A European Experiment in Jewish Statecraft : The Khazars A thousand years before the establishment of the Modern State of Israel, there existed a Jewish kingdom in the eastern fringes of Europe, astride the Don and Volga rivers, presided over by two Jewish monarchs and inhabited by a mixed population that included many Jews. A thousand years before the establishment of the Modern State of Israel, there existed a Jewish kingdom in the eastern fringes of Europe, astride the Don and Volga rivers, presided over by two Jewish monarchs and inhabited by a mixed population that included many Jews. Their kings had names like Yosef and Aharon and one of their generals was named Pesach after the Jewish holiday that was celebrated around his birth. This kingdom, called Khazaria, was one of the most interesting and influential countries of the medieval world, wielding great power over economic and diplomatic affairs. Its influence was so great that a 10th-century emperor of the Byzantines, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, sent correspondence to the Khazars marked with a gold seal worth 3 solidi - more than the 2 solidi that always accompanied letters to the Pope of Rome, the Prince of the Rus, and the Prince of the Hungarians. Its power was so great that it had the ability to finance a permanent paid army. Khazaria was "the most significant attempt at the establishment of an independent Jewish state in the Diaspora", according to former Israeli President Itzhak Ben-Zvi in his book The Exiled and the Redeemed. The Khazars played a major role in principal wars in the Caucasus region. First, in the early 7th century, they joined with Turks and Byzantines to defeat the Persian state. Then, in the 7th and 8th centuries, they defended the southeastern frontier of Europe from invasion by the Arabs, indirectly allowing Christianity to survive in Byzantium and subsequently thrive in Ukraine. As one of the principal authorities on the Khazars, Professor Peter Golden of Rutgers University, wrote in his book Khazar Studies: "Every schoolchild in the West has been told that if not for Charles Martel and the battle of Poitiers there might be a mosque where Notre Dame now stands. What few schoolchildren are aware of is that if not for the Khazars... Eastern Europe might well have become a province of Islam." The subsequent peaceful period in the eastern European steppes has been named the "pax khazarica" since it was the Khazars who enabled various tribes, like Slavs, to expand their settlements and engage in productive activities, free from the threat of warfare and strife. The remarkable country of the Khazars first entered the Jewish orbit when it allowed Jews to settle in their land free from persecution. Jewish refugees from Byzantium, Persia, Mesopotamia, and elsewhere flooded into the Khazar realm from the 8th through the 10th centuries, bringing with them Hebrew literacy, a love for Israel, the Jewish religion, and technological skill. The Cambridge Document, translated by Norman Golb in his co-authored book Khazarian Hebrew Documents of the Tenth Century, stated that immigrant Armenian Jews "intermarried with the inhabitants of the land, intermingled with the gentiles, learned their practices, and would continually go out with them to war; [and] they [Mideastern Jews and Khazarians] became one people...." Remarkably, the Khazars, a people of Turkic origin, converted to the Jewish religion sometime in the 9th century, beginning with the royal house and spreading gradually among the general populace. Judaism is now known to have been more widespread among the Khazar inhabitants of the Khazar kingdom than was previously thought. In 1999, Russian archaeologists announced that they had successfully reconstructed a Khazarian vessel from the Don River region, revealing 4 inscriptions of the word "Israel" in Hebrew lettering. It is now the accepted opinion among most scholars in the field that the conversion of the Khazars to Judaism was widespread, and not limited merely to the royal house and nobility. Ibn al-Faqih, in fact, wrote "All of the Khazars are Jews." Christian of Stavelot wrote in 864 that "all of them profess the Jewish faith in its entirety." A Persian work, Denkart, represented Judaism as the principal religion of the Khazars. How sincere was their Judaism? Abd al-Jabbar ibn Muhammad al-Hamdani, writing in the early 11th century, pointed out that "they took upon themselves the difficult obligations enjoined by the law of the Torah, such as circumcision, the ritual ablutions, washing after a discharge of the semen, the prohibition of work on the Sabbath and during the feasts, the prohibition of eating the flesh of forbidden animals according to this religion, and so on." (translation by Shlomo Pines) The common writing system among the Khazars was Hebrew script, according to Muhammad ibn Ishaq an-Nadim, writing in 987 or 988. A large portion of those Khazars who later adopted a script related to the Cyrillic of the Rus were Jews, according to Tárikh-i Fakhr ad-Din Mubarak Shah, a Persian work composed in 1206. In the early 10th century, the Khazarian Jews of Kiev wrote a Hebrew-language letter of recommendation on behalf of one of the members of their community, whose name was Yaakov bar Hanukkah. The letter is known as the Kievan Letter and was discovered in 1962 by Norman Golb of the University of Chicago. The names of the Kievan Jews are of Turkic, Slavic, and Hebrew origins, such as Hanukkah, Yehudah, Gostata, and Kiabar. Scholars disagree as to whether these Jews were Israelites who had merely adopted local names, or whether their local names were a sign of their Turkic Khazarian origin. But we do know that there was an entire district in Kievan Podol named after the Khazars, called "Kozare", which points to the residency of Turkic Khazars in Kiev. The Khazars apparently played an important role in the economic vitality of the city, importing caviar, fish, and salt into Kiev. The Khazars also traded in silverware, wine, coins, glassware, and other useful goods throughout Europe and Asia, reaching as far northwest as Sweden and as far southeast as what is now Uzbekistan. There is no doubt that Khazaria exhibited a high level of civilization and that Jews contributed to its success. In the capital city, the Khazars established a supreme court composed of 7 members, and every major religion (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Slavic paganism) was represented on this judicial panel. The Khazars thus sponsored religious tolerance in a time when surrounding countries persecuted those who refused to follow the faith of the rulers. The story of the Khazars came to the attention of a famous Spanish Jewish diplomat and physician named Hasdai ibn Shaprut. He was amazed and inspired by what he learned about this people. Upon learning from Byzantine messengers that Khazaria was ruled by a king named Yosef and that they are a powerful military and commercial center, Hasdai ibn Shaprut wrote "...I was filled with power, my hands became strong, and my hope gained courage." Seeking contact with Yosef, Hasdai had his literary secretary pen a special letter to be delivered to the Khazar king himself. Towards the end of Hasdai's letter, he remarked: "We live in the Diaspora and there is no power in our hands. They say to us every day, 'Every nation has a kingdom, but you have no memory of such in all the land.' But when we heard about our master the King, the might of his monarchy, and his mighty army, we were amazed. We lifted our heads, our spirits returned, our hands were strengthened, and my master's kingdom was our response in defense. Were it that this news would gain added strength, for through it we will be elevated further." (translation by Rabbi N. Daniel Korobkin in the 1998 edition of The Kuzari) As Raymond Scheindlin remarked in his book The Chronicles of the Jewish People: "To the oppressed Jews of the world, the Khazars were a source of pride and hope, for their existence seemed to prove that God had not completely abandoned His people." Hasdai's letter, and Yosef's reply to it, were preserved due in large part to the work of the scholar Yitzhak Aqrish (1489-1578?), a Spanish Jew who later lived in Egypt. Aqrish discovered copies of the Hasdai and Yosef letters in Cairo. In 1577 he published these letters in Constantinople in a Hebrew pamplet called Kol Mebasser ("Voice of the Messenger of Good News"). Aqrish's publication of these valuable letters was designed to raise the spirits of oppressed Jews around the world. But Hasdai wrote to Yosef just before events began to unfold that ultimately crushed the Khazar kingdom. The Pechenegs, Rus, Oghuz, and Byzantines descended upon the kingdom from the 960s to the 1010s and overwhelmed them. After the fall of Khazaria references to the Judaized Turkic Khazars become much more sparse. But even after the final fall of Khazaria in the 11th century, there remained many Khazars who remained Jews. Abraham Ibn Daud, writing Sefer ha-Qabbalah in the year 1161, said that he met Khazar students in person while in Toledo, Spain and that they were rabbinical Jews. The ultimate fate of the Khazars is still somewhat of a mystery, even though some clues point to their continuance among various Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities. Some have speculated that the Mountain Jews of the eastern Caucasus are descended in part from the Khazars. Various Turkic groups living in the North Caucasus today may be descended from Khazars who adopted Islam. Abba Eban, Israel's foreign minister from 1966 to 1974, argued in his 1968 book My People that it is likely that "...Khazar progeny reached the various Slavic lands where they helped to build the great Jewish centers of Eastern Europe." Serious scholarship into the Khazars only began in the 19th century, and throughout the 20th century many important discoveries were made. In modern Israel, there is considerable interest in the grand history of the Khazar Jewish people. Several Israeli novels include Khazarian themes and characters. In 1997 the Israeli journalist Ehud Ya'ari broadcast a fascinating 3-part documentary on the Khazars entitled Memlekhet ha-Kuzarim. Israeli media such as The Jerusalem Report and The Jerusalem Post have covered Khazarian history from time to time. In 1999 the first international Khazar Symposium was held in Jerusalem, bringing together many of the brightest scholars in modern Khazar studies from Russia, the United States, and Israel. For more information about the history of the Jewish Khazars, visit Khazaria.com or read the book The Jews of Khazaria by Kevin Alan Brook. This article also belongs to the following subjects: Jewish History > 0600 - 1789: Middle Ages Have your say! Post your comments on this article. Only registered users can post their opinions. If you are a registered user please login. Otherwise, you can register. about descendants, converts, and the like To be honest about history is not to take away from the sacredness of Judaism. I think that most Jewish historians would agree that the Jewish people became an evolving people over time, since the beginning of its inception. I mean, even some of the tribes were gentile converts! My example are the Philistines (which were Greek refugees, tribe of Dan) that had settled in ancient Israel. I mean, even if somebody converts today, the convert is considered an ethnic Jew as well. I think a large part of Judaism is where you hold the Torah. Do you hold it in your heart? Or do you hold it elsehwere? And the Torah is not just a literal document. Its a living document, a powerful force unique to the Jewish people's identity and history. So the Khazar-connection does not negate Judaism or Jewishness from Ashkenazim Jews, but I think it tells an interesting story about Judaism itself. I think its very rich and interesting, and I think there are more parallels with Christianity than led to believe. The connection with Khazar culture distinguishes European Jewry from Sephardic Jews, Mizraim Jews, etc. I think Khazar culture creates a distinctive character within European Jewry. My question is the connection between Yiddish and European Jewry... Not only are Jews an evolving ethnic group of different racial/ethnic strands, the Jewish religion has been an evolving one. Modern Day rabbinical/Talmudical Judaism is quite unique from the Judaism from the first century of the common era. ... By: ed enigma (edielegua3...) - July 6, 2006 For Pike Dear Pike, The "ethnic Israelites" as you put it ARE today's Jews. This is the point I have been trying to make from the beginning. The scientifc evidence for this rests with the recent ground breaking studies made which found that most Jews, no matter what they look like, show a clear Middle Eastern genetic origin, meaning that today's Jews are direct descendents from the Hebrew tribes that built ancient Israel. You also seem to be confused between Judaism and Jews. Judaism is the national religion of the Jewish nation. We are talking here about the nation. The nation today bares the same name, speaks the same language, and worships the same religion that its ancestors did 3000 years ago. You reference to Jews as the ones who "stated let his blood be on us and our children" after pilate asked what to do with Jesus." is ridiculous. First of all, no body would ever call for a curse on their own children. This is, unfortunately, Christian hateful propaganda, and Jews have suffered for these lies fo... By: Yehuda enigma (JJ21212@ho...) - March 16, 2004 I found this on a website, interesting! Nearly all of Christendom is being taught that today's "Jews" represent Israel. Yet, how many of those same people have ever been taught that the Bible warns us of Israelite impostors? That's right, *non-Israelites* who fallaciously claim to be *Israelites*: "I know. . . The blasphemy by those who say they are Jews [i.e., Judahites, thus Israelites] and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan." (Revelation 2:9) Also, how many Christians have been told that there is actually a people who admit to being these impostors? For example, 'The 1980 Jewish Almanac's' first chapter entitled "Identity Crisis," begins with the following admission: "Strictly speaking, it is incorrect to call an ancient Israelite a 'Jew' or to call a contemporary Jew an 'Israelite' or a 'Hebrew.'" (4)This fact is confirmed by several other Jewish sources and individual Jews. For example: The Jewish Encyclopedia (1905); The Standard Jewish Encyclopedia (1966); Nathan M. Pollock, Professor of Medieval Jewish History of Tel Aviv; Bernard Laz... By: Pike enigma (kirkeules@...) - March 16, 2004 Gentile Israelite? Thank you for your opinion, on who the twelve tribes are. When I say the truth on who the 12 tribes really are I am drawing a distinct difference between the teacher, the student and Judaism. The hot discussion amongst those who are debating this topic have concluded that the practitioners of Judaism are different and apart from the ethnic Israelite. Phsical description, cltural practice, historical evidence and prophettic writings identify a very wide gap in regards to any type of a link between the seed and offspring of Jacob's 12 sons and the followers of the philosophy of judaism. Now Judaism as it stands has it's own culture and practices, has it's own people who are defenitly of the same geneology, much is to be respected and admired on their community and effective ways of striving within today's society. Judaism's history and origin is precise and exact. That community is not what the question is about. What I would like to know is if you or anybody would be able to shed some light as to who th... By: Pike enigma (kirkeules@...) - March 9, 2004 Tribe of Judah Dear Pike, Unforunately you didn't take the time to read the results of the study I posted, otherwise you would have known that today's Jews are mostly the direct descendents of the ancient Hebrew tribes. To answer your question on what happened to the 12 tribes: About 2500 years ago, The Kingdom of Israel split into 2: Israel, the northern state, and Judea, the southern Kingdom. Israel encompassed the tribal homelands of 10 tribes, while Judea was mainly the land belonging to the tribe of Judah (hence the name Judea), and the tribe of Benjamin. The northern Kingdom was eventually destroyed by Assyria, and many of the northern tribes immigrated south and mingled with the population of the southern kingdom (which subsequently expanded northwards). Others immigrated north into Syria and Iraq and have been lost to history. There is rumor that some Afghanis are descendents of a lost tribe. In any case, 10 tribes have ceased to exist, but most of today's Jews are descendent from the tribe of Judah as well as ... By: Yehuda enigma (JJ21212@ho...) - March 3, 2004 Who? and where are the original 12 tribes of Israel. Studies, books, talk shows, etc have all explored the truth on the Gentile or european origins of Juddaism. The differences and simularities between the genetic Israelite and the practitioners of Judaism and it's various forms. It is widely recognized and understood that judaism was learnt and taught from the Israelite to the Gentile (ashkenaz), Orthodox, or Khazarian practitioner. The next natural step towards grasping the true and natural essence of The God of the Israelite would be to single out, identify and brand who the original 12 tribes are. Where they went and why they are of no more. Judaism gives us a small piece of the truth but until this is known the other 98% is in the dark. Is there anybody who can help.... By: Pike enigma (kirkeules@...) - February 19, 2004 Jews come from Judea, the Khaza theory is nonsense Sorry to break it to you people, but Jews (shortened from Judeans) are the direct descendents of the Hebrew Israelite tribes that built ancient Israel 3000 years ago. http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/000519/study.shtml I quote from the international study conducted by top scientists: "Michael F. Hammer, an associate researcher in the Division of Biotechnology at the Arizona Research Labs, is the lead author of a new study, reported in the May 9 issue of the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences," that suggests the Diaspora - the dispersion of Jews throughout the world - has not had a strong effect on the genetic link among Jewish men. The study, conducted by an international team from the United States, Europe, South Africa and Israel, shows that Jews are closely related to their Arab neighbors. "We saw such a strong signal of a Middle-Eastern origin, it was kind of surprising," Hammer says. Hammer says other studies have been conducted on Jewish genetic links, but the results ... By: Yehuda enigma (JJ21212@ho...) - February 10, 2004 Power and Ancestry I have always known that most of my family came from the lower volga region. I had never realized why my family and i have a destinctly Turkic look. This article has shed new light on my ancestry and my search for answers has finally come to an end. Knowing that there was a strong Jewish influence in eastern europe during the great diaspora has given me hope that Judaism will not fade away as some have hoped for generations. Being 15, i have not experienced very extreme anti-semitism. i have however heard many things, mostly jokes, that have anoyed me. things like "jews are so cheap" and things like that. I love being a Jew,and am very prowd of my heritage. the fact that i now know my own ancestry has given me a reason to persue my life's goal, to become a rabbi.... By: Spencer enigma (sman106@ao...) - December 22, 2003 Hazary To me it was very interesting information. My grandma last name was Kuzari. I also know that her ancestors came from region of Crimea to Ukraine, in around fortin hundreds,and they were rabbinical jews. Her grandfather was a rabbi in town Znaba near City of Sumy in Ukraine. ... By: Edward enigma (edlif1@yah...) - July 10, 2002 The Khazars-A European Experiment in Jewish Statecraft Exceedingly interesting information. It helps me understand the origins of the great sympathy,empathy and affinity which undoubtedly exists between the Jews and the Turks.It is fascinating to learn that a Turkic kingdom adopted Judaism some six centuries before Ottoman Turks welcomed Jews seeking refuge from Spanish oppression in the late 15. century.I am interested in finding out the role of Jewish Khazars in Ashkenazite culture,religious thinking,behavior, language and genetics.Thank you in advance.... By: Fikret enigma (fikretsemi...) - January 9, 2002 View the full debate Poll Had you heard of the Jewish Kingdom o