The of* KHAZARIA

KEVIN ALAN BROOK

A JASON ARONSON BOOK

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS.INC. Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Oxford CONTENTS

Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii

THE ORIGINS OF THE 1 The Turkic Heritage 2 Legends about the Beginnings of the Jewish Khazars 7 The Khazars and the 12 The Western Turkish Empire 13 The Formation of an Independent Khazar Kingdom 14 The Effects of Khazar Expansion on the Bulgars . 15 THE CITIES AND TOWNS OF THE KHAZARS 27 The Capital Cities of Khazaria 28 Atil and Khazaran 28 Balanjar 31 vi Contents

Chernigov 32 32 Chufut-Kale 32 Doros 33 33 Kara Tobe 34 34 Kiev 34 37 38 40 Tmutorokan (Samkarsh) 41 Verkhneye Saltovo and Odier Saltovo Settlements 41 (Gusli-ev) 42 Other Khazar Settlements 42 The Peoples of the Khazar Empire 43

THE STRUCTURE OF THE KHAZAR GOVERNMENT 57 The Kagan 57 The Bek (King) and His Army 60 The Render and die Javishgar 63 The Tarkhan 64 The Court Panel 64 The Local Governors 64 Taxation 65 Tributary Peoples 66 The "Kagans" of Kievan Rus 67 THE KHAZAR WAY OF LIFE 79 Languages Spoken by the Khazars 79 Khazar Arts and Crafts 82 Khazar Agriculture and Food-Gathering 84 The Structure of Khazar Homes 86 Khazar Costume and Hairstyle 87 Khazar Graves 88 Contents vii

KHAZARIAN TRADE 99 Khazaria as a Great Medieval Trading Center 99 The Jewish Radhanites 102 Rus Traders in Khazaria 104 Arab Traders in Khazaria 105 Chinese Traders in Khazaria 105 Coinage 106 THE KHAZARS' CONVERSION TO 113 Preludes to Conversion 114 Khazaria as a Refuge for Persecuted Jews 117 Khazar Shamanism 120 Saint Cyril's Khazarian Mission 121 King 's Conversion 124 The Schechter Letter 128 The Khazar Correspondence 130 The Kievan Letter 133 The Degree of Judaization Among the Khazars 136 Archaeological Evidence 142 Conclusions 143 RELATIONS BETWEEN THE KHAZARS AND OTHER PEOPLES 157 The Arab-Khazar Wars and Relations with Leaders of the South 157 Relations with die 166 Relations with the 171 Relations with Other Turkic Tribes 172 Relations with the 174 Relations with the Rus 177 THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE KHAZAR EMPIRE 189 The Beginning of the End 189 viii Contents

The Rus'ian Conquest of die Khazars 192 The Passing of the Khazar Empire 195 Reasons for Khazaria's Destruction 196 THE DIASPORA OF THE KHAZARS 205 Khazars in Hungary 205 Khazars in Romania 211 Khazars in Lithuania and Belarus 213 Khazars in Poland 213 Khazars in Ukraine 219 Khazars in Turkey 224 Khazars in Spain 224 Khazars in Azerbaijan 225 Khazars in the North Caucasus 226 Khazars in 227 Khazars in Kazakhstan 230 Khazars in odier Parts of the World 231 THE PHENOMENON OF PROSELYTISM 247 Judaism among the Avars 247 Judaism among die 251 Judaism among die Alans 254 European Converts to Judaism 254 The Sabbatarians 259 The Subbotniki 260 Wexler's Theory of Proselytism among die West Slavs 260 Converts in Adiabene 263 Converts among Semidc Tribes of Greater Israel 267 Converts in Yemen 268 Converts in Ethiopia 269 Converts in North Africa 270 EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPEAN JEWS AFTER THE TENTH CENTURY 281 The Origins of the Ashkenazim 281 Contents ix

Jews in Medieval Ukraine 283 The Early Jews of Poland 287 Jews in Lithuania and Belarus 290 Jews in Hungary 292 Jews in Historic Romania 294 The Krymchaks 294 The Crimean and Iidiuanian Karaites 296 Conclusions 299 Summary 304

Appendix: A Timeline of Khazar History 315 Glossary 321 Bibliography 325 Index 343