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The Khazar Khaganate was a state based around modern day Ukraine from the 7th to 10th centuries AD. The state was formed from a Turkic tribe, but it had one very unique aspect – it adopted Judaism. Here, David Matsievich tells us the background to the Khazars, how the European Jewi

The Story of the Medieval European Jewish State – The Khazar Khaganate The Khazar Khaganate was a state based around modern day Ukraine from the 7th to 10th centuries AD. The state was formed from a Turkic tribe, but it had one very unique aspect – it adopted Judaism. Here, David Matsievich tells us the background to the Khazars, how the European Jewish state came into being, and how it ended. Khazar "Moses coin" found in the Spillings Hoard. The coin is dated from circa 800 AD. Source: W.Carter, available here. The Khazars were a telling and powerful yet very unsung Turkic tribe in modern Ukraine, originating from Asia. Their notoriety stems from their capability at thwarting Islamic groups from extending their reach past the Northern Caucasus, acting as a mediator of goods between the Silk Road and Europe, and as a counterbalance between the Byzantium and the Islamic empires. But perhaps there is one thing in particular that attracts and holds others rapt about this tribe: its state religion — Judaism. Khazar OriginsOnce there existed a Turkic tribe that, at their height in the beginning of the medieval period, controlled a huge chunk of southern Russia, all the way from Astrakhan to western Ukraine. Their presence carved a significant mark in history, being the mediator of goods between Europe and the Silk Road, and possessing a military so strong that their power was tantamount to that of the Byzantine and Islamic empires. Their strong forces stopped the Muslims from expanding their influence further north of the Caucasus, just as the Franks had done in northern Spain, so preventing the expansion of Islam into Europe. But above all, what marks this group out from all other nations is their alarming and almost unbelievable conversion to Judaism. They are known as the Khazars.The Khazars’ origin is debated and very complicated: it’s unknown what specific Turkic group they had previously come from; even the Khazarian language is a mystery, as what is left of it is mostly names and titles that don’t exactly pinpoint what type of Turkic tongue was spoken. Upon becoming a polity, it was very diverse, composed of Turks, Slavs, Iranians, Finno-Ugrians, and a myriad of other ethnicities.It is believed that the Khazars came to be from a varied constellation of Turkic tribes, perhaps originating from Central Asia, the Urals, or even the northern Caucasus. They were indeed very ethnically disparate, retaining different skin tones and physiognomy, which would be evident throughout Khazar history.Khazaria was under the occupation of the Western Turkic Empire, an empire stretching from Astrakhan to contemporary East Turkestan, until it was reinstated by the son of Tong Yagbhu in the 630s. Yagbhu was a Buddhist Khagan of the Western Turkic Empire and was usurped and killed by his uncle in an insurgency against his rule. This led to a civil war that collapsed and dissolved the Western Turkic Empire, spewing out Khazaria as one of its breakaway lands in the chaos. This was probably the first time Khazaria was recreated as a polity rather than a semi-organized tribal chiefdom. Khazarian Life, Culture, and TradeThe khaganate had a unique way of coronating their khagan, the ruler of the Khazars: the nobles of the realm would tie a silk cord around the soon-to-be khagan’s throat, choking him, and would ask him how long he expected to rule. Since the khagancouldn’t make out a clear message, the nobles had to interpret what he was choking out. Once they thought they understood how many years the khagan uttered through his strangled neck, that would be the maximum duration the khagan could rule until he either had to abdicate to his heir or risk being murdered by his own nobles.However, an Arab scholar at the time avers that the Khazars had already a predefined set of time — 40 years — that the khagan was permitted to rule for. After this set amount of time, the khagan was no longer considered fit to reign because of old age, so he had to be quickly removed and replaced with a younger khagan for the good of the khaganate. This odd tradition came from the Western Turks, Khazaria’s former occupier.Khazaria was located at the crossroads between the rich Asian lands of the Silk Road, and the resource-filled lands of the steppes. This made it a very important player in Euro-Asian trade. A Jewish merchant company, controlled by the Radanites, had a big role in the trade between Asia and Europe, going through Khazaria on their way to the Silk Road to deliver raw material and agricultural goods. Reportedly, the Khazars took 10 percent of the goods of merchants travelling through their lands, in return for protection of the vulnerable traders.They procured prominence among the steppe people from their remarkable resistance against a series of Muslim military incursions in the Caucasus, seemingly gaining the Khazars respect of their neighboring tribes, which offered to become their tributaries for protection and periodical gifts. One his...

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