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{{History of Ukraine}}
The '''Khazars''' were a semi-[[nomad]]ic [[Turkic people]] who dominated the [[Pontic steppe]] and the North [[Caucasus]] from the 7th to the 10th century
They were important allies of the [[Byzantine Empire]] against the [[Sassanid Empire]] and later the [[Caliphate]], the [[Pechenegs]], and the [[Rus' (people)|Rus']]. In later years, however, once Khazaria had become a significant regional power, the Byzantines abandoned the alliance and turned to the Rus' and [[Pechenegs]] against the Khazars. Between [[965]] and [[969]], their sovereignty was broken by [[Sviatoslav I of Kiev]], and they became a subject people of [[Kievan Rus']]. Gradually displaced by the Rus, the [[Kipchaks]], and later the conquering [[Mongol]] [[Golden Horde]], the Khazars largely disappeared as a culturally-distinct people.
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==Rise==
===Formation of the Khazar state===
[[Image:Gokturkut.png|right|thumb|250px|Map of the Western (purple) and Eastern (blue) Göktürk [[khagan]]ates at their height, c. 600
Early Khazar history is intimately tied with that of the [[Göktürks|Göktürk]] empire, founded when the [[Ashina]] clan overthrew the [[Juan Juan]] in [[552]]
The first significant appearance of the Khazars in history is their aid to the campaign of the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] emperor [[Heraclius]] against the [[Sassanid]] [[Iran|Persia]]ns. The Khazar ruler Ziebel (sometimes identified as [[Tong Yabghu Khagan]] of the West Turks) aided the Byzantines in overrunning [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]. A marriage was even contemplated between Ziebel's son and Heraclius' daughter, but never took place. During these campaigns, the Khazars may have been ruled by [[Mo-ho-sahd]] and their forces may have been under the command of his son [[Buri-sad]].<ref>Pletneva 15-16.</ref>
[[Image:Khazar0.png|thumb|left|350px|The [[Pontic steppe]], c. 650, showing the early territory of the Khazars and their neighbors.]][[Image:East-Hem_600ad.jpg|thumb|300px|Eastern Hemisphere,
During the [[7th century|7th]] and [[8th century|8th centuries]] the Khazar fought a series of wars against the [[Umayyad]] [[Caliphate]], which was attempting simultaneously to expand its influence into [[Transoxiana]] and the [[Caucasus (geographic region)|Caucasus]]. The first war was fought in the early [[650]] and ended with the defeat of an Arab force led by [[Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rabiah]] outside the Khazar town of [[Balanjar]], after a battle in which both sides used [[siege engine]]s on the others' troops.
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===Second Khazar-Arab war===
[[Image:Califate 750.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Expansion of the [[Caliphate]] to 750
Hostilities broke out again with the Caliphate in the [[710s]], with raids back and forth across the Caucasus but few decisive battles. The Khazars, led by a prince named [[Barjik]], invaded northwestern [[Iran]] and defeated the [[Umayyad]] forces at [[Ardabil]] in [[730]], killing the Arab warlord [[al-Djarrah al-Hakami]] and briefly occupying the town. They were defeated the next year at [[Mosul]], where Barjik directed Khazar forces from a throne mounted with al-Djarrah's severed head, and Barjik was killed. Arab armies led first by the Arab prince [[Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik]] and then by Marwan ibn Muhammad (later Caliph [[Marwan II]]) poured across the Caucasus and eventually (in [[737]]) defeated a Khazar army led by [[Hazer Tarkhan]], briefly occupying [[Atil]] itself and possibly forcing the Khagan to convert to Islam. The instability of the Umayyad regime made a permanent occupation impossible; the Arab armies withdrew and Khazar independence was re-asserted. It has been speculated that the adoption of [[Judaism]] (which in this theory would have taken place around [[740]]) was part of this re-assertion of [[independence]].
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==Economic position==
===Trade===
[[Image:Radhanites2.png|right|thumb|300px|Map of Eurasia showing the trade network of the Radhanites, c. 870
The Khazars occupied a prime [[trade]] nexus. Goods from western Europe travelled east to Central Asia and China and vice versa, and the Muslim world could only interact with northern Europe via Khazar intermediaries. The [[Radhanites]], a guild of medieval Jewish merchants, had a trade route that ran through Khazaria, and may have been instrumental in the Khazars' conversion to Judaism.
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The Khazars are known to have minted silver coins, called ''[[Yarmaq]]s''. Many of these were imitations of Arab [[dirhem]]s with corrupted Arabic letters. Coins of the Caliphate were in widespread use due to their reliable silver content. Merchants from as far away as [[China]], [[England]], and [[Scandinavia]] accepted them regardless of their inability to read the Arab writing. Thus issuing imitation dirhems was a way to ensure acceptance of Khazar coinage in foreign lands.
Some surviving examples bear the legend "Ard al-Khazar" (Arabic for "land of the Khazars"). In 1999 a hoard of [[silver]] coins was discovered on the property of the Spillings farm in the [[Sweden|Swedish]] island of [[Gotland]]. Among the coins were several dated 837/8
==Extent of influence==
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===Khazar towns===
[[Image:Khazar map1.PNG|right|thumb|300px|Map of the [[Khazar]] [[Khaganate]] and surrounding states, c. 820
Khazar towns included:
*Along the Caspian coast and Volga delta:
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===Tributary and subject nations===
[[Image:World 820.png|left|thumb|300px|Map of the [[Khazar]] [[Khaganate]] and surrounding states, c. 820
Many nations were tributaries of the Khazars. A [[client king]] subject to Khazar overlordship was called an "[[Elteber]]". At various times, Khazar vassals included:
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==Decline and fall==
The ninth century is sometimes known as the ''[[Pax Khazarica]]'', a period of Khazar [[hegemony]] over the [[Pontic steppe]] that allowed trade to flourish and facilitated trans-Eurasian contacts. However, in the early 10th century the empire began to decline due to the attacks of both [[Viking]]s from [[Kievan Rus]] and various Turkic tribes. It enjoyed a brief revival under the strong rulers [[Aaron II]] and [[Joseph (Khazar)|Joseph]], who subdued rebellious client states such as the [[Alans]] and led victorious wars against Rus invaders.
[[Image:Khazarfall.png|thumb|left|350px|A much reduced Khazaria and surrounding states, c. 950
===Kabar rebellion and the departure of the Magyars===
{{main|Kabar}}
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===Muslim sources===
[[Image:East-Hem_1025ad.jpg|thumb|300px|Eastern Hemisphere, 1025
[[Ibn Hawqal]] and [[al-Muqaddasi]] refer to Atil after 969, indicating that it may have been rebuilt. Al-Biruni (mid-[[1000s]]) reported that Atil was in ruins, and did not mention the later city of [[Saqsin]] which was built nearby, so it is possible that this new Atil was only destroyed in the middle of the eleventh century. Even assuming al-Biruni's report was not an anachronism, there is no evidence that this "new" Atil was populated by Khazars rather than by [[Pechenegs]] or a different tribe.
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