Dan D. Y. Shapira Ramat Gan

ICONOCLASTS AND , A NOTE

The date of the Khazar conversion to has been a maĴ er of debate for a long time.1 Now we can date the conversion more or less precisely, for recently Khazar dirhams minted in 837–838, found in Sweden, which bear the Arabic inscription la Ilâha illâ-LLâh wa Mûsâ rasûlu ALLâh (“there is no god but God, and Moses is his messenger,” instead of wa Muhammada rasûlu ALLâh, “and Muhammad is his mes- senger”) and a tamÂa, intended for circulation in the and proclaiming the Biblical identity of the Khazars,2 assure that the con- version to Judaism took place not later than the ę rst half of the ninth century. This disconnects the date of the conversion with the mission of the Thessalonica / Solun’ brothers (861).3 However, a Byzantine Iconoclast dimension of the Khazar conver- sion to Judaism should be considered.4 Emperor Leo III the Isaurian (r. 717–741) had special connections with the Khazars throughout al- most all of his career, beginning with his service under Justinian II (who had a Khazar wife) starting in 705 and his mission to , in order to forge a coalition against al-Walîd I; while an Emperor, he fought the

(1) For the survey of the previous views and a new dating, see P. B. Gќљёђћ, The Conversion of the Khazars to Judaism, in: H. Bђћ-Sѕюњњюі, P. B. Gќљёђћ, A. Rќћá-TюѠ (eds.), The World of the Khazars: New Perspectives. Selected Papers from the Jerusalem 1999 International Khazar Colloquium (Leiden: Brill, 2007) 123–162. (2) R. K. Kќѣюљђѣ, What Does Historical Numismatics Suggest About the Monetary History of Khazaria in the Ninth Century? — Question Revisited, AEMA 13 (2004) 97–129; Iёђњ, Creating Khazar Identity through Coins: The Special Issue Dirhams of 837/8, in: F. CѢџѡю (ed.), East Central Europe in the Early Middle Ages (Ann Arbor, 2005) 220–253. (3) As reconstructed in C. ZѢѐјђџњюћ, On the Date of the Khazars’ Con- version to Judaism and the Chronology of the Kings of the Rus’ Oleg and Igor. A Study of the Anonymous Khazar LeĴ er from the Genizah of Cairo, RÉB 53 (1995) 237–270. See also: D. D. Y. Sѕюѝіџю, Notes on Early Jewish History in East- ern and Central Europe: The Rus’, Khazar and Bulgar Dimensions, AEMA 16 (2006–2007) forthcoming; see also J. HќѤюџё-JќѕћѠѡќћ, Byzantine Sources for Khazar History, in: Bђћ-Sѕюњњюі, Gќљёђћ, Rќћá-TюѠ, The World of the Khazars..., 163–194; C. ZѢѐјђџњюћ, The Khazars and Byzantium — The First Encounter, in: Bђћ-Sѕюњњюі, Gќљёђћ, Rќћá-TюѠ, The World of the Khazars..., 399–432. (4) I am grateful to Kassia Senina, who drew my aĴ ention to this aspect. 342 Scrinium IV (2008). Patrologia Pacię ca

Arabs as an ally of the Khazar QaÂan. Leo initiated conversions of and heretics in 722 and in 726–729, apparently aiming, i.a., both to aĴ ract the forcibly converted Jews to a non-image-worshipping form of Christianity and being inĚ uenced by the military successes of the Muslims who did not worship images.5 During the period of 730– 780 (corresponding to the ę rst Iconoclastic Period in Byzantium), many Iconodule monks found themselves in areas beyond Byzantium on the fringes of the Empire, including Georgia, Khazaria and the ; as for the Jews, they may have Ě ed following the forced conversion of 722. Following the great Khazar invasion into the lands of the Khalifate and their victories at Ardabîl, Diyâr Bakr and Mosul (730),6 Leo chose

(5) On the possible impact of Islam on , see P. Cџќћђ, Islam, Judeo-Christianity and Byzantine Iconoclasm, Jerusalem Studies in Ara- bic and Islam 2 (1980) 59–95. On the Jews of the Empire, see J. Sѡюџџ, Jews in the 641–1204 (Athens, 1939); S. B. BќѤњюћ, The Jews of Byz- antium, 1204 –1453 (Tuscaloosa, AL: The University of Alabama Press, 1985); see also D. OяќљђћѠјѦ, The Byzantine Commonwealth: Eastern Europe, 500–1453 (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1971; Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Sem- inary Press, 1982). Islam and Iconoclasm were frequently seen by the “Ortho- dox” as two similar forces, see D. SюѕюѠ, The Arab Character of the Christian disputation with Islam. The case of (ca. 655 – ca. 749), in: B. LђѤіѠ, F. NіђѤҦѕћђџ, O. HюџџюѠѠќѤіѡѧ (Hrsg.), Religionsgespräche im Mit- telalter (Wiesbaden, 1992) 185–205, p. 192. (6) It is curious that more than two centuries later, the baĴ le of Ardabil (730) was seen by the Khazar king as a turning point in the conversion to Juda- ism. According to the Long Version of the Reply of King sent to Hisdai ibn Shaprut in Cordoba, Spain, aĞ er Bulan and the Khazars converted 340 (!) years ago, God spoke to Bulan and ordered him to build a temple in the name of God to dwell therein; Bulan answered that he had no silver and gold, then God spoke to Bulan ordering him to be strong and ę rm and to go with all his army to the path of Dar-i Alân (Darial passage) to the earth of Ardewil (Ardabîl), where God had prepared for Bulan two treasures, one full of silver and one full of gold; Bulan did as he was told (albeit the Arab sources name the com- mander of the 730 invasion Barjik, the son of the QaÂan), waged many wars and destroyed the city, taking much booty; he sanctię ed this booty / dedicated it to God and built from this booty the tabernacle (ohel), the ark (aron), the menorah, the table, the altars and the holy vessels, which, by the mercy of H’ and by the strength of Shaddai (note the correct distribution of the aspects of the mercy and power between two names of God used), are still held and kept with the author of the Reply, King Joseph. It was thereaĞ er that the King of Edom (, Byzantium) and the King of the Ishmaelites sent their ambassadors to the Kha- zars and a religious dispute followed, in which a Rabbi won. The chronology and the sequence of events are heavily distorted here, and no mention is made