khazars and the Caucasian Alan tribes allied to them prompted the Arab commander Merwan ibn Muhammad to launch a campaign against Khazaria. In 737, Mervan took the capital of Khazaria - Semender, and the Kagan, saving his life, promised him to convert to Islam. However, this did not happen.

To Khazaria, located on the most important part of Eastern Europe in the 7th – 9th centuries. Volga-Baltic trade route, in the middle of the 8th century. Jewish merchants arrived, probably from Khorezm and Byzantium. Khazar legend says that King Bulan preferred Judaism to Christianity and Islam, since the Muslim and Christian preachers both accepted the law of Moses. So Khazaria became the only state of the Middle Ages where the head and highest nobility professed Judaism, but not in orthodox form(Khazar Jews did not yet know the Talmud, considered themselves descendants of Noah’s son Japheth, and not Shem, and the Kagan and his entourage maintained large harems).

AND simple people, and the Khazar nobility led nomadic image life, the main occupation was cattle breeding. From the Turks, the Khazars retained a rigid system of social organization - “eternal el”. In the center of it was the horde - the headquarters of the kagan, who “held the el,” that is, headed the union of clans and tribes. The highest class were the Tarkhans - family aristocracy, and among them the most notable are those from the Kagan family. Initially, the state was ruled by a kagan, but gradually, in the 7th – 8th centuries. the situation has changed. The “deputy” of the kagan, shad, who commanded the army and collected taxes, became his co-ruler (he began to be called kagan - bek). And by the beginning of the 9th century. The Kagan lost real power and became a sacred, symbolic figure. Now he was appointed bek from among the people of a certain noble family. The candidate for Kagan was strangled with a silk rope and, when he began to choke, they asked how long he wanted to rule. If the kagan died before the time he named, this was considered normal. Otherwise, he was killed. During the life of the Kagan, only the Kagan Bek had the right to see. If there was a famine or epidemic in the country, the kagan was killed because they thought that he had lost his sacred power. The guard guarding the rulers was hired and consisted of 30,000 Muslims and Rus.

9th century became the heyday of Khazaria. At the end of the 8th - beginning of the 9th century. descendant of Prince Bulan Obadiah committed religious reform, taking it as state religion Rabbinic Judaism, which accepted the Talmud. Despite some opposition, Obadiah was apparently able to unite part of the Khazar nobility around himself.

All this information about lifestyle and social order The Khazars are known from Arab-Persian sources (the Arabs often had to deal with the Khazars in the Caucasus) and from a letter from King Joseph. According to the testimony of contemporaries, no “grandiosity” of this state is felt, as well as in the description of its borders, carefully examined earlier.

The economy of Khazaria, according to eyewitnesses, also does not correspond to the most powerful state in Eastern Europe, on which all the surrounding tribes depended. The famous geographer Muqaddasi, describing the general situation of the Khazars, speaks of their extreme poverty: “there is neither livestock nor fruit.” In the Dagestan territories of the Khazaria, fields, gardens and vineyards are celebrated, which was traditional in this area even before the Khazars. Fundamental information about the Khazar economy is reported by Istakhri and Ibn Haukal:

“The Khazars do not produce anything and export nothing except fish glue”.

According to the anonymous author of The Limits of the World, already quoted earlier, Khazaria supplied cattle and slaves. Moreover, the territory from which slaves were supplied was limited to the lands of the Khazar Pechenegs. The Khazars did not produce anything else and lived off of transit trade, because they were at the southern end of the Volga-Baltic route: the Khazars bought furs from the Rus, Bulgars and Cuyaba and resold them all over the world. But geographers of the al-Balkhi school, whose information relates mainly to the 10th century, are already writing about this. Neither “Hudud al-Alam” nor other works that preserve data from the first half of the 9th century report such a scale of transit trading.

Moreover, it is necessary to repeat once again that not a single Arab or Persian author mentions the Rus and Slavs dependent on the Khazars! Even King Joseph does not talk about this. Only the “Genealogy of the Turks”, a source that developed in the Khazar-Persian environment in the 8th – 10th centuries, mentions any conflicts between these tribes. and known from manuscripts of the 12th – 14th centuries. This genealogy personifies the relations between peoples, transferring them to the legendary ancestors. According to this source, Rus was the brother of the Khazar and, having invaded the land of the latter, settled there. Saklab, the nephew of Rus and Khazar, tried to move into the region of Rus, Khazar and Kimer (the legendary ancestor of the Bulgars and Burtases). After Saklab failed to settle in the south, he reached the place where “the Slavic land is now located.” Even here there is no mention of any dependence of the Slavs on the Khazars. On the contrary, it points to Slavic expansion in a direction south of the Dnieper region. What kind of expansion this is – we’ll look at it later.

Monuments of the Khazar era in Dagestan

Thus, as of the 8th - early 9th centuries. Neither the data of authentic (that is, contemporaneous) written sources, nor archaeological materials confirm the existence of a huge Khazar Khaganate, supposedly stretching from the Lower Volga to the Dnieper. Jewish-Khazar correspondence and Arab-Persian geographers localize Khazaria in the eastern Ciscaucasia and the Volga delta, and the extreme border point from the west in Joseph’s letter is called the Sarkel fortress (Left Bank Tsimlyansk settlement), and until the 30s. 9th century and the lower reaches of the Don were not part of the Khazar Kaganate.

Archaeological data fully confirms this location of Khazaria. QMS is a cultural and historical community that has developed among several different and unrelated a single state ethnic groups due to similar natural conditions habitats and general species economic activity. This CIO also includes Alan cultures North Caucasus(craniological type, ceramics, fortification, applied art - similarity with the forest-steppe version of the SMK), Volga and Danube Bulgaria (craniological type, burial rite, ceramics, fortress construction, house-building, applied art, craft - similarity with the Proto-Bulgarian variants).

In the lower Volga and eastern Dagestan, where contemporaries localize Khazaria, the Dagestan and extremely unexplored Lower Volga variants of the QMS stand out, least of all connected with the QMS “in the narrow sense.” At the same time, the Khazar ethnic group in “ pure form“has not yet been identified (under-mound burials with ditches can be interpreted no more clearly than “Turkic”), the cities of Itil, Semender, Belenjer have not yet been discovered. Therefore, there is every reason to agree at a new level with the conclusions of B. A. Rybakov, A. G. Kuzmin, G. S. Fedorov: The Khazar Kaganate by the beginning of the 9th century. was a small semi-nomadic state that had some influence only due to its position on the Silk and Volga-Baltic trade routes. Ideas about huge sizes Khazaria, thanks to which in the VIII - IX centuries. Eastern Slavs developed new lands, do not correspond to reality.

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The Khazar state (650-969) was a major medieval power. It was formed by an alliance of tribes in southeastern Europe. The Khazar Kaganate was considered the most dangerous Jewish power in history. He controlled the territory of the Middle and Lower Volga region, the Northern Caucasus, the Azov region, the current northwestern part of Kazakhstan, the northern region of Crimea, as well as all of Eastern Europe to the Dnieper.

Khazar Khaganate. Story

This tribal union emerged from the Western Turkic union. Initially, the core of the Khazar state was located in the northern region of present-day Dagestan. Subsequently it moved (under the pressure of the Arabs) to the lower reaches of the Volga. The political dominance of the Khazars extended at one time to some

It should be noted that the origins of the people themselves have not been fully studied. It is believed that after adopting Judaism, the Khazars perceived themselves as descendants of Kozar, who was the son of Togarmekh. According to the Bible, the latter was the son of Japheth.

According to some historians, the Khazar Khaganate has some connection with the lost Israelite tribes. At the same time, most researchers are inclined to believe that the nationality still has Turkic roots.

The rise of the Khazar people is associated with the development with the rulers of which the first (presumably) had In 552, the Altai Turks formed a huge empire. Soon it was divided into two parts.

By the second half of the 6th century, the Turks extended their power to the Caspian-Black Sea steppes. During the Iranian-Byzantine War (602-628), the first evidence of the existence of the Khazars appeared. Then they were the main part of the army.

In 626, the Khazars invaded the territory of modern Azerbaijan. Having plundered Caucasian Alania and united with the Byzantines, they stormed Tbilisi.

By the end of the 7th century, most of the Crimea, the North Caucasus and the Azov region were under the control of the Khazars. No accurate information about how far their power extended east of the Volga. However, there is no doubt that the Khazar Kaganate, spreading its influence, stopped the flow of nomads who followed to Europe from Asia. This, in turn, created favorable conditions for the development of sedentary Slavic peoples and Western European countries.

The Khazar Kaganate controlled the territory in which quite a lot of Jewish communities lived. Around 740, Bulan (one of the princes) converted to Judaism. Apparently, this contributed to the strengthening of his clan. At the same time, the ruling pagan dynasty of the Khazars began to lose authority.

A descendant of Prince Bulan, Obadiah, took the second post in the empire at the beginning of the ninth century, concentrating real power in his hands. From that moment on, a double system was formed government controlled. Nominally, the main representatives in the country remained royal family However, in reality the rule on their behalf was carried out by the beks of the Bulanid clan.

After the establishment of a new administrative order, the Khazar Kaganate began to develop international transit trade, reorienting itself from conquests.

In the 9th century, due to a new wave, new nomadic tribes began to cross the Volga.

The Old Russian state became the new enemy of the Khazars. The Varangian squads that came to Eastern Europe began to successfully challenge power over the Slavs. Thus, the Radimichi in 885, the northerners in 884 and the Polyana in 864 were freed from Khazar rule.

During the period from the end of the 9th to the first half of the 10th century, Khazaria weakened, but continued to be a very influential empire. IN to a greater extent this became possible thanks to skillful diplomacy and a well-trained army.

In the death of the Khazar Khaganate a vital role belongs Old Russian state. Svyatoslav freed the Vyatichi (the last dependent tribe) in 964. The following year, the prince defeated the Khazar army. A few years later (in 968-969) the prince defeated Semender and Itil (the capitals of the Khazar Empire in different periods). This moment is considered the official end of independent Khazaria.

The Khazars have been known since the 6th century, especially for their attacks on Georgia and Armenia. They settled from the Volga to the Caucasus, in the territory modern Russia and Ukraine.

From history textbooks it is known that the capital of the Khazars, built at the mouth of the Volga, is Itil, which existed in the 8th-10th centuries. About her have been preserved written sources, for example, in Arab-Persian literature devoted to geographical research.

Historians still do not know which group these tribes belong to. According to the main version, they are considered Turks, although there are suggestions that they were Bulgars or Caucasians from the North Caucasus. The Khazar Khaganate is worthy of attention, since by the 10th century it was able to subjugate the Northern Black Sea region and a significant territory of Crimea. The history of Kievan Rus is closely connected with the existence of the Khazars.

An important place for the Kaganate was the capital of the Khazars, built at the mouth of the Volga - Itil. The article is dedicated to this city.

Location

The exact location has never been determined by historians and archaeologists. This is due to the fact that the city itself was completely abandoned. Some scientists believe that the capital of the Khazars, built at the mouth of the Volga - Itil - was located 15 kilometers from Astrakhan. Others suggest that the city stood to the north (near modern Volgograd).

The only one famous archaeologists The ancient settlement is Samosdelskoye, located in Ono. It has been studied since 1990 and dates back to the 9-10th century. Many scientists consider it to be the capital of the Khazars. There is a version that the settlement was washed away by the Caspian Sea due to rising water levels.

What is the reason for prosperity

The capital of the Khazar Khaganate was a major sea and river port, as well as an important shopping center. This was due to the advantageous location of the city, through which the most important trade routes of that time passed.

The main trade directions in the Middle Ages:

• China-Europe. Europeans have always been interested in things from the East. One of the most important goods, for which they were willing to pay in gold, was silk. In addition to this, spices and luxury goods were delivered to the port. In another way, this road is often called the Great Silk Road.

• Biarmia-Baghdad Caliphate. Along this route, traders exchanged silver for furs.

• "From the Varangians to the Khazars." This route opened up trade opportunities for the Khazars with Western Europe. The road passed through the cities of Regensburg, Prague, Krakow, Kyiv.

There is information according to which it becomes known that Russian merchants went down the Volga to Itil.

What does the name Itil mean?

The city was located in the river delta, so it is not surprising that its name means “river” in Turkic. There is a version of the translation from Hebrew, according to which the name means “customs tax”, which was actually collected from passing ships. However, translation from the Turkic language is more recognized.

It is important to understand that the name Itil appeared in relation to the capital only in the 10th century. So foreigners began to talk about the city, although the Khazars used a different name for the entire settlement, and the one we knew was the name of either a river or one of the parts of the city.

Capital buildings

Scientists were able to approximately recreate the appearance of the city. It is believed that it consisted of three parts located at the cardinal points. Western and eastern territories were separated by the Volga. We crossed between them by boats.

To the west of the river lived the king with his entourage and army. Exactly this most the settlements were called (to the west of the Volga River) Itil. From 10 to 16 thousand people lived in it. West Side was fenced off from the settlement by a fortress wall, which had four exits in the form of gates. Two of them went to the port, and the other two - to the steppe.

The eastern part of the city was a trade center with markets, warehouses, and baths located in it.

Between them (presumably on the island) there was a third part with palaces for the rulers. They were created from baked bricks. Ordinary residents were not allowed to build from this material, so their homes were felt yurts and wooden tents. Some people lived in dugouts.

City population

The capital of the Khazar Kaganate was distinguished by a rather motley population. Christians, pagans, Muslims, and Jews coexisted here peacefully. The Muslim community consisted of merchants, artisans, and royal guards. Judean - from merchants, residents who fled persecution in Byzantium. The pagans were mainly Slavs.

All disputes between people were resolved by judges, who were controlled by a special official of the king. There were two judges each for Jews, Christians and Muslims, and one for pagans.

The capital of the Khazars, built at the mouth of the Volga - Itil - provided for living only in winter. From April to November, residents settled on their ancestral plots of land, and the poor worked field work. Around the city there were villages and arable lands, the harvest from which was delivered to Itil by land and water.

Death of the city

The Khazar capital (Itil) was destroyed in the second half of the 10th century. This event is associated with Svyatoslav Igorevich. The population that survived the capture of the city was able to take refuge on the islands in the river delta.

By the beginning of the 11th century, the Rus left the capital and the Khazar royal court was able to return to it. However, the city was, according to al-Biruni, ruins. His further history is unknown.