View source for Khazars

{{redirect2|Khazar|Kazar}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox Former Country
|native_name = 
|conventional_long_name = {{plainlist|
*Kingdom of Khazaria
*Eastern Tourkia
*<small>Hazar Kağanlığı</small>}}
|common_name = Khazaria
|continent = Asia
|region    = Caucasus
|country   =
|era       = Middle Ages
|status      = Khazar [[Khaganate]]
|year_start  = c. 650
|year_end    = c. 1048
|p1          = Turkic Khaganate
|flag_p1     = Gok1.png
|p2          = Old Great Bulgaria
|image_p2    = <span style="margin-left: 3px;>[[File:The Monogram of Kubrat.png|26px|link=Old Great Bulgaria]]</span>
|s1          = Cumania
|flag_s1     = State of Cuman-Kipchak (13.) en.png
|s2          = Pechenegs
|flag_s2     = Khazarfall1.png
|event_pre   =
|date_pre    =
|event_start =
|date_start  =
|event_end   =
|date_end    =
|image_flag = 
|image_coat = 
|symbol = 
|symbol_type =  
|image_map = Chasaren.jpg
|image_map_caption = Khazar Khaganate, 650–850
|capital = {{plainlist|
*[[Balanjar]] <small>(c. 650–720)</small>
*[[Samandar (city)|Samandar]] <small>(720s–750)</small>
*[[Atil]] <small>(750-c. 965–969)</small>}}
|national_motto   =
|national_anthem  =
|common_languages = [[Khazar language|Khazar]]
|religion = {{plainlist|
*[[Tengrism]]
*[[Buddhism]]
*[[Judaism]]<ref>{{Harvnb|Wexler|1996|p=50}}</ref>
*[[Christianity]]
*[[Islam]]
*[[Paganism]]
*[[Syncretism|Religious syncretism]]<ref>{{harvnb|Brook|year=2010|pp=107}}</ref>}}
|currency         = [[Yarmaq]]
|leader1      = [[Tong Yabghu]]
|year_leader1 = 618–628
|leader2      = [[Bulan (Khazar)|Bulan]]
|year_leader2 = 9th century
|leader3      = [[Obadiah (Khazar)|Obadiah]]
|year_leader3 = 9th century
|leader4   = [[Zachariah (Khazar)|Zachariah]]
|year_leader4 = 9th century
|leader5      = [[Manasseh I|Manasseh]]
|year_leader5 = 9th century
|leader6      = [[Benjamin (Khazar)|Benjamin]]
|year_leader6 = 9th century
|leader7      = [[Aaron II (Khazar)|Aaron]]
|year_leader7 = 10th century
|leader8     = [[Joseph (Khazar)|Joseph]]
|year_leader8 = 10th century
|leader9     = [[David of Taman|David]]
|year_leader9 = 10th century
|leader10     = [[Georgius Tzul|Georgios]]
|year_leader10 = 11th century
|title_leader = [[List of Khazar rulers|Qaghan]]
|stat_year1=850<ref name="Turchin222">{{cite journal|last2=Adams|first2=Jonathan M.|last3=Hall|first3=Thomas D|date=December 2006|title=East-West Orientation of Historical Empires|url=http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/369/381|journal=Journal of world-systems research|volume=12|issue=2|page=222|issn=1076-156X|last1=Turchin|first1=Peter|accessdate=16 September 2016}}</ref>
|stat_area1 = 3000000
|stat_year2 = 7th century<ref>{{harvnb|Herlihy|1972|pp=136–148}};{{harvnb|Russell1972|pp=25–71|}}. This figure has been calculated on the basis of the data in both Herlihy and Russell's work.</ref>
|stat_pop2 = 1,400,000
}}
{{History of the Turks pre-14th century}}{{History of Tatarstan}}{{History of Russia}}{{History of Ukraine}}

The '''Khazars''' ({{lang-tr|Hazarlar}}, {{lang-az|Xəzərlər}}, {{lang-tt|Xäzärlär}}, {{lang-he|כוזרים}} (''Kuzarim''),<ref>{{harvnb|Luttwak|2009|p=152}}</ref> {{lang-ar|خزر}} (khazar), {{lang-uk|Хоза́ри}}, {{lang-rus|Хаза́ры}}, {{lang-fa|خزر}}, {{lang-gr|Χάζαροι}}, {{lang-la|Gazari<ref>{{harvnb|Meserve|2009|p=294, n.164}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=139}}.'The ''Gazari'' are, presumably, the Khazars, though this term or the ''Kozary'' of the perhaps near contemporary ''Vita Constantini'' . . could have reflected any of a number of peoples within Khazaria.'</ref>/Gasani}}<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2001a|p=33}}.'Somewhat later, however, in a letter to the Byzantine Emperor Basil I, dated to 871, Louis the German, clearly taking exception to what had apparently become Byzantine usage, declares that 'we have not found that the leader of the Avars, or Khazars (''Gasanorum''),'</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Petrukhin|2007|p=255}}</ref>) were a semi-[[nomad]]ic [[Turkic people]], who created what for its duration was the most powerful [[polity]] to emerge from the break-up of the [[Western Turkic Kaganate]].<ref>{{harvnb|Sneath|2007|p=25}}.</ref> Astride a major artery of commerce between [[northern Europe]] and [[southwestern Asia]], Khazaria became one of the foremost trading emporia of the medieval world, commanding the western marches of the [[Silk Road]] and playing a key commercial role as a crossroad between [[China]], the [[Middle East]] and [[Kievan Rus']].<ref>{{harvnb|Noonan|1999|p=493}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2011|p=65}}.</ref> For some three centuries (c. 650–965) the Khazars dominated the vast area extending from the Volga-Don steppes to the eastern [[Crimea]] and the northern [[Caucasus]].<ref>{{harvnb|Noonan|1999|p=498}}</ref>

Khazaria long served as a [[buffer state]] between the [[Byzantine Empire]] and both the nomads of the northern steppes and the [[Umayyad Caliphate]], after serving as Byzantium's proxy against the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian Persian empire]]. The alliance was dropped around 900. Byzantium began to encourage the [[Alans]] to attack Khazaria and weaken its hold on Crimea and the Caucasus, while seeking to obtain an [[:wikt:entente|entente]] with the rising Rus' power to the north, which it aspired to convert to Christianity.<ref name="Noonan 1999 499,502–3">{{harvnb|Noonan|1999|pp=499,502–3}}.</ref> Between 965 and 969, the [[Kievan Rus']] ruler [[Sviatoslav I of Kiev]] conquered the capital [[Atil]] and destroyed the Khazar state.

Determining the origins and nature of the Khazars is closely bound with theories of [[Turkic languages|their languages]], but it is a matter of intricate difficulty since no indigenous records in the Khazar language survive, and the state itself was [[polyglot]] and [[Polyethnicity|polyethnic]]. The native religion of the Khazars is thought to have been [[Tengrism]], like that of the North Caucasian Huns and other Turkic peoples.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|p=131}}</ref> The polyethnic populace of the Khazar Khaganate appears to have been a multiconfessional mosaic of pagan, Tengrist, Jewish, Christian and Muslim worshippers.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|p=28}}</ref> The ruling elite of the Khazars was said by [[Judah Halevi]] and [[Abraham ibn Daud]] to have converted to [[Rabbinic Judaism]] in the 8th century,<ref>2007a{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|p=149}}</ref> but the scope of the [[Conversion to Judaism|conversion]] within the [[Khazar Khanate]] remains uncertain.

Proposals of Khazar origins have been made regarding the [[Subbotniks|Slavic Judaising Subbotniks]], the [[Bukharan Jews]], the Muslim [[Kumyks]], [[Kazakhs]], the [[Don Cossacks|Cossacks of the Don]] region, the Turkic-speaking [[Krymchaks]] and their Crimean neighbours the [[Crimean Karaites|Karaites]] to the [[Csangos|Moldavian Csángós]], the [[Mountain Jews]] and others.<ref name="Kizilov 2009 335">{{harvnb|Kizilov|2009|p=335}}</ref><ref name="Patai 2987 73">{{harvnb|Patai|Patai|2987|p=73}}.</ref><ref name="Wexler 1987 70">{{harvnb|Wexler|1987|p=70}}.</ref> In the late 19th century, [[Khazar theory of Ashkenazi ancestry#Genetics|a theory emerged]] that the core of today's [[Ashkenazi Jews]] are genetically descended from a hypothetical Khazarian Jewish diaspora who had migrated westward from modern Russia and Ukraine into modern France and Germany. This theory still finds occasional support, but most scholars view it with scepticism.<ref>{{harvnb|Wexler|2002|p=536}}: 'Most scholars are sceptical about the hypothesis (that has its roots in the late 19th century) that Khazars became a major component in the ethnogenesis of the Ashkenazic Jews'.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Rubin|2013}}.</ref> The theory is sometimes associated with [[antisemitism]]<ref>{{harvnb|Davies|1992|p=242}}.</ref> and [[anti-Zionism]].<ref>{{harvnb|Vogt|1975}}.</ref>

==Etymology==
[[Gyula Németh (linguist)|Gyula Németh]], following [[Zoltán Gombocz]], derived ''Xazar'' from a hypothetical *Qasar reflecting a Turkic [[root (linguistics)|root]] ''qaz-'' ("to ramble, to roam") being an hypothetical [[Velar consonant|velar variant]] of [[Turkic languages|Common Turkic]] ''kez-''.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|p=15}}</ref> In the fragmentary [[Tariat inscriptions|Tes and Terkhin inscriptions]] of the [[Uyghur Khaganate|Uyğur empire (744–840)]] the form 'Qasar' is attested, though uncertainty remains whether this represents a personal or tribal name, gradually other hypotheses emerged. [[Louis Bazin]] derived it from Turkic ''qas-'' ("tyrannize, oppress, terrorize") on the basis of its phonetic similarity to the Uyğur tribal name, Qasar.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|p=16 and n.38}} citing L. Bazin, 'Pour une nouvelle hypothèse sur l'origine des Khazar,' in ''Materialia Turcica,'' 7/8 (1981–1982): 51–71.</ref> [[András Róna-Tas]] connects it with ''Kesar'', the [[Middle Persian|Pahlavi]] transcription of the [[Caesar (title)|Roman title Caesar]].<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|p=16}}.Compare [[Tibetic languages|Tibetan]] ''dru-gu Gesar'' (the Turk Gesar).</ref>

[[Douglas Morton Dunlop|D.M.Dunlop]] tried to link the Chinese term for "Khazars" to one of the tribal names of the Uyğur [[Toquz Oghuz|Toquz Oğuz]], namely the ''Gésà''.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunlop|1954|pp=34–40}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|p=16}}</ref> The objections are that Uyğur ''Gesa/Qasar'' was not a tribal name but rather the surname of the chief of the Sikari tribe of the Toquz Oğuz, and that in [[Middle Chinese]] the ethnonym "Khazars", always prefaced with the word ''Tūjué'' (''Tūjué Kěsà bù'':突厥可薩部; ''Tūjué Hésà'':突厥曷薩), is transcribed with characters different from those used to render the ''Qa-'' in the Uyğur word 'Qasar'.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|p=17}}.Kěsà (可薩) would have been pronounced something like ''k<sup>h</sup>a'sat'' in both [[Middle Chinese|Early Middle Chinese/EMC]] and [[Middle Chinese|Late Middle Chinese/LMC]] while Hésà (曷薩) would yield ''γat-sat'' in ([[Middle Chinese|EMC]]) and ''xɦat sat'' ([[Middle Chinese|LMC]]) respectively, where final 't' often transcribes –r- in foreign words. Thus, while these Chinese forms could transcribe a foreign word of the type *Kasar/*Kazar, *Gatsar,*Gazr,*Gasar, there is a problem phonetically with assimilating these to the Uyğur word Qasar/ Gesa (EMC/LMC ''Kat-sat''= ''Kar sar''=*Kasar).</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Shirota|2005|pp=235,248}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Brook|2010|p=5}}</ref>

After their conversion it is reported that they adopted the Hebrew script,<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=148}}: [[Ibn al-Nadim|Ibn al-Nadīm]] commenting on script systems in 987-8 recorded that the Khazars wrote in [[Hebrew letters|Hebrew]].</ref> and it is likely that, though speaking a Türkic language, the Khazar [[chancery (medieval office)|chancellery]] under Judaism probably corresponded in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]].<ref>{{harvnb|Erdal|2007|pp=98–99}}: "The chancellery of the Jewish state of the Khazars is therefore also likely to have used Hebrew writing even if the official language was a Turkic one."</ref> In [[Expositio in Matthaeum Evangelistam]], ''Gazari'', presumably Khazars, are referred to as the [[Huns|Hunnic]] people living in the lands of [[Gog and Magog]] and said to be circumcised and ''omnem Judaismum observat'', observing all the laws of Judaism.

==Linguistics==
{{Main article|Khazar language}}
Determining the origins and nature of the Khazars is closely bound with theories of [[Turkic languages|their languages]], but it is a matter of intricate difficulty since no indigenous records in the Khazar language survive, and the state itself was [[polyglot]] and [[Polyethnicity|polyethnic]].<ref>{{harvnb|Erdal|2007|p=75, n.2}}.'there must have been many different ethnic groups within the Khazar realm&nbsp;... These groups spoke different languages, some of them no doubt belonging to the Indo-European or different Caucasian language families.'. The high chancery official of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] under [[Al-Wathiq]], Sallām the interpreter (''Sallam al-tardjuman''), famous for his reputed mastery of thirty languages, might have been both Jewish and a Khazar.{{harvnb|Wasserstein|2007|p=376, and n.2}} referring to.{{harvnb|Dunlop|1954|pp=190–193}}.</ref> Whereas the royal or ruling elite probably spoke an eastern variety of [[Common Turkic languages|Shaz Turkic]], the subject tribes appear to have spoken varieties of [[Lir-Turkic|Lir Turkic]], such as [[Oghur (tribe)|Oğuric]], a language variously identified with [[Bulgars|Bulğaric]], [[Chuvash language|Chuvash]], and [[Hunnish language|Hunnish]] (the latter based upon the assertion of the Persian historian [[Estakhri|al-Iṣṭakhrī]] that the Khazar language was [[Language isolate|different from any other known tongue]]).<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2006|p=91}}.'Oğuric Turkic, spoken by many of the subject tribes,doubtless, was one of the [[lingua franca|linguae francae]] of the state. Alano-As was also widely spoken. Eastern Common Turkic, the language of the royal house and its core tribes, in all likelihood remained the language of the ruling elite in the same way that Mongol continued to be used by the rulers of the Golden Horde, alongside of the [[Kipchaks|Qipčaq Turkic]] speech spoken by the bulk of the Turkic tribesmen that constituted the military force of this part of the [[Činggisid]] empire. Similarity, Oğuric, like Qipčaq Turkic in the Jočid realm, functioned as one of the languages of government.'</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|pp=13–14, 14 n.28}}. al-Iṣṭakhrī 's account however then contradicts itself by likening the language to [[Bulgars|Bulğaric]].</ref> One method for tracing their origins consists in analysis of the possible etymologies behind the [[ethnonym]] Khazar itself.

==History==

===Tribal origins and early history===
The tribes<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2001b|p=78}}.'The word ''tribe'' is as troublesome as the term ''clan''. It is commonly held to denote a group, like the clan, claiming descent from a common (in some culture zones eponymous) ancestor, possessing a common territory, economy, language, culture, religion, and sense of identity. In reality, tribes were often highly fluid sociopolitical structures, arising as "ad hoc responses to ephemeral situations of competition," as Morton H. Fried has noted.'</ref> that were to comprise the Khazar empire were not an ethnic union, but a congeries of steppe nomads and peoples who came to be subordinated, and subscribed to a core Türkic leadership.<ref>{{harvnb|Whittow
|1996|pp=220–223}}</ref> Many Turkic groups, such as the [[Oghur languages|Oğuric peoples]], including [[Saragurs|Šarağurs]], Oğurs, [[Onogurs|Onoğurs]], and [[Bulgars|Bulğars]] who earlier formed part of the [[Tiele people|Tiĕlè (鐵勒) confederation]], are attested quite early, having been driven West by the [[Sabir people|Sabirs]], who in turn fled the [[Pannonian Avars|Asian Avars]], and began to flow into the [[Volga Region|Volga]]-[[Caspian Depression|Caspian]]-[[Pontus|Pontic]] zone from as early as the 4th century CE and are recorded by [[Priscus]] to reside in the Western Eurasian steppelands as early as 463.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|p=14}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Szádeczky-Kardoss|1994|p=206}}</ref> They appear to stem from Mongolia and South Siberia in the aftermath of the fall of the [[Huns|Hunnic]]/[[Xiongnu|Xiōngnú]] nomadic polities. A variegated tribal federation led by these Turks, probably comprising a complex assortment of [[Indo-Iranians|Iranian]],<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|pp=40–41}};{{harvnb|Brook|2010|p=4}} note that Dieter Ludwig, in his doctoral thesis ''Struktur und Gesellschaft des Chazaren-Reiches im Licht der schriftlichen Quellen,'' (Münster,1982) suggested that the Khazars were Turkic members of the [[Hephthalite Empire]], where the lingua franca was a variety of Iranian.</ref> [[Mongols|proto-Mongolic]], [[Uralic languages|Uralic]], and [[Paleosiberian languages|Palaeo-Siberian]] clans, vanquished the [[Rouran Khaganate]] of the hegemonic central Asian Avars in 552 and swept westwards, taking in their train other steppe nomads and peoples from [[Sogdiana]].<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2006|p=86}}</ref>

The ruling family of this confederation may have hailed from the [[Ashina (clan)|Āshǐnà (阿史那) clan]] of the West Türkic tribes,<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|p=53}},</ref> though [[Constantine Zuckerman]] regards Āshǐnà and their pivotal role in the formation of the Khazars with scepticism.<ref>{{harvnb|Zuckerman|2007|p=404}}.Cf.'The reader should be warned that the A-shih-na link of the Khazar dynasty, an old phantom of . . Khazarology, will . .lose its last claim to reality'.</ref> Golden notes that Chinese and Arabic reports are almost identical, making the connection a strong one, and conjectures that their leader may have been Yǐpíshèkuì (Chinese:乙毗射匱), who lost power or was killed around 651.<ref name="Golden 2006 89">{{harvnb|Golden|2006|p=89}}.</ref> Moving west, the confederation reached the land of the [[Akatziroi]],<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2006|pp=89–90}}. In this view, the name Khazar would derive from a hypothetical *Aq Qasar.</ref> who had been important allies of Byzantium in fighting off [[Attila]]'s army.

=== Rise of the Khazar state ===
An embryonic state of Khazaria began to form sometime after 630,<ref name="Kaegi 2003 143 n.115">{{harvnb|Kaegi|2003|p=143 n.115}}, citing also {{harvnb|Golden|1992|pp=127–136,234–237}}.</ref> when it emerged from the breakdown of the larger [[Göktürks|Göktürk Qağanate]]. Göktürk armies had penetrated the Volga by 549, ejecting the Avars, who were then forced to flee to the sanctuary of the [[Pannonian Basin|Hungarian plain]]. The Āshǐnà clan whose tribal name was 'Türk' (''the strong one'') appear on the scene by 552, when they overthrew the Rourans and established the Göktürk Qağanate.<ref>{{harvnb|Whittow |1996|p=221}}. The word Türk, Whittow adds, had no strict ethnic meaning at the time: 'Throughout the early middle ages on the Eurasian steppes, the term 'Turk' may or may not imply membership of the ethnic group of Turkic peoples, but it does always mean at least some awareness and acceptance of the traditions and ideology of the Gök Türk empire, and a share, however distant, in the political and cultural inheritance of that state.'</ref> By 568, these Göktürks were probing for an alliance with Byzantium to attack [[Persia]]. An [[civil war|internecine war]] broke out between the senior eastern Göktürks and the junior [[Western Turkic Khaganate|West Turkic Qağanate]] some decades later, when on the death of [[Taspar Qaghan|Taspar Qağan]], a succession dispute led to a dynastic crisis between Taspar's chosen heir, the [[Apa Qaghan|Apa Qağan]], and the ruler appointed by the tribal high council, Āshǐnà Shètú (阿史那摄图), the [[Ishbara Qaghan|Ishbara Qağan]].

By the first decades of the 7th century, the Āshǐnà [[yabgu]] [[Tong Yabghu Qaghan|Tong]] managed to stabilise the Western division, but upon his death, after providing crucial military assistance to Byzantium in routing the Sasanian army in the Persian heartland,<ref>{{harvnb|Kaegi|2003|pp=154–186}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Whittow|1996|p=222}}.</ref> the Western Turkic Qağanate dissolved under pressure from the [[Tang Dynasty in Inner Asia|encroaching Tang dynasty armies]] and split into two competing federations, each consisting of five tribes, collectively known as the "Ten Arrows" (''On Oq''). Both briefly challenged Tang hegemony in eastern Turkestan. To the West, two new nomadic states arose in the meantime, [[Old Great Bulgaria]] under [[Kubrat]], the Duōlù clan leader, and the Nǔshībì subconfederation, also consisting of five tribes.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2010 |pp=54–55}} The [[Dulo clan|Duōlù (咄陆)]] were the left wing of the ''On Oq'', the [[Nushibi|Nǔshībì (弩失畢: *''Nu Šad(a)pit'')]], and together they were registered in Chinese sources as the 'ten names' (shí míng:十名).</ref> The Duōlù challenged the Avars in the [[Kuban River]]-[[Sea of Azov]] area while the Khazar Qağanate consolidated further westwards, led apparently by an Āshǐnà dynasty. With a resounding victory over the tribes in 657, engineered by [[Su Dingfang|General Sū Dìngfāng (蘇定方)]], Chinese overlordship was imposed to their East after a final mop-up operation in 659, but the two confederations of Bulğars and Khazars fought for supremacy on the western steppeland, and with the ascendency of the latter, the former either succumbed to Khazar rule or, as under [[Asparukh of Bulgaria|Asparukh]], Kubrat's son, shifted even further west across the Danube to lay the foundations of the [[First Bulgarian Empire]] in the Balkans (c. 679).<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2001b |pp=94–5}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Somogyi|2008|p=128}}.</ref>

The Qağanate of the Khazars thus took shape out of the ruins of this nomadic empire as it broke up under pressure from the Tang dynasty armies to the east sometime between 630–650.<ref name="Golden 2006 89"/> After their conquest of the lower Volga region to the East and an area westwards between the [[Danube]] and the [[Dniepr]], and their subjugation of the [[Onogurs|Onoğur]]-[[Bulgars|Bulğar]] union, sometime around 670, a properly constituted Khazar Qağanate emerges,<ref>{{harvnb|Zuckerman|2007|p=417}}</ref> becoming the westernmost [[Succession of states|successor state]] of the formidable Göktürk Qağanate after its disintegration. According to [[Omeljan Pritsak]], the language of the Onoğur-Bulğar federation was to become the [[lingua franca]] of Khazaria<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2006|p=90}}.</ref> as it developed into what [[Lev Gumilev]] called a 'steppe Atlantis' (''stepnaja Atlantida''/ Степная Атлантида).<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|pp=11–13}}.</ref>Historians have often referred to this period of Khazar domination as the [[Pax Khazarica]] since the state became an international trading hub permitting Western Eurasian merchants safe transit across it to pursue their business without interference.{{sfn|Noonan| 2001|p=91}} The high status soon to be accorded this empire to the north is attested by [[Ibn Balkhi|Ibn al-Balḫî]]'s ''Fârsnâma'' (c. 1100), which relates that the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] Shah, [[Khosrau I|Ḫusraw 1, Anûsîrvân]], placed three thrones by his own, one for the King of China, a second for the King of Byzantium, and a third for the king of the Khazars. Though anachronistic in retrodating the Khazars to this period, the legend, in placing the Khazar qağan on a throne with equal status to kings of the other two superpowers, bears witness to the reputation won by the Khazars from early times.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|pp=7–8}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2001b|p=73}}</ref>

===Khazar state: culture and institutions===

====Royal Diarchy with sacral Qağanate====
Khazaria developed a [[Diarchy|Dual kingship]] governance structure,<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|pp=155–156}}. Several scholars connect it to Judaization, with Artamonov linking its introduction to Obadiyah's reforms and the imposition of full Rabbinical Judaism and Pritsak to the same period (799–833), arguing that the Beg, a major domo from the Iranian *Barč/Warâ</Bolčan clan, identified with Obadiyah, compelled the Qağanal clan to convert, an event which putatively caused the Qabar revolt. Golden comments: "There is nothing but conjecture to connect it with the reforms of Obadiyah, the further evolution of Khazar Judaism or the [[Kabar|Qabars]]&nbsp;... The fact is we do not know when, precisely, the Khazar system of dual kingship emerged. It could not have come ''ex nihilo''. It was not present in the early stages of Khazar history. Given the Old Türk traditions of the Khazar state&nbsp;... and the overall institutional conservation of steppe society, one must exercise great caution here. Clear evidence for it is relatively late (the latter part of the ninth century perhaps and more probably the tenth century)- although it was probably present by the first third of the ninth century. Iranian influences via the Ors guard of the Qağans may have also been a factor"</ref> typical among Turkic nomads, consisting of a ''shad/bäk'' and a ''qağan''.<ref>{{harvnb|Noonan|1999|p=500}}</ref> The emergence of this system may be deeply entwined with the conversion to Judaism.<ref>{{harvnb|Olsson|2013|p=496}}.</ref> According to Arabic sources, the lesser king was called ''[[Khagan Bek|îšâ]]'' and the greater king ''Khazar [[Khagan|xâqân]]''; the former managed and commanded the military, while the greater king's role was primarily sacral, less concerned with daily affairs. The greater king was recruited from the Khazar house of notables (''ahl bait ma'rûfīn'') and, in an initiation ritual, was nearly strangled until he declared the number of years he wished to reign, on the expiration of which he would be killed by the nobles.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunlop|1954|pp=97,112}}. There was a maximum limit on the number of years of a king's reign, according to [[Ibn Fadlan]]; if a Qağan had reigned for at least forty years, his courtiers and subjects felt his ability to reason would become impaired by old age. They would then kill the Qağan.</ref><ref name="Noonan 2001 77">{{harvnb|Noonan|2001|p=77}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2006|p p=81-82}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Petrukhin|2007|pp=256–257}} notes that Ibn Fadlan's description of a Rus' prince (''malik'') and his lieutenant (''khalifa'') mirrored the Khazarian diarchy, but the comparison was flawed, as there was no sacral kingship among the Rus'.</ref> The deputy ruler would enter the presence of the reclusive greater king only with great ceremony, approaching him barefoot to prostrate himself in the dust and then light a piece of wood as a purifying fire, while waiting humbly and calmly to be summoned.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|pp=133–4}}.</ref> Particularly elaborate rituals accompanied a royal burial. At one period, travellers had to dismount, bow before the ruler's tomb, and then walk away on foot.<ref>{{harvnb|Shingiray|2012|pp=212}}</ref> Subsequently, the charismatic sovereign's burial place was hidden from view, with a palatial structure ('Paradise') constructed and then hidden under rerouted river water to avoid disturbance by evil spirits and later generations. Such a royal burial ground (''qoruq'') is typical of inner Asian peoples.<ref>{{harvnb|de Weese|1994 |p=181}},</ref> Both the îšâ and the xâqân converted to Judaism sometime in the 8th century, while the rest, according to the Persian traveller [[Ahmad ibn Rustah]], probably followed the old Tūrkic religion.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2006|pp.&nbsp;79–81}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|pp=130–131}}: "the rest of the Khazars profess a religion similar to that of the Turks."</ref>

==== Ruling elite ====
The ruling stratum, like that of the later [[Borjigin|Činggisids]] within the [[Golden Horde]], was a relatively small group that differed ethnically and linguistically from its subject peoples. This is thought to have been the [[Alans|Alano-As]] and Oğuric Turkic tribes, who were numerically superior within Khazaria.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2006|p=88}}</ref> The Khazar Qağans, while taking wives and concubines from the subject populations, were protected by a [[Khwarezm|Khwârazmian]] guard corps, or ''[[Comitatus (classical meaning)|comitatus]]'', called the [[Arsiyah|Ursiyya]].<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=138}}. This regiment was exempt from campaigning against fellow Muslims, evidence that non-Judaic beliefs was no obstacle to access to the highest levels of government. They had abandoned their homeland and sought service with the Khazars in exchange for the right to exercise their religious freedom, according to al-Masudi.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Olsson|2013|p=507}} writes that there is no evidence for this Islamic guard for the 9th century, but that its existence is attested for 913.</ref> But unlike many other local polities, they hired soldiers (mercenaries) (the ''junûd murtazîqa'' in [[Al-Masudi|al-Mas'ûdî]]).<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2006|pp=79–80,88}}.</ref> At the peak of their empire, the Khazars ran a centralised fiscal administration, with a standing army of some 7–12,000 men, which could, at need, be multiplied two or three times that number by inducting reserves from their nobles' retinues.<ref>{{harvnb|Olsson|2013|p=495}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Noonan|2007|p=211,217}} gives the lower figure for the Muslim contingents, but adds that the army could draw on other mercenaries stationed in the capital, Rūs, [[Saqaliba|Ṣaqāliba]] and pagans. Olsson's 10,000 refers to the spring-summar horsemen in the nomadic king's retinue.</ref> Other figures for the permanent standing army indicate that it numbered as many as one hundred thousand. They controlled and exacted tribute from 25–30 different nations and tribes inhabiting the vast territories between the Caucasus, the Aral Sea, the Ural Mountains, and the Ukrainian steppes.<ref>{{harvnb|Koestler|1977|p=18}}</ref> Khazar armies were led by the Qağan Bek (pronounced as Kagan Bek) and commanded by subordinate [[officer (armed forces)|officer]]s known as [[tarkhan]]s. When the bek sent out a body of troops, they would not retreat under any circumstances. If they were defeated, every one who returned was killed.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunlop|1954|p=113}}</ref>

Settlements were governed by administrative officials known as ''[[tudun]]s''. In some cases, such as the Byzantine settlements in southern [[Crimea]], a ''tudun'' would be appointed for a town nominally within another polity's [[sphere of influence]]. Other officials in the Khazar government included dignitaries referred to by [[ibn Fadlan]] as ''[[Jawyshyghr]]'' and ''[[Kündür]]'', but their responsibilities are unknown.

====Demographics====
It has been estimated that from 25 to 28 distinct ethnic groups made up the population of the Khazar Qağanate, aside from the ethnic elite. The ruling elite seems to have been constituted out of nine tribes/clans, themselves ethnically heterogeneous, spread over perhaps nine provinces or principalities, each of which would have been allocated to a clan.<ref name="Noonan 2001 77"/> In terms of caste or class, some evidence suggests that there was a distinction, whether racial or social is unclear, between "White Khazars" (ak-Khazars) and "Black Khazars" (qara-Khazars).<ref name="Noonan 2001 77"/> The 10th-century Muslim geographer [[Istakhri|al-Iṣṭakhrī]] claimed that the White Khazars were strikingly handsome with reddish hair, white skin, and blue eyes, while the Black Khazars were swarthy, verging on deep black, as if they were "some kind of [[India]]n".<ref>{{harvnb|Dunlop|1954|p=96}}</ref> Many Turkic nations had a similar (political, not racial) division between a "white" ruling warrior caste and a "black" class of commoners; the consensus among mainstream scholars is that Istakhri was confused by the names given to the two groups.<ref>{{harvnb|Brook|2010|pp=3–4}}</ref> However, Khazars are generally described by early Arab sources as having a white complexion, blue eyes, and reddish hair.<ref>{{harvnb|Patai|Patai|1989|p=70}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Brook|2010|p=3}}</ref> The name of the presumed founding Āshǐnà clan itself may reflect an etymology suggestive of a darkish colour.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2006|pp=86 n.39,89}}The ethnonym in the Tang Chinese annals, Āshǐnà (阿史那), often accorded a key role in the Khazar leadership, may reflect an Eastern Iranian or [[Tocharian languages|Tokharian]] word ([[Saka language|Khotanese Saka]] ''âşşeina-āššsena'' 'blue'): [[Middle Persian]] ''axšaêna'' ('dark-coloured'): [[Tocharian languages#Tocharian A and B|Tokharian A]] ''âśna'' ('blue', 'dark').</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Luttwak|2009|p=152}}.</ref> The distinction appears to have survived the collapse of the Khazarian empire. Later Russian chronicles, commenting on the role of the Khazars in the magyarisation of Hungary, refer to them as "White [[Oghur (tribe)|Oghurs]]" and [[Magyars]] as "[[Black Hungarians|Black Ogurs]]".<ref>{{harvnb|Oppenheim|1994|p=312}}.</ref> Studies of the physical remains, such as skulls at Sarkel, have revealed a mixture of Slavic, other European, and a few Mongolian types.<ref>{{harvnb|Brook|2010|pp=3–4}}.</ref>

==== Economy ====

The import and export of foreign wares, and the revenues derived from taxing their transit, was a hallmark of the Khazar economy, though it is said also to have produced [[isinglass]].<ref>{{harvnb|Barthold|1993|p=936}}.</ref> Distinctively among the nomadic steppe polities, the Khazar Qağanate developed a self-sufficient domestic [[Saltovo-Mayaki|Saltovo]]<ref>{{harvnb|Zhivkov|2015|p=173}}.</ref> economy, a combination of traditional pastoralism – allowing sheep and cattle to be exported – extensive agriculture, abundant use of the Volga's rich fishing stocks, together with craft manufacture, with a diversification in lucrative returns from taxing international trade given its pivotal control of major trade routes. The Khazars constituted one of the two great furnishers of slaves to the Muslim market (the other being the [[Samanid Empire|Iranian Sâmânid amîrs]]), supplying it with captured Slavs and tribesmen from the Eurasian northlands.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2011|p=64}}.</ref> It was profits from the latter which enabled it to maintain a standing army of Khwarezm Muslim troops. The capital Atil reflected the division: Kharazān on the western bank where the king and his Khazar elite, with a retinue of some 4,000 attendants, dwelt, and Itil proper to the East, inhabited by Jews, Christians, Muslims and slaves and by craftsmen and foreign merchants.<ref>{{harvnb|Noonan|2007|pp=208–209, 216–219}}. A third division may have contained the dwellings of the tsarina. The dimensions of the western part were 3x3, as opposed to the eastern part's 8 x 8 ''farsakhs''.</ref> The ruling elite wintered in the city and spent from spring to late autumns in their fields. A large irrigated greenbelt, drawing on channels from the Volga river, lay outside the capital, where meadows and vineyards extended for some 20 ''farsakhs'' (ca. 60 miles?).<ref name="Noonan 2007 214">{{harvnb|Noonan|2007|p=214}}.</ref> While customs duties were imposed on traders, and tribute and tithes were exacted from 25–30 tribes, with a levy of one sable skin, squirrel pelt, sword, dirham per hearth or ploughshare, or hides, wax, honey and livestock, depending on the zone. Trade disputes were handled by a commercial tribunal in Atil consisting of seven judges, two for each of the monotheistic inhabitants (Jews, Muslims, Christians) and one for the pagans.<ref>{{harvnb|Noonan|2007|pp=211–214}}. Outside Muslim traders were under the jurisdiction of a special royal official (''ghulām'').</ref>

===Khazars and Byzantium===
{{see also|Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628|Third Perso-Turkic War}}

Byzantine diplomatic policy towards the steppe peoples generally consisted of encouraging them to fight among themselves. The [[Pechenegs]] provided great assistance to the Byzantines in the 9th century in exchange for regular payments.<ref>{{harvnb|Luttwak|2009 |p=52}}</ref> Byzantium also sought alliances with the [[Göktürks]] against common enemies: in the early 7th century, one such alliance was brokered with the Western Tűrks against the Persian [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanians]] in the [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628]]. The Byzantines called Khazaria ''Tourkía'', and by the 9th century referred to the Khazars as 'Turks'.<ref>{{harvnb|Róna-Tas|1999|p=282}}: [[Theophanes the Confessor]] around 813 defined them as ''Eastern Turks''. The designation is complex and Róna-Tas writes: 'The ''Georgian Chronicle'' refers to the Khazars in 626–628 as the 'West Turks' who were then opposed to the East Turks of Central Asia. Shortly after 679 the ''Armenian Geography'' mentions the Turks together with the Khazars; this may be the first record of the Magyars. Around 813, Theophanes uses – alongside the generic name ''Turk'' – 'East Turk' for the designation of the Khazars, and in context, the 'West Turks' may actually have meant the Magyars. We know that Nicholas Misticus referred to the Magyars as 'West Turks' in 924/925. In the 9th century the name ''Turk'' was mainly used to designate the Khazars.'</ref> During the period leading up to and after the [[Siege of Constantinople (626)|siege of Constantinople]] in 626, [[Heraclius]] sought help via emissaries, and eventually personally, from a Göktürk chieftain<ref>Many sources identify the Göktürks in this alliance as Khazars, for example, Beckwith writes recently: 'The alliance sealed by Heraclius with the Khazars in 627 was of seminal importance to the Byzantine Empire through the Early Middle Ages, and helped assure its long-term survival.'{{harvnb|Beckwith|2011|pp==120,122}}. Early sources such as the almost contemporary [[Armenian language|Armenian]] history, ''Patmutʿiwn Ałuanicʿ Ašxarhi'', attributed to Movsēs Dasxurancʿ, and the Chronicle attributed to Theophanes identify these Turks as Khazars (Theophanes has: 'Turks, who are called Khazars'). Both Zuckerman and Golden reject the identification. {{harvnb|Zuckerman|2007|pp=403–404}}.</ref> of the [[Western Turkic Khaganate|Western Tűrkic Qağanate]], [[Tong Yabghu Qaghan|Tong Yabghu Qağan]], in [[Tiflis]], plying him with gifts and the promise of marriage to his daughter, [[Eudoxia Epiphania|Epiphania]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kaegi|2003|pp=143–145}}.</ref> Tong Yabghu responded by sending a large force to ravage the Persian empire, marking the start of the [[Third Perso-Turkic War]].<ref>{{harvnb|Róna-Tas|1999|p=230}}.</ref> A joint Byzantine-Tűrk operation breached the [[Gates of Alexander|Caspian gates]] and sacked [[Derbent]] in 627. Together they then besieged [[Tiflis]], where the Byzantines may have deployed an early variety of [[Trebuchet#Traction trebuchet|traction trebuchet]]s ([[Helepolis|ἑλέπόλεις]]) to breach the walls. After the campaign, Tong Yabghu is reported, perhaps with some exaggeration, to have left some 40,000 troops behind with Heraclius.<ref>{{harvnb|Kaegi|2003|p=145}}.</ref> Though occasionally identified with Khazars, the Göktürk identification is more probable since the Khazars only emerged from that group after the fragmentation of the former sometime after 630.<ref name="Kaegi 2003 143 n.115"/> Sasanian Persia never recovered from the devastating defeat wrought by this invasion.<ref>{{harvnb|Zuckerman|2007|p=417}}. Scholars dismiss Chinese annals which, reporting the events from Turkic sources, attribute the destruction of Persia and its leader [[Khosrau II|Shah Khusrau II]] personally to Tong Yabghu. Zuckerman argues instead that the account is correct in its essentials.</ref>

[[File:Khazar map1.PNG|thumb|Khazar Khaganate and surrounding states, c. 820 (area of direct Khazar control in dark blue, sphere of influence in purple).]]

Once the Khazars emerged as a power, the Byzantines also began to form alliances with them, dynastic and military. In 695, the last [[Byzantine Empire under the Heraclian dynasty|Heraclian emperor]], [[Justinian II]], nicknamed the slit-nosed (ὁ ῥινότμητος) after he was mutilated and deposed, was exiled to [[Chersonesus (Crimea)|Cherson]] in the [[Crimea]], where a Khazar governor (''tudun'') presided. He escaped into Khazar territory in 704 or 705 and was given asylum by qağan [[Busir|Busir Glavan]] (Ἰβουζήρος Γλιαβάνος), who gave him his sister in marriage, perhaps in response to an offer by Justinian, who may have thought a dynastic marriage would seal by kinship a powerful tribal support for his attempts to regain the throne.<ref>{{harvnb|Bauer|2010|p=341}}.</ref> The Khazarian spouse thereupon changed her name to [[Theodora of Khazaria|Theodora]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ostrogorsky|1969|pp=124–126}}.</ref> Busir was offered a bribe by the Byzantine usurper, [[Tiberius III]], to kill Justinian. Warned by Theodora, Justinian escaped, murdering two Khazar officials in the process. He fled to Bulgaria, whose Khan [[Tervel]] helped him regain the throne. Upon his reinstalment, and despite Busir's treachery during his exile, he sent for Theodora; Busir complied, and she was crowned as Augusta, suggesting that both prized the alliance.<ref>{{harvnb|Cameron|1984|p=212}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Bauer|2010|pp=341–342}}.</ref>

Decades later, [[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo III]] (ruled 717–741) made a similar alliance to co-ordinate strategy against a common enemy, the [[Muslim Arabs]]. He sent an embassy to the Khazar qağan [[Bihar (Khazar)|Bihar]] and married his son, the future [[Constantine V]] (ruled 741–775), to Bihar's daughter, a princess referred to as [[Tzitzak]], in 732. On converting to Christianity, she took the name Irene. Constantine and Irene had a son, the future [[Leo IV the Khazar|Leo IV (775–780)]], who thereafter bore the sobriquet, "the Khazar".<ref>{{harvnb|Luttwak|2009 |pp=137–8}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Piltz|2004 |p=42}}.</ref> Leo died in mysterious circumstances after his Athenian wife bore him a son, [[Constantine VI]], who on his majority co-ruled with his mother, the dowager. He proved unpopular, and his death ended the dynastic link of the Khazars to the Byzantine throne.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} By the 8th century, Khazars [[Pax Khazarica|dominated the Crimea]] (650-c.950), and even extended their influence into the Byzantine peninsula of Cherson until it was wrested back in the 10th century.<ref>{{harvnb|Noonan|2007|p=220}}.</ref> Khazar and [[Fergana|Farghânian (Φάργανοι)]] mercenaries constituted part of the imperial Byzantine ''[[Hetaireia]]'' bodyguard after its formation in 840, a position that could openly be purchased by a payment of seven pounds of gold.<ref>{{harvnb|Beckworth|2009|p=392,n.22}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|McBride|Heath|2004|p=14}}.</ref>

===Arab–Khazar wars===
{{anchor|Second Khazar-Arab war}}{{Main article|Arab–Khazar Wars}}

During the 7th and 8th centuries, the Khazars fought a series of wars against the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] and its [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] successor. The First Arab-Khazar War began during the first phase of [[Muslim conquests|Muslim expansion]]. By 640, Muslim forces had reached Armenia; in 642 they launched their first raid across the Caucasus under [[Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rabiah]]. In 652 Arab forces advanced on the Khazar capital, [[Balanjar]], but were [[Battle of Balanjar (650s)|defeated]], suffering heavy losses; according to Persian historians such as [[Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari|al-Tabari]], both sides in the battle used [[catapult]]s against the opposing troops. A number of Russian sources give the name of a Khazar khagan from this period as [[List of Khazar rulers|Irbis]] and describe him as a scion of the Göktürk royal house, the Ashina. Whether Irbis ever existed is open to debate, as is whether he can be identified with one of the many Göktürk rulers of the same name.

Due to the outbreak of the [[First Fitna|First Muslim Civil War]] and other priorities, the Arabs refrained from repeating an attack on the Khazars until the early 8th century.<ref>{{harvnb|Mako|2010|p=45}}</ref> The Khazars launched a few raids into Transcaucasian principalities under Muslim dominion, including a large-scale raid in 683–685 during the [[Second Fitna|Second Muslim Civil War]] that rendered much booty and many prisoners.<ref name="Brook 2010 126–7">{{harvnb|Brook|2010|pp=126–7}}</ref> There is evidence from the account of al-Tabari that the Khazars formed a united front with the remnants of the Göktürks in Transoxiana.

[[File:Kaukasus 750 map alt de.png|thumb|300px|{{centre|Caucasus region, c. 750}}]]

The Second Arab-Khazar War began with a series of raids across the Caucasus in the early 8th century. The Umayyads tightened their grip on Armenia in 705 after suppressing a large-scale rebellion. In 713 or 714, Umayyad general [[Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik|Maslamah]] conquered Derbent and drove deeper into Khazar territory. The Khazars launched raids in response into [[Caucasian Albania|Albania]] and [[Iranian Azerbaijan]] but were driven back by the Arabs under [[Hasan ibn al-Nu'man]].<ref>{{harvnb|Brook|2010|pp=127}}</ref> The conflict escalated in 722 with an invasion by 30,000 Khazars into Armenia inflicting a crushing defeat. Caliph [[Yazid II]] responded, sending 25,000 Arab troops north, swiftly driving the Khazars back across the Caucasus, recovering Derbent, and advancing on Balanjar. The Arabs [[Battle of Balanjar (723)|broke through the Khazar defence]] and stormed the city; most of its inhabitants were killed or enslaved, but a few managed to flee north.<ref name="Brook 2010 126–7"/> Despite their success, the Arabs had not yet defeated the Khazar army, and they retreated south of the Caucasus.

In 724, Arab general [[al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah al-Hakami]] inflicted a crushing defeat on the Khazars in a long battle between the rivers [[Cyrus (river)|Cyrus]] and [[Araxes]], then moved on to capture [[Tiflis]], bringing [[Caucasian Iberia]] under Muslim suzerainty. The Khazars struck back in 726, led by a prince named [[Barjik]], launching a major invasion of Albania and Azerbaijan; by 729, the Arabs had lost control of northeastern Transcaucasia and were thrust again into the defensive. In 730, Barjik invaded Iranian Azerbaijan and [[Battle of Ardabil|defeated]] Arab forces at [[Ardabil]], killing the general [[al-Djarrah al-Hakami]] and briefly occupying the town. Barjik was defeated and killed the next year at [[Mosul]], where he directed Khazar forces from a throne mounted with al-Djarrah's severed head {{citation needed|date=November 2016}}. In 737, Marwan Ibn Muhammad entered Khazar territory under the guise of seeking a truce. He then launched a surprise attack in which The Qaghan fled north and the Khazars surrendered.<ref name="Khazar Studies">{{cite book|last1=Golden|first1=Peter B.|title=Khazar Studies|date=1980|pages=64}}</ref> The Arabs did not have resources to influence affairs of Transcaucasia.<ref name="Khazar Studies"/> The Qağan was forced to accept terms involving conversion to Islam, and to subject himself to the Caliphate, but the accommodation was short-lived as a combination of internal instability among the Umayyads and Byzantine support undid the agreement within three years, and the Khazars re-asserted their independence.<ref>{{harvnb|Wasserstein|2007|pp=375–376}}</ref> The suggestion that the Khazars adopted [[Judaism]] as early as 740 is based on the idea that, in part, it was, a re-assertion of independence with regard to both Byzantium and the Caliphate, while conforming to a general Eurasian trend to embrace a world religion.<ref>{{harvnb|Beckwith|2009|p=149}}:'The Khazars , the close allies of the Byzantines, adopted Judaism, as their official religion, apparently by 740, three years after an invasion by the Arabs under Marwan ibn Muhammad. Marwan had used treachery against a Khazar envoy to gain peaceful entrance to Khazar territory. He then declared his dishonourable intentions and pressed deep into Khazar territory, only subsequently releasing the envoy. The Arabs devastated the horse herds, seized many Khazars and others as captives, and forced much of the population to flee into the Ural Mountains. Marwan’s terms were that the kaghan and his Khazars should convert to Islam. Having no choice, the kaghan agreed, and the Arabs returned home in triumph. As soon as the Arabs were gone, the kaghan renounced Islam – with, one may assume, great vehemence. The Khazar Dynasty’s conversion to Judaism is best explained by this specific historical background, together with the fact that the mid-eighth century was an age in  which the major Eurasian states proclaimed their adherence to distinctive world religions. Adopting Judaism also was politically astute: it meant the Khazars avoided having to accept the overlordship (jhowever theoretical) of the Arab caliph or the Byzantine emperor.'</ref>

Whatever the impact of Marwan's campaigns, warfare between the Khazars and the Arabs ceased for more than two decades after 737. Arab raids continued until 741, but their control in the region was limited as maintaining a large garrison at Derbent further depleted the already overstretched army. A [[Third Fitna|third Muslim civil war]] soon broke out, leading to the Abbasid Revolution and the fall of the Umayyad dynasty in 750.

In 758, the [[Abbasid]] [[Caliph]] [[al-Mansur]] attempted to strengthen diplomatic ties with the Khazars, ordering [[Yazid ibn Usayd al-Sulami]], one of his nobles and the [[Ostikanate of Arminiya|military governor of Armenia]], to take a royal Khazar bride. Yazid married a daughter of Khazar Khagan [[Baghatur]], but she died inexplicably, possibly in childbirth. Her attendants returned home, convinced that some Arab faction had poisoned her, and her father was enraged. Khazar general [[Ras Tarkhan]] invaded south of the Caucasus in 762–764, devastating Albania, Armenia, and Iberia, and capturing Tiflis. Thereafter relations became increasingly cordial between the Khazars and the Abbasids, whose foreign policies were generally less expansionist than the Umayyads, broken only by a series of raids in 799 over another failed marriage alliance.

===Rise of the Rus' and the collapse of the Khazarian state===
[[File:Varangian routes.png|thumb|300px|Trade routes of the Black Sea region, 8th–11th centuries]]

By the 9th century, groups of [[Varangians|Varangian Rus']], developing a powerful warrior-merchant system, began probing south down the waterways controlled by the Khazars and their protectorate, the [[Volga Bulgaria]]ns, partially in pursuit of the Arab silver that flowed north for hoarding through the Khazarian-Volga Bulgarian trading zones,<ref>{{harvnb|Moss|2002|p=16}}. Over 520 separate hoards of such silver have been uncovered in Sweden and [[Gotland]].</ref> partially to trade in furs and ironwork.<ref>{{harvnb|Abulafia|1987|pp=419,480–483}}.The Volga Bulgarian state was converted to Islam in the 10th century, and wrested liberty from its Khazarian suzerains when [[Sviatoslav I of Kiev|Svyatislav]] razed Atil.</ref> Northern mercantile fleets passing Atil were tithed, as they were at Byzantine [[Cherson (theme)|Cherson]].<ref>{{harvnb|Shepard|2006|p=19}}.</ref> Their presence may have prompted the formation of a Rus' state by convincing the [[Slavic peoples|Slavs]], [[Volga Finns|Merja]] and the [[Chud]]' to unite to protect common interests against Khazarian exactions of tribute. It is often argued that a [[Rus' Khaganate]] modelled on the Khazarian state had formed to the east, and that the Varangian chieftain of the coalition appropriated the title of qağan (''khagan'') as early as the 830s: the title survived to denote the princes of [[Kievan Rus']], whose capital, [[Kiev]], is often associated with a Khazarian foundation.<ref>{{harvnb|Petrukhin|2007|p=245}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Noonan|2001|p=81}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Whittow|1996|pp=243–252}} argues however that:''The title of qaghan, with its claims to lordship over the steppe world, is likely to be no more than ideological booty from the 965 victory.'</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Korobkin|1998|p=xxvii}} citing {{harvnb|Golb|Pritsak|1982|p=15}} notes that Khazars have often been connected with Kiev's foundations. Pritsak and Golb state that children in [[Kiev]] were being given a mixture of [[Hebrew]] and [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] names by c. 930. {{harvnb|Toch|2012|p=166}} on the other hand is sceptical, and argues that 'a significant Jewish presence in early medieval Kiev or indeed in Russia at large remains much in doubt'.</ref> The construction of the [[Sarkel|Sarkel fortress]], with technical assistance from Khazaria's Byzantine ally at the time, together with the minting of an autonomous Khazar coinage around the 830s may have been a defensive measure against emerging threats from Varangians to the north and from the [[Magyars]] on the eastern steppe.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=156}}.The ''[[yarmaq]]'' based on the Arab ''[[dirhem]]'' was perhaps issued in reaction to fall-off in Muslim minting in 820s, and to a felt need in the turbulent upheavals of the 830s to assert a new religious profile, with the Jewish legends stamped on them.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Petrukhin|2007|p=247, and n.1}}: Scholars are divided as to whether the fortification of Sarkel represents a defensive bulwark against a growing Magyar or Varangian threat.</ref> By 860, the Rus' had penetrated as far as Kiev and, via the [[Dnieper]], Constantinople.<ref>{{harvnb|Petrukhin|2007|p=257}}.</ref>

[[File:Sarkel.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Site of the Khazar fortress at Sarkel (aerial photo from excavations conducted by [[Mikhail Artamonov]] in the 1950s).]]

Alliances often shifted. Byzantium, threatened by Varangian Rus' raiders, would assist Khazaria, and Khazaria at times allowed the northerners to pass through their territory in exchange for a portion of the booty.<ref name="Kohen 2007 107">{{harvnb|Kohen|2007|p=107}}.</ref> From the beginning of the 10th century, the Khazars found themselves fighting on multiple fronts as nomadic incursions were exacerbated by uprisings by former clients and invasions from former allies. The [[pax Khazarica]] was caught in a pincer movement between steppe Pechenegs and the strengthing of an emergent Rus' power to the north, both undermining Khazaria'ìs tributary empire.<ref>{{harvnb|Noonan|1999|pp=502–3}}.</ref> According to the [[Schechter Text]], the Khazar ruler [[Benjamin (Khazar)|King Benjamin]] (ca.880–890) fought a battle against the allied forces of five lands whose moves were perhaps encouraged by Byzantium.<ref>{{harvnb|Kohen|2007|p=106}}.''MQDWN'' or the [[Macedonian dynasty|Macedon dynasty of Byzantium]];''SY'',perhaps a central Volga statelet, [[Burtas]], Asya; ''PYYNYL'' denoting the [[Pechenegs|Danube-Don Pechnegs]];''BM'', perhaps indicating the [[Volga Bulgars]], and ''TWRQY'' or [[Oghuz Turks]]. The provisory identifications are those of Pritsak.</ref> Though Benjamin was victorious, his son [[Aaron II (Khazar)|Aaron II]] faced another invasion, this time led by the [[Alans]], whose leader had converted to Christianity and entered into an alliance with Byzantium, which, under [[Leo VI the Wise]], encouraged them to fight against the Khazars.

By the 880s, Khazar control of the Middle [[Dnieper]] from Kiev, where they collected tribute from Eastern Slavic tribes, began to wane as [[Oleg of Novgorod]] wrested control of the city from the Varangian warlords [[Askold and Dir]], and embarked on what was to prove to be the foundation of a Rus' empire.<ref>{{harvnb|Noonan|1999|p=508}}.</ref> The Khazars had initially allowed the Rus' to use the [[Volga trade route|trade route]] along the Volga River, and raid southwards. See [[Caspian expeditions of the Rus']]. According to [[Al Masudi|Al-Mas‘udi]], the qağan is said to have given his assent on the condition that the Rus' give him half of the booty.<ref name="Kohen 2007 107"/> In 913, however, two years after Byzantium concluded a peace treaty with the Rus' in 911, a [[Varangians|Varangian]] foray, with Khazar connivance, through Arab lands led to a request to the Khazar throne by the Khwârazmian Islamic guard for permission to retaliate against the large Rus' contingent on its return. The purpose was to revenge the violence the Rus' [[Looting|razzias]] had inflicted on their fellow Muslim believers.<ref>{{harvnb|Olsson|2013|p=507}}: Al-Mas‘udi says the king secretly tipped off the Rus' of the attack but was unable to oppose the request of his guards.</ref> The Rus' force was thoroughly routed and massacred.<ref name="Kohen 2007 107"/> The Khazar rulers closed the passage down the Volga to the Rus', sparking a war. In the early 960s, Khazar ruler [[Joseph (Khazar)|Joseph]] wrote to [[Hasdai ibn Shaprut]] about the deterioration of Khazar relations with the Rus': 'I protect the mouth of the river (Itil-Volga) and prevent the Rus arriving in their ships from setting off by sea against the [[Arabs|Ishmaelites]] and (equally) all (their) enemies from setting off by land to [[Derbent|Bab]].'<ref>{{harvnb|Petrukhin|2007|p=257}}. The letter continues:'I wage war with them. If I left them (in peace) for a single hour they would crush the whole land of the Ishmaelites up to [[Baghdad]].'</ref>

[[File:Lebedev Svyatoslavs meeting with Emperor John.jpg|thumb|[[Sviatoslav I of Kiev]] (in boat), destroyer of the Khazar Khaganate.<ref>From Klavdiy Lebedev (1852–1916), ''Svyatoslav's meeting with [[John I Tzimisces|Emperor John]], as described by Leo the Deacon.''</ref>]]

The Rus' warlords launched several wars against the Khazar Qağanate, and raided down to [[Caspian expeditions of the Rus'|the Caspian sea]]. The [[Schechter Letter]] relates the story of a campaign against Khazaria by ''HLGW'' (recently identified as Oleg of Chernigov) around 941 in which Oleg was defeated by the Khazar general [[Pesakh (Khazar)|Pesakh]].<ref>{{harvnb|Petrukhin|2007|p=259}}.</ref> The Khazar alliance with the Byzantine empire began to collapse in the early 10th century. Byzantine and Khazar forces may have clashed in the Crimea, and by the 940s emperor [[Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus]] was speculating in ''[[De Administrando Imperio]]'' about ways in which the Khazars could be isolated and attacked. The Byzantines during the same period began to attempt alliances with the Pechenegs and the Rus', with varying degrees of success. [[Sviatoslav I of Kiev|Sviatoslav I]] finally succeeded in destroying Khazar imperial power in the 960s, in a circular sweep that overwhelmed the Khazar fortresses like [[Sarkel]] and [[Tmutarakan|Tamatarkha]], and reached as far as the Caucasian Kassogians/[[Circassians]] and then back to Kiev.<ref name="Petrukhin 2007 262">{{harvnb|Petrukhin|2007|p=262}}.</ref> Sarkel fell in 965, with the capital city of [[Atil]] following, c. 968 or 969.

In the Russian chronicle the vanquishing of the Khazar traditions is associated with Vladimir's conversion in 986.<ref>{{harvnb|Petrukhin|2007|pp=262–263}}.</ref> According to the [[Primary Chronicle]], in 986 Khazar Jews were present at [[Vladimir I of Kiev|Vladimir]]'s [[disputation]] to decide on the prospective religion of the Kievan Rus'.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131016005423/http://www.mgh-bibliothek.de/dokumente/a/a011458.pdf The Russian Primary Chronicle] (Laurentian text), trans. and edited by Samuel Hazzard Cross and Olgerd P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor, p. 97.</ref> Whether these were Jews who had settled in Kiev or emissaries from some Jewish Khazar remnant state is unclear. Conversion to one of the faiths of the people of Scripture was a precondition to any peace treaty with the Arabs, whose Bulgar envoys had arrived in Kiev after 985.<ref name="Petrukhin 2007 263"/>

A visitor to Atil wrote soon after the sacking of the city that its vineyards and garden had been razed, that not a grape or raisin remained in the land, and not even alms for the poor were available.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunlop|1954|p=242}}.</ref> An attempt to rebuild may have been undertaken, since [[Ibn Hawqal]] and [[al-Muqaddasi]] refer to it after that date, but by [[Al-Biruni]]'s time (1048) it was in ruins.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunlop|1954|p=248}}. Dunlop thought the later city of [[Saqsin]] lay on or near Atil</ref>

===Aftermath: impact, decline and dispersion===
Though Poliak argued that the Khazar kingdom did not wholly succumb to Sviatoslav's campaign, but lingered on until 1224, when the [[Mongol invasion of Rus'|Mongols invaded Rus']],<ref>{{harvnb|Gow||p=31, n.28}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Sand|2010|p=229}}</ref> by most accounts, the Rus'-Oghuz campaigns left Khazaria devastated, with perhaps many Khazarian Jews in flight,<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|pp=148}}.</ref> and leaving behind at best a minor [[rump state]]. It left little trace, except for some placenames,<ref>{{harvnb|Brook|2010|p=156}}. The [[Caspian Sea]] is still known to Arabs, and many peoples of the region, as the 'Khazar Sea' (Arabic ''Bahr ul-Khazar'')</ref> and much of its population was undoubtedly absorbed in successor hordes.<ref>{{harvnb|Noonan|1999|p=503}}.</ref> [[Al-Muqaddasi]], writing ca.985, mentions Khazar beyond the Caspian sea as a district of 'woe and squalor', with honey, many sheep and Jews.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|pp=147–8}}.</ref> [[Kedrenos]] mentions a joint Rus'-Byzantine attack on Khazaria in 1016, which defeated its ruler [[Georgius Tzul]]. The name suggests Christian affiliations. The account concludes by saying, that after Tzul's defeat, the Khazar ruler of "upper Media", Senaccherib, had to sue for peace and submission.<ref name="Kohen 2007 109">{{harvnb|Kohen|2007|p=109}}.</ref> In 1024 [[Mstislav of Chernigov]] (one of Vladimir's sons) marched against his brother Yaroslav with an army that included "Khazars and Kassogians" in a repulsed attempt to restore a kind of 'Khazarian'-type dominion over Kiev.<ref name="Petrukhin 2007 262"/>[[Ibn al-Athir]]'s mention of a 'raid of Faḍlūn the Kurd against the Khazars' in 1030 CE, in which 10,000 of his men were vanquished by the latter, has been taken as a reference to such a Khazar remnant, but [[Vasily Bartold|Barthold]] identified this Faḍlūn as [[al-Fadhl ibn Muhammad|Faḍl ibn Muḥammad]] and the 'Khazars' as either [[Georgian people|Georgians]] or [[Abkhaz people|Abkhazians]].<ref>{{harvnb|Shapira|2007a|p=305}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Dunlop|1954|p=253}}.</ref> A Kievian prince named [[Oleg of Chernigov|Oleg, grandson of Jaroslav]] was reportedly kidnapped by "Khazars" in 1079 and shipped off to [[Constantinople]], although most scholars believe that this is a reference to the [[Cumans]]-[[Kipchaks]] or other steppe peoples then dominant in the Pontic region. Upon his conquest of [[Tmutarakan]] in the 1080s Oleg Sviatoslavich, son of a prince of Chernigov, gave himself the title "[[Archon]] of Khazaria".<ref name="Petrukhin 2007 262"/> In 1083 Oleg is said to have exacted revenge on the Khazars after his brother Roman was killed by their allies, the [[Cuman people|Polovtsi]]/Cumans. After one more conflict with these Polovtsi in 1106, the Khazars fade from history.<ref name="Kohen 2007 109"/>

By the end of the 12th century, [[Petachiah of Ratisbon]] reported travelling through what he called "Khazaria", and had little to remark on other than describing its ''minim'' (sectaries) living amidst desolation in perpetual mourning.<ref>{{harvnb|Sand|2010|p=227}}.</ref> The reference seems to be to Karaites.<ref>{{harvnb|Dubnov|1980|p=792}}.</ref> The Franciscan missionary [[William of Rubruck]] likewise found only impoverished pastures in the lower Volga area where Ital once lay.<ref name="Noonan 2007 214"/> [[Giovanni da Pian del Carpine]], the papal legate to the court of the [[Mongol]] Khan [[Güyük Khan|Guyuk]] at that time, mentioned an otherwise unattested Jewish tribe, the [[Brutakhi]], perhaps in the Volga region. Though connections are made to the Khazars, the link is based merely on a common attribution of Judaism.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|p=45, and n.157}}</ref>

[[File:Khazarfall1.png|thumb|The [[Pontic steppe]]s, c. 1015 (areas in blue possibly still under Khazar control).]]

The 10th century [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian]] [[Denkard|Dênkart]] registered the collapse of Khazar power in attributing its eclipse to the enfeebling effects of 'false' religion.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=130}}:'thus it is clear that the false doctrine of Yišô in Rome (Hrôm) and that of Môsê among the Khazars and that of Mânî in Turkistan took away their might and the valor that they once possessed and made them feeble and decadent among their rivals'.</ref> The decline was contemporary to that suffered by the [[Transoxiana]] [[Samanids|Sāmānid]] empire to the east, both events paving the way for the rise of the [[Great Seljuq Empire]], whose founding traditions mention Khazar connections.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=159}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Peacock|2010|pp=27–35, 27–28,35}} for details.Some sources claim that the father of [[Seljuk]], the eponymous progenitor of the [[Seljuk Turks]], namely Toqaq Temür Yalığ, began his career as an Oghuz soldier in Khazar service in the early and mid-10th century, and rose to high rank before he fell out with the Khazar rulers and departed for [[Khwarazm]]. Seljuk's sons, significantly, all bear names from the [[Tanakh|Jewish scriptures]]: Mîkâ'il, Isrâ'îl, Mûsâ, Yûnus. Peacock argues that early traditions attesting a Seljuk origin within the Khazar empire when it was powerful, were later rewritten, after Khazaria fell from power in the 11th century, to blank out the connection.</ref> Whatever successor entity survived, it could not longer function as a bulwark against the pressure east and south of nomad expansions. By 1043, [[Kimek tribe|Kimeks]] and [[Kipchaks|Qipchaqs]], thrusting westwards, pressured the [[Oghuz Turks|Oğuz]], who in turn pushed the [[Pechenegs]] west towards Byzantium's Balkan provinces.<ref>{{harvnb|Peacock|2010|p=35}}.</ref>

Khazaria nonetheless left its mark on the rising states and some of their traditions and institutions. Much earlier, [[Tzitzak]], the Khazar wife of [[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo III]] introduced into the Byzantine court the distinctive kaftan or riding habit of the nomadic Khazars, the tzitzakion (τζιτζάκιον), and this was adopted as a solemn element of imperial dress.<ref>{{harvnb|Erdal|2007 |p=80, n.22}}:{{harvnb|Wexler|1987|p=72}} Tzitzak is often treated as her original [[proper name]], with a Turkic etymology ''čiček'' ('flower') Erdal, however, citing the Byzantine work on court ceremony [[De Ceremoniis]], authored by [[Constantine VII|Constantine Porphyrogennetos]], argues that the word referred only to the dress Irene wore at court, perhaps denoting its colourfulness, and compares it to the Hebrew ''[[Tzitzit|ciciot]]'', the knotted fringes of a ceremonial shawl [[tallit]].</ref> The orderly hierarchical system of succession by 'scales' (''lestvichnaia sistema'':лествичная система) to the [[Kievan Rus'|Grand Principate of Kiev]] was arguably modelled on Khazar institutions, via the example of the [[Rus' Khaganate]].<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2001a|pp=28–29,37}}.</ref>

The proto-Hungarian Pontic tribe, while perhaps threatening Khazaria as early as 839 (Sarkel), developed its institutional models, such as the dual rule of a ceremonial ''kende-kündü'' and a ''gyula'' administering practical and military administration, under Khazar tutelage. A dissident group of Khazars, the [[Kabar|Qabars]], joined the Hungarians in their flight from the Pechenegs as they moved into [[Pannonia]]. Elements within the Hungarian population can be viewed as perpetuating Khazar traditions as a successor state. Byzantine sources refer to Hungary as [[Principality of Hungary|Western Tourkia]] in contrast to Khazaria, Eastern Tourkia. The gyula line produced the kings of medieval Hungary through descent from [[Árpád]], while the Qabars retained their traditions longer, and were known as "black Hungarians" (''fekete magyarság''). Some archaeological evidence from [[Čelarevo]] suggests the Qabars practised Judaism<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|1994b|pp=247–248}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Róna-Tas|1999|p=56}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|pp=33}}.</ref> since warrior graves with Jewish symbols were found there, including [[Menorah (Temple)|menorah]]s, [[shofar]]s, [[etrog]]s, [[lulav]]s, candlesnuffers, ash collectors, inscriptions in Hebrew, and a six-pointed star identical to the Star of David.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=150}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Brook|2010|p=167}}.</ref>

[[File:Davestar.jpg|thumb|left|Seal discovered in excavations at Khazar sites, whose symbolic significance is uncertain.<ref>{{harvnb|Brook|2010|pp=113, 122–3 n.148}}. 'Engravings that resemble the six-pointed Star of David were found on circular Khazar relics and bronze mirrors from Sarkel and Khazarian grave fields in Upper Saltov. However, rather than having been made by Jews, these appear to be shamanistic sun discs.'</ref>]]

The Khazar state was, Oppenheim says, the only Jewish state to rise between [[Second Temple Judaism|the Fall of the Second Temple]] (67–70 CE) and the [[Israeli Declaration of Independence|establishment of Israel]] (1948),<ref>{{harvnb|Oppenheim|1994|p=310}}.</ref> and its example stimulated messianic aspirations for a return to Israel as early as [[Judah Halevi]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schweid|2007|p=286}}.</ref> In the time of the Egyptian vizier [[Al-Afdal Shahanshah]] (d.1121), one Solomon ben Duji, often identified as a Khazarian Jew,<ref>{{harvnb|Brook|2010|pp=191–192, n.72}} says this thesis was developed by Jacob Mann, based on a reading of the word "Khazaria" in the Cairo Geniza fragment. Bernard Lewis, he adds, challenged the assumption by noting that the original text reads ''[[Hakkâri]]'' and refers to the Kurds of the [[Hakkâri Province|Hakkâri mountains]] in south-east Turkey.</ref> attempted to advocate for a messianic effort for the liberation of, and return of all Jews to, Palestine. He wrote to many Jewish communities to enlist support. He eventually moved to [[Kurdistan]] where his son [[David Alroy|Menachem]] some decades later assumed the title of [[Messiah]] and, raising an army for this purpose, took the fortress of [[Amadiya]] north of [[Mosul]]. His project was opposed by the rabbinical authorities and he was poisoned in his sleep. One theory maintains that the [[Star of David]], until then a decorative motif or magical emblem, began to assume its national value in late Jewish tradition from its earlier symbolic use by Menachem.<ref>{{harvnb|Baron|1957|pp=202–204,p.204}}.</ref>

The word Khazar, as an ethnonym, was last used in the 13th century by a people in the North Caucasus believed to practice Judaism.<ref>{{harvnb|Wexler|2002|p=514}}.</ref> The nature of a hypothetical Khazar [[diaspora]], Jewish or otherwise, is disputed. [[Avraham ibn Daud]] mentions encountering rabbinical students descended from Khazars as far away as [[Toledo, Spain]] in the 1160s.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=149}}.</ref> Khazar communities persisted here and there. Many Khazar mercenaries served in the armies of the Islamic Caliphates and other states. Documents from medieval Constantinople attest to a Khazar community mingled with the Jews of the suburb of [[Galata|Pera]].<ref>{{harvnb|Brook|2010|pp=177–178}}</ref> Khazar merchants were active in both Constantinople and Alexandria in the 12th. century.<ref>{{harvnb|Noonan|2007|p=229}}.</ref>

==Religion==

===Tengrism===
{{Main article|Tengrism}}

Direct sources for Khazar religion are not many, but in all likelihood they originally practised a traditional Turkic form of cultic practices known as [[Tengrism]], which focused on the sky [[deity|god]] [[Tengri]]. Something of its nature may be deduced from what we know of the rites and beliefs of contiguous tribes, such as the North Caucasian Huns. Horse sacrifices were made to this supreme deity. Rites involved offerings to fire, water, and the moon, to remarkable creatures, and to "gods of the road" (cf. Old Türk ''yol tengri'', perhaps a god of fortune). Sun amulets were widespread as cultic ornaments. A tree cult was also maintained. Whatever was struck by lightning, man or object, was considered a sacrifice to the high god of heaven. The afterlife, to judge from excavations of aristocratic tumuli, was much a continuation of life on earth, warriors being interred with their weapons, horses, and sometimes with human sacrifices: the funeral of one ''tudrun'' in 711-12 saw 300 soldiers killed to accompany him to the otherworld. [[Ancestor worship]] was observed. The key religious figure appears to have been a [[shamanism|shamanising]] ''qam'',<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007|pp=131–133}}</ref> and it was these (''qozmím'') that were, according to the Khazar Hebrew conversion stories, driven out.

Many sources suggest, and a notable number of scholars have argued, that the charismatic Āshǐnà clan played a germinal role in the early Khazar state, though Zuckerman dismisses the widespread notion of their pivotal role as a 'phantom'. The Āshǐnà were closely associated with the [[Tengrism|Tengri cult]], whose practices involved rites performed to assure a tribe of heaven's protective providence.<ref>{{harvnb|Whittow |1996|p=220}}</ref> The qağan was deemed to rule by virtue of ''qut'', "the heavenly mandate/good fortune to rule."<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=133}}. {{harvnb|Whittow|1996|p=220}} notes that this native institution, given the constant, lengthy, military and acculturating pressures on the tribes from China to the East, was influenced also by the [[Sinocentrism|sinocentric]] doctrine of the [[Mandate of Heaven|Mandate of Heaven (Tiānmìng:(天命)]], which signaled legitimacy of rule.</ref>

===Christianity===
Khazaria long served as a [[buffer state]] between the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine empire]] and both the nomads of the northern steppes and the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad empire]], after serving as Byzantium's proxy against the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian Persian empire]]. The alliance was dropped around 900. Byzantium began to encourage the [[Alans]] to attack Khazaria and weaken its hold on Crimea and the Caucasus, while seeking to obtain an entente with the rising Rus' power to the north, which it aspired to convert to Christianity.<ref name="Noonan 1999 499,502–3"/>

On Khazaria's southern flank, both Islam and Byzantine Christianity were proselytising great powers. Byzantine success in the north was sporadic, though Armenian and Albanian missions from [[Derbend]] built churches extensively in maritime [[Daghestan]], then a Khazar district,<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|pp=124, 135}}.</ref> [[Buddhism]] also had exercised an attraction on leaders of both the Eastern (552–742) and Western Qağanates (552–659), the latter being the progenitor of the Khazar state.<ref name="harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=125">{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=125}}.</ref> In 682, according to the Armenian chronicle of [[Movses Kaghankatvatsi|Movsês Dasxuranc'i]], the king of [[Caucasian Albania]], [[Varaz Trdat]], dispatched a bishop Israyêl to convert Caucasian "Huns" who were subject to the Khazars, and managed to bring Alp Ilut'uêr, a son-in-law of the Khazar qağan, and his army, to abandon their shamanising cults and join the Christian fold.<ref>{{harvnb|de Weese|1994 |pp=292–293}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=124}}:Alp Ilut'uêr is a Turkish subordinate title.</ref>

The Arab Georgian martyr [[Abo of Tiflis|St Abo]], who converted to Christianity within the Khazar kingdom around 779-80, describes local Khazars as irreligious.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|pp=135–6}}:{{harvnb|Shapira|2007b|pp=347–348}} thinks the evidence from such Georgian sources renders suspect a conversion prior to this date.</ref> Some reports register a Christian majority at [[Samandar (city)|Samandar]],<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b |pp=135–136}}, reporting on [[al-Muqaddasi]].</ref> or Muslim majorities<ref>{{harvnb|de Weese|1994 |p=73}} during Islamic invasions, some groups of Khazars who suffered defeat, including a qağan, were converted to Islam.</ref>

===Judaism===
[[File:Khazar coin Spillings Hoard.jpg|thumb|The Khazar so-called "Moses coin" found in the [[Spillings Hoard]] and dated c. 800. It is inscribed with "Moses is the messenger of God" instead of the usual Muslim text "Muhammad is the messenger of God".]]
The conversion of Khazars to Judaism is reported by external sources and in the [[Khazar Correspondence]], though doubts persist.<ref>{{harvnb|Stampfer|2013|pp=1–72}}.</ref> Hebrew documents, whose authenticity was long doubted and challenged,<ref>{{harvnb|Kohen|2007|p=112}} [[Johannes Buxtorf]] were first published the letters around 1660. Controversy arose over their authenticity; it was even argued that the letters represented: 'no more than Jewish self-consolation and fantasmagory over the lost dreams of statehood' (Kohen ibid).</ref> is  now widely accepted by specialists as either authentic or as reflecting internal Khazar traditions.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunlop|1954|p=130}}:'If anyone thinks that the Khazar correspondence was first composed in 1577 and published in ''Qol Mebasser'', the onus of proof is certainly on him. He must show that a number of ancient manuscripts, which appear to contain references to the correspondence, have all been interpolated since the end of the sixteenth century. This will prove a very difficult or rather an impossible task.'</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|pp=145–6}}:'The issue of the authenticity of the Correspondence has a long and mottled history which need not detain us here. Dunlop and most recently Golb have demonstrated that Hasdai's letter, Joseph's response (dating perhaps from the 950s) and the "Cambridge Document" are, indeed, authentic.'</ref><ref>{{harvnb|deWeese|2010|pp=171,305}}:'(a court debate on conversion)appears in accounts of Khazar Judaism in two Hebrew accounts, as well as in one eleventh-century Arabic account. These widespread and evidently independent attestations would seem to support the historicity of some kind of court debate, but, more important, clearly suggest the currency of tales recounting the conversion and originating among the Khazar Jewish community itself' … 'the "authenticity" of the Khazar correspondence is hardly relevant'.(p.171): 'The wider issue of the "authenticity" of the "Khazar correspondence", and of the significance of this tale's parallels with the equally controversial Cambridge document /Schechter text, has been discussed extensively in the literature on Khazar Judaism; much of the debate loses significance if, as Pritsak has recently suggested, the accounts are approached as "epic" narratives rather than evaluated from the standpoint of their "historicity".</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Szpiech|2012|p=102}}.</ref> Archaeological evidence for conversion, on the other hand, remains elusive,<ref>{{harvnb|Toch|2012|pp=162–3}}:'Of the intensive archaeological study of Khazar sites (over a thousand burial sites have been investigated!), not one has yet yielded finds that yet fit in some way the material legacy of antique European or Middle Eastern Jewry.' {{harvnb|Shingiray|2012|pp=209–211}} noting the widespread lack of artifacts of wealth in Khazar burials, arguing that nomads used few materials to express their personal attributes:'The SMC assemblages-even if they wee not entirely missing from the Khazar imperial center-presented an outstanding instance of archaeological material minimalism in this region.'</ref> and may reflect either the incompleteness of excavations, or that the stratum of actual adherents was thin.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|pp=150–1, and note137}}'But, one must ask, are we to expect much religious paraphernalia in a recently converted steppe society? Do the Oğuz, in the century or so after their Islamization, present much physical evidence in the steppe for their new faith? These conclusions must be considered preliminary.'</ref> Conversion of steppe or peripheral tribes to a [[Universalism|universal religion]] is a fairly well attested phenomenon,<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|pp=128–9}} compares [[Ulfilas]]'s conversions of the [[Goths]] to [[Arianism]];Al-Masudi records a conversion of the [[Alans]] to Christianity during the Abbasid period;the Volga Bulğars adopted Islam after their leader converted in the 10th century; the Uyğur Qağan accepted Manichaeism in 762</ref> and the Khazar conversion to Judaism, though unusual, was not unique.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=123}} taking exception to [[J. B. Bury]]'s claim (1912) that it was 'unique in history'.{{harvnb|Koestler|1977|p=52}});{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=153}} cites from Jewish history the conversion of [[Edom|Idumeans]] under [[John Hyrcanus]]; of the [[Iturea]]ns under [[Aristobulus I]]; of the kingdom of [[Adiabene]] under [[Helena of Adiabene|Queen Helena]]; the [[Himyarite Kingdom|Ḥimyârî kings in Yemen]], and [[Berber people|Berber]] assimilations to North African Jewry.</ref> Other scholars have concluded that the conversion of the Khazar elite to Judaism never happened. A few scholars, [[Moshe Gil]], recently seconded by [[Shaul Stampfer]], dismiss the conversion as a myth.<ref>{{harvnb|Stampfer|2013|pp=1–72}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Gil|2011|pp=429–441}}</ref>

Jews from both the Islamic world and Byzantium are known to have migrated to Khazaria during periods of persecution under [[Heraclius]], [[Justinian II]], [[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo III]], and [[Romanos I Lekapenos|Romanus Lakapēnos]].<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|pp=141–145,161}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Noonan|2001|pp=77–78}}.</ref> For [[Simon Schama]], Jewish communities from the Balkans and the Bosphoran Crimea, especially from [[Panticapaeum]], began migrating to the more hospitable climate of pagan Khazaria in the wake of these persecutions, and were joined there by Jewish refugees from Armenia. The [[Cairo Geniza|Geniza fragments]], he argues, make it clear the Judaising reforms sent roots down into the whole of the population.<ref>{{harvnb|Schama|2013|p=266}}.</ref> The pattern is one of an elite conversion preceding large-scale adoption of the new religion by the general population, which often resisted the imposition.<ref name="harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=125"/> One important condition for mass conversion was a settled urban state, where churches, synagogues or mosques provided a focus for religion, as opposed to the free nomadic lifestyle of life on the open steppes.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=126}}:'The [[Sufism|Șûfî]] wandering out into the steppe was far more effective in bringing Islam to the Turkic nomads than the learned [[ulama|'ulamâ]] of the cities.'</ref> A tradition of the Iranian [[Mountain Jews|Judeo-Tats]] claims that their ancestors were responsible for the Khazar conversion.<ref>{{harvnb|Wexler|1987|p=61}}.</ref> A legend traceable to the 16th-century Italian rabbi [[Judah Moscato]] attributed it to [[Yitzhak ha-Sangari]].<ref name="Szyszman 1980 71,73">{{harvnb|Szyszman|1980|pp=71,73)}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Dunlop|1954|pp=122–124}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Brook|2009|pp=95,117 n.51,52}}.</ref>

Both the date of the conversion, and the extent of its influence beyond the elite,<ref>{{harvnb|Cahen|1997|pp=137–139}} argues the conversion was restricted to the elite.{{harvnb|Wexler|2002|p=514}}:'the Khazars (most of whom did not convert to Judaism, but remained animists, or adopted Islam and Christianity), …'</ref> often minimised in some scholarship,<ref name="ReferenceA">{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=127}}:'In much of the literature on conversions of Inner Asian peoples, attempts are made, "to minimize the impact" … This has certainly been true of some of the scholarship regarding the Khazars.'</ref> are a matter of dispute,<ref>{{harvnb|Olsson|2013|p=496}}:'scholars who have contributed to the subject of the Khazars' conversion, have based their arguments on a limited corpus of textual, and more recently, numismatic evidence … Taken together these sources offer a cacophony of distortions, contradictions, vested interests, and anomalies in some areas, and nothing but silence in others.'</ref> but at some point between 740 and 920 CE, the Khazar [[royal family|royalty]] and [[nobility]] [[Conversion to Judaism|appear to have converted]] to [[Judaism]], in part, it is argued, perhaps to deflect competing pressures from Arabs and Byzantines to accept either Islam or Orthodoxy.<ref>{{harvnb|Noonan|1999|p=502}}:'Judaism was apparently chosen because it was a religion of the book without being the faith of a neighbouring state which had designs on Khazar lands.'</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Salo|1957|p=198}}:'Their conversion to Judaism was the equivalent of a declaration of neutrality between the two rival powers.'</ref> [[Christian of Stavelot]] in his [[Expositio in Matthaeum Evangelistam]] (ca. 860–870s) refers to ''Gazari'', presumably Khazars, as living in the lands of [[Gog and Magog]], who were circumcised and ''omnem Judaismum observat''—observing all the laws of Judaism.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=139}}:''We are not aware of any nation under the sky that would not have Christians among them. For even in Gog and Magog, the Hunnic people who call themselves Gazari, those whom Alexander confined, there was a tribe more brave than the others. This tribe had already been circumcised and they profess all dogmata of Judaism (''omnem Judaismum observat'').'</ref> New numismatic evidence of coins dated 837/8 bearing the inscriptions ''arḍ al-ḫazar'' (Land of the Khazars), or ''Mûsâ rasûl Allâh'' (Moses is the messenger of God, in imitation of the Islamic coin phrase: ''Muḥammad rasûl Allâh'') suggest to many the conversion took place in that decade.<ref>{{harvnb|Olsson|2013|p=497}}. The idea of a forced general conversion imposed on the Qağanal dynasty in the 830s was advanced by Omeljian Pritsak, and is now supported by Roman Kovalev and Peter Golden.</ref> Olsson argues that the 837/8 evidence marks only the beginning of a long and difficult official [[Judaization]] that concluded some decades later.<ref>{{harvnb|Olsson|2013|p=507}}. He identifies this with the onset of Magyar invasions of the Pontic steppe in the 830s, the construction of Sarkel, and the Schechter letter's reference to Bulan, converted to his Jewish wife Serakh's faith, wresting power, in a period of famine, elements which undermined the qağan, and allowed the creation of the royal diarchy.{{harvnb|Olsson|2013|pp=507,513ff.}}.</ref> A 9th-century Jewish traveller, [[Eldad ha-Dani]], is said to have informed Spanish Jews in 883 that there was a Jewish polity in the East, and that fragments of the legendary [[Ten Lost Tribes]], part of the line of [[Tribe of Simeon|Simeon]] and half-line of [[Tribe of Manasseh|Manasseh]], dwelt in “the land of the Khazars”, receiving tribute from some 25 to 28 kingdoms.<ref>{{harvnb|Brook|2009|p=6|}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Dunlop|1954|pp=140–142}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Zhivkov|2015|p=42}}</ref> Another view holds that by the 10th century, while the royal clan officially claimed Judaism, a non-normative variety of Islamisation took place among the majority of Khazars.<ref>{{harvnb|Shingiray|2012|pp=212–214}}.</ref>

By the 10th century, the [[Khazar Correspondence|letter of King Joseph]] asserts that, after the royal conversion, "Israel returned (''yashuvu yisra'el'') with the people of Qazaria (to Judaism) in complete repentance (''bi-teshuvah shelemah'').<ref>{{harvnb|Szpiech|2012|pp=92–117,104}}.</ref> [[Persian people|Persian historian]] [[Ibn al-Faqih|Ibn al-Faqîh]] wrote that 'all the Khazars are Jews, but they have been Judaized recently'. [[Ibn Fadlan|Ibn Fadlân]], based on his Caliphal mission (921–922) to the Volga Bulğars, also reported that 'the core element of the state, the Khazars, were Judaized',<ref name="ReferenceB">{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|pp=143,159}}:''wa al-ḥazarwa malikuhum kulluhum yahûd''('The Khazars and their king are all Jews')</ref> something underwritten by the [[Karaite Judaism|Qaraite]] scholar [[Jacob Qirqisani|Ya'kub Qirqisânî]] around 937.<ref name="ReferenceC">{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=143}}, citing his comment on [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 9:27:'some other commentators are of the opinion that this verse alludes to the Khazars who accepted Judaism', with Golden's comment:'Certainly, by this time, the association of Khazaria and Judaism in the Jewish world was an established fact'.</ref> The conversion appears to have occurred against a background of frictions arising from both an intensification of Byzantine missionary activity from the Crimea to the Caucasus, and Arab attempts to wrest control over the latter in the 8th century CE,<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|pp=137–138}},</ref> and a revolt, put down, by the [[Kabar|Khavar]]s around the mid-9th century is often invoked as in part influenced by their refusal to accept Judaism.<ref>{{harvnb|Spinei|2009|p=50}}.</ref> Modern scholars generally<ref>{{harvnb|Shapira|2007b|p=349, and n.178}} and {{harvnb|Zuckerman|1995|p=250}} disagree, consider there was only one stage and place it later. Shapira takes stage 1 as a Jewish-Khazar reinterpretation of the Tengri-cult in terms of a monotheism similar to Judaism's; Zuckerman thinks Judaisation took place, just once, after 861.</ref> see the conversion as a slow process through three stages, which accords with Richard Eaton's model of syncretic ''inclusion'', gradual ''identification'' and, finally, ''displacement'' of the older tradition.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|pp=127–128,151–153}}.{{harvnb|Dunlop|1954|p=170}} Dunlop thought the Ist stage occurred with the king's conversion c. 740; the second with the installation of Rabbinial Judaism c. 800.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|DeWeese|1994|pp=300–308}}.</ref>

Some time between 954 and 961, [[Hasdai ibn Shaprut|Ḥasdai ibn Shaprūṭ]] wrote a letter of inquiry addressed to the ruler of Khazaria, and received a reply from [[Joseph (Khazar)|Joseph of Khazaria]]. The exchanges of this [[Khazar Correspondence]], together with the [[Schechter Letter]] discovered in the [[Cairo Geniza]] and the famous [[plato]]nizing dialogue<ref name="Melamed 2003 24–26">{{harvnb|Melamed|2003|pp=24–26}}.</ref> by [[Judah Halevi]], ''Sefer ha-Kuzari'' ('The Khazar'), which plausibly drew on such sources,<ref>{{harvnb|Schweid|2007|p=279}}. Arabic original: ''Kitâb al-ḥuyya wa'l-dalîl fi naṣr al-din al-dhalîl'' (Book of the Argument and Demonstration in Aid of the Despised Faith).</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Korobkin|1998}}</ref> provide us with the only direct evidence of the indigenous traditions<ref>{{harvnb|Brook|2010|pp=30; 41, n.75}} mentions also a letter in Hebrew, the [[Mandgelis Document|Mejelis document]], dated (985–986), which refers to "our lord David, the Khazar prince" who lived in [[Taman Peninsula|Taman]]. As Brook noted, both [[D. M. Dunlop]] and Dan Shapira dismiss it as a forgery.</ref> concerning the conversion. [[Bulan (Khazar)|King Bulan]]<ref>{{harvnb|Shapira|2009|p=1102}}. The name is commonly etymologized as meaning 'elk' in Türkic. Shapira identifies him with the Sabriel of the Schechter letter, and suggests, since Sabriel is unattested as a Jewish name, though the root is 'hope, believe, find out, understand' that it is a calque on the Oğuz Türkic ''bulan''(one who finds out) or ''bilen'' (one who knows)</ref> is said to have driven out the sorcerers,<ref>{{harvnb|Szpiech|2012|pp=93–117,102}}, citing the letter of [[Khazar Correspondence|Letter of King Joseph]]:''et ha-qosmim ve-et'ovdei 'avodah zarah''('expelled the wizards and idolators').</ref> and to have received angelic visitations exhorting him to find the true religion, upon which, accompanied by his vizier, he travelled to desert mountains of Warsān on a seashore, where he came across a cave rising from the plain of Tiyul in which Jews used to celebrate the Sabbath. Here he was circumcised.<ref>{{harvnb|DeWeese|1994|p=302}}. This detail is in Halevi's ''Sefer Ha-Kusari''. Golden has identified Warsān as Transcaucasian Varaˇc'an ({{harvnb|Olsson|2013|p=512}}) Ḥasdai ibn Shaprūṭ's letter also mentions a legend that the Chaldaeans, under persecution, hid the Scriptures in a cave, and taught their sons to pray there, which they did until their descendants forgot the custom. Much later, a tradition has it, a man of Israel entered the cave and, retrieving the books, taught the descendants how to learn the Law.({{harvnb|De Weese|1994|pp=304–5}}).</ref> Bulan is then said to have convened a royal debate between exponents of the three [[Abrahamic religions]]. He decided to convert when he was convinced of Judaism's superiority. Many scholars situate this c. 740 CE, a date supported by Halevi's own account.<ref>{{harvnb|Korobkin|1998|p=352, n.8}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Dunlop|1954|p=170}}.</ref> The details are both Judaic <ref>{{harvnb|De Weese|1994|p=303}};{{harvnb|Golb|Pritsak|1882|p=111}}:The Schechter document has officers during the religious debate speak of a cave in a certain plain (''TYZWL'') where books are to be retrieved. They turn out to be the books of the [[Torah]].</ref> and Türkic: a Türkic ethnogonic myth speaks of an ancestral cave in which the Āshǐnà were conceived from the mating of their human ancestor and a wolf ancestress.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p=157}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|DeWeese|1994|pp=276,300–304}}. The original ancestral cavern of the Türks, according to Chinese sources, was called ''Ötüken'' and the tribal leaders would travel there annually to conduct sacrificial rites.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Dunlop|1954|pp=117–118}}.</ref> These accounts suggest that there was a rationalising syncretism of native pagan traditions with Jewish law, by melding through the motif of the cave, a site of ancestral ritual and repository of forgotten sacred texts, Türkic myths of origin and Jewish notions of redemption of Israel's fallen people.<ref>{{harvnb|DeWeese|1994|pp=304–305}}.</ref> It is generally agreed they adopted Rabbinical rather than [[Karaite Judaism|Qaraite Judaism]].<ref name="Róna-Tas 1999 232">{{harvnb|Róna-Tas|1999|p=232}}.</ref>

[[Ibn Fadlan]] reports that the settlement of disputes in Khazaria was adjudicated by judges hailing each from his community, be it Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or Pagan.<ref>{{harvnb|Maroney|2010|p=72}}</ref> Some evidence suggests that the Khazar king saw himself as a defender of Jews even beyond the kingdom's frontiers, retaliating against Muslim or Christian interests in Khazaria in the wake of Islamic and Byzantine persecutions of Jews abroad.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|p=34}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Kohen|2007|pp=107–108}}, refers to Khazar killings of Christians or the uncircumcized in retaliation for persecutions of Jews in Byzantium, and Khazar reprisals against Muslims for persecutions of Jews in [[Caucasian Albania]], perhaps under Emir Nasr.</ref> Ibn Fadlan recounts specifically an incident in which the king of Khazaria destroyed the minaret of a mosque in Atil as revenge for the destruction of a synagogue in Dâr al-Bâbûnaj, and allegedly said he would have done worse were it not for a fear that the Muslims might retaliate in turn against Jews.<ref name="Róna-Tas 1999 232"/><ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007b|p= 161}}.</ref> Ḥasdai ibn Shaprūṭ sought information on Khazaria in the hope he might discover 'a place on this earth where harassed Israel can rule itself' and wrote that, were it to prove true that Khazaria had such a king, he would not hesitate to forsake his high office and his family in order to emigrate there.<ref>{{harvnb|Koestler|1977|p=63}};{{harvnb|Leviant|2008|pp=159–162,162}}:'If indeed I could learn that this was the case, then, despising all my glory, abadndoning my high estate, leaving my family, I would go over mountains and hills, through seas and lands, till I should arrive at the place where my Lord the King resides, that I might see not only his glory and magnificence, and that of his servants and ministers, but also the tranquillity of the Israelites. On beholding this my eyes would brighten, my reins would exult, my lips would pour forth praises to God, who has not withdrawn his favour from his afflicted ones.'</ref>

[[Abraham Harkavy]] <ref>[[Abraham Harkavy]],''Ha-Maggid'' (1877) p.357.</ref><ref>Jewish Encyclopedia, 1906.</ref> noted in 1877 that an [[Arabic language|Arabic]] commentary on [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah 48:14]],<ref>https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2048:12-15&version=KJV,NIV,NRSV</ref> ascribed to [[Saadia Gaon]] or to the Karaite scholar [[Benjamin Nahawandi|Benjamin Nahâwandî]], interpreted "The Lord hath loved him" as a reference  "to the Khazars, who will go and destroy [[Babylon|Babel]]" (i.e., [[Babylon]]ia), a name used to designate the country of the Arabs. This has been taken as an indication of hopes by Jews that the Khazars might succeed in destroying the [[Caliphate]].<ref name="Szyszman 1980 71,73"/>

===Islam===
In 965, as the Qağanate was struggling against the victorious campaign of the Rus' prince Sviatoslav, the Islamic historian Ibn al-Athîr mentions that Khazaria, attacked by [[Oghuz Turks|the Oğuz]], sought help from [[Khwarezm]], but their appeal was rejected because they were regarded as 'infidels' (''al-kuffâr'':pagans). Save for the king, the Khazarians are said to have converted to Islam in order to secure an alliance, and the Turks were, with Khwarezm's military assistance repelled. It was this that, according to Ibn al-Athîr, led the Jewish king of Khazar to convert to Islam.<ref name="Petrukhin 2007 263">{{harvnb|Petrukhin|2007|p=263}}.</ref>

==Claims of Khazar ancestry==
Khazar origins for, or suggestions Khazars were absorbed by many peoples, have been made regarding the [[Subbotniks|Slavic Judaising Subbotniks]], the Muslim [[Kumyks]], [[Kazakhs]], [[Avars (Caucasus)|Avars]], the [[Don Cossacks|Cossacks of the Don]] region, the Turkic-speaking [[Krymchaks]] and their Crimean neighbours the [[Crimean Karaites|Karaites]] to the [[Csangos|Moldavian Csángós]], the [[Mountain Jews]] and others.<ref name="Kizilov 2009 335"/><ref name="Patai 2987 73"/><ref name="Wexler 1987 70"/> [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]-speaking [[Crimean Karaites]] (known in the [[Crimean Tatar language]] as ''Qaraylar''), some of whom migrated in 19th century from [[Crimea]] to Poland and Lithuania have claimed Khazar origins. Specialists in Khazar history question the connection.<ref name="Golden 2007a 9">{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|p=9}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Róna-Tas|1999|p=232}}:Rabbinic Judaism rather than Qaraism was the form adopted. Small [[Karaite Judaism|Karaim]] communities may have existed, but the linguistic and historical evidence suggests that the [[Crimean Karaites|Turkic-speaking Karaim Jews]] in Poland and Lithuania, one branch also existed in Crimea, descend from the Khazars. 'At most, it is conceivable that the smaller Karaite community which lived in Kharazia gained the Kipchak type Turkic language, that they speak today, through an exchange of language.' Khazars probably converted to [[Rabbinic Judaism]], whereas in [[Karaism]] only the [[Torah]] is accepted, the [[Talmud]] being ignored.</ref> Scholarship is likewise sceptical of claims that the [[Crimean Tatar language|Tatar-speaking Krymchak Jews]] of the Crimea descend from Khazars.<ref>{{harvnb|Brook|2010|pp=227–228}}.</ref>

===Ashkenazi-Khazar theories===
{{Main article|Khazar hypothesis of Ashkenazi ancestry}}
Several scholars have suggested that the Khazars did not disappear after the dissolution of their Empire, but migrated West to eventually form part of the core of the later Ashkenazi Jewish population of Europe. This hypothesis is greeted with scepticism or caution by most scholars.<ref>{{harvnb|Wexler|2002|p=536}}."Most scholars are sceptical about the hypothesis". Wexler, who proposes a variation on the idea, argues that a combination of three reasons accounts for scholarly aversion to the concept: a desire not to get mixed up in controversy, ideological insecurities, and the incompetence of much earlier work in favour of that hypothesis.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007a|p=56}}:"Methodologically, Wexler has opened up some new areas, taking elements of folk culture into account. I think that his conclusions have gone well beyond the evidence. Nonetheless, these are themes that should be pursued further."</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Mariner|1999|pp=95–96}}:"Arthur Koestler's book ''The Thirteenth Tribe'' which claimed that the converted Khazars were the progenitors of today's Ashkenazi Jews, has been largely rejected by serious scholars. However, the disputed theory that the stereotypical European Jew is descended from an Eastern European nation of Jewish converts, has been sufficiently unwelcome as to render study of the Khazars an area of research largely off limits for Jewish as well as Russian archaeologists, the Russians being unhappy with the prospect that their empire was initially ruled by Jewish kings as the Ashkenazim were that they might not have a genetic connection with the freed slaves who met with God at Sinai."</ref> The German Orientalist [[Karl Friedrich Neumann|Karl Neumann]], in the context of an earlier controversy about possible connections between Khazars and the ancestors of the Slavic peoples, suggested as early as 1847 emigrant Khazars might have influenced the core population of Eastern European Jews.<ref>{{harvnb|Kizilov|2014|p=389}} citing [[Karl Friedrich Neumann|Karl Neumann]], [https://archive.org/details/dievlkerdessdli00neumgoog ''Die Völker des südlichen Russlands in ihrer geschichtlichen Entwicklung,''] (1847) 2nd ed.Teubner 1855 pp.125–6.</ref>

The theory was then taken up by [[Abraham Harkavy|Abraham Eliyahu Harkavi]] in 1869, when he also claimed a possible link between the Khazars and Ashkenazi,<ref>{{harvnb|Rossman|2002|p=98}}: Abraham Harkavy, ''O yazykye evreyev, zhivshikh v drevneye vremya na Rusi i o slavianskikh slovakh, vstrechaiuschikhsia u evreiskikh pisatelei,'' St. Petersburg.</ref> but the theory that Khazar converts formed a major proportion of Ashkenazi was first proposed to a Western public in a lecture by [[Ernest Renan]] in 1883.<ref>{{harvnb|Barkun|1997|p=137}}: Ernest Renan, "Judaism as a Race and as Religion." Delivered on 27 January 1883.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Rossman|2002|p=98}}.</ref> Occasional suggestions emerged that there was a small Khazar component in East European Jews in works by [[Joseph Jacobs]] (1886), [[Henri Jean Baptiste Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu|Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu]], a critic of anti-Semitism, (1893)<ref>{{harvnb|Singerman|2004|pp=3–4}}, ''Israël chez les nations'' (1893)</ref> Maksymilian Ernest Gumplowicz,<ref>{{harvnb|Polonsky |Basista|Link-Lenczowski|1993|p=120}}. In the book ''Początki religii żydowskiej w Polsce,'' Warsaw: E. Wende i S-ka, 1903.</ref> and by the Russian-Jewish anthropologist Samuel Weissenberg.<ref>{{harvnb|Goldstein|2006|p=131}}. Goldstein writes: "The theory that Eastern European Jews descended from the Khazars was originally proposed by Samuel Weissenberg in an attempt to show that Jews were deeply rooted on Russian soil and that the cradle of Jewish civilization was the Caucasus". Weissenberg's book ''Die Südrussischen Juden'', was published in 1895.</ref> In 1909 Hugo von Kutschera developed the notion into a book-length study,<ref>{{harvnb|Koestler|1976|pp=134,150}}. ''Die Chasaren; historische Studie,'' A. Holzhauen,Vienna 1909.2nd ed., 1910.</ref> arguing Khazars formed the foundational core of the modern Ashkenazi.<ref>{{harvnb|Koestler|1976|pp=134,150}}.</ref> [[Maurice Fishberg]] introduced the notion to American audiences in 1911.<ref>{{harvnb|Goldstein|2006|p=131}}. Maurice Fishberg, ''The Jews: A Study of Race and Environment.''</ref> The idea was also taken up by the Polish-Jewish economic historian and [[General Zionists|General Zionist]] Yitzhak Schipper in 1918.<ref>{{harvnb|Litman|1984|pp=85–110,109}} Schipper's first monograph on this was published in the ''Almanach Žydowski'' (Vienna) in 1918. While in the [[Warsaw ghetto]] before falling victim to the Holocaust at [[Majdanek]], Schipper (1884–1943) was working on the Khazar hypothesis.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Brook|2010|p=210}}.</ref> Scholarly anthropologists, such as [[Roland Burrage Dixon|Roland B. Dixon]] (1923), and writers like [[H. G. Wells]] (1921) used it to argue that "The main part of Jewry never was in Judea",<ref>{{harvnb|Wells|2004|p=2}}:"There were Arab tribes who were Jews in the time of Muhammad, and a Turkic people who were mainly Jews in South Russia in the ninth century. Judaism is indeed the reconstructed political ideal of many shattered peoples-mainly semitic. As a result of these coalescences and assimilations, almost everywhere in the towns throughout the Roman Empire, and far beyond it in the east, Jewish communities traded and flourished, and were kept in touch through the Bible, and through a religious and educational organization. The main part of Jewry never was in Judea and had never come out of Judea."</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Singerman|2004|p=4}}</ref> a thesis that was to have a political echo in later opinion.<ref>{{harvnb|Morris|2003|p=22}}: [[John Bagot Glubb|Pasha Glubb]] held that Russian Jews "have considerably less Middle Eastern blood, consisting largely of pagan Slav proselytes or of Khazar Turks." For Glubb, they were not "descendants of the Judeans ...The Arabs of Palestine are probably more closely related to the Judeans (genetically) than are modern Russian or German Jews" ..."Of course, an anti-Zionist (as well as an anti-Semitic) point is being made here: The Palestinians have a greater political right to Palestine than the Jews do, as they, not the modern-day Jews, are the true descendants of the land's Jewish inhabitants/owners".</ref><ref>Roland Burrage Dixon ''The Racial History of Man,'' 1923; [[H. G. Wells]], [[The Outline of History]] (1921)</ref> In 1932, [[Samuel Krauss]] ventured the theory that the biblical Ashkenaz referred to northern [[Asia Minor]], and identified it with the Khazars, a position immediately disputed by Jacob Mann.<ref>{{harvnb|Malkiel|2008|p=263,n.1}}.</ref> Ten years later, in 1942, [[Abraham Polak|Abraham N. Polak]] (sometimes referred to as ''Poliak''), later professor for the history of the Middle Ages at [[Tel Aviv University]], published a Hebrew monograph in which he concluded that the East European Jews came from Khazaria.<ref>First written as an article in 1941 – "The Khazars' Conversion to Judaism", then as a monograph (1943), it was twice revised in 1944, and 1951 as ''Kazariyah: Toldot mamlacha yehudit'' be'Eropa (Khazaria: History of a Jewish Kingdom in Europe) Mosad Bialik, Tel Aviv, 1951.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Golden |2007a|p=29}}. "Poliak sought the origins of Eastern European Jewry in Khazaria".</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Sand |2010|p=234}}.</ref> [[D.M. Dunlop]], writing in 1954, thought very little evidence backed what he regarded as a mere assumption, and argued that the Ashkenazi-Khazar descent theory went far beyond what "our imperfect records" permit.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunlop|1954|pp=261,263}}.</ref>   [[Léon Poliakov]], while assuming the Jews of Western Europe resulted from a "panmixia" in the Ist millennium, asserted in 1955 that it was widely assumed that Europe's Eastern Jews descended from a mixture of Khazarian and German Jews.<ref>{{harvnb|Poliakov|2005|p=285}}:"As for the Jews of Eastern Europe (Poles, Russians, etc.,) it has always been assumed that they descended from an amalgamation of Jews of Khazar stock from southern Russia and German Jews (the latter having imposed their superior culture)."</ref> Poliak's work found some support in [[Salo Wittmayer Baron]] and [[Ben-Zion Dinur]],<ref>{{harvnb|Sand|2010|pp=241–2}}. Sand cites [[Salo Wittmayer Baron]],{{harvnb|Baron|1957|pp=196–206, p.206}}:"before and after the Mongol upheaval the Khazars sent many offshoots into the unsubdued Slavonic lands, helping ultimately to build up the great Jewish center of Eastern Europe"; and [[Ben-Zion Dinur]], ''Yisrael ba-gola'' 5 vols., 3rd ed.(1961–1966)Tel-Aviv: Jerusalem:Dvir;Bialik Institute, 1961. (OCLC:492532282) vol.1 p.2,5:"The Russian conquests did not destroy the Khazar kingdom entirely, but they broke it up and diminished it And this kingdom, which had absorbed Jewish immigration and refugees from many exiles, must itself have become a diaspora mother, the mother of one of the greatest of the diasporas (''Em-galuyot, em akhat hagaluyot hagdolot'')-of Israel in Russia, Lithuania and Poland."</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Golden |2007a|p=55}}:'Salo Baron, who incorrectly viewed them as Finno-Ugrians, believed that the Khazars "sent many offshoots into the unsubdued Slavonic lands, helping ultimately to build up the great Jewish centers of eastern Europe"</ref> but was dismissed by Bernard Weinryb as a fiction (1962).<ref>{{harvnb|Golden |2007a|p=55}}:"dismissed&nbsp;... rather airily".</ref> [[Bernard Lewis]] is of the opinion that the word in [[Cairo Geniza]] interpreted as Khazaria is actually [[Hakkari]] and therefore it relates to the [[Kurds]] of the Hakkari mountains in southeast [[Turkey]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Jews of Khazaria|last=Brook|first=Kevin Alan|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2006|isbn=9781442203020|location=Lanham, Maryland|pages=192|quote=|via=}}</ref>

The Khazar-Ashkenazi hypothesis came to the attention of a much wider public with the publication of [[Arthur Koestler]]'s [[The Thirteenth Tribe]] in 1976.<ref name="Sand 2010 240">{{harvnb|Sand|2010|p=240.}}</ref> which was both positively reviewed and dismissed as a fantasy, and a somewhat dangerous one. Israel's ambassador to Britain branded it "an anti-Semitic action financed by the Palestinians", while [[Bernard Lewis]] claimed that the idea was not supported by any evidence whatsoever, and had been abandoned by all serious scholars.<ref name="Sand 2010 240"/><ref>{{harvnb|Lewis|1987|p=48}}:"Some limit this denial to European Jews and make use of the theory that the Jews of Europe are not of Israelite descent at all but are the offspring of a tribe of Central Asian Turks converted to Judaism, called the Khazars. This theory, first put forward by an Austrian anthropologist in the early years of this century, is supported by no evidence whatsoever. It has long since been abandoned by all serious scholars in the field, including those in Arab countries, where Khazar theory is little used except in occasional political polemics." Assertions of this kind has been challenged by Paul Wexler{{harvnb|Wexler|2002|pp=538}} who also notes that the arguments on this issue are riven by contrasting ideological investments:"Most writers who have supported the Ashkenazi-Khazar hypothesis have not argued their claims in a convincing manner ... The opponents of the Khazar-Ashkenazi nexus are no less guilty of empty polemics and unconvincing arguments."(p.537)).</ref> [[Raphael Patai]], however, registered some support for the idea that Khazar remnants had played a role in the growth of Eastern European Jewish communities,<ref>{{harvnb|Patai|Patai|1989|p=71}}: "it is assumed by all historians that those Jewish Khazars who survived the last fateful decades sought and found refuge in the bosom of Jewish communities in the Christian countries to the west, and especially in Russia and Poland, on the one hand, and in the Muslim countries to the east and the south, on the other. Some historians and anthropologists go so far as to consider the modern Jews of East Europe, and more particularly of Poland, the descendants of the medieval Khazars."</ref> and several amateur researchers, such as Boris Altschüler (1994)<ref name="Golden 2007a 9"/> and Kevin Alan Brook,<ref>{{harvnb|Brook|2010}}</ref> kept the thesis in the public eye. The theory has been occasionally manipulated to deny Jewish nationhood.<ref name="Sand 2010 240"/><ref>{{harvnb|Toch|2012|p=155,n.4}}.</ref> Recently, a variety of approaches, from linguistics ([[Paul Wexler (linguist)|Paul Wexler]])<ref>{{harvnb|Wexler|2007|pp=387–398}}.</ref> to historiography ([[Shlomo Sand]])<ref>{{harvnb|Sand|2010|pp=190–249}}.</ref> and [[population genetics]] (Eran Elhaik, a geneticist from the [[University of Sheffield]])<ref>{{harvnb|Elhaik|2012|pp=61–74}}.</ref> have emerged to keep the theory alive.<ref>{{harvnb|Spolsky|2014|174–177}}.</ref> In broad academic perspective, both the idea that the Khazars converted ''en masse'' to Judaism, and the suggestion they emigrated to form the core population of Ashkenazi Jewry, remain highly polemical issues.<ref>{{harvnb|Golden|2007 |pp=9–10}}.</ref>

One thesis, held that the Khazar Jewish population went into a northern diaspora and had a significant impact on the rise of [[Ashkenazi Jews]]. Connected to this thesis is the theory, expounded by Paul Wexler, that the grammar of [[Yiddish]] contains a Khazar substrate.<ref>{{harvnb|Wexler|2002|pp=513–541}}.</ref>

==== Use in anti-Semitic polemics ====
According to [[Michael Barkun]],  the Khazar hypothesis never played any major role in anti-Semitism,<ref>{{harvnb|Barkun|1997|pp=136–7}}</ref> though he writes that histories of the latter rather oddly overlook the influence it has exercised on American antisemites  since the [[Immigration Act of 1924|restrictions on immigration in the 1920s]].<ref>{{harvnb|Barkun|1997|pp=136–7}}:'The Khazar theory never figured as a major component of anti-Semitism. The connection receives only scant attention in [[Léon Poliakov]]'s monumental history of the subject. It did however come to exercise a particular attraction for advocates of immigration restriction in America.'</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Barkun|2012|p=165}}:'Although the Khazar theory gets surprisingly little attention in scholarly histories of anti-Semitism, it has been an influential theme among American anti-Semites since the immigration restrictionists of the 1920s,'.</ref> Maurice Fishberg and Roland B Dixon's works were later exploited in racist and religious polemical literature in both Britain, in [[British Israelism]], and the United States.<ref>{{harvnb|Goldstein|2006|p=131}}.</ref> Particularly after the publication of [[Burton J. Hendrick]]'s ''The Jews in America'' (1923)<ref>{{harvnb|Singerman|2004|pp=4–5}}.</ref> it began to enjoy a vogue among advocates of immigration restriction in the 1920s; racial theorists<ref>{{harvnb|Goodrick-Clarke |2003|p=237}}.</ref> like [[Lothrop Stoddard]]; anti-Semitic conspiracy-theorists like the [[Ku Klux Klan]]'s [[Hiram Wesley Evans]]; anti-communist polemicists like John O. Beaty<ref>.{{harvnb|Boller |1992|pp=2,6–7}}. {{harvnb|Barkun |1997|pp=141–2}}. Beaty was an anti-Semitic, [[McCarthyism|McCarthyite]] professor of Old English at [[Southern Methodist University|SMU]], author of 'The Iron Curtain over America, (Dallas 1952). According to him, 'the Khazar Jews . .were responsible for all of America's – and the world's ills, beginning with World War 1. The book 'had little impact' until the former Wall Street broker and oil tycoon J. Russell Maguire promoted it.</ref> and Wilmot Robertson, whose views influenced [[David Duke]].<ref>{{harvnb|Barkun|1997|pp=140–141}}. Cf. Wilmot Robertson ''Dispossessed Majority''(1972)</ref> According to [[Yehoshafat Harkabi]] (1968) and others,<ref>{{harvnb|Wexler|2002|p=514}} has a more detailed bibliography.</ref> it played a role in Arab [[Anti-Zionism|anti-Zionist]] polemics, and took on an anti-semitic edge. [[Bernard Lewis]], noting in 1987 that Arab scholars had dropped it, remarked that it only occasionally emerged in Arab political discourse.<ref>{{harvnb|Harkabi|1987|p=424}}:"Arab anti-Semitism might have been expected to be free from the idea of racial odium, since Jews and Arabs are both regarded by race theory as Semites, but the odium is directed, not against the Semitic race, but against the Jews as a historical group. The main idea is that the Jews, racially, are a mongrel community, most of them being not Semites, but of Khazar and European origin." This essay was translated from Harkabi Hebrew text 'Arab Antisemitism' in Shmuel Ettinger, ''Continuity and Discontinuity in Antisemitism,'' (Hebrew) 1968 (p.50).</ref> It has also played some role in Soviet anti-Semitic [[chauvinism]]<ref>{{harvnb|Shnirelman|2007|pp=353–372}}:'in the very late 1980s Russian nationalists were fixated on the "Khazar episode." For them the Khazar issue seemed to be a cruial one. They treated it as the first historically documented case of the imposition of a foreign yoke on the Slavs, .. In this context the term "Khazars" became popular as a euphemism for the so-called "Jewish occupation regime." (p.354)</ref> and Slavic Eurasian historiography, particularly in the works of scholars like [[Lev Gumilev]].<ref>{{harvnb|Rossman|2007|pp=121–188}}.</ref> it came to be exploited by the [[Christian Identity|White supremacist Christian movement]] <ref>{{harvnb|Barkun |1997|pp=142–144}}.</ref> and even by terrorist esoteric cults like [[Aum Shinrikyo|Aum Shinrikyō]].<ref>{{harvnb|Goodman|Miyazawi |2000|pp=263–264}}.</ref>

====Genetic studies====
{{See also|Ashkenazi Jews#Genetic origins|Genetic studies on Jews|Khazar theory of Ashkenazi ancestry#Genetics}}

The hypothesis of Khazarian ancestry in Ashkenazi has also been a subject of discussion in the new field of [[population genetics]], wherein claims have been made concerning evidence both for and against it. Eran Elhaik argued in 2012 for a significant Khazar component in the paternal line based on the study of Y-DNA of Ashkenazi Jews, using Caucasian populations, Georgians, Armenians and [[Azerbaijani Jews]] as proxies.<ref>{{harvnb|Elhaik|2012|pp=61–74}}: "Strong evidence for the Khazarian hypothesis is the clustering of European Jews with the populations that reside on opposite ends of ancient Khazaria: Armenians, Georgians, and Azerbaijani Jews".</ref> The evidence from historians he used has been criticised by [[Shaul Stampfer]]<ref>{{harvnb|Stampfer|2016}}.</ref> and the technical response to such a position is dismissive, arguing that, if traces of descent from Khazars exist in the Ashkenazi gene pool, the contribution would be quite minor,<ref>{{harvnb|Ostrer|2012|pp=24–7,93–95,124–125}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Nebel|Filon|Brinkmann|2001|pp=1095–1112}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Behar|Skorecky|Hammer|2003|pp=769–779}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Nebel|Filon|Faerman|2005|pp=388–391}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Atzmon|Ostrer|2010|pp=850–859}}</ref> or insignificant.<ref>{{harvnb|Costa|Pereira|Richards|2013|pp=1–10}}.</ref>

According to [[Nadia Abu El-Haj]], the issues of origins are generally complicated by the difficulties of writing history via genome studies and the biases of emotional investments in different narratives, depending on whether the emphasis lies on direct descent or on conversion within Jewish history. The lack of Khazar DNA samples that might allow verification also presents difficulties.<ref>{{harvnb|El-Haj|2012|pp=1–2,28–9,120–123, 133}}:'if the genome does not prove Sand wrong, neither can it prove him right. It is the wrong kind of evidence and the wrong style of reasoning for the task at hand.'(p.28):'They (researchers) will never be able to prove descent from Khazars: there are no "verification" samples.'(p.133).</ref>

===Crimean Karaite claims===
{{main article|Crimean Karaites}}

In 1839, [[Abraham Firkovich]] was appointed by the Russian government as a researcher into the origins of the Karaites and he began collecting documents.<ref name ="Goldstein">{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=F9pu1RJKbdkC&pg=PA9&dq=Abraham+Firkovich+1839&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKhMS9kp7OAhVGWh4KHS93BQsQ6AEINTAE#v=onepage&q=Abraham%20Firkovich%201839&f=false|title = Karaite Exegesis in Medieval Jerusalem|author= Miriam Goldstein|publisher = Mohr Siebeck|page = 9|year = 2011}}</ref> In 1846, one of his acquaintances the Russian orientalist Vasilii Vasil'evich Grigor'ev (1816–1881) theorised that the Crimean Karaites were of Khazar stock. Firkovich vehemently rejected the idea.<ref>{{harvnb|Shapira|2006|p=166}}.</ref> The allegation was quickly taken up outsiders though unfamiliar to the Karaites themselves at the time.

Firkovich petitioned the Russian government to exempt the Karaites from anti-Jewish laws. On the grounds that Karaites had immigrated to Europe before the crucifixion of Jesus and thus could not be held responsible for his death. Which he succeeded in doing. He travelled widely and amassed a large collection of Judaic artefacts. He visited Egypt and Palestine, as well as the Caucasus and Crimea.<ref name ="Weinryb">{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=K2DgBdSCQnsC&pg=PA21&dq=Abraham+Firkovich+khazars&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjtgcKp7J3OAhVFHB4KHfIoCVMQ6AEINzAF#v=onepage&q=Abraham%20Firkovich%20khazars&f=false|title = The Jews of Poland: A Social and Economic History of the Jewish Community in Poland from 1100 to 1800 |author= Bernard Dov Weinryb |publisher = Jewish Publication Society|pages = 21–22|year = 1973}}</ref>
His collection created a great deal of controversy between historians on which parts are authentic. Today Abraham Firkovich is widely regarded as a forger who falsified older documents and changed the dates on tombstones.<ref name ="Weinryb"/> Firkovich not only claimed that the Karaites had converted the Khazars, he also expanded the borders and importance of the kingdom. He would leave behind a trail of forged documents.<ref name ="Weinryb"/>

Today many Karaims deny Israelite origins and consider themselves to be descendants of the Khazars.<ref>Blady 113–130.</ref> Specialists in Khazar history question the connection.<ref name="Golden 2007a 9"/><ref>{{harvnb|Róna-Tas|1999|p=232}}:Rabbinic Judaism rather than Qaraism was the form adopted. Small [[Karaite Judaism|Karaim]] communities may have existed, but the linguistic and historical evidence suggests that the [[Crimean Karaites|Turkic-speaking Karaites]] in Poland and Lithuania, one branch also existed in Crimea, descend from the Khazars. 'At most, it is conceivable that the smaller Karaite community which lived in Kharazia gained the Kipchak type Turkic language, that they speak today, through an exchange of language.' Khazars probably converted to [[Rabbinic Judaism]], whereas in [[Karaism]] only the [[Torah]] is accepted, the [[Talmud]] being ignored.</ref>

==In literature==
{{Main article|Khazars in fiction}}

The ''[[Kuzari]]'' is an influential work written by the medieval [[Spain|Spanish]] [[Jew]]ish philosopher and poet Rabbi [[Yehuda Halevi]] (c. 1075–1141). Divided into five essays (''ma'amarim''), it takes the form of a fictional dialogue between the pagan king of the [[Khazar]]s and a [[Jew]] who was invited to instruct him in the tenets of the [[Judaism|Jewish religion]]. The intent of the work, although based on Ḥasdai ibn Shaprūṭ's correspondence with the Khazar king, was not historical, but rather to defend Judaism as a revealed religion, written in the context, firstly of Karaite challenges to the Spanish rabbinical intelligentsia, and then against temptations to adapt [[Aristotelianism]] and Islamic philosophy to the Jewish faith.<ref>{{harvnb|Lobel|2000|pp=2–4}}.</ref> Originally written in [[Arabic language|Arabic]], it was translated into Hebrew by [[Judah ibn Tibbon]].<ref name="Melamed 2003 24–26"/> [[Benjamin Disraeli]]'s early novel Alroy (1833) draws on Menachem ben Solomon's story.<ref>{{harvnb|Baron|1957|p=204}}.</ref> The question of mass religious conversion and the indeterminability of the truth of stories about identity and conversion are central themes of [[Milorad Pavić (writer)|Milorad Pavić]]'s best-selling mystery story ''[[Dictionary of the Khazars]]''.<ref>{{harvnb|Wachtel|1998|pp=210–215}}.</ref> [[H.N. Turteltaub]]'s ''Justinian'', [[Marek Halter]]'s ''Book of Abraham'' and ''Wind of the Khazars'', and [[Michael Chabon]]'s ''[[Gentlemen of the Road]]'' allude to or feature elements of Khazar history or create fictional Khazar characters.<ref>{{harvnb|Cokal|2007}}.</ref>

==Cities associated with the Khazars==
[[Atil]], [[Khazaran]], [[Samandar (city)|Samandar]]; in the [[Caucasus (geographic region)|Caucasus]], [[Balanjar]], [[Kazarki]], [[Sambalut]], and [[Samiran]]; in [[Crimea]] and the [[Taman Peninsula|Taman]] region, [[Kerch]], [[Feodosiya|Theodosia]], [[Yevpatoria]] ([[Eupatoria|Güzliev]]), [[Samkarsh]] (also called [[Tmutarakan]], Tamatarkha), and [[Sudak]]. In the [[Don River, Russia|Don]] valley [[Sarkel]]. A number of Khazar settlements have been discovered in the [[Mayaki-Saltovo]] region. Some scholars suppose that the Khazar settlement of Sambat on the [[Dnieper]] refers to the later [[Kiev]].<ref>{{harvnb|Róna-Tas|1999|p=152}}:'Kiev in Khazar is Sambat, the same as the Hungarian word ''szombat'','Saturday', which is likely to have been derived from the Khazar Jews living in Kyiv.'</ref>

== See also ==
*[[List of Turkic dynasties and countries]]
*[[Gog and Magog]]
*[[History of Kiev]]
*[[Kuzari]]
*[[List of Khazar rulers]]
*[[Rus' Khaganate]]
*[[Rus'–Byzantine War (860)]]
*[[Rus'–Byzantine War (907)]]
*[[Rus'–Byzantine War (941)]]
*[[Rus'–Byzantine War (968-971)]]
*[[Turkic peoples]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

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 |last1 = Bowman |first1 = Stephen B.
 |last2 = Ankori |first2 = Zvi
 |year = 2001
 |publisher = Bloch Publishing Company
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UnRGPQAACAAJ&dq
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-8197-0703-1
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = The Jews of Khazaria
 |edition = 2nd
 |last = Brook |first = Kevin Alan
 |year = 2010 |orig-year = First published 1999
 |publisher = [[Rowman & Littlefield]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hEuIveNl9kcC&printsec=frontcover&dq
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-7425-4982-1
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = The Byzantine Empire
 |edition = 2
 |last = Browning |first = Robert
 |author-link = Robert Browning (Byzantinist)
 |year = 1992 |orig-year = First published 1980
 |publisher = [[The Catholic University of America|Catholic University of America Press]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qAlcKDsubMgC&pg=PA53
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-8132-0754-4
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = L'Islam, des origines au début de l'Empire ottoman
 |edition = 2
 |last = Cahen |first = Claude
 |author-link = Claude Cahen
 |year = 2011 |orig-year = First published 1997
 |publisher = [[Hachette (publisher)|Hachette]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OnRrzgAACAAJ&dq=claude+cahen%2Bl'islam+des+origines&hl=en
 |access-date = 28 July 2013
 |isbn = 978-2-8185-0155-9
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = Constantinople in the Early Eighth Century: The Parastaseis Syntomoi Chronikai : Introduction, Translation, and Commentary
 |last1 = Cameron |first1 = Averil
 |last2 = Herrin |first2 = Judith
 |author-link = Averil Cameron
 |year = 1984
 |volume = 10
 |publisher = [[Brill Publishers|Brill Archive]]
 |series = Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5ZM3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA212 
 |access-date = 14 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-90-04-07010-3
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite journal|title = Byzantines and Jews: some recent work on early Byzantium
 |last = Cameron |first = Averil
 |author-link = Averil Cameron
 |journal = [[Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies|BMGS]]
 |year = 1996 |volume = 20 |pages = 249–274
 |url = http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/maney/byz/1996/00000020/00000001/art00013
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |doi = 10.1179/byz.1996.20.1.249
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = The Voice of the Poor in the Middle Ages: An Anthology of Documents from the Cairo Geniza
 |last = Cohen |first = Mark R.
 |author-link = Douglas Morton Dunlop
 |year = 2005
 |publisher = [[Princeton University Press]]
 |series = Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World Series
 |url = https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Voice_Of_The_Poor_In_The_Middle_Ages.html
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-691-09271-3
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite news|title = Jews With Swords
 |last = Cokal |first = Susann
 |author-link = Susann Cokal
 |newspaper = [[The New York Times]]
 |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/books/review/Cokal-t.html
 |date = 28 October 2007 |access-date = 5 August 2013
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}}
*{{Cite journal|title = A substantial prehistoric European ancestry amongst Ashkenazi maternal lineages
 |last1 = Costa |first1 = M. D.
 |last2 = Pereira |first2 = Joana B.
 |last3 = Richards |first3 = Martin B.
 |journal = [[Nature Communications]]
 |volume = 4 |pages = 1–10
 |url = http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2013/131008/ncomms3543/pdf/ncomms3543.pdf
 |date = 8 October 2013 |access-date = 10 October 2013
 |doi = 10.1038/ncomms3543 |pmc = 3806353 |pmid = 24104924
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book
 |chapter = The Keegstra Affair
 |last = Davies |first = Alan
 |title = Antisemitism in Canada: History and Interpretation
 |editor-last = Davies |editor-first = Alan
 |year = 1992
 |publisher = Wilfrid Laurier University Press
 |pages = 227–248
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3kLgn7dIEwIC&pg=PA242
 |isbn = 978-0-889-20216-0
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = Islamization and Native Religion in the Golden Horde:Baba Tükles and Conversion to Islam in Historical and Epic Tradition
 |last = DeWeese |first = Devin A.
 |year = 1994
 |publisher = [[Penn State Press]]
 |series = Hermeneutics, Studies in the History of Religions
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=AOhIAQAAIAAJ
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-271-04445-3
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = History of the Jews: From the Roman Empire to the Early Medieval Period
 |last = Dubnov |first = Simon
 |author-link = Simon Dubnov
 |year = 1980
 |volume = 2
 |publisher = [[Associated University Presses]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MZ2MwNzB69IC&pg=PA792
 |access-date = 5 August 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-8453-6659-2
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = History of the Jewish Khazars
 |last = Dunlop |first = Douglas Morton
 |author-link = Douglas Morton Dunlop
 |year = 1954
 |publisher = [[Schocken Books]] |location = [[New York City|New York]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_YdAAAAAIAAJ&q=Dunlop%2BHistory+of+the+Jewish+Khazars&dq
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
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*{{Cite journal|title = The Missing Link of Jewish European Ancestry: Contrasting the Rhineland and the Khazarian Hypotheses.
 |last = Elhaik |first = Eran
 |journal = Genome Biology and Human Evolution
 |volume = 5 |issue = 1 |pages = 61–74
 |url = http://gbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/12/14/gbe.evs119.full.pdf+html
 |date = December 2012 |access-date = 16 December 2010
 |doi = 10.1093/gbe/evs119 |pmc = 3595026 |pmid = 23241444
 |ref = harv
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*{{Cite book
 |chapter = The Khazar Language
 |last = Erdal |first = Marcel
 |title = The World of the Khazars:New Perspectives
 |editor1-last = Golden |editor1-first = Peter B. |editor1-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |editor2-last = Ben-Shammai, |editor2-first = Haggai
 |editor3-last = Róna-Tas |editor3-first = András |editor3-link = András Róna-Tas
 |year = 2007
 |volume = 17 |pages = 75–108
 |publisher = BRILL
 |series = Handbuch der Orientalistik: Handbook of Uralic studies
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZzXjdyK-CEC&pg=PA75
 |isbn = 978-90-04-16042-2
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World: Attitudes and Interactions from Alexander to Justinian
 |last = Feldman |first = Louis H.
 |year = 1996
 |publisher = [[Princeton University Press]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=uuJasOSDTW0C&pg=PA413
 |access-date = 26 July 2013
 |isbn = 978-1-4008-2080-1
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = Byzantium: Church, Society, and Civilization Seen through Contemporary Eyes
 |edition = 2
 |last = Geanakoplos |first = Deno John
 |year = 1984
 |publisher = [[University of Chicago|University Of Chicago Press]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bAfFzCT36ekC&dq=Geanakoplos&hl=it&sa
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-226-28461-3
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite journal|title = Did the Khazars Convert to Judaism?
 |last = Gil |first = Moshe
 |author-link = Moshe Gil
 |journal = [[Revue des Études Juives]]
 |volume = 170 |issue = 3–4 |pages = 429–441
 |date = July–December 2011
 |doi = 10.2143/REJ.170.3.2141801
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = Khazarian Hebrew Documents of the Tenth Century
 |last1 = Golb |first1 = Norman
 |last2 = Pritsak |first2 = Omeljan
 |author1-link = Norman Golb
 |author2-link = Omeljan Pritsak
 |year = 1982
 |publisher = [[Cornell University|Cornell University Press]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=h-toAAAAMAAJ
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = Khazar Studies: An Historio-Philological Inquiry into the Origins of the Khazars
 |last = Golden |first = Peter Benjamin
 |author-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |year = 1980
 |volume = 1,2
 |publisher = Akademia Kiado |location = Budapest
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bAfFzCT36ekC&dq=Geanakoplos&hl=it&sa
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-226-28461-3
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples: Ethnogenesis Ans State Formation in the Medieval and Early Modern Eurasia and the Middle East
 |last = Golden |first = Peter Benjamin
 |author-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |year = 1992
 |volume = 9
 |publisher = Harrassowitz |location = Wiesbaden
 |series = Turcologica
 |url = https://books.google.com/books/about/An_Introduction_to_the_History_of_the_Tu.html%3Fid%3D5B6xMQEACAAJ&sa
 |access-date = 14 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-3-447-03274-2
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book
 |chapter = The Peoples of the South Russian steppes
 |last = Golden |first = Peter B.
 |author-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |title = The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia
 |editor-last = Sinor |editor-first = Denis |editor-link = Denis Sinor
 |year = 1994 |orig-year = First published 1990
 |volume = 1 |pages = 256–283
 |publisher = Cambridge University Press
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ST6TRNuWmHsC&pg=PA264&lpg=PA264
 |isbn = 978-0-521-24304-9
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book
 |chapter = The peoples of the Russian forest belt
 |last = Golden |first = Peter B.
 |title = The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia
 |editor-last = Sinor |editor-first = Denis |editor-link = Denis Sinor
 |year = 1994 |orig-year = First published 1990
 |volume = 1 |pages = 230–255
 |publisher = Cambridge University Press
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ST6TRNuWmHsC&pg=PA247
 |isbn = 978-0-521-24304-9
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book
 |chapter = Nomads in the Sedentary World: The Case of Pre-Chinggisid Rus' and Georgia
 |last = Golden |first = Peter B.
 |author-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |title = Nomads in the Sedentary World
 |editor1-last = Khazanov |editor1-first = Anatoly M.
 |editor2-last = Wink |editor2-first = Andre
 |year = 2001a
 |publisher = [[Routledge]]
 |editor-link = Anatoly Khazanov
 |pages = 24–74
 |series = Curzon-IIAS Asian studies series
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=z96HrZh4_N4C&pg=PA24
 |isbn = 978-0-7007-1369-1
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book
 |chapter = Nomad and Sedentary societies in Eurasia
 |last = Golden |first = Peter B.
 |author-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |title = Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History
 |editor-last = Adas |editor-first = Michael
 |year = 2001b
 |volume = 2 |pages = 71–115
 |publisher = Temple University Press
 |series = Critical Perspectives on the Past Series. American Historical Association:
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qcSsoJ0IXawC&pg=PA86
 |access-date = 15 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-1-56639-832-9
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = Nomads and their neighbours in the Russian steppe: Turks, Khazars and Qipchaqs
 |last = Golden |first = Peter B.
 |author-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |year = 2003
 |publisher = [[Ashgate Publishing|Ashgate]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books/about/Nomads_and_their_neighbours_in_the_Russi.htm
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-86078-885-0
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book
 |chapter = The Khazar Sacral Kingship
 |last = Golden |first = Peter B.
 |author-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |title = Pre-modern Russia and its world:Essays in Honour of Thomas S. Noonan
 |editor1-last = Reyerson |editor1-first = Kathryn Von
 |editor2-last = Stavrou |editor2-first = Theofanis George
 |editor3-last = Tracy |editor3-first = James Donald
 |year = 2006
 |publisher = [[Otto Harrassowitz|Otto Harrassowitz Verlag]]
 |pages = 79–102
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LMwmcqwZUGcC&pg=PA79&lpg=PA79
 |isbn = 978-3-447-05425-6
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia = The World of the Khazars: New Perspectives
 |title = Khazar Studies: Achievements and Perspectives
 |last = Golden |first = Peter B.
 |author-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |editor1-last = Golden |editor1-first = Peter B. |editor1-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |editor2-last = Ben-Shammai, |editor2-first = Haggai
 |editor3-last = Róna-Tas |editor3-first = András |editor3-link = András Róna-Tas
 |year = 2007a
 |publisher = BRILL
 |pages = 7–57
 |series = Handbook of Oriental Studies
 |volume = 17
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZzXjdyK-CEC&pg=PR2#v=onepage&p=123
 |access-date = 13 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-90-04-16042-2
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia = The World of the Khazars: New Perspectives
 |title = The Conversion of the Khazars to Judaism
 |last = Golden |first = Peter B.
 |author-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |editor1-last = Golden |editor1-first = Peter B. |editor1-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |editor2-last = Ben-Shammai, |editor2-first = Haggai
 |editor3-last = Róna-Tas |editor3-first = András |editor3-link = András Róna-Tas
 |year = 2007b
 |publisher = BRILL
 |pages = 123–161
 |series = Handbook of Oriental Studies
 |volume = 17
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZzXjdyK-CEC&pg=PR2#v=onepage&p=123
 |access-date = 13 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-90-04-16042-2
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = Turks and Khazars: Origins, Institutions, and Interactions in Pre-Mongol Eurasia
 |last = Golden |first = Peter Benjamin
 |author-link = Peter B. Golden
 |year = 2010
 |volume = 952
 |publisher = [[Ashgate Publishing]]
 |series = Variorum Collected Studies Series
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=AOhIAQAAIAAJ
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-1-4094-0003-5
 |ref = harv
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*{{Cite book|title = Central Asia in World History
 |last = Golden |first = Peter Benjamin
 |author-link = Peter B. Golden
 |year = 2011
 |publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
 |series = New Oxford World History
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 |access-date = 16 October 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-19-979317-4
 |ref = harv
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*{{Cite book|title = The Price of Whiteness: Jews, Race, and American Identity
 |last = Goldstein |first = Eric L.
 |year = 2006
 |publisher = [[Princeton University Press]]
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 |last1 = Goodman |first1 = David G.
 |last2 = Miyazawa |first2 = Masanori
 |year = 2000 |orig-year = First published 1995
 |publisher = [[Lexington Books]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=R_PQLj2D1DQC&pg=PA263
 |access-date = 26 July 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-7391-0167-4
 |ref = harv
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 |last = Goodrick-Clarke |first = Nicholas
 |year = 2003 |orig-year = First published 2001
 |publisher = [[NYU Press]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xaiaM77s6N4C&pg=PA237
 |access-date = 26 July 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-8147-3155-0
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 |last = Gow |first = Andrew Colin
 |year = 1995
 |publisher = [[Brill Publishers]]
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 |isbn = 978-90-04-10255-2
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*{{Cite book|title = The Kuzari. In defense of the Despised Faith
 |last = Halevy |first = Yehuda
 |author-link = Judah Halevi
 |editor-last = Korobkin |editor-first = N. Daniel
 |year = 1998
 |publisher = Jason Aronson
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=QKzXAAAAMAAJ&source=gbs_book_other_versions
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 |chapter = Contemporary Arab Anti-Semitism: its Causes and Roots
 |last = Harkabi |first = Yehoshafat
 |author-link = Yehoshafat Harkabi
 |title = The Persisting Question: Sociological Perspectives and Social Contexts of Modern Antisemitism
 |editor-last = Fein |editor-first = Helen |editor-link = Helen Fein
 |year = 1987 |orig-year = First published 1968
 |publisher = [[Walter de Gruyter]]
 |pages = 412–427
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=uHWG1pDCtNgC&pg=PA424
 |isbn = 978-3-11-010170-6
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*{{Cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia = Dictionary of the Middle Ages
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 |last = Herlihy |first = David
 |author-link = David Herlihy
 |editor-last = Strayer |editor-first = Joseph R. |editor-link = Joseph Strayer
 |year = 1984
 |publisher = Charles Scribner's Sons
 |pages = 136–148
 |volume = 4
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 |edition = 2
 |last = Kaegi |first = Walter Emil
 |author-link = Walter Kaegi
 |year = 2003
 |publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tlNlFZ_7UhoC&pg=PA142
 |access-date = 12 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-521-81459-1
 |ref = harv
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 |last = Kizilov |first = Mikhail
 |year = 2009
 |publisher = BRILL
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hGILHIgEl7cC&pg=PA335
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 |chapter = National Inventions:The Imperial Emancipation of the Karaites from Jewishness
 |last = Kizilov |first = Mikhail
 |title = An Empire of Others: Creating Ethnographic Knowledge in Imperial Russia and the USSR
 |editor1-last = Cvetkovski |editor1-first = Roland
 |editor2-last = Hofmeister |editor2-first = Alexis
 |year = 2014
 |publisher = [[Central European University]] Press
 |pages = 369–393
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=36t_CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA388
 |access-date = 28 May 2016
 |isbn = 978-6-155-22576-5
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}}
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 |author-link = Arthur Koestler
 |year = 1977 |orig-year = First published 1976
 |publisher = [[Pan Books]] |location = [[London]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=IsbslAEACAAJ&dq=The+Thirteenth+Tribe%2BKoestler&hl=it&sa
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-09-125550-3
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = History of the Byzantine Jews: A Microcosmos in the Thousand Year Empire
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 |year = 2007
 |publisher = [[University Press of America]]
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*{{Cite book
 |chapter = Creating Khazar Identity through Coins: the Special Issue Dirhams of 837/838
 |last = Kovalev |first = R.K.
 |title = East Central and Eastern Europe in the Early Middle Ages
 |editor-last = Curta |editor-first = Florin
 |year = 2005
 |location = Ann Arbor
 |pages = 220–251
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*{{Cite book|title = Masterpieces of Hebrew Literature:  Selections from 2000 Years of Jewish Creativity
 |last = Leviant |first = Curt
 |author-link = Curt Leviant
 |year = 2008 |orig-year = First published 1969
 |publisher = [[Jewish Publication Society]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1jT7jD1t8jAC&pg=PA159
 |access-date = 4 August 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-8276-0954-9
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 |author-link = Bernard Lewis
 |year = 1987 |orig-year = First published 1986
 |publisher = [[W. W. Norton & Company]] |location = [[New York City|New York]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TV57PwAACAAJ
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 |isbn = 978-0-393-30420-6
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 |last = Lewis |first = Bernard
 |author-link = Bernard Lewis
 |year = 2013
 |publisher = [[Routledge]]
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 |isbn = 978-1-135-03021-6
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 |last = Litman |first = Jacob
 |year = 1984
 |publisher = [[University Press of America]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books/about/The_economic_role_of_Jews_in_Medieval_Po.html%3Fid%3DIJ9tAAAAMAAJ
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 |last = Lobel |first = Diana
 |year = 2000
 |publisher = SUNY Press
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*{{Cite book|title = The Vikings in History
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 |last = Logan |first = F. Donald
 |year = 1992 |orig-year = First published 1983
 |publisher = [[Routledge]]
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 |isbn = 978-0-415-08396-6
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*{{Cite book|title = The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire
 |last = Luttwak |first = Edward N.
 |author-link = Edward N. Luttwak
 |year = 2009
 |publisher = [[Harvard University Press]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=cUVJKJejPY8C&pg=PA448
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-674-03519-5
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*{{Cite journal|title = The Possible Reasons for the Arab-Khazar Wars
 |last = Mako |first = Gerald
 |journal = Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi
 |year = 2010 |volume = 17 |pages = 45–57
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*{{Cite book|title = Reconstructing Ashkenaz: The Human Face of Franco-German Jewry, 1000–1250
 |last = Malkiel |first = David
 |year = 2008
 |publisher = [[Stanford University Press]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XNJRKSk6gS4C&pg=PA263
 |access-date = 21 August 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-8047-8684-3
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*{{Cite book|title = The Oxford History of Byzantium
 |editor-last = Mango |editor-first = Cyril |editor-link = Cyril Mango
 |year = 2002
 |publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Oxford_History_of_Byzantium.html
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-19-814098-6
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}}
*{{Cite book
 |chapter = Conversion to Judaism: a tale of the good, the bad and the ungrateful
 |last = Mariner |first = Rodney
 |title = Religious Conversion: Contemporary Practices and Controversies
 |editor1-last = Lamb |editor1-first = Christopher
 |editor2-last = Bryant |editor2-first = M. Darroll
 |year = 1999
 |publisher = A&C Black
 |pages = 89–101
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=shdQ-QSZMdIC&pg=PA95
 |isbn = 978-0-826-43713-6
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = The Other Zions: The Lost Histories of Jewish Nations
 |last = Maroney |first = Eric
 |year = 2010
 |publisher = [[Rowman & Littlefield]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=p8_f-npoejEC&pg=PA55
 |isbn = 978-1-4422-0045-6
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = The Philosopher-King in Medieval and Renaissance Jewish Political Thought
 |last = Melammed |first = Avraham
 |editor-last = Goodman |editor-first = Lenn Evan
 |year = 2003
 |publisher = [[SUNY Press]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CarNyTThFqYC&pg=PA24
 |access-date = 29 July 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-7914-8770-9
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = Empires of Islam in Renaissance Historical Thought
 |last = Meserve |first = Margaret
 |year = 2009
 |volume = 158
 |publisher = Harvard University Press
 |series = Harvard Historical Series
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XDmZXIDiZG8C&pg=PA295
 |isbn = 978-0-674-02656-8
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}}
*{{Cite book|title = The Road to Jerusalem: Glubb Pasha, Palestine and the Jews
 |last = Morris |first = Benny
 |author-link = Benny Morris
 |year = 2003 |orig-year = First published 2002
 |publisher = [[I. B. Tauris]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zL_1icJwNP0C&pg=PA22
 |access-date = 1 March 2014
 |isbn = 978-1-86064-989-9
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*{{Cite book|title = A History of Russia: To 1917
 |last = Moss |first = Walter
 |year = 2002 |orig-year = First published 1997
 |volume = 1
 |publisher = Anthem Press
 |series = Anthem Russian and Slavonic studies
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=BXgNSFIEJ2QC&pg=PA16
 |access-date = 30 July 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-85728-752-6
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*{{Cite journal|title = The Y chromosome pool of Jews as part of the genetic landscape of the Middle East
 |last1 = Nebel |first1 = Almut
 |last2 = Filon |first2 = Dvora
 |last3 = Brinkmann |first3 = B
 |journal = [[American Journal of Human Genetics]]
 |year = 2001 |volume = 69 |pages = 1095–1112
 |doi = 10.1086/324070 |pmc = 1274378 |pmid = 11573163
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*{{Cite journal|title = Y chromosome evidence for a founder effect in Ashkenazi Jews
 |last1 = Nebel |first1 = Almut
 |last2 = Filon |first2 = Dvora
 |last3 = Faerman |first3 = Marina
 |journal = [[European Journal of Human Genetics]]
 |volume = 13 |issue = 3 |pages = 388–391
 |url = http://www.nature.com/ejhg/journal/v13/n3/full/5201319a.html
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 |chapter = European Russia c500-c1050
 |last = Noonan |first = Thomas S.
 |author-link = Thomas S. Noonan
 |title = The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 3, C.900-c.1024
 |editor1-last = Reuter |editor1-first = Timothy |editor1-link = Timothy Reuter
 |editor2-last = McKitterick |editor2-first = Rosamond |editor2-link = Rosamond McKitterick
 |year = 1999
 |volume = 3 |pages = 485–534
 |publisher = Cambridge University Press
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=u-SsbHs5zTAC&pg=PA508
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 |isbn = 978-0-521-36447-8
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 |chapter = The Khazar Qaghanate and its impact on the early Rus' state: the Translatio Imperii from Itil to Kiev
 |last = Noonan |first = Thomas S.
 |author-link = Thomas S. Noonan
 |title = Nomads in the Sedentary World
 |editor1-last = Khazanov |editor1-first = Anatoly M.
 |editor2-last = Wink |editor2-first = André
 |year = 2001
 |publisher = [[Routledge]]
 |editor-link = Anatoly Khazanov
 |pages = 76–102
 |series = Curzon-IIAS Asian studies series
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=z96HrZh4_N4C&pg=PA76
 |isbn = 978-0-7007-1369-1
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 |chapter = The Economy of the Khazar Khaganate
 |last = Noonan |first = Thomas S.
 |author-link = Thomas S. Noonan
 |title = The World of the Khazars:New Perspectives
 |editor1-last = Golden |editor1-first = Peter B. |editor1-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |editor2-last = Ben-Shammai, |editor2-first = Haggai
 |editor3-last = Róna-Tas |editor3-first = András |editor3-link = András Róna-Tas
 |year = 2007
 |volume = 17 |pages = 207–244
 |publisher = BRILL
 |series = Handbuch der Orientalistik: Handbook of Uralic studies
 |url = https://books.google.com/books/about/The_World_of_the_Khazars.html%3Fid%3D3ZzXjdyK-CEC
 |isbn = 978-90-04-16042-2
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite journal|title = Coup d'état, Coronation and Conversion: Some Reflections on the Adoption of Judaism by the Khazar Khaganate
 |last = Olsson |first =Joshua T.
 |journal = [[Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society]]
 |year =  2013 |volume = 23|issue = 4 |pages = 495–526
 |url = https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-royal-asiatic-society/article/coup-detat-coronation-and-conversion-some-reflections-on-the-adoption-of-judaism-by-the-khazar-khaganate1/9EF3930E06B56026BD1B5E04BEC2F396
 |access-date = 4 October 2016
 |doi = 10.1017/S1356186313000266
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 |chapter = Jews
 |last = Oppenheim |first = Samuel A
 |title = An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires
 |editor1-last = Olson |editor1-first = James Stuart
 |editor2-last = Pappas |editor2-first = Lee Brigance
 |editor3-last = Pappas |editor3-first = Charles
 |year = 1994
 |publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group
 |pages = 305–328
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CquTz6ps5YgC&pg=PA310
 |access-date = 28 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-313-27497-8
 |ref = harv
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*{{Cite book|title = Legacy: A Genetic History of the Jewish People
 |last = Ostrer |first = Harry
 |author-link = Harry Ostrer
 |year = 2012
 |publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RayZR3V1SFwC&pg=PA26
 |access-date = 12 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-19-997638-6
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*{{Cite book|title = History of the Byzantine State
 |last = Ostrogorski |first = George
 |author-link = George Ostrogorski
 |year = 1969
 |publisher = [[Rutgers University Press]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-TUjAQAAIAAJ
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-8135-0599-2
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*{{Cite book|title = The Myth of the Jewish Race
 |last1 = Patai |first1 = Raphael
 |last2 = Patai |first2 = Jennifer
 |author-link = Raphael Patai
 |year = 1989 |orig-year = First published 1975
 |publisher = [[Wayne State University|Wayne State University Press]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Xt7f6WBEP0EC&pg=PA71
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-8143-1948-2
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*{{Cite book|title = Early Seljūq History: A New Interpretation
 |last = Peacock |first = Andrew C.S.
 |year = 2010
 |publisher = [[Routledge]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xj9haotAapcC&pg=PA27
 |access-date = 26 July 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-415-54853-3
 |ref = harv
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*{{Cite book|trans-chapter = Judaism in Khazaria according to Archaeological Data
 |script-chapter = Иудаизм в Хазарии по данным археологии
 |last1 = Petrukhin |first1 = Vladimir
 |last2 = Flyorov |first2 = Valeriy
 |author-link = Vladimir Petrukhin
 |script-title = История еврейского народа в России. От древности до раннего Нового времени
 |trans-title = History of Jewish People in Russia. From Antiquity to the Early Modern Period
 |editor1-last = Bartal |editor1-first = Israel
 |editor2-last = Kulik |editor2-first = Alexander
 |year = 2010
 |volume = 1 |pages = 149–161
 |language = ru
 |publisher = Bridges of Culture; Gerashim |location = Moscow; Jerusalem
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*{{Cite book
 |chapter = Khazaria and Rus': An Examination of their Historical Relations
 |last = Petrukhin |first = Vladimir
 |author-link = Vladimir Petrukhin
 |title = The World of the Khazars:New Perspectives
 |editor1-last = Golden |editor1-first = Peter B. |editor1-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |editor2-last = Ben-Shammai, |editor2-first = Haggai
 |editor3-last = Róna-Tas |editor3-first = András |editor3-link = András Róna-Tas
 |year = 2007
 |volume = 17 |pages = 245–268
 |publisher = BRILL
 |series = Handbuch der Orientalistik: Handbook of Uralic studies
 |url = https://books.google.com/books/about/The_World_of_the_Khazars.html%3Fid%3D3ZzXjdyK-CEC
 |isbn = 978-90-04-16042-2
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*{{Cite book
 |chapter = Middle Byzantine Court Costume
 |last = Piltz |first = Elisabeth
 |title = Byzantine Court Culture from 829 To 1204
 |editor-last = Maguire |editor-first = Henry |editor-link = Martijn Theodoor Houtsma
 |year = 2004 |orig-year = First published 1997
 |publisher = Dumbarton Oaks
 |pages = 39–52
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qjy2d8ExpTAC&pg=PA42
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-88402-308-1
 |ref = harv
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*{{Cite book|title = The History of Anti-semitism: From the time of Christ to the court Jews
 |last = Poliakov |first = Léon
 |author-link = Léon Poliakov
 |year = 2005 |orig-year = 1955/1975
 |publisher = University of Pennsylvania Press
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9uyoN09ZsHEC&pg=PA285
 |access-date = 20 October 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-8122-1863-3
 |ref = harv
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*{{Cite book|title = The Jews in Old Poland: 1000–1795
 |editor1-last = Polonsky |editor1-first = Antony
 |editor2-last = Basista |editor2-first = Jakub
 |editor3-last = Link-Lenczowski |editor3-first = Andrzej
 |year = 1993
 |publisher = [[I. B. Tauris]]
 |editor-link = Antony Polonsky
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-LltAAAAMAAJ&q=Maksymilian+Gumplowicz+khazars&dq=Maksymilian+Gumplowicz+khazars&hl=en
 |isbn = 978-1-85043-342-2
 |ref = harv
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*{{Cite book|title = Russian Intellectual Antisemitism in the Post-Communist Era
 |last = Rossman |first = Vadim Joseph
 |year = 2002
 |publisher = [[University of Nebraska Press]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pF-I25OC5ugC&pg=PA98
 |access-date = 26 July 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-8032-3948-7
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 |chapter = Anti-Semitism in Eurasian Historiography: The Caser of Lev Gumilev
 |last = Rossman |first = Vadim Joseph
 |title = Russia Between East and West: Scholarly Debates on Eurasianism
 |editor-last = Shlapentokh |editor-first = Dmitry
 |year = 2007
 |volume = 102 |pages = 121–188
 |publisher = BRILL
 |series = International Studies in Sociology and Social Anthropology
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EnsHyxPZfOIC&pg=PA134
 |access-date = 30 July 2013
 |isbn = 978-90-04-15415-5
 |ref = harv
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*{{Cite news|title = 'Jews a Race' Genetic Theory Comes Under Fierce Attack by DNA Expert
 |last = Rubin |first = Rita
 |newspaper = [[The Jewish Daily Forward]]
 |url = http://forward.com/articles/175912/jews-a-race-genetic-theory-comes-under-fierce-atta/?p=all
 |date = 7 May 2013 |access-date = 9 June 2014
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*{{Cite book
 |chapter = The Population in Europe
 |last = Russell |first = Josiah C.
 |title = The Fontana Economic History of Europe: The Middle Ages
 |editor-last = Cipolla |editor-first = Carlo M. |editor-link = Carlo M. Cipolla
 |year = 1972
 |volume = 1 |pages = 25–71
 |publisher = Collins/Fontana
 |url = http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/pop-in-eur.html
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*{{Cite book|title = Hungarians & Europe in the Early Middle Ages: An Introduction to Early Hungarian History
 |last = Róna-Tas |first = András
 |author-link = András Róna-Tas
 |year = 1999
 |publisher = [[Central European University Press]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books/about/Hungarians_and_Europe_in_the_Early_Middl.html?id=I-RTt0Q6AcYC
 |access-date = 13 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-963-9116-48-1
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*{{Cite book|title = The Invention of the Jewish People
 |last = Sand |first = Shlomo
 |author-link = Shlomo Sand
 |year = 2010 |orig-year = First published 2009
 |publisher = [[Verso Books]] |location = [[London]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pgsP0DFkmp0C&printsec=frontcover
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-1-84467-623-1
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*{{Cite book|title = The Story of the Jews: Finding the Words (1000 BCE – 1492)
 |last = Schama |first = Simon
 |author-link = Simon Schama
 |year = 2013
 |publisher = [[Random House]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yLdkwBPMLaQC&pg=PA266
 |access-date = 1 November 2014
 |isbn = 978-1-409-04004-0
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*{{Cite journal|title = Remarks on Avraham Firkovicz and the Hebrew Mejelis "Document"
 |last = Shapira |first = Dan D.Y.
 |journal = Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae
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*{{Cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia = The World of the Khazars: New Perspectives
 |title = Iranian Sources on the Khazars
 |last = Shapira |first = Dan D.Y.
 |editor1-last = Golden |editor1-first = Peter B. |editor1-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |editor2-last = Ben-Shammai, |editor2-first = Haggai
 |editor3-last = Róna-Tas |editor3-first = András |editor3-link = András Róna-Tas
 |year = 2007a
 |publisher = BRILL
 |pages = 291–305
 |series = Handbook of Oriental Studies
 |volume = 17
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZzXjdyK-CEC&pg=PR2#v=onepage&p=291
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 |isbn = 978-90-04-16042-2
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*{{Cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia = The World of the Khazars: New Perspectives
 |title = Armenian and Georgian Sources on the Khazars – A Re-Evaluation
 |last = Shapira |first = Dan D.Y.
 |editor1-last = Golden |editor1-first = Peter B. |editor1-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |editor2-last = Ben-Shammai, |editor2-first = Haggai
 |editor3-last = Róna-Tas |editor3-first = András |editor3-link = András Róna-Tas
 |year = 2007b
 |publisher = BRILL
 |pages = 307–351
 |series = Handbook of Oriental Studies
 |volume = 17
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZzXjdyK-CEC&pg=PR2#v=onepage&p=307
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 |chapter = Jews in Khazaria
 |last = Shapira |first = Dan D. Y.
 |title = Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture,
 |editor-last = Ehrlich |editor-first = Mark Avrum
 |year = 2009
 |volume = 1 |pages = 1097–1104
 |publisher = ABC-CLIO
 |series = Handbuch der Orientalistik: Handbook of Uralic studies
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NoPZu79hqaEC&pg=PA1097
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 |chapter = Closer Encounters with the Byzantine World:The Rus at the Straits of Kerch
 |last = Shepard |first = Jonathan
 |title = Pre-modern Russia and its world:Essays in Honour of Thomas S. Noonan
 |editor1-last = Reyerson |editor1-first = Kathryn Von
 |editor2-last = Stavrou |editor2-first = Theofanis George
 |editor3-last = Tracy |editor3-first = James Donald
 |year = 2006
 |publisher = [[Otto Harrassowitz|Otto Harrassowitz Verlag]]
 |pages = 15–77
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LMwmcqwZUGcC&pg=PA35
 |isbn = 978-3-447-05425-6
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*{{Cite book
 |chapter = Ethos, Materiality and Paradigms of Political Action in Early Medieval Communities of the Northwestern Caspian Region
 |last = Shingiray |first = Irina Lita
 |title = The Archaeology of Power and Politics in Eurasia: Regimes and Revolutions
 |editor1-last = Hartley |editor1-first = Charles W.
 |editor2-last = Yazicioğlu |editor2-first = G. Bike
 |editor3-last = Smith |editor3-first = Adam T.
 |year = 2012
 |publisher = Cambridge University Press
 |pages = 188–216
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UstGrkGNNQcC&pg=PA208
 |access-date = 5 January 2014
 |isbn = 978-1-107-01652-1
 |ref = harv
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*{{Cite journal|title = The Chinese Chroniclers of the Khazars: Notes on Khazaria in Tang Period Texts
 |last = Shirota |first = Shun (城田俊)
 |editor1-last = Woods, |editor1-first = John E.
 |editor2-last = Pfeiffer |editor2-first = Judith
 |editor3-last = Tucker |editor3-first = Ernest
 |journal = Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi
 |publisher = Peter de Ridder Press
 |year = 2005 |volume = 14 |pages = 231–261
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*{{Cite book
 |chapter = The Story of an Euphemism:The Khazars in Russian Nationalist Literature
 |last = Shnirelman |first = Victor A
 |title = The World of the Khazars:New Perspectives
 |editor1-last = Golden |editor1-first = Peter B. |editor1-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |editor2-last = Ben-Shammai, |editor2-first = Haggai
 |editor3-last = Róna-Tas |editor3-first = András |editor3-link = András Róna-Tas
 |year = 2007
 |volume = 17 |pages = 353–372
 |publisher = BRILL
 |series = Handbuch der Orientalistik: Handbook of Uralic studies
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZzXjdyK-CEC&pg=PA360
 |isbn = 978-90-04-16042-2
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*{{Cite news|title = Contemporary Racist and Judeophobic Ideology Discovers the Khazars, or, Who Really Are the Jews?
 |last = Singerman |first = Robert
 |newspaper = Rosaline and Myer Feinstein Lecture Series, 2004
 |year = 2004
 |url = http://www.jewishlibraries.org/main/Portals/0/AJL_Assets/documents/Feinstein/Robert%20Singerman.pdf
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*{{Cite book|title = The Headless State: Aristocratic Orders, Kinship Society, and Misrepresentations of Nomadic Inner Asia
 |last = Sneath |first = David
 |year = 2007
 |publisher = [[Columbia University Press]]
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 |chapter = New remarks on the flow of Byzantine coins in Avaria and Walachia during the second half of the seventh century
 |last = Somogyi |first = Péter
 |title = The "Other" Europe in the Middle Ages: Avars, Bulgars, Khazars and Cumans
 |editor1-last = Curta |editor1-first = Florin
 |editor2-last = Kovalev |editor2-first = Roman
 |year = 2008
 |volume = 2 |pages = 83–149
 |publisher = BRILL
 |series = East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450–1450
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_-G1L-9Zec0C&pg=PA125
 |isbn = 978-90-04-16389-8
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*{{Cite book|title = The Languages of the Jews: A Sociolinguistic History
 |last = Spolsky |first = Bernard
 |year = 2014
 |publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nl72AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA177
 |access-date = 3 April 2015
 |isbn = 978-1-107-05544-5
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*{{Cite journal|title = Did the Khazars Convert to Judaism?
 |last = Stampfer |first = Shaul
 |author-link = Shaul Stampfer
 |journal = Jewish Social Studies: History, Culture, Society
 |volume = 19 |issue = 3 |pages = 1–72.
 |url = http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/jewish_social_studies/v019/19.3.stampfer.pdf
 |date = 2013 |access-date = 16 June 2014
 |doi = 10.2979/jewisocistud.19.3.1
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*{{Cite journal|title = Are We All Khazars Now?
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 |year = 2012
 |publisher = [[University of Pennsylvania Press]]
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 |author-link = :fr:Simon Szyszman
 |year = 1980
 |publisher = Éditions L'Âge d'Homme
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*{{Cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia = The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia
 |title = The Avars
 |last = Szádeczky-Kardoss |first = Samuel
 |editor-last = Sinor |editor-first = Denis |editor-link = Denis Sinor
 |year = 1994
 |orig-year = First published 1990
 |publisher = Cambridge University Press
 |pages = 206–228
 |series = Handbook of Oriental Studies
 |volume = 1
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*{{Cite book|title = The Economic History of European Jews: Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages
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 |publisher = [[Brill Publishers]] |location = [[Leiden]]
 |series = Études sur le Judaïsme Médiéval
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*{{Cite book|title = A Study of History
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 |year = 1962 |orig-year = 1934–1961
 |volume = 1–12
 |publisher = Oxford University Press
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite journal|title = Left‐wing " anti‐Zionism " in Norway
 |last = Vogt |first = Judith
 |journal = [[Patterns of Prejudice]]
 |volume = 9 |issue = 6 |pages = 15–q8
 |date = 1975
 |doi = 10.1080/0031322X.1975.9969275
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = Making a Nation, Breaking a Nation: Literature and Cultural Politics in Yugoslavia
 |last = Wachtel |first = Andrew
 |year = 1998
 |publisher = [[Stanford University Press]]
 |pages = 210–215
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=cnISZNM6X6EC&pg=PA210
 |access-date = 3 August 2013
 |isbn = 978-0-8047-3181-2
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book
 |chapter = The Khazars and the World of Islam
 |last = Wasserstein |first = David
 |title = The World of the Khazars:New Perspectives
 |editor1-last = Golden |editor1-first = Peter B. |editor1-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |editor2-last = Ben-Shammai, |editor2-first = Haggai
 |editor3-last = Róna-Tas |editor3-first = András |editor3-link = András Róna-Tas
 |year = 2007
 |volume = 17 |pages = 373–386
 |publisher = BRILL
 |series = Handbuch der Orientalistik: Handbook of Uralic studies
 |url = https://books.google.com/books/about/The_World_of_the_Khazars.html%3Fid%3D3ZzXjdyK-CEC
 |isbn = 978-90-04-16042-2
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = The Jews of Poland: A Social and Economic History of the Jewish Community in Poland from 1100 to 1800 he non-Jewish origins of the Sephardic Jews
 |last = Weinryb |first = Bernard Dov
 |year = 1973
 |publisher = [[Jewish Publication Society]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=K2DgBdSCQnsC&pg=PA20&lpg=PA20
 |isbn = 978-0-8276-0016-4
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = The Outline of History: The Roman Empire to the Great War
 |last = Wells |first = H. G.
 |author-link = Herbert George Wells
 |year = 1973 |orig-year = First published 1921
 |volume = 2
 |publisher = [[Barnes & Noble]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4g13OnwNmGkC&pg=PA2
 |isbn = 978-0-7607-5867-0
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = Explorations in Judeo-Slavic Linguistics
 |last = Wexler |first = Paul.
 |year = 1987
 |volume = 2
 |publisher = [[Brill Publishers|Brill Archive]]
 |series = Contributions to the sociology of Jewish languages
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FfYUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA72&lpg=PA72
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-90-04-07656-3
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = The non-Jewish origins of the Sephardic Jews
 |last = Wexler |first = Paul
 |year = 1996
 |publisher = [[State University of New York|SUNY]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XZwO2TX8EOcC&pg=PA25
 |isbn = 978-1-4384-2393-7
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = Two-Tiered Relexification in Yiddish:Jews, Sorbs, Khazars and the Kiev-Polessian Dialect
 |last = Wexler |first = Paul.
 |year = 2002
 |volume = 136
 |publisher = [[Walter de Gruyter]]
 |series = Trends in linguistics / Studies and monographs: Studies and monographs
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JL7CY2MW63gC&pg=PA537
 |access-date = 10 February 2013
 |isbn = 978-3-11-017258-4
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book
 |chapter = Yiddish Evidence for the Khazar Component in the Ashkenazic ethnogenesis
 |last = Wexler |first = Paul
 |title = The World of the Khazars:New Perspectives
 |editor1-last = Golden |editor1-first = Peter B. |editor1-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |editor2-last = Ben-Shammai, |editor2-first = Haggai
 |editor3-last = Róna-Tas |editor3-first = András |editor3-link = András Róna-Tas
 |year = 2007
 |volume = 17 |pages = 387–398
 |publisher = BRILL
 |series = Handbuch der Orientalistik: Handbook of Uralic studies
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZzXjdyK-CEC&pg=PA387
 |access-date = 19 October 2013
 |isbn = 978-90-04-16042-2
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = The Making of Byzantium, 600–1025
 |last = Whittow |first = David
 |year = 1996
 |publisher = [[University of California Press]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=22NNIjrpd20C&pg=PA226
 |isbn = 978-0-520-20496-6
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book|title = Khazaria in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries
 |last = Zhivkov |first = Boris
 |year = 2015
 |publisher = [[Brill Publishers|BRILL]]
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7Du2CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA173
 |isbn = 978-9-004-29448-6
 |ref = harv
}}
*{{Cite book
 |chapter = On the date of the Khazars' Conversion to Judaism and the Chronology of the Kings of the Rus' Oleg and Igor
 |last = Zuckerman |first = Constantine
 |title = Revue des Études Byzantines
 |year = 1995
 |volume = 53 |pages = 237–270
 |ref = harv
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*{{Cite book
 |chapter = The Khazars and Byzantium –The First Encounter
 |last = Zuckerman |first = Constantine
 |title = The World of the Khazars:New Perspectives
 |editor1-last = Golden |editor1-first = Peter B. |editor1-link = Peter Benjamin Golden
 |editor2-last = Ben-Shammai, |editor2-first = Haggai
 |editor3-last = Róna-Tas |editor3-first = András |editor3-link = András Róna-Tas
 |year = 2007
 |volume = 17 |pages = 399–431
 |publisher = BRILL
 |series = Handbuch der Orientalistik: Handbook of Uralic studies
 |url = https://books.google.com/books/about/The_World_of_the_Khazars.html%3Fid%3D3ZzXjdyK-CEC
 |isbn = 978-90-04-16042-2
 |ref = harv
}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
*[http://jewishhistorylectures.org/2013/11/11/the-jews-of-khazaria/ Lecture on the Jews of Khazaria] by [[Henry Abramson|Dr. Henry Ambramson]]
* [http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/GOLD/thumbs?class_mark=T-S_12.122 The Kievan Letter scan] in the [[Cambridge University Library]] collection.
*[http://www.khazaria.com Khazaria.com]
*[http://www.dinur.org/resources/resourceCategoryDisplay.aspx?categoryid=457&rsid=478 Resources – Medieval Jewish History – The Khazars]{{dead link|date=January 2017}} The Jewish History Resource Center, Project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
*{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026233731/http://geocities.com/ayatoles/ |date=26 October 2009 |title=Khazar Historic Maps }}
*[http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/khz/index.htm The Kitab al-Khazari of Judah Hallevi, full English translation at sacred-texts.com]
*[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1023383.html Ancient lost capital of the Khazar kingdom found]

{{Turkic topics}}
{{Khazaria}}
{{Turkic peoples}}
{{Crimea topics}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Khazars| ]]<!--please leave the empty space as standard-->
[[Category:Ancient peoples of Russia]]
[[Category:Groups who converted to Judaism]]
[[Category:Historical Turkic states]]
[[Category:History of Kuban]]
[[Category:History of the Turkic peoples]]
[[Category:Khaganates]]
[[Category:Khanates of the North Caucasus]]
[[Category:Turkic dynasties]]
[[Category:Turkic peoples]]
[[Category:Turkic states]]
[[Category:Turkic tribes]]