In the history of both our country and foreign countries, there are enough references to ancient civilizations that once lived in the current territories. So, in recent years, interest in the Khazar kingdom, which at the beginning of our era was located somewhere in the lower Volga, has significantly increased. The interest in this topic is so great that the best scientific journals give their front pages for publications devoted to this topic. The main mystery of this people is that scientists are still arguing over who the Khazars were by origin.
Perhaps they would not have been interested in such passion if it had not been for the assumption that it was the Khazars who were the ancestors of modern Jews. Many scientists agree that they are the progenitors of this people. This opinion is significantly supported by the latest archaeological data that allow us to reliably say that there was no famous exodus of Jews from Egypt. There are people, but their origin is not fully understood.
That is why in the past two decades, the study of the Khazars has begun with a double zeal. It is believed that the first reliable report about the Khazars dates back to about 550 of our era, when they began to actively manifest themselves in the international arena of those years. Let's try to trace their path.
Where did the word “Khazars" come from?
Where did the name “Khazars" come from? The meaning of the word (judging by Dahl’s dictionary) “hazit” can be understood as “being rude, swearing”. Some sources state that the Khaz is an arrogant, rude person. However, the “Khaz" could also mean a magnificent, high-quality and expensive product. Remember the word "plain", which just contains the modified suffix "haz", but it means a certain scanty, ugly thing. On the contrary, the word “window dressing” is used when a phenomenon or object appears exaggeratedly lush, luxurious.
In addition, all the same Dahl argues that the word "otkhazovat" is equivalent to the words "walk, stick around." So how then to interpret the term "Khazars"? The meaning of the word cannot be known unless you try to make out the etymology. If we divide this word into three component parts, that is, into “ha,” “z,” and “ar,” we will most likely be very close to the meaning that our ancestors put into this term. If you translate it as "going after Arom (Yarila)", then it turns out that the word "Khazars" can well be interpreted as "coming from the East."
From the Huns to the Khazarm
So who were the Khazars by origin? It is reliably known that they were a classic nomadic ethnic group of Turkic origin. Initially, they lived in the territory located between the Black and Caspian Seas. Historical documents indicate that after the invasion of the Huns, the Khazars appeared in Eastern Europe. But the combination “appeared after the Huns” is very vague, and the authors of solid scientific treatises keep truly guerrilla silence on this score.
It is possible that the Huns who settled in those places and the Turkic-speaking peoples suddenly began to be called the Khazars, but other options are also not excluded. So this period in their history is perhaps the most mysterious.
A bit about the Huns
By the way, who are the Huns themselves ? This is also a nomadic people that formed in the II-IV centuries. in the Urals. Their ancestors were all the same Turkic-speaking peoples (Hunnu people) who arrived there by the second century from Central Asia. In addition, local Ugrians and Sarmatians contributed to the emergence of the new people. The Huns themselves are of rather curious origin, since they are the ancestors of Caucasoid immigrants from Northern China who left there about a thousand years before the beginning of our era.
But studies by Chinese archaeologists suggest that even if they reached the Urals, the Huns were in the form of disparate multi-ethnic groups, which along the way turned into a classic nomadic people. The fact is that in North China this nationality catastrophically quickly disappeared, unable to withstand competition with strong tribes. Thus, the Huns were clearly formed mainly by Ugrians. This is the generalized name of those Mansi and Khanty who at that time lived in this territory. Most likely, these nationalities were isolated in the third millennium
BC.
Initially, the Ugrians lived in the forest-steppes of Western Siberia, in some places reaching the Irtysh. The Sarmatians also made a not too big contribution to the formation of the Khazar people.
Relations of the Khazars with the Turks
Around the sixth century AD, the Khazars were conquered by the mighty Turkic Kaganate. Oddly enough, the researchers did not find any mention of interethnic alloy, although such a phenomenon could well have been.
Historical paradox: in spite of all its power, the kaganate itself existed just ridiculously short time by historical standards - from 552 to 745 years. e. The Türks themselves appeared as a result of the fact that in 460 one of the Hun tribes (and we are returning to them again), which was called asina, was conquered by the Juan people. No reliable information has been preserved about ashins. By a strange coincidence, it was at the same time that most of the Huns were destroyed by the Jujuns. After this, the Ashin people were forcibly resettled in Altai.
It was in this locality that a strong nomadic people appeared, which is known to us as “Türks”. The generic name of these tribes comes from the Russian word "turia", which our ancestors called the simplest food: crumbled bread or crackers with kvass and onions (or variations). Simply put, by that time the Türks consisted only of the Ugrians and Sarmatian tribes, diluted with semi-mythical ashins.
History of the formation of the kaganate
In 545, this people defeated the Uyghur troops, and in 551 avenged the eviction of the Jujans. In the history of those years, leader Bumyn was especially noted, who, during his lifetime, proclaimed himself a kagan. This title was accepted only among the Jews. Already in 555, all local peoples fell under Turkic rule. The “Supreme Headquarters” of the Haganate was moved to the upper reaches of the Orkhon River, where almost all the Khazars settled. This people actively developed and amassed military power.
Already in the middle of the sixth century AD, almost all the peoples of Northern China became dependent on the kagan. Soon the Turks entered into a military alliance with Byzantium, after which they jointly launched a war with Iran for control of the Great Silk Road. Already in 571, the border of the kaganate passed along the Amu Darya. Just five years later, the Turks managed to take the Bosporus (Kerch), and in 581 it turned out to be completely blocked by Khersones.
Well, the Khazars?
We will return to the Khazars. What do they have to do with it? The fact is that historians have a lot of evidence that by that time there was already a Khazar "branch" in the composition of the Turkic Haganate. But who and for what reason gave the conquered people such liberties? The Türks definitely did not welcome such democracy, and there are no logical justifications for creating the
Khazar Khaganate . However, there is one more or less intelligible explanation ...
The fact is that before the collapse of the Turkic state, only 100 years remained. Internal problems grew, there were difficulties with keeping borders. Perhaps the subordinate ethnic group was so loyal to the Turks that they allowed them to create their own Khazar state in exchange for guarantees of their loyalty in the future.
But here is full of contradictions. The fact is that contemporaries spoke of the Khazars only as nomads, who could be a formidable force at the time of the raids, but there was no sensible interaction between them. On the pages of almost all the works of their contemporaries, we see that the lifestyle and occupation of the Khazars were typical of nomads: cattle breeding, constant raids on enemies, internal strife.
Yes, they had a capital, there was a kagan. But he was only “the first among equals,” and he simply had no strength to order representatives of large clans. It is doubtful that the Turks could conclude such an important agreement with them. Nevertheless, the Khazars are a rather specific people, like all nomads.
The conquest of Crimea and Kiev
Whatever it was, but in the 7th-8th centuries AD, they were already able to conquer Kiev and Crimea. Many historians claim that in those days Slavic tribes began to pay tribute to them. It’s just that the Khazars themselves did not have anything that at least somehow resembled a strong central state of the Khazars. How could they collect this tribute if, in principle, they did not have a more or less developed administrative system?
In the end, they were very, very far from the level of the Golden Horde. Most likely, “tribute” meant those episodes when residents of besieged cities preferred to pay off the next nomad raid. And the lifestyle and occupation of the Khazars themselves did not contribute to the establishment of serious power over other peoples: the kaganate was extremely heterogeneous, and therefore the ruler spent more time on maintaining this loose structure within at least a relative order.
At the head of the Khazar people then stood the Khakan and his "deputy" run. The capital of the Kaganate was the Khazar city of Valangiar (Astrakhan), and then Sarkel (was completely destroyed in 1300). It is known that in those days they conducted active trade with India. In 965, the Khazar troops were defeated by the troops of Prince Svyatoslav. In 1016 they were defeated by the combined forces of Russians and Greeks commanded by Mstislav Tmutarakansky.
The adoption of Judaism
Many historical sources report that in the eighth century the Khazars adopted Judaism. But back to the beginning of the article. Prominent Israeli scholars report that the process of the merger of Jews and Khazars occurred only in 1005. But how then did Bumyn accept Judaism 500 years before? In this regard, historians have a lot of questions. Here are the most common ones:
- Who among the Turks and Khazars in those years could practice Judaism, if the Jews were not even close there?
- How is it possible to profess Judaism, but not be a Jew? All the holy books of the Israelites say that this cannot be!
- Finally, who was the missionary of Judaism 500 years before the arrival of the Jews?
Unfortunately, there are no clear answers to all these questions. Most likely, there is some kind of confusion. If this is so, there is nothing surprising in this: since then there have been so few documents that inspire full confidence that historians have to be satisfied mainly with chronicles. And they certainly do not reflect the whole essence of what was happening, as they repeatedly corresponded to please the ruling people.
So even now we cannot say with absolute certainty who the Khazars were by origin, since their religion is not so simple. If they did not practice Judaism, then there were no Jews among their ancestors.
Mysteries of the death of the Khazar Khaganate
In Soviet historical monographs, one can find the theory that the Khazar Khaganate fell due to the banal lack of living space that hid under the waters of the spilled Caspian. The author of this assumption is L. N. Gumilev. He suggested that in the 7th-8th centuries, large Khazar settlements were simply washed away due to soil transgression. However, Gumilyov always put forward very bold hypotheses.
Is Judaism the cause of the collapse of the Haganate?
Non-Israeli historians make a very curious suggestion. They believe that the collapse of the kaganate was caused by the adoption of Judaism, which occurred during the time of the ruler of Obadiya. Presumably, this kagan began its missionary activity somewhere at the turn of the 9th-10th centuries. Mention of his activities can be found in the Life of John of Gotha.
The Arab scholar Masudi wrote that after the adoption of Judaism, Kagan Jews began to flock to his kingdom from all over the world. Jews quickly populated large quarters of almost all Khazar cities, especially in Crimea, and the capital of the Khazars (Valangiar) experienced a real “boom” of migration. So many settled in Itila. According to contemporaries, "the Jews besieged the throne of Obadiah." They testify that the kagan gave Jews many privileges and allowed settling in any cities. The kagan contributed to the construction of synagogues and theological schools, warmly welcomed the Jewish sages, generously giving them money.
Jews were educated, well versed in trade ... but their faith was fatal to the Haganate. We have already said that the Khazar state was already not distinguished by a particularly developed administrative structure. The adoption by the supreme nobility of Judaism averted most of the subjects from them, who already belonged to the supreme power without any reverence. For most Khazars, the key was the opinion of the elders, and they did not have a special love for the Jews.
The struggle for power in the kaganate began. An internecine strife arose, part of the Khazars merged with the Turks and Hungarians who lived on the Pecheneg land. They entered into mutually beneficial military and political alliances. Contemporaries called them "cabarets." In particular, Konstantin Porfirorodny often wrote about this, in particular.
It is not surprising that in the flame of civil war both Obadiah himself and both of his heirs, Hezekiah and Manasseh, burned down. The power over the bloodless state was taken over by Chanukah, who was the brother of Obadiah. By that time, Crimea, where many “provincials” lived, condemning rapprochement with Judea, came under the protectorate of Byzantium. At this time, hordes of Pechenegs were already advancing on the Khazar lands, to which political and religious feuds were absolutely uninteresting.
How did the decay of the kaganate affect the ethnic composition of the Khazars?
You must understand that without knowing all these ups and downs, you cannot understand who the Khazars were by origin. In the last years of the existence of the kaganate, its ethnic composition has become surprisingly variegated. If you carefully read the article, then you yourself probably understood that the Khazars were never a particularly solid ethnic group. The prevailing peoples and religions were replaced in the kaganate with incredible speed.
To make you finally convinced of this, we give examples from the life of the late Haganate. So, in 730, Kagan Bulan accepts Judaism. In 737, just seven years later, the Khazars (photos of some relics of that era are in the article) already professed Islam. From 740 to 775 they become ardent Christians under the patronage of the Byzantine emperor Constantine Kopronim. From 786 to 809, Islam was again. This time with the blessing of the Baghdad caliph Harun-ar-Rashid. From 799 to 809, the known Kagan Obadiya again actively promotes "Judaism to the masses."
Ethnographers believe that in less than 100 years the Khazars were so assimilated with the peoples professing Christianity and Islam that practically nothing remained of their original ethnic group. The final defeat of the Khazar Khaganate (more precisely, its self-destruction) once again convincingly proved that the formation of a truly powerful state requires a strong central government, which, in addition to everything else, can take into account the desires of all its subjects.
The final death of the kaganate
Just a year after the last adoption of Judaism, the slow agony of the state began: from 810 to 820 years it was tormented by uprisings of the cabarets already known to us; from 822 to 836 there was a constant invasion of the Hungarians. From 829 to 842, the Byzantine emperor Theophilus ruled, who introduced the final discord into the structure of the Khazar Khaganate. In 965, Svyatoslav smashed the Khazar troops, after which Kagan Bulan III for the third time (!) Proclaimed Judaism as the state religion. How did the complete defeat of the Khazar Khaganate take place?
By the end of the tenth century, all this ethnic and religious leapfrog ended with the Khazars being finally assimilated with Muslims. Thus, the former Turkic tribes, which were able to create a fairly significant state formation, completely lost their independence and their own lands.
conclusions
All of the above indicates that Khazaria could well exist in reality. In addition, the Kaganate could indeed be the historical homeland of the Jews. Theologians believe that the origins of Judaism (as well as Christianity with Islam) in this case was shamanism, widespread among nomadic tribes. This, by the way, is very strongly reflected in Christianity: we do not know the name of God, but we assume that he is Everything and His Grace is everywhere. Thus, Turkic tribes played an extremely important role in the development of modern civilization, for they gave mankind monotheism.