The History of The Jewish Khazars

THE HISTORY
OF THE
JEWISH
KHAZARS
BY D. M DUNLOP
THE HISTORY
OF THE
JEWISH
KHAZARS
BY D. M. DUNLOP
SCHOCKEN BOOKS • NEW YORK
23693
First schocken edition 1967
Copyright © 1954. by Princeton University Press
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 67-26985
I I,is edition published by arrangement with Princeton University Press
Manufactured in the United States of America

THE HISTORY OF
THE JEWISH KHAZARS
vs
CONTENTS
Page
ix
Introduction
Place of the Khazars in history - Relations with By¬

zantium-Part played in checking Muslim advance 1 e
the Franks in the West - Materials for an account of
them-Previous treatment of their history - Acknowl-
edgments
CHAPTER I. THE EMERGENCE OF THE KHAZARS
Derivation of the name - Relation of the Khazars to

tire Huns - Relation to the West Turks - Armenian and
Georgian references - Racial characteristics - Arabic and
Persian accounts of the Khazars in "
Relations with the Sassanids - Khazars and K.dantes -
The earliest Western sources - Sabirs and Khazars
Heraclius and the Khazars
CHAPTER II. A THEORY OF THE UIGUR ORIGIN

34
OF THE KHAZARS
De Guignes’ equation Kosa=Khazars adopted by Gib¬
bon - Ko-sa a tribe of the Uigurs - Chinese references to
the Khazars as K'o-sa - Are Ko-sa and Kô-sa the same?-
Evidence for the Uigurs in the West - Other grounds for
connecting the Khazars with the Uigurs
CHAPTER III. THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE KHAZAR

Itatt AND THE FIRST ARAB-KHAZAR WAR
41
(A.D. 642-652)
Khazar conquest of the Bulgars in the 7th century a.d.

_ Subsequent expansion from the Volga-Caucasus area to
the Black Sea - Muslim advance to the Caucasus and first
clashes with the Khazars-The first Arab-Khazar war
(narrative of al-Tabari, al-Baladhuri, etc.)
SEMINEX LiERARY
1
SAINT LOUIS, MISSOURI
L *s--
CONTENTS
CHAPTER IV. THE SECOND ARAB-KHAZAR WAR

(A.D. 722-737)
Armenian accounts — Khazar successes against the

Arabs — Operations of Arab generals: al-Jarrah ibn-‘Ab-
dullah al-Hakami and Maslamah ibn-'Abd-al-Malik — De¬
feat and death of Jarrah — Successful campaign of Said
ibn-'Amr against the Khazars — Replaced by Maslamah
ibn-*Abd-al-Malik — Arab advance into Khazaria and
disastrous retreat — Last phase of the war — Marwan ibn-
Muhammad marches to the Volga and subdues the
Khazars ( a.d. 737) — Withdrawal of the Arab forces —
Relation of these events to the Khazar conversion to
Judaism, traditionally dated a.d. 740 — Synchronism with
Muslim operations beyond the Pyrenees
CHAPTER V. THE KHAZAR CONVERSION TO JUDAISM:

ACCORDING TO THE ARABIC SOURCES
Account of the conversion in al-Mas'udi, al-Dimashqi,

al-Bakri — Further Arabic sources for the Judaism of the
Khazars: al-Istakhri, ibn-Hawqal, Yaqut — Criticism: De
Goeje, Kmosko — Account of ibn-Rustah — Gardizi and
ibn-Rustah — Marquart’s criticism — Ibn-Fadlan’s account
of the Khazars
CHAPTER VI. THE KHAZAR CONVERSION TO JUDAISM:

ACCORDING TO THE HEBREW SOURCES
The Kuzari of Jehudah ha-Levi —Ibn Shem Tob —

Firkovitch’s claims — The Khazar Correspondence — Bux-
torfs negative view — Isaac Aqrish — R. Jehudah of Bar¬
celona — Letter of Hasday ibn-Shaprut — Criticism: Mar-
quart, Poliak —Reply of Joseph — Criticism: Landau —
Letter and Reply obviously different in style — Implica¬
tion of this — Cambridge Document — Criticism: Schech-
ter, Kokovtsov, Poliak —The Gothic toparch — Genizah
vi
CONTENTS
CHAPTER VII. TWO HUNDRED YEARS OF KHAZAR

HISTORY . 171
Byzantine authorities — Justinian II and the Khazars —
Khazars in the Crimea —Leo the Khazar (Leo IV) —
Arabs and Khazars after Marwan’s expedition — St. Abo
in Khazaria — Building of the fortress of Sarkil — Alleged
visit of Muhammad ibn-Musa al-Khwarizmi to Khazaria
- Journey of Sallam the Interpreter — Byzantine mission
to Khazaria circa a.d. 860 —Khazars and Magyars —
Khazar expansion westwards — Criticism: Marquart, Bury,
Gr6goire — Mas udi’s account of the Khazars — Ibn-
Hawqal — Abu-Hamid al-Andalusi — Khazars in relation
to official Jewry in Babylon (Iraq)
CHAPTER VIII. CAUSES OF THE DECLINE OF THE

KHAZARS 222
Character of the Khazars as Judaized Turks - Survey
of their material resources - Khazar ships —Extent of
their rule Kiev to the Oxus —Public revenue mainly
from customs and tribute
CHAPTER DC. THE END OF THE KHAZAR STATE 237

Relations of Khazars and Russians — Russian raids to
the Caspian — Growing power of the Russians — Destruc¬
tion of the Khazar capital on the Volga — Criticism:
Marquart, Zeki Validi — Khazars after the disaster — Mus¬
lim sources — Russian Chronicle — Criticism: Barthold —
Khaqani and Genizah material — Kutschera’s view —
Khazar and Jewish connections of the Seljuks — Obscurity
of events before the Mongol invasions — Theories of the
survival of the Khazars in modern times
Bibliography and abbreviations 265
Index 273
MAP on pace 88
vii
INTRODUCTION
Readers of Gibbon are familiar with the name of Leo the

Khazar, Emperor of the Greeks in the 8th century of our era,
whose mother, a Khazar princess, had married Constantine V.
The Khazars are repeatedly mentioned by the Byzantine writ¬
ers, and evidently their power bulked large on the political
horizon of those days.:A simple example: in the 10th century,
letters from the imperial chancellery onTEe Bosporus to the
Khazar Khaqan, as their ruler was called, bore a more hand¬
some gold seal than that judged necessary for correspondence
with the Pope of Rome or the successor of Charlemagne.*
The Khazars have another and special claim on our interest.
Their territory was situated between the lower course of the
Volga and the northern slopes of the Caucasus, extending as
far as the lands round the Sea of Azov, and, at least in the 9th
century, even farther west to Kiev and the middle Dnieper,
while eastward they exercised control over the tribesmen as
far as the Oxus. The Khazar country thus lay across the natural
line of advapce, of the Arabs. Within a few years of the death
of Muhammad (a.d. 632) the armies of the Caliphate, sweep¬
ing northward through the wreckage of two empires and carry¬
ing all before them, reached the great mountain barrier of the
Caucasus. This barrier once passed, the road lay open to the
lands of eastern Europe. As it was, on the line of the Caucasus
the Arabs met the forces of an organized military power which
effectively prevented them from extending their conquests in
this direction. The wars of the Arabs and the Khazars, which
lasted more than a hundred years, though little known, have
thus considerable historical importance.* The Franks of Charles
Martel on the field of Tours turned the tide of Arab invasion.
At about the same time the threat to Europe in the east was
1 Constantine Poiphyrogenitus, De CaerimonUs Aulae Byzantinae, ed.

Bonn, i, 690.
1 Underestimated by Cavaignac, Histoire du Monde, t vii (Paris 1931),
169.
iz
INTRODUCTION
hardly less acute. It is clear that the victorious Muslims were

met and held by the forces of the Khazar kingdom. Though
like the Franks the Khazars were thus in a sense the champions
of Christendom, they belonged racially to the nomadic or semi-
nomadic type of central Asia and at this time were still shaman-
ists. Later as we shall see—and this is not the least remarkable
thing about them—they converted to Judaism. It can, however,
scarcely be doubted that but for the existence of the Khazars in
the region north of the Caucasus, Byzantium, the bulwark of
European civilization in the east, would have found itself out¬
flanked by the Arabs, and the history of Christendom and Islam
might well have been very different from what we know.
The question may be asked, Why has no attempt so far been
made to write the Khazar history, if it is worth recording and
a substantial amount of material is available? A continuous ac¬
count of the Khazars was in fact given by the Cambridge his¬
torian J. B. Bury, in a chapter of his History of the Eastern
Roman Empire.* This may be taken as the best account avail¬
able, though there are others, besides a great number of mono¬
graphs on various aspects of the subject and incidental refer¬
ences in modem books. The chief reason why we are not more
familiar with the Khazars appears to be neither the lack of
intrinsic interest presented by their story nor the absence of
material, but rather the difficulty of dealing with the existing
sources—partly because they are written in a variety of lan¬
guages, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac, Armenian, Georgian,
Russian, Persian, Turkish, and even Chinese, with which no
one can be expected to be conversant at first hand; and partly
because of the contradiction and obscurity of the data thus
afforded. The sources for the Khazars have steadily accumu¬
lated as our knowledge of Oriental history has grown. Last
century saw the publication of Arabic geographers and his¬
torians who have much to tell us about them. In the present
century, valuable new material in Hebrew has come to light.4
•C. xiii (London 1912).

4 The opening up of the “geniza” (storeroom) of a synagogue in Old
z
INTRODUCTION
The bibliography has increased to very considerable propor¬

tions, and critics have expressed their views on the Khazars in
another range of languages, almost as formidable as that of
the original sources. Certainly the position is very different
from the days when Buxtorf connected the name of the Kha¬
zars, on whom he could get no information, with the Persian
Chosroes (Khusraw). But in spite of the great additions to our
knowledge, an attempt to trace their history is by no means
plain sailing, as will be seen in the following pages.
Some time before the war Professor Paul Kahle, then Di¬
rector of the Oriental Seminar in the University of Bonn, and
Professor Henri Gr^goire of Brussels intended to collaborate on
a work on the Khazars. It was generally expected that an im¬
portant and definitive book would be the result. Unfortunately,
however, the outbreak of war and attendant circumstances in¬
terfered with their plans. Some years ago Professor Kahle pro¬
posed that I should take up the Khazar investigation, and I
was very glad to fall in with his suggestion. In the course of
the work I have had the great advantage of being able to con¬
sult Professor Kahle at need and am much indebted to him for
his generous help in innumerable ways. Without him the book
would not have been written. He has left me a free hand in the
selection, arrangement, and presentation of the material, and
while I have no doubt been influenced by his opinions on gen¬
eral questions, he is not responsible for the views expressed
and particularly the misapprehensions and errors which, I take
it, are unavoidable in a work like this.
My task has been to go over the available material and
construct therefrom as coherent an account as possible of the
fortunes of the Khazar nation and state. There is little new in
the way of sources in the present work. Exceptions are some
variant readings from manuscripts of al-Istakhri and al-Mas'udi
sent me from Oxford by Professor Kahle—the texts have long
been in print; a short account of the Khazars, probably by the
Cairo has contributed to this as to other historical questions. See Paul E.

Kahle’s Schweich Lectures: The Cairo Genixa (London 1947), 14ff.
xi
INTRODUCTION
Spanish geographer ibn-Sald, which I also owe to Professor

Kahle; a hitherto unnoticed passage in al-Ya'qubi bearing on
the Khazar double kingship; and an interesting account of inci¬
dents purporting to have taken place at the Khazar court at an
unspecified date, from a Persian manuscript in the Leyden Uni¬
versity library, to the authorities of which I should like here to
express my thanks. But I have taken notice of the Chinese refer¬
ences to the Khazars, which has not been done until now, so
far as I know, even by the most recent writers on the subject.
Professor Haloun, whose recent death is a great loss to many
Orientalists personally as well as to Oriental studies, kindly
helped me in this part of the work. Some of the Greek passages
quoted will probably not be found elsewhere.
In the course of the work such subjects as the Khazar be¬
ginnings, their possible relations with the Persians before Islam,
contacts of the Khazars and Greeks at different times, the wars
with the Arabs, the conversion of the Khazars to Judaism, the
alleged correspondence between Spain and Khazaria in the
10th century, relations of Khazars and Russians, and, finally,
the collapse and disappearance of the Khazar state will be dis¬
cussed. Some of these are highly controversial questions, and
the reader need not feel alarm if on cardinal issues, such as the
date of the conversion to Judaism or of the final eclipse, widely
differing estimates have to be examined. He will be invited in
the development of the argument to look for traces of the
Khazars as far west as Denmark and as far east as China, and
to consider that—apart from the conversion to Judaism, which
is an undoubted fact—they are said to have adopted at different
times Islam and Christianity as well. The evidence, obscure and
contradictory as it frequently is, will be set down as clearly
as is in the writer s power. Complete and, it is hoped, accurate
translations of some of the most important Arabic texts are
given in the course of the work.
Of a host of books and articles which have been consulted,
one or two stand out as specially stimulating. The first of these
is comparatively old and differs essentially in its conclusions
XII
INTRODUCTION
from what is said here, J. Marquart’s Osteuropaische und

ostasiatische Stretfziige.* Another is Kokovtsov's. Evreisko-
khazarskaya pereptska v X vekef The two books are poles
apart in method and scope. The German’s is diffuse and diffi¬
cult to read, yet it contains a great many valuable suggestions
about the period which concerns us. The Russian professor
deals with a limited subject, the documents in Hebrew, half a
dozen in number, bearing on the Khazar correspondence with
Spain, around which, of all questions involved in Khazar his¬
tory, controversy has been fiercest. This is discussed with ad¬
mirable clarity and economy of words. To these must be added
Professor A. Zeki Validi Togan’s edition of ibn-Fadlan’s nar¬
rative of a journey to the Volga Bulgars, the notes and ap¬
pendices to which contain material on the Khazars which has
never before been published.7 I have been able to use the book
through the kindness of Professor Minorsky. Professor Minor-
sky's own translation and commentary of the 10th century
Persian geography Hudud al-'Alam contains important new
information.* I cannot omit one other work, the excellent
bibliography of the Khazars compiled by the Slavonic division
of the New York Public Library and published with a notice
by A. Yarmolinsky in their Bulletin for 1938. My attention was
first drawn to this by Dr. Cecil Roth of Oxford.
I must also mention briefly the extensive works of Artam-
onov, Poliak, and Zajjjczkowski, all of comparatively recent date,
in which the problem of the Khazars is approached from very
various points of view. Artamonov's Ocherki drevneishei istorii
Khazar appeared in 1937.* Consonantly with its title, this book
• Leipzig 1903.
•The Hebrew-Khazar Correspondence in the 10th Century, published
by the Russian Academy, Leningrad 1932.
»Ibn-Fadlan’s Reisebericht, A.K.M., xxiv, 3 (Leipzig 1939). A useful
summary of Zeki Validi’s material with an English translation of ibn-
Fadlan's narrative is given by Robert P. Blake and Richard N. Frye in
"Notes on the Risala of ibn-Fadlan," Byzantina Metabyzantina, I, ii
(1949), 7-37.
• E. J. W. Gibb Memorial, New Series xi (1937).
•Subtitled Etudes dhistoire ancienne des Khazares.
Leningrad 1936.
• • ••
Xlll
INTRODUCTION
deals only with the early history of the Khazars, the last date
given being a.d. 738. In his preface the author disclaims knowl¬
edge of Oriental languages and says that he writes as an
archaeologist. Artamonov is specially interested in the Khazars
as connected with the history of his own country. Within its
limits his work seems to be an objective treatment of the sub¬
ject. A. N. Poliak published his book entitled Khazaria (in
Hebrew) at Tel Aviv in 1944. (I first saw Dr. Cecil Roth’s copy,
and later received another through the good offices of Dr. S.
Morag of Jerusalem.) The book, which is conceived as the first,
historical part of a larger work on the Khazars, develops
theories earlier expressed by the author in his article “The
Khazar Conversion to Judaism” in the Hebrew periodical Zion
(1941), but offers a much richer documentation, especially in
Jewish sources. Some of these theories are discussed below.
The work has been the subject of a good deal of criticism.10
Zajqczkowski’s Ze studidw nod zagadnieniem chazarskim
(1947) is written from the standpoint of Turkish linguistics.11
Both in this book and in a number of articles, the author, who
is a well-known Turcologist, has thrown considerable light on
the surviving Khazar nomenclature, which he proposes to il¬
lustrate from the dialects still spoken by the Karaite Jews in
Poland and the Crimea.1* These Karaites he regards as the
principal present-day representatives of the ancient Khazars.
He tends to minimize rather than exaggerate the importance
of the Hebrew documents. Dr. S. Seliga of St. Andrews Uni¬
versity has greatly facilitated my study of these Polish works.
10 Cf. the review of M. Landau in Qtryath Sepher, xxi (1944), 19-24,

in Hebrew. I have not seen A. Eshkolli in Moznoim, xvm, 298-304, 375-
383, with Poliak’s reply, op.cit., xix, 288-291, 348-352. (These references
to Hebrew periodicals are due to Dr. Morag.)
11 Studies on the Khazar Problem, published by the Polish Academy,
Cracow. There is a detailed review in Der Islam, B. 29 (1949), 96-103,
by O. Pritsak.
12 Recent articles of Zai^czkowski include “Problem fczykowy Cha-
zar6w” (The Problem of tne Language of the Khazars), Proceedings of
the Breslau Society of Sciences, 1946, and “O kulturze chazarskiej i jej
spadkobiercach” (The Khazar Culture and Its Heirs), My SI Karaxmska,
Breslau 1946.
XIV
INTRODUCTION
Finally, I should like to thank Professor H. W. Bailey of

Queens’ College, Cambridge, Professor V. Minorsky, and Pro¬
fessor C. J. Mullo Weir of Glasgow University, who read
through the present work in manuscript and from whose ad¬
vice and suggestions I have profited in various ways. I should
also like to express my grateful thanks to Professor Philip K.
Hitti and the Trustees of Princeton University Press.
D.M.D.
xv
THE EMERGENCE OF THE KHAZARS
If the commonly accepted derivation of one or two familiar

words in European languages is correct, the name of the
Khazars has a wider currency than we should at first suppose.
The word “hussar” seems originally1 to have been applied to
irregular Hungarian cavalry, and as we shall see, the connec¬
tion between the Khazars and the Magyars, the founders of
the Hungarian state, is historical and certain. The German
Ketzer, “heretic,” has also been derived from the name of the
Khazars, presumably as Jews. On the other hand, the deriva¬
tion and meaning of the name are quite obscure. It is usually
said that it is a participial form from the Turkish verbal stem
qaz, “to wander” or “nomadize,” so that Khazar=“nomad,”2
and this may be provisionally accepted. In the Slav languages
there are various wdrds for the Khazars with an “o” vowel in
the first syllable, and this has led to other derivations, from
kosa, Russian “pigtail” (Weltmann, 1858) and from the stem
koz in many Slav words for “goat” (Tzenoff, 1935).* Such at¬
tempts may be discounted, as the original name is not Slav.
There is not the slightest reason to suppose that the Khazars
are “the wearers of pigtails” or “the goat-herds.” It is note-
11.c., as a military term. Dr. Alan S. C. Ross of Birmingham Univer¬

sity writes that in the Magyar Dictionary of B&rczi huszdr is said to be
a loan-word from Serbo-Croat husar, which is itself a loan-word from
Greek chosarios. This word chosarios is presumably the same as
Khosiarioi, given by Reiske as doubtfully from the name Khazar (Con¬
stant. Por., ed. Bonn, n, 675), with the meaning latrones et sicarii. The
word appears with the form and meaning indicated by Reiske in Har-
menopulos (14th century), i, tit. 4, §9.
2 So Zaj^czkowsld, “Problem," §2, citing Gombocz, Nemeth and Rison-
yi, and again in his Studies. Zeld Validi passes over the definition in
silence (Um-Fadlan, 225), and O. Pritsak in his review of the Studies
(Der Islam, B. 29,101) proposes as an alternative that qazar (Khazar) is
"ein Kollektiv zu qazan," promising an etymology of qazan elsewhere.
1 Cited Zaj^czkowski, ibid.
worthy that in Hebrew also the name is commonly written with

an “o/u” vowel and pronounced Kuzari (hence Buxtorfs
Cosri), plural Kuzarim. On the other hand, we have Arabic
Khazar (with an impossible derivation from akhzar, an ad¬
jective denoting some affection of the eyes, “small-eyed” or
“slanting-eyed”), Greek Khazaroi (Khazareis), occasionally
Khotzer- (Khotzir-), Latin Chazari and Gazari, and in the
Hebrew of the document known as the Khazar Correspondence
an unvocalized form, no doubt to be pronounced Kazar
(Khazar).
As already said, the explanation Khazar=nomad is per¬
haps to be accepted. Yet Pelliot has pointed to the difficulties
involved4 (the Turkish verb qazmak always in the sense of
“to hollow out,” not “to wander,” etc.) and refers to the sug¬
gestion of J. Deny8 that the name Khazar might be explain¬
able by °Quz-er, °Quz-ar, aQuzar or *Qozar, from quz “side
of a mountain exposed to the north’’ plus eri, er, in the sense
of "People of the North.” Jn favor of Denys suggestion, it may
be said (a) that no satisfactory explanation of the "o/u” vowel
in some forms of the name has yet been given, and (b) that
in ancient Armenian and Georgian the Khazar Khaqan is
repeatedly referred to as the “King of the North” and Khazaria
as the “Land of the North,” which could be a rendering of the
native name. But the forms in the Khazar Correspondence,
presumably Kazar, Kazan, are on this view difficult to account
for, and the Cambridge Document, also written in Hebrew,
offers Qazar (hardly Quzar).
Our first question here is. When did the Khazars and the
Khazar name appear? There has been considerable discus¬
sion as to the relation of the Khazars to the Huns on the one
hand and to the West Turks on the other. The prevalent opin¬
ion has for some time been that the Khazars emerged from
the West Turkish empire. Early references to the Khazars ap-
4 Nomt turcs, 207-224 (special article on Khazar).

B Mil. £mile Boisacq, Annuaire de l'lnstitut de Phil, et d’Hist. Or. et
Slaves, v (1937), Brussels, 295-312.
i
4
pear about the time when the West Turks cease to be men¬
tioned. Thus they are reported to have joined forces with the
Creek Emperor Heraclius against the Persians in a.d. 627
and to have materially assisted him in the siege of Tiflis. It is
a question whether the Khazars were at this time under West
Turk supremacy. The chronicler Theophanes (died circa a.d.
818) who tells the story introduces them as “the Turks from
the east whom they call Khazars.”* On the other hand, the
West Turks appear in the Greek writers simply as Turks,
without special qualification.
The Syriac historians mention the Khazars earlier than a.d.
627. Both Michael Synis1 and Bar Hebraeus* tell how, ap¬
parently in the reign of the Greek Emperor Maurice (582-602),
three brothers from “inner Scythia" marched west with 30,000
men, and when they reached the frontier of the Greeks, one of
them, Bulgarios (Bar Hebraeus, Bulgaris), crossed the Don
and settled within the Empire. The others occupied “the coun¬
try of the Alans which is called Barsalia,” they and the former
inhabitants adopting the name of Khazars from Kazarig, the
eldest of the brothers. If as seems possible the story goes back
to John of Ephesus* (died circa a.d. 586), it is contemporary
with the alleged event. It states pretty explicitly that the
Khazars arrived at the Caucasus from central Asia towards the
end of the 6th century.
In the Greek writer Theophylact Simocatta (circa 620) we
have an almost contemporary account of events among the
West Turks which can hardly be unrelated to the Syriac story
just mentioned.10 Speaking of a Turkish embassy to Maurice
in 598, this author describes how in past years the Turks
had overthrown the White Huns (Hephthalites), the Avars,
and the Uigurs who lived on “the Til, which the Turks call
the Black River.*'11 These Uigurs, says Theophylact, were
• Ed. Bonn, 485. T Ed. Chabot, 381, col. 1, line 9.

■ Ed. Budge, 32b, col. 1, line 15.
• So Barthold, art. Bulghar.
10 Ed. Bonn, 282ff, Chavannes, Documents, 246ff.
11 Unidentified. TU is apparently the same as atil, itil, “river " Cf. Atil,
<#*v****fl!Htt
descended from two chiefs called Var and Hunni. They are
mentioned elsewhere as the “Varchonites."12 Some of the
Uigurs escaped from the Turks, and, appearing in the West,
were regarded by those whom they met as Avars, by which
name they were generally known. The last part of this is con¬
firmed by another Greek author, according to whom Justinian
received representatives of the pseudo-Avars, properly Uigurs,
in a.d. 558,19 after which they turned to plundering and laying
waste the lands of eastern and central Europe. If the derivation
from Uigur is right, the word “ogre” in folklore may date from
this early period.
Theophylact also tells us that about the time of the Turkish
embassy in 598 there was another emigration of fugitives from
Asia into Europe, involving the tribes of the Tamiakh, Kotza-
gers, and Zabender. These were, like the previous arrivals,
descendants of Var and Hunni, and they proved their kin¬
ship by joining the so-called Avars, really Uigurs, under the
Khaqan of the latter. It is difficult not to see in this another
version of the story given by Michael Syrus and Bar Hebraeus.
The Kotzagers are undoubtedly a Bulgar group,14 while Zaben¬
der should be the same name as Samandar, an important
Khazar town, and hence correspond to Kazarig in the Syriac.
Originally, it seems, Samandar derived its name from the oc¬
cupying tribe.19 We appear to have confirmation that the
Khazars had arrived in eastern Europe by the reign of Maurice,
having previously been in contact with the West Turks and
destined to be so again.
On the other hand, the older view implied that the Khazars
were already on the outskirts of Europe before the rise of the
Turks (circa a.d. 550). According to this view, the affinities of
Itil=the Volga. Zeuss (Die Deutschen, 713n.) denied that the Volga
was meant. Marquart, followed by Chavannes (Documents, 251), sug¬
gested the Tola, a tributary of the Orkhon, which is probably too far east.
11 Menander Protector, ed. Bonn, 400.
19 Menander, ibid., 282. Cf. Marquart, Streifzuge, 488.
19 Similarly, another important Khazar town, Balanjar, seems to have
been originally the group-name of its inhabitants. See below.
6
the Khazars were with the Huns. When Priscus, the envoy
to Attila in 448, spoke of a people subject to the Huns and
living in “Scythia towards the Pontus” called Akatzir,18 these
were simply Aq-Khazars, i.e., White Khazars. Jordanes, writ¬
ing circa 552, mentions the Akatzirs as a warlike nation, who
do not practice agriculture but live by pasturing flocks and
hunting.11 In view of the distinction among some Turkish
peoples between the leading clans of a confederacy as “white”
and the remainder as “black,” when we read in the Arab ge¬
ographer Istakhri that the Khazars are of two kinds, one called
Qara-Khazars (Black Khazars), the other a white kind, un¬
named,18 it is a natural assumption that the latter are the
Aq-Khazars (White Khazars). The identification of the Akat¬
zirs with “Aq-Khazars” was rejected by Zeuss1’ and Mar-
quart20 as impossible linguistically. Marquart further said that
historically the Akatzirs as a subject race correspond rather
to the Black Khazars. The alternative identification proposed
is Akatzirs ==Agacheri. But this may not be very different from
the other, if Zeki Validi is right in thinking that the relation
between the Agacheri and the Khazars was close.*1
There are one or two facts in favor of the older view which
have not been explained away effectively. If the Khazars had
nothing to do with the Akatzirs and appeared first as an off¬
shoot of the West Turks at the end of the 6th century, how do
they come to be mentioned in the Syriac compilation of circa
569,** going under the name of Zacharias Rhetor? The form
Kasar/Kasir, which here comes in a list of peoples belonging
to the general neighborhood of the Caucasus, refers evidently
to the Khazars. This would fit in well with their existence in
the same region a century earlier. We have also the testimony
of the so-called Geographer of Ravenna (? 7th century) that
the Agaziri (Acatziri) of Jordanes are the Khazars.*8
18 Priscus, ed. Bonn, 197. lT Ed. Mommsen, 63.
1B Istakhri's account of the Khazars is translated in Chapter V.
19 Die Deutschen, 714-15. 10 Streifiiige, 41, n. 2.
11 lbn-Fadlan, mi.
** Rubens Duval, cited Chavannes, Documents, 250, n. 4.
** Ed. Pinder and Paithy, 168.
7
The Khazars, however, are nowhere represented simply as

Huns. The question arises, If they were subjugated by the
latter shortly before a.d. 448, as Priscus tells, how long had
they existed previously? Here we must consider the views of
Zeki Validi, which are put forward exclusively on the basis
# of Oriental sources and are quite independent of the con¬
siderations which have just been raised. He believes that he
has found traces of one and the same Urgeschichte of the Turks,
not only in Muslim but also in Chinese sources, the latter go¬
ing as far back as the Wei dynasty (366-558).14 In the story
the Khazars play a leading part and even claim to be autoch¬
thonous in their country.” Zeki Validi cites a story in Gardizi,
according to which the eponymous ancestor of the Kirgiz, hav¬
ing killed a Roman officer, fled to the court of the Khazar
Khaqan, and later went eastward till he found a permanent
settlement on the Yenissei. But as the Kirgiz in early times are
believed to have lived in eastern Europe and to have been
south of the Urals before the beginning of the Christian era,
Zeki Validi would assign a corresponding date to this episode
and is unwilling to allow that the mention of Khazars thus
early is an anachronism.” These are remarkable claims to
make for the antiquity of the Khazars. The principal Muslim
sources which Zeki Validi relies on are relatively late, Gardizi,
circa a.d. 1050, and an anonymous history, the Mujmal al-
Tawarikh w-al-Qisas,*7 somewhat later (though these doubt¬
less go back to ibn-al-Muqaffa' in the 8th century, and through
him to pre-Islamic Persian sources), nor does his Chinese
source mention the Khazars explicitly. But the view that the
Khazars existed anterior to the Huns gains some confirmation
from another quarter.
The Armenian History going under the name of Moses of
Chorene (5th century) has a story which mentions the Khazars
” The Later Wei is meant (Zeki Validi's dates).

” Ibn-Fadldn, 294. Yet on the basis of the same tradition, the original
home of the Khazars is represented as the lower Oxus, cf. ibid., 244, 206.
” Ibid., 328.
” Ibid311.
in the twenty years between a.d. 197 and 217.28 According to

this, the peoples of the north, the Khazirs and Basilians, made
an agreement to break through the pass of Chor at the east
end of the Caucasus “under their general and king Venasep
Surhap."29 Having crossed the river Kur, they were met by the
Armenian Valarsh with a great army and driven back north¬
ward in confusion. Some time later, on their own side of the
Caucasus, the northern nations again suffered a heavy defeat.
Valarsh was killed in this second battle. His son succeeded
him, and under the new king the Armenians again passed the
Caucasus in strength, defeating and completely subjugating
the Khazirs and Basilians. One in every hundred was taken as
a hostage, and a monument in Creek letters was set up to
show that these nations were under the jurisdiction of Rome.
This seems to be a very factual account, and by Khazirs
certainly the Khazars are to be understood. It is, however,
generally held that the Armenian History is wrongly ascribed
to Moses of Chorene in the 5th century and should be as¬
signed to the 9th, or at any rate the 8th, century.*0 This would
clearly put quite a different complexion on the story of the
Khazar raid. Instead of being unexceptionable evidence for the ^
existence of the Khazars at all events in the time of Moses of
Chorene, it would fall into line with other Armenian (and also
Georgian*1) accounts which,though they refer to the Khazars
more or less explicitly in the first centuries of the Christian era,
and even much earlier, we do not cite here. Though interest-
18 The chronology of the text is confused, suggesting both these dates
and an intermediate one. Enc. Brit. (14th ed.), s.v. Khazars, has the
date 198. Carmoly (Khozars, 10, in Itintroires de la Terre Sainte, Brus¬
sels 1847) must refer to the same incident when he speaks of the Khazar
]uluf, who ruled seventeen nations on the Volga, and, pursuing some
rebel tribes, burst into Armenia between aj>. 178 and 198. The source
of Carmoly’s information is quite unknown to me.
29 In the Whistons* 18th century translation, n, 62 (65) “sub duce ac
rege eorum Venasepo Surhaco.” Kutschera thought that the two kings
of the Khazars were intended (Die Chasaren, Vienna 1910, 38).
80 For a summary of the views about Moses of Chorene, see an article
by A. O. Sarkissian, M.O.S., Vol. 60 (1940), 73-81.
81A favorable example of the Georgian accounts in Brosset, Inscrip¬
tions Georgiennes etc., M.RA., 1840, 329.
9
ing in themselves, these accounts, in view of their imprecision

and lack of confirmation, cannot be regarded as reliable.
The Muslim writers provide us with a considerable amount
of material which may be expected to throw light on the date
of the emergence of the Khazars. As already indicated, some of
this demonstrably derives from Pehlevi sources, composed be¬
fore the Arab conquest of Persia. What the Arabic and Persian
writers have to say about the Khazars deserves careful scrutiny,
as liable to contain authentic information from an earlier time.
It is not surprising that these accounts, written when the
Khazar state north of the Caucasus was flourishing, distinguish
them from the Turks encountered by the first generations of
Muslims in central Asia. But a passage like the following, where
the Khazars are set side by side with the leading types of con¬
temporary humanity, is somewhat remarkable. In a discussion
between the celebrated ibn-al-Muqaffa* and his friends the ques¬
tion was raised as to what nation was the most intelligent. It is
significant for the low state of their culture at the time, or at
least for the view held by the Arabs on the subject (ibn-al-
Muqaffa* died 142/759), that the Turks and Khazars were
suggested only after the claims of the Persians, Greeks, Chi¬
nese, Indians, and Negroes had been canvassed. Evidently in
this respect the Turks and the Khazars shared a bad eminence.
But they are given quite different characteristics: “The Turks
are lean dogs, the Khazars pasturing cattle."” Though the judg¬
ment is unfavorable, we get the impression of the Khazars as
a distinct, even important, racial group. How far this cor¬
responds with the fact is not certain. Suggestions have been
made connecting the Khazars with the Circassian type, taken
to be pale-complexioned, dark-haired, and blue-eyed, and
through the Basilians or Barsilians already mentioned, with
the so-called “Royal Scyths" of Herodotus.” All this is evi¬
dently very speculative. Apart from the passage where the
” Ibn-'Abd-Rabbihi, al-'lad al-Fand, ed. of a.h. 1331, n, 210. The

anecdote is commented on by Fr. Rosenthal, Technique and Approach
of Muslim Scholarship, Analecta Orientalia, 24 (1947;, 72.
”iv, 59. f
10
Black Khazars are mentioned, described as being dusky like

the Indians, and their counterparts fair and handsome,84 the
only available description of the race in Arabic sources is the
following, apparently from ibn-Said al-Maghribi: “As to the
Khazars, they are to the left [north] of the inhabited earth
towards the 7th clime, having over their heads the constel¬
lation of the Plough. Their land is cold and wet. Hence their
complexions are white, their eyes blue, their hair flowing and
predominantly reddish, their bodies large and their natures
cold. Their general aspect is wild."35 This reads like a con¬
ventional description of a northern nation, and in any case
affords no kind of support for Khazar affinity with the “Cir¬
cassian” type. If we are to trust the etymology of Khalil ibn-
Ahmad,88 the Khazars may have been slant-eyed, like the
Mongols, etc. Evidently nothing can be said positively in the
matter. Some of the Khazars may have been fair-skinned, with
dark hair and blue eyes, but there is no evidence that this
type prevailed from antiquity or was widely represented in
Khazaria in historical times.
A similar discussion on the merits of the different races is
reported from the days before Muhammad, in which the speak¬
ers are the Arab Nu'man ibn-al-Mundhir of al-Hirah and Khus-
raw Anushirwan. The Persian gives his opinion that the Greeks,
Indians, and Chinese are superior to the Arabs and so also,
in spite of their low material standards of life, the Turks and
the Khazars, who at least possess an organization under their
kings. Here again the Khazars are juxtaposed with the great
nations of the east.87 It is consonant with this that tales were
told of how ambassadors from the Chinese, the Turks, and the
Khazars were constantly at Khusraw's gate,88 and even that he
84 See Istakhri’s account of the Khazars in Chapter V, infra.

85 Bodleian MS., i, 874, fol. 71, kindly communicated by Professor
Kahle.
86 Yaqut, Mu'jam al-Buldan, s.v. Khazar.
17 Ibn-'Abd-Rabbihi, op.cit. i, 166.
M Tabari, i, 899. According to ibn-Khurdadhbih, persons wishing ac¬
cess to the Persian court from the country of the Khazars and the Alans
were detained at Bab al-Abwab (B.GA, vi, 135).
1 1
kept three thrones of gold in his palace, which were never re¬
moved and on which none sat, reserved for the kings of
Byzantium, China, and the Khazars.99
In general, the material in the Arabic and Persian writers
with regard to the Khazars in early times falls roughly into
three groups, centering respectively round the names of (a)
one or other of the Hebrew patriarchs, (b) Alexander the
Great, and (c) certain of the Sassanid kings, especially
Anushirwan and his immediate successors. t
A typical story of the first group is given by Ya'qubi in his
History.40 After the confusion of tongues at Babel, the de-
scendants of Noah came to Peleg, son of Eber, and asked him
to divide the earth among them. He apportioned to the de¬
scendants of Japheth China, Hind, Sind, the country of the
Turks and that of the Khazars, as well as Tibet, the country
of the (Volga) Bulgars, Daylam, and the country neighboring
on Khurasan. In another passage Ya'qubi gives a kind of sequel
to this. Peleg having divided the earth in this fashion, the
.descendants of,•Amur ibn-Tubal, a son of Japheth. went out to
the northeast. One group, the descendants of Togarmah, pro¬
ceeding farther north, were scattered in different countries and
became a number of kingdoms, among them the Burjan (Bul¬
gars), Alans, Khazars, and Armenians.41
Similarly, according to Tabari,4' there were bom to Japheth
Jam-r (the Biblical Comer), MaW-' (read Mawgh-gh, Magog),
Mawday (Madai), Yawan (Javan), Thubal (Tubal), Mash-j
(read Mash-kh, Meshech) and Tir-sh (Tiras).4' Of the de¬
scendants of the last were the Turks and the Khazars. There is
possibly an association here with the Tiirgesh, survivors of the
West Turks, who were defeated by the Arabs in 119/737,44
and disappeared as a ruling group in the same century. Tabari
says curiously that of the descendants of Mawgh-gh were
»»Ibn-al-Balkhi, Fdn Ndmah (C M S ). 97

.0 Ed. Houtsma, i, 17. « Ibid., x, 203, cf. Marquart. St,. 491.
42 j 217-18. 49 Cf* Cen. 10.2.
44 H. A. R. Gibb, Arab Conquests in Central Asia, London 1923, 83ff.

Cf. Chapter IV, n. 96.
12
THE EMERGENCE OF THE KHAâk*
Yajuj and Majuj, adding that these are to the east of the Turks
and Khazars. This information would invalidate Zeki Validi’s
attempt to identify Gog and Magog in the Arabic writers with
the Norwegians." The name Mash-kh is regarded by him as
probably a singular to the classical Massagetai (Massag-et) "
A. Bashmakov emphasizes the connection of “Meshech with
the Khazars, to establish his theory of the Khazars, not as
Turks from inner Asia, but what he calls a Japhetic or Alarod-
ian group from south of the Caucasus.47
Evidently there is no stereotyped form of this legendary
relationship of the Khazars to Japheth. The Tdj-al-'Arus says
that according to some they are the descendants of Kash-h
.(? Mash-h or Mash-kh, for Meshech), son of Japheth, and ac¬
cording to others both the Khazars and the Saqalibah are
sprung from Thubal (Tubal). Further, we read of Balanjar
ibn-Japheth in ibn-al-Faqih" and abu-al-Fida •• as the founder
of the town of Balanjar. Usage leads one to suppose that this
is equivalent to giving Balanjar a separate racial identity. In
historical times Balanjar was a well-known Khazar center,
which is even mentioned by Mas'lldi as their capital.'0
It is hardly necessary to cite more of these Japheth stories.
Their Jewish origin is a priori obvious, and Poliak has drawn
attention to one version of the division of the earth where the
Hebrew words for “north” and “south” actually appear in the
Arabic text.51 The Iranian cycle of legend had a similar tra¬
dition, according to which the hero Afridun divided the earth
among his sons, Tuj (sometimes Tur, the eponym of Turan),
Salm, and Iraj. Here the Khazars appear with the Turks and
the Chinese in the portion assigned to T“j, the eldest son."
Some of the stories connect the Khazars with Abraham. The
tale of a meeting in Khurasan between the sons of Keturah and
the Khazars where the Khaqan is mentioned is quoted from
«Ibn-Fadtan, 196ff. " Ibid., 244, n. 8.

47 Met cure de France, Vol. 229 (1931), 39ff.
4» B.GA.t v, 289.
4® Ed. Reinaud and De Slane, 219.
•° Tanbih, 62. 51 “Conversion,” §3. •* T®"®1** h 229-
ibn-Sa'd and al-Tabari by Poliak.59 The tradition also appears

in the Meshed manuscript of ibn-al-Faqih, apparently as part
of the account of Tamim ibn-Bahr's journey to the Uigurs,
but it goes back to Hisham al-Kalbi.84 Zeki Validi is inclined
to lay some stress on it as a real indication of the presence of
the Khazars in this region at an early date.55 Al-Jahiz similarly
refers to the legend of the sons of Abraham and Keturah set¬
tling in Khurasan but does not mention the Khazars.55 Al-Di-
mashqi says that according to one tradition the Turks were the
children of Abraham by Keturah, whose father belonged to the
original Arab stock (al-’Arab al-'Aribah). Descendants of other
sons of Abraham, namely the Soghdians and the Kirgiz, were
also said to live beyond the Oxus. Dimashqi himself does not
favor these genealogies.57
Quite typical of the Alexander stories of the second group is
an account of how the conqueror, after advancing from Egypt
to north Africa (Kairouan) and meeting Qandaqah, a kind of
Queen of Sheba to Alexanders Solomon, passes northward to
the “Land of Darkness.” He returns, founds two cities “on the
frontier of the Greeks," and then proposes to go back to the
east. His viziers represent the difficulty of passing the “Green
Sea," of which the waters are fetid. But in spite of viziers and
obstacles he crosses the Greek territory and arrives in the land
of the §aqalibah, who submit to him. He passes on, reaches
the Khazars, who also submit, and continues through the
country of the Turks and the desert between the Turks and
China, etc., etc.58
In view of this kind of thing, when we meet a statement
connecting Alexander with the Khazars which is not palpably
“ Loc.cit.; Khazoria, 23, 142, 143; Cf. ibn-Sa'd, i. i, 22; Tabari i, i,
347ff.
»« Hisham ibn-Muhammad, the authority riven by ibn-Sa’d=Hisham
ibn-Lohrasp al-Saib al-Kalbi in ibn-al-Faqih’s text (in V. Minorsky,
"Tamim ibn-Bahr’s Journey to the Uyghurs," B.S.OA.S., 1948, xii/2, 282).
” Ibn-FadlAn, 294.
«* Fatfa'Q al-Atrdk, transl. C. T. Harley Walker, J.R.A.S., 1915, 687.
w Ed. Mehrcn, 262.
m Dinawari, M-Akhbdr d-Jiwal, ed. Guirgass and Kratchkovsky, 37ff.
• ••
' 14
'•rl' .
• "W.
absurd, such as that from Wahb ibn-al-Munabbih, to the effect

that the conqueror found the Khazars in the region of Merv
and Herat,” we cannot begin to consider it. Tabari remarks
siqjMIy that the meeting-place or a meeting-place of Alex¬
ander and the Persian ruler was in Khurasan, near the Khazar
border, where a great battle was fought.60 If this could be
accepted, if even it could be regarded as an anachronism, it
would be very important as evidence of the extension of Khazar
activity far east of the Caspian at some time. But so remote
from fact are many of the Alexander stories that we can infer
little or nothing from the statement, much less aocept it at
face value.
We may in fact say roundly that all references to the Khazars
in the time of Alexander are fanciful. This is obviously the
case for Nizami’s Sikandar Namah, where the Khazars are
usually coupled with the Russians as the conqueror’s enemies
in the north.61 Mention of the Russians is a glaring anachron¬
ism. The idea was no doubt suggested to the poet, writing at
the end of the 12th century, by what he knew of the historical
raids of the Russians down the Volga and across the Caspian.62
He was .familiar with local circumstances in the Caucasus
region.66 It is clear that Nizami gave his own turn to the story
of Alexander in other directions.64 The conqueror’s battles with
the Russians seem to be mentioned by no writer before this
time. There is no question of a genuine tradition.
So far we have not learned much from the Arabic and
Persian sources about the antiquity of the Khazars. It remains
to be seen whether any greater light will be thrown on this
•• Cited Zeld Valid!, Ibn-FadLto, 294.

•°x, 699.
61 E.g., Qantal, chief of the Rus, “from the multitudes of Burtas,
Alan and Khazaran raised up an army like a sea or mountain.” Alexander
says, "From the Khazar mountain to the China sea I view the land—
all Turk on Turk.” In another place, the army of the Rus is "arrayed
with the men of Khazaran.”
82 These are discussed below. Chapter IX.
88 As was also the poet Khaqani. See Chapter IX.
84 Cf. Noldeke, Beitrdge zur Geschichte des Mexandenomans, Denk-
tchriften d. Wien. Akad, B. 38, No. 5, 51-53.
15
problem and on the Khazars in general by the third group of

passages from Muslim writers, connecting the Khazars w.th
various Persian kings, particularly Khusraw Anushirwan.
We have an account of a great expedition against the Turks
in the time of Kay Khusraw under four commanders, one of
whom is said to have advanced on the enemy by way of the
Khazar country. But the date of this (Kay Khusraw=Cyrus)
would be long before the Alexander stories, when mention of ,
the Turks is a demonstrable inaccuracy. The story which is
found in Tabari** as well as ibn-al-Balkhi** is surely a late,,
invention. . f , ;
A hitherto unknown legend of the Khazar court is found..
in a Persian text belonging to the Leyden University Library.*
The author is a certain Muhammad ibn-'Ali al-Katib al-Samar-. ,
qandi, who lived in the 12th century and dedicated his book
to one of the Qara-Khanids. It bears the title ATa-J al-S.yasah
fi Aghratf al-Riyasah and was known to Hajji Khalifah. '
Barthold spoke of it as a historical work**-the one historical „
work written in Transoxiana under the Qara-Khamds, he says-:.
but it is rather of the “Mirror of Princes’ order of literature.
The relevant passage begins in the elaborate, high-Bown style
of much Persian writing: "Khaqan, king of the Khazars [was]
that sovereign, the eagle of whose majesty had hunted down
the simurgh of happiness, and the falcon of whose kingdom-
adorning, state-nurturing wisdom had made a prey of the pea¬
cock that was the high rank of world-dominion.’" After some
observations on the ways of kings, the writer tells that once
the Khaqan gave a feast and sat alone with his boon com¬
panions." To him enters one of the sons of pahhak-i Tan, lA.
evidently an Arab (al-Dahhak is the typical Bedouin marauder
•« Op.cit., 45.
Orientaltum BlbL Acad. Lugduno-Batacae, m,
reference to Professor A. M. Honeyman, St.
••Turkestan (C.M.S.), l8-

Minorsky kindly provided a translation of the difficult
of the old Iranian cycle of legend) and, having paid respectful

greeting to the Khaqan, is invited to drink with him. As the
L sit drinking, musicians begin to play and the conversation
.« i »__» _r —t\*/o nn#»«tions in succession
tion: “Why has prosperity turned its back on you [»£. *e

Arabs] after the kings of the earth bore the saddlecloth of
obedience to you upon the shoulders of submission, and the
stars of heaven laid their foreheads on the dust of your thresh¬
old?" The son of Dahhak replies suitably that this was owing
to bad government, Sopie moralizing by the author foUows
and the episode closes. ,4l., ; .
This is quite clearly an apologue in the Oriental manner
and not history. Pahhak, as already indicated, belongs to
legend. The observations of his son on audition reflect the
musical theory of the time. The story has been invented or
adopted by the 12th century author in order to edify his
patron.71 . , . . , . ' * ,
The interest for us therefore is how Samarqandi here pre-
sents the Khazars. Other sources, as we have seen, both Persian
and Arabic, speak of the Khazar Khaqan in pre-Islam.c tunes
as a great king, whose position as head of an important section
of humanity entitles him to rank with the Sassanid rulers and
the emperors of China. Of all such more or less apocryphal
references to the ancient grandeur of the Khazar Khaqan,
none presents him more distinctly than the present passage.
Here he is a heathen, or at least a non-Muslim, given over to
wine and the delights of music. He is surrounded by courtiers,
unlike the Khaqan of later date, who, we are credibly informed,
lived in more or less seclusion. He is treated deferentially by
’■Had the Qaia-Khinids (Bek Khans) a special interest in the

Khazars? Cf. Chapter VI, n. 125 ad finem.
the Arab prince. Further, he is well-informed and affable and

discourses with simple wisdom about the affairs of men. How
far all this corresponds with historical reality it is of course
impossible to say.
Something much more positive seems to be indicated by an
incident reported by Mas*udi as having taken place at the
court of Shiruyah (Shirwayh) in the 7th century, but relating
to an earlier period. According to Mas'udi’s story,12 while out
riding this king happened to ask one of his suite if he re¬
membered the famous stratagem which his ancestor Ardashir
ibn-Babak had practised on the king of the Khazars. To flatter ‘
and amuse Shiruyah, the courtier feigned ignorance of the”
story and, pretending to be absorbed in the king’s recital, al¬
lowed his horse to fall into a canal. It is clearly intended that
the tale was common knowledge. We are thus given to under¬
stand that the Khazars existed in the time of Ardashir (a.d.
226-240). Now, although the Arabic historians refer briefly
to the activity of Ardashir in their direction,71 particularly
mentioning his occupation of §ul (Darband), the important ' * j
post at the east end of the Caucasus, it is difficult to discover v* i ’ i
what Mas'udi meant by the “famous stratagem.” Nothing which vcv.j i>|
can be so described, nor indeed any explicit connection of 0.
Ardashir with the Khazars, seems to be related elsewhere. . ; - ':
Certainly what Mas'udi says here cannot be accepted as evi-.
dence for their existence in the 3rd century a.d. Why are the *
circumstances, if well-known and authentic, not to be found in ,•
the Karnamak, a work in Pehlevi devoted to the history of t
Ardashir, which has been translated by Noldeke?74 The most .• .
probable opinion is that the reference in Mas'udi is to some
other Persian sovereign, as we shall see.
There is a brief, anachronistic mention of the Khazars as
having marched against Shapur (Sapor), the son of Ardashir,
in the armies of the Emperor Julian,76 after which the Muslim
(1878), 22ff.
sources have little or nothing to say about them till consider¬

ably later. According to Tabari,76 the Persian Firuz (45*7-484)
erected a work of stone in the neighborhood of §ul77 and the
Alans, to protect his country from the northern nations. Ac¬
cording to the Greek author Priscus, Peirozes (Firuz) some
time before a.d. 465 sent to Kounkhas (? Qun Khan), king of
the Kidarite Huns, saying that he wished for peace and an
alliance and would give the Kidarite his sister in marriage.
Kounkhas agreed, but there was sent to him. from Persia, in¬
stead of the sister of Firuz, another woman got up to im¬
personate her. When peace had been duly made, the woman
divulged the fraud to the Kidarite, who insisted on going
through with the marriage. To avenge himself, he induced
Firuz to send him a number of leading Persians, some of whom
he put to death, and the rest he sent back mutilated to their
master.78 There is no reason to doubt that the facts, including
the ferocious denouement, are in the main as Priscus relates
them. He is writing practically contemporary with the events,
and we may see his authority in a certain Constantius, an en¬
voy from the Byzantine court, who met Firuz in a.d. 465. Here
is a stratagem practised by a Persian against a northern ruler.
Is it Mas'udi’s famous example?
Before proceeding, we must glance at the question, Who are
the Kidarites? The usual view is that Priscus meant the Heph-
thalites, or White Huns, to whom in the sequel Firuz owed
his death. Bury remarked that “the Kidarites proper seem to
have been Huns, who had settled in the trans-Caspian country
and threatened the Pass of Dariel.”78 Priscus mentions that the
Persians in 465 held the fortress of Yuroeipakh (P),80 appar¬
ently at the east end of the Caucasus, against the Kidarites and
wanted the Romans to contribute to its upkeep. Elsewhere he
says that when the Saragurs in 468 marched against the Per-
761, 895.
TT It is the Greek Tzour (Procopius, Hist, vm, iii, 4) from Armenian
tsur, “door” ( = Chor).
TB Ed. Bonn, 220£F. 78 Bury, Theodosius, n, 7, n. 5.
80 Ibid., 159, with the var. Uroeisakh.
19
sians, they met at the Caspian Gates (Darband) the Persian

garrison which formerly had held the pass against the Kidar¬
ites.81 A little later, in 472, a Persian embassy to Constantinople
announced a victory over the Kidarites and the capture of the
town of “Balaam,” which may have to be looked for north of
the Caucasus. The name as it stands is surely due to a copyist.82
From all this the question suggests itself, Are the Kidarites
in the 5th century simply the IGiazars? The view which con¬
nects the Kidarites with the Hephthalites does not exclude
this, for it appears that there may be affinity between Hephtha¬
lites and Khazars. The institution of polyandry is said to be char¬
acteristic of the Khazars, or at least attested among them, as well
as among the Hephthalites.88 But unless the text of Priscus
is seriously defective, the Kidarites are perfectly distinct from
the Akatzirs (Akattirs, Akatirs), of whom he also speaks. If
the Kidarites are the Khazars, the Akatzirs apparently are not.
To resume the argument, Qubad (488-531), like his father
Firuz, was concerned with the defense of Darband. It is re¬
peatedly mentioned that he built a brickwork defense in the
region of the Caucasus.84 He sent one of his generals against
the Khazars, who at that time occupied Jurzan (Georgia) and
Arran (Albania),88 south of the range. Much of this territory
is said to have been wrested from them. Then Qubad, follow¬
ing his general, himself built in Arran the cities, afterwards
important, Baylaqan, Bardha*ah, and Qabalah. This notice is
due to Baladhuri, usually regarded as a good early authority
(died 279/892). More remarkable is the following from Ya'qubi
(died after 278/891): “The Khazars were they who conquered
all the lands of Armenia. Over them was a king called Khaqan.
He had a representative [khaltfah] called Y-z-?-d ?-lash over
lbid.t 101.
"Ibid., 165.
•* Marquart, Historische Glossen, 200; cf. Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadlan, 131.
** Baladhuri, 194; ibn-Khurdadhbih, 123. According to BaUdhuri it
stretched between the province of Shirwan (on the Caspian) and Bib
al-Lan (pass of Daria] in the middle Caucasus).
M Baladhuri, loc.cit. Cf. ibn-Khurdadhbih, 122: The provinces of
Axrin, Jurzin, and Sisajin were in the Khazar kingdom (mamlakah).
20
Arran, Jurzan, Busfurrajan and Sisajan. These provinces were

called the Fourth Armenia, which was conquered by Qubad,
king of Persia, and passed to Anushirwan [i.e., his son], as far
as Bab al-Lan for a thousand parasangs, including three hun¬
dred and sixty towns. The Persian king conquered Bab al-
Abwab, Tabarsaran and Balanjar. He built the town of Qaliqala
and many others, and colonized them with Persians. Then the
Khazars reconquered what the Persians had taken from them,
and it remained in their hands for a time, till the Romans de¬
feated them and appointed a king over the Fourth Armenia/’8'1
The first part of this notice apparently refers to the time of
Qubad. We seem to be told that the Khazar Khaqan’s deputy,
i.e., presumably the Beg, until defeated by the Persians, was
in control of part of Armenia. At first sight, there is no reason
to doubt the historic character of the notice, supported as it is
by Baladhuri and ibn-Khurdadhbih. As to the title or personal
name of the deputy, it should certainly be Turkish, like the
rest of the Khazar nomenclature known to us. (Houtsma’s
restoration of the first part as Yazid is not at all satisfactory.)
The second part of the notice refers to the situation on the
Khazar frontier at a later period, shortly before the coming of
the Arabs. On this showing, the notice would give the first
certain appearance of the Khazars, raiding or migrating en
masse south of the Caucasus, as we meet them later on various
occasions. The date would be not later than 531 (death of
Qubad). Moreover, the notice would give the existence of the
Khazar Khaqanate, and even the double kingship, at this time.
This is very difficult. It is not simply that the Khazar Khaqan
and his representative are not named distinctly in the existing
sources till much later. The existence of a Khaqan among a
Turkish people is usually understood to mean their sovereignty
and independence. When next the Khazars appear, it is as part
of the West Turk confederation, marching under West Turk
leadership. In addition, if the notice in Ya'qubi is to be taken
at its face value, the Khazars, complete with Khaqan and
*• Historiae, ed. Houtsma, i, 203-204.
21
deputy, make their appearance while as yet there is no such

thing as a West Turk empire, before even the original Turk¬
ish federation had come into being (a.d. 552). While the
Khazars may have existed in the west before this time, it
seems practically certain that their emergence as a power was
connected with the decline of the West Turks. The rule of the
West Turk Kagans (Khaqans) lasted till a.d. 657 or 659, when
they were crushed by the Chinese.” It is from this point on¬
ward that one would expect to find a Khaqanate among the
Khazars.88 Later investigation may confirm the surprising state¬
ments of Ya'qubi. Meanwhile, an explanation of them may be
suggested along the lines of what we already know. The con¬
text of Ya'qubi’s notice is a genealogy of the northern peoples,
of which the source is not stated,88 but which links up with
genealogies given by Hisham al-Kalbi.80 It is reasonable to sup¬
pose that the latter is Ya'qubi’s authority, especially as else¬
where Hisham al-Kalbi mentions the Khaqan of the Khazars.81
This gives us a much more credible order of dating for the
existence of the Khazar double kingship. Al-Kalbi’s principal
authority was his father, who died in 146/763. He himself
survived till 204/819.8* A date three centuries before this is
almost certainly much too early. On the other hand, it is
hardly by chance that the Khazars begin to be mentioned in
the reigns of Qubad and Anushirwan (531-579). The growing
number of increasingly precise indications seems to prove that
they are indeed upon the scene.88
'Tabari84 tells us that Anushirwan divided his empire into
•T Chavannes, Documents, 267-268.

*• Zeki Validi (Ibn-FadlAn, 293) claims that the tradition of the
Khaqanate among the Khazars is older than the West Turks, on the basis
of the “Urgeschichte" of the Turks (see above) and archaic features in
the Khazar constitution.
•• a. Mar quart, Strnfzuge, 491. » E.g. Tabari, I, 218ff.
#1 See supra, an. 53, 54.
91 Dates from Brockelmann, G.A.L., x, 139.
•* A genuine Pehlevi reference to the Khazars may be in the Bahman
Yosht, dated to about this period. See H. W. Bailey, “Iranica," B.S.OA.S.,
n, 1 (1943), 1-2.
•* i, 894-895, apparently part of an official directive to the Persian
V . * 22
four great provinces or satrapies, one of which was Adhar-

bayjan and its neighborhood, “the country of the Khazars.” He
was engaged with “a nation called Sul," surely inhabitants of
the eastern extremity of the Caucasus, in the neighborhood of
the “pass of §ul” (Darband). He defeated the B-n-j-r,*5 Bal-
anjar and another people who may be the Khazars*6 (if so, as
yet distinct from the others), when they raided Armenia, and
settled 10,000 of the survivors in Adharbayjan. He built Bab
al-Abwab, to call the place by its later Arabic name, a fortress
and city whose purpose was to stem the tide of northern in¬
vasion—a purpose which on the whole it served well in suc¬
ceeding centuries.
The figure of Anushirwan attracted the interest of story¬
tellers. In Qudamah” and YaqutM we find the following.
Anushirwan feared the hostility of the Khazars and wrote to
their king, asking for reconciliation and an alliance. To this end
he requested a Khazar princess in marriage and offered to send
his own daughter in exchange. The Khazar agreed to the over¬
ture. Anushirwan in due course received his bride. But the girl
he sent in return was not of royal race. The two rulers then
met at a place called Barshaliyah, where entertainments went
on in apparent friendliness for several days. Then Anushirwan
caused part of the Khazar camp to be set on fire and, when the
king complained, denied all knowledge. He then ordered his
own camp to be fired and the next day went to the Khazars in
pretended anger, declaring that they suspected his good faith.
Finally he said that though there might be friendship between
himself and his brother, there could never be peace between
governor of Adharbayj&n and Armenia (cf. ibid., 892), and in any case
from a Pehlevi source (see below).
•» Perhaps to be read with Marquart (Streifz., 16) as Burgar, a Pehlevi
form for Bulgar, or right as it stands for the people elsewhere called
W-n-nd-r. The meaning in either case would be much the same. See
Chapter III.
•• Text of Leiden ed. of Tabari (here Noldeke) has “Abkhaz," but cf.
Marquart, Streifzuge, 16 and the references in n. 3, ibid.
97 B.GA., vi, 259fF. The same text practically verbatim in Baladhuri,
195-196, with “Turks" for “Khazars."
•• Buid&n, s.v. Bab al-Abwab.
23
the armies, and it was therefore best that a wall should be built
to separate them. The Khazar king agreed and left the Persians
free to fortify Darband. Later he was told that Anushirwan
had deceived him in the matter of the marriage and had built
the wall against him. But in spite of his rage he could do
nothing.
It seems very probable that this story or something like it
is the “famous stratagem” to which Mas*udi refers. It is demon¬
strably not historical. The incident reported by the Greek
Priscus as having happened in the reign of Firuz is the basis
of the first part of the story." It is transferred to Anushirwan,
because he married a daughter of the Kagan of the West Turks,
Sinjibu (Istami).100 That Anushirwan was responsible for build¬
ing the "Wall of Darband” as part of his defense arrangements
on the Caucasus is not doubtful, but the circumstances given in
the second part of the story are fictitious. The difference be¬
tween legend and historical record is shown by another quota¬
tion from Tabari.101 “Sinjibu Khaqan was the strongest and
bravest of the Turks and possessed the best-equipped armies.
It was he who killed W-z-r, king of the Hephthalites, in spite
of their numbers and power.10* Having slain their king and
the greatest part of their armies, he took possession of their
territories. He won over [istamcila] the B-n-j-r, Balanjar and
the Khazars10* (?), who accorded him their obedience, and
informed him that the kings of Persia were in the habit of
paying them money, on condition of their not raiding Persian
territory. Subsequently, Sinjibu advanced with a large army
until he was near §ul [Darband] and sent a message to
Khusraw Anushirwan demanding the money which had formerly
been paid to the three peoples already mentioned, threatening
that if it was not quickly forthcoming he would invade Persian
territory. But Anushirwan, having already fortified the pass
M See above.
100 Cf. Marquart, Historische Glossen, 199.
101 x, 895-696, continuing the Pehlevi source referred to in n. 94.
lot Cf. Chavannes, Documents, 226.
1M Text "Abkhiz,” cf. n. 96.
of §ul and secure in the knowledge that he could defend the

frontier of Armenia with 5,000 men, made no reply. When
news reached Sinjibu Khaqan of the fortification of the frontier
he and his troops retired to their own country.”
This undoubtedly has an air of authenticity which is lacking
in the tale in Qudamah, etc. On the basis of it, one may affirm
that certain groups later within the Khazar empire, and per¬
haps the Khazars themselves, were ranged under West Turk¬
ish leadership against the Persians at a time which is de¬
termined by the defeat of the Hephthalites, circa a.d. 567,104
and the death of Sinjibu, a.d. 575 or 576.10S In the latter year
a West Turkish force was sent by the son of Sinjibu to join
the Utigurs, then besieging the Crimean town of Bosporus10®
(Panticapaeum, Kertch). Clearly at this period the West
Turks were operating extensively north of the Caucasus. But
the meeting at Barshaliyah of Anushirwan and a king of the
Khazars or Turks, as described in the composite narrative of
Qudamah, is not confirmed.
Other stories are told of Anushirwan. When the Wall of
Darband had been built, a throne was set upon a spur of the
mountain, overlooking the sea, and as Anushirwan sat upon it,
there appeared a monster, gifted with speech, which addressed
him and declared that it had seen this frontier closed seven
times and laid open as often, but Anushirwan was he who was
destined to close the pass forever. Scarcely less wonderful is
the tale that after completing the Wall, Anushirwan made
enquiries about the Caspian. He learned that al-Bayda’ of the
Khazars lay four months’ distance along the coast and de¬
termined to see this for himself. Undissuaded by those who told
him that in the Caspian to the north was a dangerous whirl¬
pool, the Lion’s Mouth, which no ship might escape, he set
sail and reached the whirlpool. Here he was in danger of
perishing, but was miraculously delivered, reached his goal,
104 Chavannes, loc.cit.

105 Chavannes, 242.
104 Menander Prot., ed. Bonn, 404; cf. Chavannes, 241.
25
and in due course returned safely.107 These stories in the best

style of Oriental romance are simply embellishments of the
fact that Anushirwan fortified the pass of Darband. The place-
names will meet us later.
Anushirwan was succeeded by his son Hormuz (579-590).
Not only did Hormuz make war against Sinjibu Khaqan during
his father’s lifetime,108 but later, when himself king of Persia,
he was called on to meet a great coalition, headed, we are told,
by the Shahan-Shah of the Turks, and including the Greeks
and the Khazars.108 Hormuz wrote to the Greek Emperor, of¬
fering in exchange for peace the return of towns which his
father had conquered, and the proposal was accepted. He next
directed his generals to advance against the chief of the Kha¬
zars (sahib al-Khazar)t who was driven from Persian territory.
Hormuz was thus left free to turn his attention to the Turks.
The interest of this narrative is chiefly in the relation of the
Khazars to the Turks. They appear to march at Turkish orders,
and to belong to the West Turkish empire. There is at all
events no reason to suppose that at this date they were inde¬
pendent. The attack on Persia is put in the 11th year of the
reign of Hormuz, i.e., something like a.d. 589.
With the reign of Hormuz we have reached a point where
references to the Khazars have begun in other sources, notably
the Syriac writers Michael and “Zacharias Rhetor."110 Let us
see what the Greek author Procopius has to say about the
inhabitants of the lands north of the Caucasus in his own
time, the first half of the 6th century. According to Procopius,
the Alans and the Abkhazians, who were Christians and had
long been friends of the Romans, lived in this region together
with the Zichs (Circassians), and beyond were the Sabir Huns,
101 Ibn-al-Faqih, 289.

108 Dinawari, 69£F. Mlrkhwand, who quotes Dinawari by name, sub¬
stitutes for Sinjibu Khaqan “the Khaqan of China” (transl. Rehatsek, x,
if, 375). a. below.
108 Dinawari, 81. Tabari (x, 991) adds that at the same time the Arabs
attacked in the south.
1X0 See above.
mentioned with other Hunnic nations. During the reign of the

Emperor Anastasius (491-518), the Hun Ambazulc held the
Caspian Gates (Darband) and was succeeded on his death
by one Kabad. Procopius speaks of the Sabirs as living in the
neighborhood of the Caucasus in very large numbers and di¬
vided into many separate groups."' Of the Khazars as such
he appears to know nothing.
The term Sabir is new in our discussion, but Procopius is
neither the first nor the only author to mention the Sabirs.
According to Priscus,"’ they made their appearance on the
confines of Europe in the 5th century (before 465), having
been forced from their territories in the east by the Avars. In
the next century Jordanes refers to them as one of the two
great branches of the Huns."* What Procopius says of them
is so far confirmed by Theophanes, according to whom they
passed through the Caspian Gates about 514 and invaded
Cappadocia and Galatia."4
The Sabirs then should be the enemy opposed to the
Persians along their northwest frontier for a considerable
period, before the appearance of the West Turks, and even
later. After the second half of the 6th century they are no
longer mentioned in the sources as a national group, and it
is probably significant that about 576 a section, or perhaps
the remnants of them, were transplanted south of the Kur
river by the Greeks."* The suggestion is that about this time
the Khazars asserted their leadership of the tribes north of
the Caucasus, for while there remains some doubt as to the
earlier references to the Khazars in this quarter, there can be
none later. Mas'udi (10th century) says that the Khazars are
called in Turkish Sabir,"* and this identification is perhaps
implicit in Mahmud al-Kashgari"’ (11th century). Originally
»" Procopius, Hist, n, xxnc, 15; vm, in, 5; i, x, 9-12; vm, xi, 23.
1,2 Ed’ Bonn, 158. Cf. D. Sinor, “Autour d’une migration de peuples
au V* si*cle." JA.t t 235 (1946-1947), 1-77.
,x* Getica, ed. Mommsen, 63. Ed. Bonn 249
11B Menander Prot., 394. »• Tonbih, 83.
llT a. Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadl&n, 203.
the two groups were different.118 That they could later be

identified is perhaps best explained by assuming that the
Khazars submerged the Sabirs. In any case, an important re¬
constitution of the tribes seems to have taken place north of
the Caucasus at the end of the 6th or the beginning of the 7th
century. Not only the Sabirs, but apparently others also, cease
to appear in the sources under their old names (Saragur,
Utigur, Samandar, Balanjar, etc.). This can hardly be fortui¬
tous. It is no doubt to be connected with the increasing pres¬
tige of the Khazars.
For the events which brought them into contact with the
Greek Emperor Heraclius we are comparatively well informed
from a variety of sources, Greek, Armenian, and Georgian. In
a.d. 627 Heraclius was at Tiflis, on one of his expeditions
against Persia which he had undertaken as a diversion to the
Persian invasion of his own country. Here he was met by the
Khazars, who, under their chief Ziebel, second in dignity to
the Khaqan, had forced the Caspian Gates and marched to
the rendezvous. Gibbon has given a description in brilliant
colors of the reception of Heraclius by the Khazars.118 Ziebel
presented his son to Heraclius, assigned 40,000 men to the
Emperor's service, then withdrew to his own country. Heraclius
himself pressed on with the Khazar contingent into Persian
territory. As winter approached, and the allies were being
sharply attacked by the Persians, the Khazars with Heraclius
gradually fell away, perhaps impatient of the Greek method
of conducting the war. Heraclius continued to advance with
the imperial troops, until, when he was within three days’
march of Ctesiphon, the Persian capital, a revolution broke out
which precipitated the death of Khusraw. His son hastened to
treat with Heraclius, who in 628 began his return march.120
The Armenian account is somewhat different.121 In 625 the
118 Chazirk' and Savirk' quite distinct in the Armenian Geography

ascribed to Moses of Chorene (Mar quart, Streifz., 57ff).
118 Decline and FaU of the Roman Empire, c. 46.
lt0 Theophanes, ed. Bonn, 485ff.; cf. Chavannes, Documents, 252ff.
. Moses.of Kaghankaytuk (Kalankatuk). See Patkanian in J.A.t vi.
fe.
28
Khazars broke into Armenia and, having amassed great booty,

returned by way of Darband. In consequence the Khazar king
decided the next year to take the field in person. Orders were
given to all under his authority, “tribes and peoples, inhabitants
of the mountains and the plains, living under roofs or the open
sky, having the head shaved or wearing their hair long,” to be
ready to march at a given signal. When the time came, the
Khazars put themselves in motion. They took and destroyed
the fortress of Tzur (Darband), to construct which the Persian
kings had spared no effort or expense, and, proceeding south¬
ward, massacred the inhabitants and plundered the wealth of
the country till they reached Tiflis. Here, as already mentioned,
they met Heraclius. The two armies, acting in concert, set siege
to Tiflis, which was on point of yielding when a strong re¬
inforcement succeeded in entering the town. The allies decided
to retire, on the understanding that they should join forces
again the following year. After this, apparently in 626, the
Emperor sent Andreas, one of his lords, to negotiate with the
Khazars. In order that agreement might be reached on the
final conditions, a corps of 1,000 Khazar horsemen visited Con¬
stantinople. These negotiations, if authentic, should evidently
be set before the meeting at Tiflis. In the next year, a.d. 627,
the “King of the North” sent the troops promised under the
command of his brother’s son, who was called Shath (Shad),
and they ravaged Arran and Adharbayjan.
In 628, according to the same account, the Khazars entered
Arran and, having taken Bardha'ah, turned west towards Tiflis,
under the command of Jebu Khaqan and his son. They sur¬
rounded and set siege to the Georgian city, and were soon
joined by Heraclius and his Greeks, fresh from their triumph
in Persia. But the city resisted the combined assault, and both
armies withdrew. Some time later under Jebu Khaqan and his
son Shath the Khazars actually took Tiflis. When it fell, two of
the chiefs were brought before Jebu Khaqan, who treated them
vii (1866), 205ff.; Chavannes, ibid. Moses of K. wrote in the 10th

century (Minorsky, Hudud, 398).
29
with abominable cruelty, causing them to be blinded and

racked, with other tortures, and finally exposing them on the
walls of the city. The source adds that the “King of the North"
took tribute from the smelters of gold and silver (?), the
miners of iron and the fishers of the river Kur, and that in 629-
630 the Khazar king prepared a great invasion, sending in ad¬
vance 3,000 horses commanded by the general Chorpan
Tarkhan. Ten thousand Persians were defeated, and the in¬
vaders spread through Armenia, Georgia, and Arran.
It is not necessary to attempt to bring these accounts into
strict agreement. Of considerable importance to our investiga¬
tion is, however, the identification, if possible, of the leaders
on the Khazar side. After mentioning that Heraclius sought
an alliance with “the Turks from the East, whom they call
Khazars,” Theophanes says that the “Khazars" broke through
the Caspian Gates under “their general Ziebel, being second
to the Khaqan in dignity.” Ziebel at Tiflis presents his son, a
beardless boy, to Heraclius. Later in the account the Khazars
are referred to simply as “Turks.” The Armenian account says
that the “King of the North” sent troops under his brother’s son,
who was called Shath (Shad), and that later Jebu Khaqan
and his son Shath ravaged Georgia and Arran. On this show¬
ing, Ziebel is for Jebu, Ziebel’s son is Shath (Shad) and the
“King of the North” is the Khazar Khaqan. As there is no doubt
that Jebu (cf. Georgian Jibghu)'" is the Turkish title Yabgu,
assigned to brothers and sons of the sovereign, we get Ziebel as
a Khazar Yabgu. But there are serious objections to this. If
Ziebel is precisely second in rank to the Khazar Khaqan (whose
existence has not been established up to this time), he cor¬
responds to the Khazar Beg, who should be of a different
family from the Khaqan, as we know from later Arabic
sources.'" Ziebel is identified with Jebu Khaqan. How does a
subordinate bear the supreme title? It seems, moreover, that
in The Georgian Chronicle gives an account of these events (in Bra-

set, Hiitoire dela Gtorgie, l, 227-229), but as Marquart remarks (Strei/z.,
394, n. 2) it is secondly.
.‘"See Chapter V.' i
- 30
the Armenian account only in appearance distinguishes be¬

tween Jebu Khaqan and the “King of the North, "‘ the king
of Khazaria. This is not reconcilable with Theophanes, ac¬
cording to whom Ziebel/Jebu is “second in dignity to the
Khaqan.” Ziebel, in fact, is neither the Khaqan of Khazaria
nor bearer of a subordinate title among them (Beg, Yabgu).
The writer of the Armenian account knows of a single chief,
whom he calls Jebu, i.e.,Yabgu, Khaqan and erroneously identi¬
fies with the king of the Khazars. But Yabgu Khaqan was the
title of the rulers of the West Turks,"* from the days of Sinjibu
(Sin, or Sir, Yabgu). Ziebel then is the ruler of the West Turks,
a paramount chief, but still second in dignity, as Theophanes
says, to the supreme Khaqan of the Turks. He is perhaps to be
identified with the Khaqan of the West Turks mentioned in the
Chinese sources as Tong che-hou (Tong Yabgu), whose head¬
quarters were in the region of the Chu and Taraz (Talas)
valleys, north of Tashkent."* The situation in 627 is then as
we seem to have seen it before: Khazars marching under West
Turkish leadership. There is no evidence in the passage for the
existence as yet of the Khazar Khaqan or Beg.
This conclusion will be reinforced by the observation that
while the title Yabgu may be traced back to the Hiung-nu
(Huns) and is found apparently among the Avars, as well as
the West Turks and other Turkish nations,1" it scarcely ap¬
pears among the Khazars. In the extensive Arabic accounts of
wars with the Khazars, not to mention any of the other sources,
the title, so far as the present writer is aware, does not occur.
The only reference to a Yabgu among the Khazars seems to be
a passage in the Persian historian Mirkhwand (15th century),
where in connection with the rise of the Seljuks mention is
made of “the king of the Khazars designated Payghu,” for
H4 Cf. Chavannes, Documents, 255, n. 3.

i” Chavannes, 38, n. 5.
i26 Marquart, Streifz498; Chavannes, Documents, 52
i*7 Pelliot, “L’orizine des Tou kiue,” Toung Paot 1915, 688, n. 5;
Zeld Validi, lbn-Fadldn, 140.
31
“Yabghu.”128 Mirkhwand, however, is no authority on such mat¬

ters. In an earlier version of the same story an ancestor of the
Seljuks (Tuqaq, a chief of the Ghuzz) quarrels with “Paighu,
king of the Turks”129 There is no doubt that this is his own
superior, the Yabgu of the Ghuzz.130
There is one other point. The Armenian writer Sebeos men¬
tions a “Khaqan of the Northern Lands," together with his
general, the latter designated Chepetukh (evidently Yabgu)
of Chenastan (China), as receiving certain Armenians who
later passed Darband, going to the help of Heraclius.131 This
appears to be an obscure reference to the events of a.d. 627.
In the expression “Chenastan Chepetukh” we seem bound to
see the same original form as in “Sinjibu.” Sebeos appears to
have interpreted the first part of the latter name as Sin=China.
This is interesting as affording an explanation of references in
the Darband Ndmah to a mysterious Khaqan-i Chin (Khaqan
of China), who is said to have assisted the Khazars against
the Muslims circa a.h.32/a.d.652.192 But apart from these two
texts there is no evidence of the existence of any Turkish ruler
Sinjibu after the 6th century. Mention of the name later should
be due to anachronism.
In summing up the results of this chapter, we may say that
a survey of the available evidence brings to light no positive
trace of the Khazars before the 6th century. In the second
half of the century—i.e., coincident with the rise of the Turkish
power—they are first unmistakably mentioned. In the first half
of the 7th century they are still under West Turkish domina¬
tion. Later, but within the same century, they enjoy full in-
»*• Cited Von Stackelberg, W.Z.K.M., xvn, 58.

lrt Ibn-al-Athir, ix, 162, i. arm. 432.
1,0 See below, Chapter DC.
,iX Patkanian, ibid., 196; cf. Chavannes, Documents, 255, n. 3.
1M Ed. Kasem Beg, 494. Kasexn Beg states (ibid., 501) that according
to ‘Tabari" the Khazars about twenty yean later, having invaded Adhar-
bayjin, solicited the aid of the Emperor of China against the Arabs.
Kasem Beg's Tabari" is a Turkish version of Bal'ami, where the pas¬
sage In question is given, referring to the expedition of Jarrah (con¬
siderably more than Twenty years later"). See below. Chapter IV.
mm
dependence of action, as we shall see. The Khazar connection

with the West Turks is not unambiguous, but in view of what
has been said there is no doubt that it existed. This cannot be
affirmed with confidence of a possible relation through the
Akatzirs with the Huns or the conjectured affinity with the
Hephthalites.
A THEORY OF THE UIGUR ORIGIN
OF THE KHAZARS
The name Turk first became known through the rise m the 6th
century of the great power to which we have already referred.
It is applied legitimately to groups belonging to the same
racial family which have appeared at different times. That the
Khazars were Turkish in this broader sense, and not Finnish
(Finno-Ugrian) as used to be thought,1 nor Japhetic, proto-
Caucasian,' etc., admits of no doubt. The titles of their leaders,
the existence of a double kingship, and much else besides are
not otherwise to be explained. We have to enquire if there is
one or more of the kindred peoples to which the Khazars are
more particularly to be attached.
A good deal of evidence appears to connect the Khazars
with the Uigurs. The latter people existed before and after the
empire of the Turks in the east, and we know about them from
Chinese records as well as from the old Turkish inscriptions.
For the existence of the Uigurs in the west we have a number
of passages in the Byzantine writers. It is convenient to ex-
amine some Chinese sources first.*
According to Gibbon, the Khazars were known to the Chi-
nese as Kosa, and he quotes for this at first sight surprising
statement the well-known Histoire des Huns by De Guignes.‘
De Guignes derived the equation Kosa=Khazars from the
W6n-hsi£n Vung-kao, the final redaction of which is dated a.d.
> E.B., Klaproth fa JA., «, iii, 160, but also much later.
» Bashmakov, loc.cit., d. N. Slouschz fa MfangesH. Dcrerxbourg. Even
Duhnov (Welieeschichte des fudischen Volkes, Berlin, n d., iv, 247)
thfakTof theltiiazarsas comfaThom the south of the Caucasus, but
enough to supply pracbcally all the

following information about the Chinese sources. __
•'Dedtne and Fall of the Roman Empire, c.,46.
THEORY OF THE UIGUR ORIGIN
1322. This gives an article on Fu-lin or Rum, the Byzantine

empire, taken verbally from an earlier Chinese work, the
T'ting-tien, written in the period 766-801. The source quoted for
this part of the Fu-lin article is the narrative of a certain Tu
Huan, who had fallen into Arab captivity at the battle of Jaraz
(Talas) in 751 and returned to China in 762.® Tu Huan had
evidently heard about the Khazars as northern neighbors of the
Arabs and distinctly refers to them as the K’o-sa Turks, in con¬
nection with Chan® (Sham, Syria) as well as Fu-lin7 (Rum).
Similarly in the T'ang-shu, in 945 or 1060 according to the date
of its two versions, the K'o-sa Turks are mentioned as lying to
the north of the Byzantine empire,® Khwarizm® and Persia.10
In the notice relative to Khwarizm the name appears with a
somewhat different orthography as Ho-sa Turks.11
In the Chinese sources there appears to be nothing which
would lead us to suppose that the expressions already mentioned
Xhenastan Chepetukh" and “Khaqan of China” indicate Chi¬
nese activity in the vicinity of the Caspian, or are to be ex¬
plained otherwise than as due to confusion with Sinjibu (?Sin
Yabgu). But we learn from these sources that the sixth of
the nine primitive Uigur tribes was called Ko-sa.12 Is Ko-sa
the same as K*o-sa=Khazars? This is a very attractive equa¬
tion. It has been made in effect by E. H. Parker, who, speaking
of the Ko-sa in connection with certain Shado Turks, says,
‘They would seem to have mostly migrated west, for the His¬
tory of the T'ang dynasty [he means the passages from the
• Hirth and RockhiU, Chao Ju-kua, 108ff; Pelliot, “Les artisans chinois
& la capitale abbaside cn 751-762," Toung Pao, xxvx (1928-1929), llOff.
•WSn-hsitn t’ung-kao, 339, 19b=rung-ti*n, 193, 24a. Professor
Haloun translated: “The country of Chan is situated on the western
borders of the Ta-shih [Abbasidsl ... in the north it is limitrophe to
the K o-sa Turks. To the north of the K o-sa there are still other Turks."
’Wfri-yn t’ung-k'ao, 339, 3a=T’ung-tien, 193, lib, translated by
Hirth, China and the Roman Orient, 83.
8 T’ang-shu, 221, translated Hirth, ibid., 56.
® T’ang-shu, 221b, 27, translated Bretschneider, Researches, n, 93, and
Chavannes, Documents, 145.
10 T'ang-shu, 221b, 64, translated Chavannes, ibid., 170.
11 This may possibly point to a tradition independent of Tu Huan.
11 Chavannes, Documents, 94.
35
T'ang-shu quoted above] gives a Khazar race northwest of the

Arabs.”13 It may be remarked that according to Parker the
Shado Turks were West Turks.14 More recently Paul Pelliot
said explicitly that in his opinion we have the same name in
Khazar and Ko-sa, the Uigur tribe, citing other authorities and
a number of relevant facts.15
From the inscriptions, we know that the Uigurs existed in
the time of the Turkish empire. In 742 they formed part of
the coalition which destroyed the East Turkish power, and
thereafter took the leadership on the river Orkhon till 840.18
But they certainly are to be found in the records of the Far
East much earlier, at the head of a great confederation under
the later Wei,17 and possibly even before this at the time of
the first Wei (227-264).18 According to one of the versions of
the T'ang-shu, they were descended from the Hiung-nu19
(Huns). These facts are to be connected with what is said by
the Byzantine authors. We have already alluded to the passage
in Priscus about the appearance of the Sabirs circa 463. At
that time the ambassadors of three peoples, the Saragurs,
Onogurs, and another, probably the Uigurs,80 felt themselves
threatened, and applied to the Greeks for assistance. They are
evidently represented as in the neighborhood of Byzantium,
and are presumably still there a century later, when the tribes
descended from Var and Hunni, calling themselves Avars but
really Uigurs, first arrived from the east in 558.8X For we hear
that the newcomers caused great alarm on their appearance
among the Barselt (Barsilians) Onogurs and Sabirs,82 and in a
18 A Thousand fears of the Tatars, ed. 2, 198.

Ibid., 180. 18 Noms turcs, 208, n. 1.
*• Minorsky, Jjudud, 264. 18 Chavannes, Documents, 87-89.
*• Marquart, Streifz., 45. 18 Chavannes, loc.cit.
*° Priscus, ed. Bonn, 158 Ourogoi, hence Artamonov, 135, Urogs, but
rather read Ougdroi. It seems superfluous to suppose that these tribes are
Ogurs(?) not Uigurs, when we have Sari Uigurs and On Uigurs vouched
for in the Far East later (cf. e.g. Minorsky, Hudud, 264-5, 509).
“ See Chapter I.
“ Tbeophylact Sim., ed. Bonn, 284 (correct Sarsilt).
mm**
36
parallel account they attack the Utigurs and Sabirs.” It looks

uncommonly like a situation in which successive groups of
Uigurs from before 465 have migrated westward, till they are
well within the boundaries of Europe. Certainly we read of
Uigurs west of the Volga in 569,14 and of a force of Utigurs
besieging Bosporus (Kertch) in 576,” in both cases as subject
to the West Turks. Apparently the process was not complete
till 598, when other “Varchonites" arrived in Europe, as we
have seen.26
Certainly not all the Uigurs withdrew to the west. What we
seem to find is that within the territory controlled by the Turks,
and perhaps beyond it, there was a population which was alien,
and which appears moreover to have had a great defeat and
massacre to avenge.” It is hardly fortuitous that the destruc¬
tion of the West Turks in 652-657, as of the East Turks later,
was brought about by a coalition of which the Uigurs formed
part. We know that the West Turk power was replaced by that
of the Khazars not long afterwards. It appears that the Kha-
zars, supported by other groups, e.g., Zabender (Samandar),
Kotzagers (Bulgars),26 now made rapid strides to empire.”
u Menander Prot., 284. «Ibid., 301. ” Ibid., 404; cf. 399.

26 It is here assumed that such names as Saragurs, Onogurs, Utigurs
involve the same component and could be rendered respectively "Yellow
Uigurs,” “Ten Uigurs" “Three (?) Uigurs." Cf. Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadl&n,
” Theophylact, 285, where the proper name Kolkh should refer to the
chief of the Uigurs, as Gibbon took it (Decline and Fall, c. 42), rather
than to an unknown Turkish nation. Cf. Marquart, Historische Glossen,
170; Chavannes, Documents, 251.
*■ See Chapter I.
39 The problem of the Khazar Khaqanate seems connected with the
Khaqanate of the Avars (pseudo-Avars), who since circa 558 had been
devastating the lands of Europe. The "Varchonites" who came in 598
are said to have joined the Avar Khaqan, but not all can have done so.
Either 1, there was a ruling family among the Khazars in the west from
an early period (? of the Achena house, cf. Ijudud al-Alam, 162); or
2, the Khazar Khaqanate is connected with the second influx of "Var¬
chonites” in 598; or 3, the Khazars invented a Khaqanate (? in imitation
of the Avars). Of these, 2 seems likeliest, cf. Samandar (Zabender) as
the first Khazar capital (text of Mas'udi in Chapter VII). The date of
the Khaqanate should no doubt be post rather than ante the events of
652-657. On the other hand, the Ya'qubi notice of the Khazar Khaqan
37
It is conceivable that the de facto Khazar leadership before

and after 657 was more readily acquiesced in if they repre¬
sented a tribe (Ko-sa) of an earlier ruling race. The doubtful
heredity of the “Varchonites” connects them with less hon¬
orable progenitors.*0
The argument that the Khazars may be the Ko-sa Uigurs is
offered tentatively, in the absence of demonstrative proof. It is
supported by a variety of considerations, which cumulatively,
perhaps, have a certain weight and may now be considered.
Corroboration of an earlier stratum of Uigurs in what came
to be known as Khazaria is perhaps to be found in the story
from Michael Syrus and Bar Hebraeus, mentioned in the
previous chapter. A people called Puguraya or Panguraya is
there represented as one of the nations which before the ad¬
vent of the Khazars and Bulgars had occupied eastern Europe.
Nothing can be made of the form as it stands, and various
attempts have been made to render it intelligible. The early
editors of Bar Hebraeus, Bruns and Kirsch, rendered “Hun¬
garians,” Wallis Budge “Pangurians” (?) and Marquart pro¬
posed a modification of the text to give “the people of Balan-
jar.”*1 Of these much the most plausible is the last, but since
elsewhere Bar Hebraeus has a similar word for Uigurs, it should
perhaps also be read here.** These Uigurs would be those al¬
ready settled in Europe, as we seem to find them in the Greek
sources.
Again, among the high dignitaries of the Khazar state, ac¬
cording to ibn-Fadlan, we find the holder of the title Jawshygh-r.
It is possible that the last part of the term is precisely Uigur,
and it has been explained as Chavush Uigur, perhaps “marshal
of the Uigurs.” The alternative explanations seem labored.**
and his deputy could refer to the yean before the coming of the Arabs
(circa 642/. As there was apparently no Khazar Khaqan in 627-630
(see Chapter I), the office may have arisen, if not post 657, in the
decade 630640.
Cf. Chavannes, Documents, 88n. 11 Streifz491.
•* Bar Hebraeus, ed. Budge, fol. 126a, 1.7 infra: leuraya.
* *• Zeld Valid! (Ibn-Fodten, 281) suggests Jawlishagir, a combination
isik • :* ^ • . :•— 38
Vil .
-/.'r.-mi,
There are some parallels between the ceremonial of the

Khazar Khaqan, as described by ibn-Fadlan,34 and an account
of the king of the Toghuzghuz,35 which may be adduced here.
It is generally allowed that Toghuzghuz in Arabic sources
means the Uigurs.36 Here the Uigurs of the Tien Shan (from
circa 860) seem to be intended.37 Their king, like the Khazar
Khaqan, does not rule himself. “All the affairs of his kingdom
are in the hands of his viziers and chamberlains.” The Khazar
Khaqan has sixty slave-girls, the king of the Toghuzghuz (three
hundred and) sixty. The king of the Toghuzghuz sees the com¬
mon people once a year. According to ibn-Fadlan, the Khazar
Khaqan appears in public only once in four months. When
this happens, he like the king of the Toghuzghuz receives the
prostrations of his subjects. If what is here said was actually
the practice among the Tien Shan Uigurs we should probably
be entitled to allow a connection with the Khazars.
As to a possible linguistic connection between Uigurs and
Khazars, the existing monuments of the Uigur dialect offer no
support for it. It is commonly accepted that the Khazar dialect
belonged to the so-called aberrant branch, conveniently called
“Lir” Turkish, as opposed to “Shaz” Turkish,36 represented by
nearly all known Turkish dialects. The Uigur dialect as known
is "Shaz” Turkish.36 There is no evidence that it ever was any¬
thing else. It is conceivable, however, that the “Lir” Turkish
at a remote period was widely spoken, and if the Uigur/Khazar
of two titles found among the Qara-Khanids, Jawli Bek and Jagri Bek.
Zaj^czkowski, Studies, 34-35, 97 offers jarashgir, from yarash, jarash,
"reconcile,’* a nominal form in -gir in the sense of “arbiter,” "judge.”
•4 See translation in Chapter V.
•sFrom a Risalah fi-al-Aqalim (Treatise on the Climes), MS. Kopnilii
1623, cited Zeld Validi, Ibn-Fadldn, 263, 268.
86 Marquart’s view, corroborated by Minorsky’s findings, Tamim, 304.
87 Cf. Zeld Validi, Ibn-Fadl&n, 197n.
18 The terms are derived from the correspondences in the system
sh(a)z ~ l(i)r, taken to represent the principal phonetic changes be¬
tween the two groups of languages, cf. Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadldn, 105.
The principle goes back to Ramstedt, see N. Poppe, "Gustav John
Ramstedt,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 14 (1951), 319.
ME.g.,Samoylovitch in EJ., art. Turks.
39
relationship was otherwise acceptable, the linguistic argument

would not be determinative against it.40
We cannot omit mention of the view that the national names
of the Bulgars and the Bashkirs are originally the same,41
corresponding to the differences between “Lir” and “Shaz”
Turkish. BU or biel is “Lir” Turkish for “Shaz” Turkish bash,
and the last part of both names is the same -gur, -gir. Both are
interpreted as “Five Ogurs (Uigurs)If the proposed derivation
is right, it gives interesting confirmation of the theory dis¬
cussed in this chapter, for there is no doubt that the relations
between the Khazars and the Bulgars were at all times close.
40 The question of the Khazar language is discussed in later chapters.

41 Munkacsi’s view, cited Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadlan, 147.
THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE
KHAZAR STATE AND THE FIRST ARAB-KHAZAR
WAR (642-652)
The Khazars at first evidently nomadized within relatively

narrow limits. We have already met them in the Caucasus. A
notice in the Armenian Geography speaks of them at an un¬
specified date as in winter-quarters on the Volga, thereby
causing alarm to the Barsilians who fortify themselves on an
island in midstream.1 At one time the Khazars were in close
alliance with the Bulgars.* We have to think of the Khazars
in the territory between the Volga and the Causasus occupying
the coastal lands, while the Bulgars are situated farther to the
west, with their center in the Kuban river valley. Relations
between the two groups did not always remain the same. We
must now speak of a great expansion of the Khazars at the cost
of the Bulgars, which took place in the course of the 7th cen¬
tury and gave the Khazars direct control of a wide region, at
least as far west as the Don and Kuban rivers.
According to the story in Theophanes, the Bulgars (Onogun-
durs) in the Kuban region had been strongly organized by
their ruler Kubrat. On his death towards 650 he left his do¬
minions to five sons, enjoining them to keep together and not
seek separate kingdoms. This sound advice they rejected, for,
while the eldest brother Batbaias remained in his inheritance,
the others separated, the second brother Kotragus crossing the
Don and settling opposite Batbaias, the third, Asparukh, oc¬
cupying lands west of the Dniester, the fourth and fifth going
yet farther afield, beyond the Danube. Whereupon the Kha¬
zars, described by Theophanes as “a great nation from the in-
1 Ed. Soukry, 26, 16 (quoted Marquait, Streifz., 57, 154).

* Cf. the story of Michael Syrus in Chapter I.
41
CONSOLIDATION AND ARAB-KHAZAR WAR
tenor of Berzilia in the first Sarmatia,” advanced and possessed

themselves of all the territory as far as the Black Sea, and
rendered tributary those of the former inhabitants who re¬
mained.* The change of position was complete in 679, when
Asparukh crossed the Danube and conquered present-day
Bulgaria.4
We may remark that this story affords a basis for the view
that the name Bulgar means the Five (? Uigurs). According
to Constantine Porphyrogenitus, after the events just recorded,
the name Onogundur was replaced by Bulgar.3 This puts the
change too late. Plainly, the Onogundurs did not adopt the
new name after one or more of their hordes had been subju¬
gated by the Khazars. The Bulgars are distinctly mentioned
before this time.4 The other name is paralleled in an inde¬
pendent account of the events described. It is perhaps an
alternative form of Onogur.T
The earliest recorded event in the sketch of Khazar history
offered by the “Reply of Joseph,” a Hebrew document of great
interest which will concern us later, is a great Khazar victory
over a people called in this source W-n-nt-r. The W-n-nt-r,
though more numerous than the Khazars, were unable to stand
against them and were pursued by the Khazars as far as the
river Duna (Danube apparently). The survivors were still liv¬
ing on the river Duna “near Constantinople," beyond the limits
of Khazar rule, in the writer’s own time. There is no doubt that
this is a version of the story given by Theophanes. It is not
* Thcophanes, ed. Bonn, 544ff; cf. Nicephorus ed. Bonn, 38ff. Bury
(L.R.E., n, 332) thought that this notice puts the events too [ate by
nearly two centuries, cf. also Marquart, Strrifc, 505^ It seems best
retain the 7th century date with Minorsky, Ijudud, 467; cf. an rndica-
TheÂrmenian Geography, following the same tradition (Marquart,

ibid., 529), says that Asoar-hmk (Asparukh) ^t from the
Khazars settled on the island of Peuke in the Danube (ed. Soukry,
17,5;25,25, cited Marquart, Eranshahr, 4).
• De Them., ed. Bonn, 46.
• "Zacharies Rhetor" has Burgirfc (Marquart, Streifz., 505)
Pritsak in
» So J. Morevcdk, Ungartxht Jahrbiichet, x, 72-73 (died I
bis review "of Z»j*czkow«k[, Studio, Der Idam, B. 29, 102).
42
necessary to show that the change from Onogundur to

W-n-nt-r in Hebrew script is feasible, since there is a people
W-n-nd-r in the Caucasus, according to the Hudud al-'Alam
(10th century), whose presence is best explained as a remnant
of the Bulgars.8 Connected with W-n-nd-r are N-nd-r in
Gardizi,® perhaps also W-b-nd-r in ibn-al-Athir,10 correspond¬
ing to N-ndh-rwayh in Hafiz-i Abru,11 and W-l-nd-r in Mas-
‘udi.12 It seems likely that some or all of these words retain
the old name of the Bulgars.
The Reply of Joseph gives no indications as to where the
Khazars were before they came to occupy the newly-conquered
territory. According to Theophanes they proceeded against
the Onogundurs, as already quoted, “from the interior of
Berzilia in the first SarmatiaFor Berzilia a parallel account
in Nicephorus gives Berylia.1* Both forms are unknown to
classical geography, but the name, which we have already
met, can be explained from the Oriental sources.
“Basilians” are mentioned with Khazirs by the Armenian
History. According to Michael Syrus, the eponymous ancestor
of the Khazars came to occupy "the country of the Alans, which
is called Barsalia.” In the story told by Qudamah of the meet¬
ing between Anushirwan and the king of the Khazars (ac¬
cording to Baladhuri the king of the Turks) this took place
at Barshaliyah or Barsaliyah. These names 14 are to be brought
into relation with the Berzilia of Theophanes, and seem to
point to a locality in the Caucasus. In the Armenian Geogra¬
phy there is mention of a “kingdom of the Huns" north of
Darband,15 with its capital “to the west"1* at Varach'an. In
8 Marquart, Ungarische Jahrbucher, iv, 275, cited by Zelci Validi,

Volkerschaften, 48, who, however, finds the identification very question¬
able. Cf. the long discussion in Minorsky, Hudud, 465-471.
® Ed. Barthold, 98. 10 S. anno 104.
11 Cited Dorn, Bal'ami, 468n.
12 The passage is given in translation and discussed below. Chapter VII.
28 Marquart, Streifz., 490, n. 3, proposed to read Ber(z)ylia.
14 See Chapter I.
18 Ed. Soukry, 27, 14 (quoted Marquart, Streifz., 58).
18 Apparently “west" is south, as “east" is north in the source (the river
Atil east of Darband).
43
Blruni later we find a place situated apparently between Baku

and Darband called Warathan,17 and this may be the same. It
appears to be mentioned also as War(a)san in one of the He¬
brew accounts of the conversion of the Khazars to Judaism.18
Varach'an (Warathan) may be the same as Barshaliyah.
Minorsky has already characterized the identification as very
probable.1* How in this case two forms should have arisen in
Arabic is not perfectly clear. Perhaps Warathan represents the
native pronunciation of the name, which gave also Armenian
Varach'an, while Barshaliyah is an attempt, like Berzilia and
Barsalia, to accommodate it to another language. It seems right
with Zeki Validi to regard both Varach'- and Barsh- as the
name of a tribe.*0
The available notices, though regrettably vague, do not per¬
mit us to restrict Barsilia and the Barsilians to a small territory
at the east end of the Caucasus. Apart from the town in Daghe¬
stan, there is unmistakable evidence of the name on the Volga,
as we have seen. Michael Syrus identified Barsalia with Alania,
i.e., the neighborhood of the pass of Darial in the middle
Caucasus. The pseudo-Avars in 558 brought alarm to peoples
already occupying the southeastern fringe of Europe, among
which are mentioned the Sarselt. We may confidently read
this name Barselt and connect it with Berzilia. The Barsilians
were apparently to be found in widely separated parts of the
later Khazaria. If it is thus difficult to determine what The-
ophanes meant by his Berzilia, a certain light has been thrown
on the situation before the Khazar advance against the Bulgars.
The Khazars seem in fact to have mastered the Barsilians at an
earlier date. They are perhaps represented as on the point of
doing so in the first-quoted passage of the Armenian Geogra-
it Cited Zeki Validi, lbn-Fadlan, 298n. Another town of similar name,

Warathan or Warthan, lay farther south on the Araxes (Minorsky,
tfudtid, 395).
18 See Chapter VI.
18 Hudiid, 453, n. 1. . .
*o lbn-Fadlan, 156-157. The Bulkhk’ (Bughkhk) mentioned in the
Armenian Geography as forming a single people with the Khazars are
perhaps the same (ed. Soukry, 26, 16, Marquart, Streifz., 154, cf. 57).
. '-Jsr; 44
phy. This is doubtless the explanation of another passage of

that work in which the “King of the North” is explained as
“the Khaqan, the lord of the Khazars,” while the Queen, sc.
of the North, is “the Khatun, of the people of the Barsilians.”21
There can be no doubt in regard either to the fact that the
Khazars overcame the Bulgars or to its importance for their
subsequent development. The sources amply attest that on the
middle Volga the Bulgars were subject to the Khazar Khaqan
in the 9th and 10th centuries,22 and though we cannot say
for certain when this state of affairs came about, it is a reason¬
able conjecture which would relate it to the events which we
have mentioned. If, as seems likely, the Volga Bulgars were
fugitives from the south, some time may have elapsed before
they were obliged to acknowledge Khazar supremacy. This
would account for their retaining the individuality which their
kinsmen who survived between the sea of Azov and the
Caucasus (the horde of “Batbaias") largely lost.22 In any case,
it is evident that the opening up of the new territory must
have presented the Khazars with opportunities and responsi¬
bilities such as they had not hitherto known. By their emer¬
gence on the Black Sea, which cannot have been long delayed
after the defeat of the Bulgars, they entered for the first time
a sphere where the influence of Byzantium was paramount.
They must now, if not indeed earlier, have taken the road to
the Crimea, where by the end of the 7th century we shall find
Khazar garrisons firmly established.24 In the Crimea, as prob¬
ably elsewhere, they were in direct contact with the Greeks.
In wealth and power the Khazars can only have gained by
their new situation. It is likely also that they gradually came
to be impressed by the intellectual aspects of a civilization
superior to anything which they had yet known.28
But meantime, in another part of the world, a fresh chain
21 Marquart, Stretfz., 58-59. 22 See Chapter V.

28 For differences between Bulgars and Khazars, cf. ibn-Fadlan’s
Rihlah, passim.
24 See Chapter VII.
28 Possibly the Khazars took their Judaism from Greek Jews. Cf. infra.
45
of events had been set in motion. By a.d. 641 or even before

this date Arab armies operated in the neighborhood of the
southern approaches to the Caucasus, and inevitably in the
prevailing temper of the Muslims invasion of the country north
of the mountains was not likely to be long delayed. The great
westward expansion of the Khazars of which we have just
spoken had perhaps not yet taken place, for, though hardly the
result of a mere year or two’s campaigning, it has to be placed
in the third quarter of the 7th century rather than the second.
It is at all events certain that in 642 when the invading Mus¬
lims first debouched into the country north of Bab al-Abwab
(Darband), the Khazars were already in possession.
It was of capital importance for subsequent history that at
the moment when the victories of Islam brought the Arabs to
the Caucasus barrier, they met the Khazars, then vigorous and
expanding. Though the great mountain range would doubtless
have caused the invaders from the south much difficulty in any
case, sooner or later they would have overrun any but a strong
and well-organized resistance. Such they appear to have met in
the Khazars. For though in the next hundred years Muslim
armies repeatedly attempted to advance beyond the Caucasus
and were sometimes successful, the Arabs were never able to
get firm foothold north of the mountains. In spite of their efforts
they were effectively held, except on one occasion-to be des¬
cribed later—when circumstances did not permit them to make
full use of their victory.
The situation on the Caucasus in the early days of Islam in
general resembles that on the line of the Pyrenees, reached
somewhat later by the Muslim armies. Like the Franks, the
Khazars were strong enough to check the impetus of the in¬
vaders. In the west a decision was reached as the result of
one great battle, the memorable field of Tours (732), while
in the east, against the Khazars, the issue remained for long
in doubt. Yet when the aggressive strength of the Caliphate
was spent, Khazaria still existed. Having gained the former
Persian lands as far as the Caucasus, the Arabs showed them-
46
selves unable to push their conquests farther. On several oc¬

casions they marched and counter-marched in Khazar country,
but no permanent settlement was ever established. Beyond the
Caucasus an independent Khazaria emerged after years of
intermittent war, shaken perhaps, yet possessing a wider terri¬
tory than when the Arabs first appeared, and with reserves
of power which were later to be shown. Here Islam might
later flourish,26 but it was as a tolerated religion (like Khazar
Christianity), not imposed by conquering armies. The implica¬
tions of the Khazar defense are very wide-reaching, as we have
already remarked. If the nation had been unable to maintain
itself in the wars which we must now describe, there is little
doubt that the history of eastern Europe and particularly of
the Russian state would have been completely different.
The first Arab commander reported in the neighborhood of
Bab al-Abwab (Darband) is Bukayr ibn-'Abdullah, who with
another officer was sent to Adharbayjan in 21/641.2T In the
next year Suraqah ibn-'Amr was directed to Darband by the
Caliph, and 'Abd-al-Rahman ibn-Rabi'ah al-Bahili, in command
of Suraqahs van, found Bukayr already near the town.26 He
subsequently joined Suraqah and received a subordinate com¬
mand. The main incident reported in the proceedings of the
Muslims, now in force at the Caucasus for the first time, is
the interview between 'Abd-al-Rahman and the Persian com¬
mandant at Darband called Shahrbaraz, who is said to
have written to 'Abd-al-Rahman, on the arrival of the lat¬
ter at Bab, requesting protection. At a subsequent meeting
Shahrbaraz explained his position. He had nothing in common,
he said, with the surrounding barbarians and would give them
no help against the Arabs, between whom and his own people,
the Persians, was the natural kinship of noble races. He pro¬
posed therefore to join the Muslims, requesting that he and
his followers in return for their services should not be required
to pay the capitation-tax (jizyah). When the matter was re-
26 Cf. the texts translated in Chapters V and VII.

27 Tabari, i, 2635, 2661. « Ibid., 2663.
47
ferred by *Abd-al-Rahman to Suraqah, he decided to remit the

tax in the case of men who actually marched with the Muslims,
but all others were to pay. The Caliph TJmar afterwards ap¬
proved of Suraqah’s decision, and it became the regular prac¬
tice in those parts where there was much fighting to be done.2®
It seems indeed that the Persian system had already completely
broken down. According to Baladhuri, the Greeks and the Kha-
zars partitioned Armenia.*0 This was a return to an earlier
situation. The western part had been ruled before the coming
of the Persians by a Greek governor, while Arran with Georgia
had belonged to the Khazars.*1 Whether or not it is right to
speak of the Khazars as south of the Caucasus at this juncture,
we can readily believe that the situation of a Persian governor
in Darband, surrounded by disaffected Armenians and threat¬
ened by yet more powerful enemies, was untenable.
There is an interesting version of the speech of Shahrbaraz
in Bal'ami,** whose work, as is now understood, represents
more than an abbreviated translation of Tabari into Persian.*3
Shahrbaraz, or Shahriyar as he is here called, complains that
he is between two enemies, the Khazars and the Russians. It
is difficult to see what this can mean, particularly as we as¬
sociate the rise of the Russian power with a later century, the
9th rather than the 7th. Presumably it is no more than an
anachronism to speak of Russians at this early time. The geo¬
graphical position envisaged is also far from clear. Zeki Validi,
however, regards the Bal'ami passage as indicating that the
Russians were already taking part in the Khazars’ wars, as is
stated for the 10th century by Mas'udi.*4 Marquart, it should
be said, decided against the historicity of the whole Shahrbaraz
story, perhaps too hastily.** The treaty cited by Tabari as hav¬
ing been granted to him and “the inhabitants of Armenia
[? Persian colonists] and the Armans [? the natives of the
n Ibid., 2663-2665, cf. Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddimah, ed. Beirut-Cairo,

142.
*o Baladhuri, 197. *» Ibid., 194. Cf. Chapter L •* Ed. Dorn, 500.
MR. Paret, El. art. T»hari, cf. Zeki Validi, Ibn-FadlOn, 254.
•• Ibn-Fa4lan, 253-254; •'VoDcerschaften," 54-56. •• Eranshahr, 107.
48
country]” is credibly said to have been witnessed to by 'Abd-

al-Rahman ibn-Rabi'ah, Salman ibn-Rabi'ah and Bukayr ibn-
'Abdullah, all of whom are known to have been active in this
region. Salman ibn-Rabi'ah, or Salman of the Horses, was the
younger brother of 'Abd-al-Rahman ibn-Rabi'ah. There seems
indeed to be an element of the fabulous in the story of
Shahrbaraz, who is said to have been with 'Abd-al-Rahman
ibn-Rabi'ah at Darband, when a man, previously sent by him,
returned from the Dyke of dhu-al-Qamayn and described
what he had seen. But the picture of the Persian governor har¬
assed by a native population, who were perhaps assisted by
the Khazars from the other side of the Caucasus, may well be
authentic.*®
When Bab had been occupied, the lieutenants of Suraqah
were sent out in different directions. The Caliph, when in¬
formed of what had been done and of the successes already
gained, was greatly surprised and pleased. Suraqah’s lieu¬
tenants, however, had little success. Shortly afterwards, Suraqah
died, and 'Abd-al-Rahman ibn-Rabi'ah took his place. No more
appears to be heard of Bukayr. 'Abd-al-Rahman was confirmed
in his command by 'Umar and instructed to proceed north
against the Khazars.37
Tabari reports a conversation which 'Abd-al-Rahman ibn-
Rabi'ah had about this time with the former Persian comman¬
dant at Bab. Asked by the latter where he was going, 'Abd-al-
Rahman said, 'To Balanjar.” This was an important Khazar
center,*8 lying on a river of the same name,*9 within easy dis¬
tance of the pass of Darband.40 “But we Persians were con-
*® Tabari, i, 2665-2671; Baladhuri. 198; ibn-Abd-al-Barr. IstVdb, 400.

*T Tabari, i, 2666-2667; ibn-Haiar, Isdbah, n, 134.
88 Mas'udi (Tanbih, 62) says that Balanjar was the earlier capital of
Khazaria.
88 Baladhuri, 204. It is identified by Zeki Valid! as the Qoy-su.
40 Balanjar is probably to be identified with the ruins of Endere near
Andreyeva, as Artamonov (Etudes, 93) has it. Artamonov's further equa¬
tion Balanjar=Samandar is not right. Samandar is consistently repre¬
sented in the Arabic sources as farther from Bab (Darband), ana in
the two most detailed itineraries which we have for Khazaria (the
campaign of Jarr4h ibn-'Abdullah in 104/722 and Marwan ibn-Muham-
49 :
It -nfaft-jtiia-
tent if the barbarians left us alone at Bab," Shahrbaraz is sup¬

posed to have repUed. “Well," returned 'Abd-al-Rahman, “the
Arabs are not content with that, and, by Heaven! we have
people with us who have entered into this affair with all their
heart. They were men of honor and scruple in the time of the
Ignorance and are so now, more than before. They will not
change nor cease to conquer, till they are defeated and changed
by their conqueror.” And so, we are told, the Muslims advanced
for the first time into Khazaria.”
Balanjar was attacked, says Tabari, without loss on this first
raid (22/642), and the Arab cavalry even got as far as al-Bayda,
200 parasangs from Balanjar.*1 The statement may be doubted.
Al-Bayda is the name given by the Arabs, especially in the
earlier period, to Atil (Khazaran-Atil), the Khazar capital on
the Volga, which should be intended here. No doubt the Kha-
zars already had a settlement there in 642, but it was scarcely
as yet their capital.” In any case, to speak of the Muslims as
having penetrated so far on their first expedition seems exag¬
gerated. On the other hand, there is no doubt that the Khazar
opposition was unexpectedly light-a surprising fact, we may
add, in view of their stout resistance later. On this occasion
the Arab army found that their antagonists shut themselves in
strong points and refused to engage on any scale. According
to the Arab historian, the Khazars quickly reached the con¬
clusion that their enemies were exempt from death and, if not
actually supernatural, at least divinely helped. This is unlike
mad in 119/737, for which see infra) Balanjar and Samandar are distinct.
It is a fact that Masudi says in the Muni/ al-Dhahab (see translation
in Chapter VII) that Samandar is an old Khazar capital and in the
Tanbih that Balanjar is an old Khazar capital (cf. n. 38), using the same
phrase "dar mamlakah," but this does not mean that he identified them.
Marauart at first thought (Sfnrt/z., 16, cf. 492) that Balanjar was the
same as Varach'an, cf. Bulkhk' as above, n. 20. Artamonov, who also
takes Balanjar^Varach'an, adduces the strange name Balkh in the Dar-
band Namah. There is relevant material in Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadlan, 298-
299nn.
*1 Jabari, t, 8667. ** Ibid-. 2«68-
«* According to Masudi (Muni/, n, 7, translated infra) the Khazar
capital was transferred to Atil on the Volga from Samandar in the days
ofSahnin ibn-Rabfah.
50
the language which is used of Muslim victories elsewhere, and

possibly represents the reaction of a simple race to unprece¬
dented and unforeseen calamity. Given these circumstances,
a rapid drive on the part of the invaders, even as far as the
Volga, is perhaps not excluded. The sources seem to be unan¬
imous in regard to the distance covered.44
Marquart not only denies that al-Bayda was reached, but
thinks that the advance on Balanjar is wrongly dated by Tabari.
It took place, according to Marquart, in 32/652.®* Tabari hap¬
pens to repeat the story of the invulnerability of the Muslims
under a.h. 32, while on the other hand Baladhuri knows noth¬
ing of any Muslim attack on Balanjar in 22/642. Marquart, as
is occasionally the case, gives no reason for his opinion as to
the date when Balanjar was first attacked. Ibn-Khaldun, how¬
ever, has a definite statement to the effect that 'Abd-al-Rahman
was constantly raiding Khazaria and constantly raided Balan¬
jar.4® It is also perfectly clear from Tabari himself, not only
that 'Abd-al-Rahman advanced on Balanjar in a.h. 22, but
that attacks on Khazaria in which Balanjar must have been a
first objective, and is so mentioned, were repeated in the next
and subsequent years.47 Against this testimony the silence of
Baladhuri and Marquart s obiter dictum have no weight what¬
ever.
Where we must part company with the Muslim sources is
in their assertion that the Arabs suffered no casualties against
the Khazars until the great battle at Balanjar in which 'Abd-
al-Rahman ibn-Rabi'ah was killed. This is of course quite be¬
yond the bounds of credibility. Bal'ami mentions Arab blood
shed by the Khazars on the first expedition,48 as it must have
been. Subsequent raids may have been on a small scale, and
the losses of the invaders inconsiderable, but on this point, as
«« Cf. Bal’ami, 503. (In Zotcnberg's translation, m, 495, "vingt para-

sanges,” for which no manuscript authority appears.) Hafiz-i Abru
(Dorn, 581) says that “Turkestan” was entered for 200 parasangs.
« Streifz., 491. 4®n, ii, 138.
” Tabari, i, 2668, 2889-2891. 48 Dorn, 505.
51 ;
Belleville Area Colhge Library
Belleville* lllirK>is_^^
on others, the main Arab tradition evidently bears traces of

patriotic exaggeration.
A little later, perhaps in a.h. 24,49 Walid ibn-'Uqbah, 'Uth-
man’s half-brother, was appointed to the governorship of Kufah.
Walid, like his father ‘Uqbah, had an unenviable reputation in
Islam, and it is said that the Qur’an verse: “O ye who have be¬
lieved, if a reprobate come to you,50 etc.” was revealed with ref¬
erence to him. While governor, his appearance to lead the morn¬
ing prayer, while still intoxicated from a night’s debauch, was
notorious. 'Uthman seems to have appointed his relative in the
hope that his strong hand (for this merit was not denied to
Walid) would be effective in curbing the Kufans. Tabari re¬
cords an expedition into Adharbayjan and Armenia undertaken
by Walid, shortly after his appointment. He is said to have
summoned Salman ibn-Rabi'ah, presumably from the neighbor¬
hood of Bab, and thereafter sent him towards the frontier in
command of his van. For the numbers of Muslims engaged on
this occasion, Tabari preserves a notice to the effect that at
Kufah at this time there were 40,000 fighting men, who cam¬
paigned in rotation once in four years. Of the 10,000 thus
available each year some were regularly diverted elsewhere,
but there were always 6,000 in Adharbayjan.51 When Walid
left Kufah in person, additional troops were no doubt raised
from the city’s military population. He is said to have sent out
a column of 4,000 men under one officer, which was apparently
strong enough to reduce the whole of Adharbayjan, and at the
close of this operation he gave Salman ibn-Rabi'ah a force of
12,000 to go into Armenia. Salman’s task was evidently the
collection of tribute from a recalcitrant population. No action
against the Khazars is recorded. The Armenian expedition was
successful. Salman rejoined Walid, and the whole army with¬
drew to the neighborhood of Mosul. The numbers of the troops
involved are not large. The record of the earlier expedition to
Bab and beyond, lacking figures, does not allow a comparison
in this respect with the campaign of Walid ibn-'Uqbah, but it
49 Tabari, i, 2804. Sur. 49, 6. 51 Tabari, i, 2805.
’V*j££** 52
is perhaps to be assumed that the strength of the Muslim forces

on the two occasions was not greatly different
On his return Walid received a letter from the Caliph, say¬
ing that in the west the Greeks were pressing hard on the
Muslims and directing that 8,000 or 9,000 men should be sent
immediately to their help from the troops of Kufah. At a meet¬
ing with his men Walid explained the situation and invited
them to volunteer for the Greek front. Within a short time 8,000
were ready to start under Salman ibn-Rabi'ah. Salman and his
soldiers made their way to a junction with Habib ibn-Mas-
lamah, commander of the Syrians, and the whole force pro¬
ceeded against the Greeks.”
It is unlikely that the command of *Abd-al-Rahman at Bab
was interrupted by Walid’s expedition of 24/644. In the fol¬
lowing years he appears to have had assistance from Kufah”
and to have raided the Khazars repeatedly. To this period re¬
fers the remark of a grandson of Walid ibn-'Uqbah, who spoke
of the good old days of his grandfather, when *Abd-al-Rahman
was in command at Bab.84 Very probably Salman ibn-Rabi'ah
was associated with his elder brother during this time. The
traditionist ibn-‘Abd-al-Barr mentions a certain Shaqiq ibn-
Salamah, who related that when he raided Balanjar under
Salman’s orders, the men were strictly forbidden to take away
booty on baggage animals, i.e., they might have what they
could carry by hand or on their own backs.8* This or a similar
occasion is referred to by Zuhayr ibn-al-Qayn, who was with
Husayn at Kerbela, and there quoted words spoken by Salman
a generation before when engaged on a successful expedition
against Balanjar. “Are you content with your victory and the
booty you have gained?” Salman had asked his men. "Indeed
we are,” answered they. Salman then went on, "If you are
alive in the days of the young men of Muhammad’s family, may
you be yet more glad of the booty that you gain when you
fight with them.”88 We find Salman cited also for the reaction
” Ibid., i, 2807, cf. n, 977. Ibid., i. 2891.

84 Ibid., i, 2844. 55 Isti'ab, 558. “Tabari, n, 291.
53 !
of the Khazars to the Arab attacks.” But these operations were

doubtless on a small scale. Between 22/642 and 32/652 the
Muslims appear to have been sufficiently occupied in settling
their affairs in Armenia and Adharbayjan. In any case, no
exploit in Khazar country during these years has left a de-
tailed record. , . . ... .
Tabari mentions that in 30/650 Hudhayfah ibn-al-Yaman,
previously stationed at Rayy, was sent to Adharbayjan.”
■Abd-al-Rahman at Bab apparently was in difficulties and
needed support. The situation of the Muslims vis-i-vis the
Khazars is unfortunately quite obscure. On the other hand, we
do know something of the disputes which were beginning to
vex the Arabs on this frontier. It was while operating in the
neighborhood of Bab that Hudhayfah ibn-al-Yaman reached
the conclusion, from what he saw of the disagreement of the
Muslims about the wording of the Quran, that a new, un.fonn
text was a necessity.” Later he persuaded the Caliph to take
action in the matter. We can appreciate that arguments as to
the true reading of the sacred text might lead to serious conse¬
quences, if Kufans and Syrians were the contending parties,
for already at Kufah disaffection to 'Uthman and his govern¬
ment was coming to a head. There was no rupture at Bab till
later,” but Hudhayfah's report in a.h. 30 suggests a strained
situation there, from which no doubt the Khazars profited.
No details are available of a letter said to have been sent
about this time by Yazdagird, titular king of Persia, to the
"king of the Khazars."*1 After years of exile and humiliation,
the last of the Sassanids, shortly before his obscure death in
a.h. 31, sent out appeals to various Oriental rulers, but without
success. The statement that the Khazar king was applied to
comes in ibn-al-Athir and ibn-Khaldun, as well as in Taban,
and is in itself quite probable. The Spanish poet ibn-’Abdun
“ Ibid., h 2858.
” Ibid., i, 2668.
Noldeke-SchwaUy, Geschichte des
09 Ibn-al-Athir, t. anno 30; cf.
Qurans, n, 47ff.
"Tabari, I, 2893-2894. «Ibid., h 2870.
54
knew the story, and spoke of Yazdagird and the Khazars in

his famous qasidah on the fall of the Aftasids" (485/1092).
The most serious attempt hitherto on the part of the Arabs
to coerce the Khazars was made in 32/652, and for the cir¬
cumstances we have relatively full information. The initiative
appears to have come from 'Abd-al-Rahman ibn-Rabrah. Dis¬
regarding the instructions of 'Uthman to take no risks, 'Abd-al-
Rahman led what was evidently a strong Muslim force into
Khazaria. The immediate objective, as on previous occasions,
was Balanjar. The legend that the Muslims had so far been
immune from casualties in their clashes with the Khazars has
already been mentioned. We are told that in a.h. 32, apparently
for the first time, the Khazars determined to test the vulnera¬
bility of their enemies, and from ambush killed a small party,
or a single man, who according to one form of the tale was
bathing."5 Thus emboldened, they risked a general encounter,
in which the Muslims were totally defeated. The detail of the
ambush should perhaps refer to an earlier raid but is repre¬
sented as an incident of the siege to which Balanjar was now
subjected by the invading army. The town appears to have
resisted strongly. It was evidently fortified at this period, for
we read of a tower from which much execution was done
among the Muslims. Both sides had artillery. The Muslims used
both majaniq and ■arradat, i.e., large and small ballistae, while
the Khazars had the latter at least."* This is particularly inter¬
esting in view of a passage in Procopius, in which he tells us
that the Sabirs, a kindred race to the Khazars, had earlier in
the same Caucasus region light rams of their own invention,
which they showed the Greeks how to construct.*"
A considerable part of Tabaris narrative is taken up with the
fate of a group of Kufans, most of whom are named earlier as
in the entourage of ibn-Mas-ud."" Ibn-Mas'ud was the Kufan
religious chief whose opposition to the new recension of the
•* Ibn-Badrun, ed. Dozy, 140.

« Tabari, i, 2891; cf. 2668; Darband Namah, 494.
84 Ibid., 2892. •* vm, xi, 27ff. x, 2896.
Quran in a.h. 30 had been exceptionally bitter. The significance

of their deaths is not clear, but possibly it is represented as the
penalty of disobedience. The phrase “the rebellion of the
Kufans” occurs in the prayer of TJthman when he was told of
the disaster at Balanjar, and similar expressions occur else¬
where.87 The bare presence of troops in Khazaria was contrary
to the Caliph’s express command.
After some days of sharp fighting round the city, the Kha-
zars within made a general sortie and at the same time a
relieving force appeared, apparently of cavalry.88 That the
joint attack was well-timed and brilliantly successful seems
plain, though we do not have details of the action. According
to one account,8® as the Muslim general tried to rally his troops,
a voice was heard calling, "Courage! men of Abd-al-Rahm&n.
Your rendezvous is Paradise." When 'Abd-al-Rahman fell, his
death was the signal for the flight of the Muslims. But his
brother took up the standard, and the voice was heard again
through the din of battle, “Courage! men of Salman ibn-
Rabi'ah.” To which Salman responded, “Are you grieved to see
us?” According to others, the death of al-Qartha*. one of the
Quran-readers from Kufah, was the point at which the rout
began.70 Four thousand of the Muslims were slain. Survivors
told how at the end the cry Allah akbar, “God is greatest,” was
raised time and again from the stricken field.71 Some escaped
to Bab with Salman ibn-Rabi*ah. Others are said to have con¬
tinued in their flight through Jilan and even farther.72 Among
the latter are mentioned abu-Hurayrah and Salman al-Farisi,
two well-known Companions of the Prophet. The body of ‘Abd-
•» Ibid., i, 2893, d. 2669 n., where ibn-Hubavsh is quoted.

u Baladhuri, 204. There is no reason to think, in spite of ibn-al-Athir
(#. anno 32) that West Turkish forces were engaged, though this would
be theoretically possible. Tabaris narrative of the event sometimes speaks
of the Khazars as Turks (e.g., i, 2890), and ibn-al-Athir, misunderstand-
* ine this, has "Turks and Khazars."
» Tabari, I, 2668-2669. 70 Ibid., i, 2892.
TiBalidhuri, ibid.
ra Juriin, mentioned in the parallel accounts, Tabari, I, 2669 and 2890.
A third account (Tabari, i, 2891) is garbled.,
~ 56
CONSOLIDATION AND ARAB-RHAZAR WAR
al-Rahman had to be abandoned. It was taken by the Khazars,

placed in a suitable vessel, and preserved, they judging that
intercession might be made in times of drought for rain, and
in war for victory, through the efficacy of the fallen enemy.7*
The repulse at Balanjar practically marks the end of the first
phase of Arab-Khazar relations, though Muslim contingents
are mentioned shortly after this at Bab.74 The troubles which
involved the Caliphate after the death of ‘Uthman turned men’s
thoughts away from the frontiers. So far as the Arabs are
concerned, the Khazars were left in peace for long. The initial
advantage rested no doubt with them. But it is significant for
the future that at about this time the Khazar capital was
transferred to a less dangerous situation on the banks of the
Volga.75
Ta Tabari, i, 2669, 2890, referred to also by Baladhuri (ibid.), who

cites verses linking the grave of 'Abd-al-Rahman (according to Baladh¬
uri, Salman) ibn-Rabi'ah at Balanjar with that of the more famous
Qutaybah ibn-Muslim in *'§Inastan” (actually Farghanah, cf. H. A. R.
Gibb, Arab Conquests, 56), by a poet of Bahilah, i.e., a fellow-tribes¬
man of both heroes. (For Balaahuri, Salman ibn-Rabi'ah was the Muslim
general killed at Balanjar. He knows nothing of ’Abd-al-Rahman ibn-
Rabi'ah.) Cf. also ibn-ai-Faqih, 287.
"Tabari, i, 2894.
75 Cf. n. 43.
m| CHAPTER IV
THE SECOND ARAB-KHAZAR WAR (722-737)'
To judce from our sources, the peace which now descended

on the Caucasus frontier remained unbroken for nearly thirty
years. Among the Arabs new interests supervened and political
partisanship absorbed the energies which had previously been
turned against the outside world. The Khazars were also pre¬
occupied, for in this interval fall their successes at the ex¬
pense of the Bulgars and the great westward expansion already
• bibliographical note to chapteb w: In the latter part of the Chap¬

ter, considerable use has been made of what is often called Eal amis Per-
sian version of Tabari. A few words of explanation are perhaps desirable.
It is quite clear that Balami does more than translate Tabari. 0cc“'°"‘
ally he supplements him to a notable extent. Sometimes other authors
(ibn-al-Atfcr. Balidhuri. Ya qubi) also give Bal ami s additional material.
But the correspondence seems to be closest between Bal ami and ibn-
A'tham al-Kufi, who no doubt is yet more copious m ™e
question of these additions to Tabari has never, I believe, been gone in to
systematically but some unfavorable opinions have been-“
regard to them. To credit what Tabari tells us and re,ect
additional information offered by this or that other source to ™denUy
methodologically wrong, and this is generally admitted, at al evcnts in
the case of ibn-al-Athir and Balidhuri. Bal anus narratived
years of the Arab-Khaxar wars invites use because of the detail^ wWch
it offers, but at the same time it presents senous difficulties. It is cm
lessly put together and sufficient attention has not been gwen to proper
names NumUrs seem to be consistently exaggerated. (We have gen-
erally given these as in Dorn's text with a quahficabon.) Certain ind
dents, e.g., the exploits of Sa'.d ibn-Amr, seem
other hand, some of these difficulties are no doubt owing to the trans-
mission, rather than to Bal ami himself, and surprisingly often what he
says finds confirmation elsewhere. Where there is no confirmation, it
what has been related by Bal ami or another of the ponp which uses Ins
material seems reasonable, we are no doubt right to adopt 1L At Uus
point, in deciding what is reasonable, a subjective element unavoidably
enters. In attempting to reconstruct the course of events, we have tidten
the view that, as much as credulity, undue skepticism was to be avoided.
A relevant consideration is that the exploits of Maslamah, Marwan ibn-
Muhammad, and the Umayyads in general evoked little sympathy or
interest among the partisans of the succeeding dynasty, for whom pnn-
ci pally the histories which we have were written.
*
‘'Vfce-
■
58
SECOND ARAB-KHAZAR WAR
characterized. The process was perhaps complete towards 60/

679. A year or two later, they were ready to take the offensive
in the Caucasus.
We hear first of an attack directed by a certain Alp, chief of
the “Huns of Varach*an” on Albania (Arran) before 62/681-2.*
Perhaps Alp was a Khazar, or his further appellation “Ilutver”
(cf. Yaltawar, Elteber of the Bulgars) may mean that he was
a semi-independent ruler of Varach'an (Warathan) under the
Khazars.2 A letter sent by the king of the “Huns” to the Arme¬
nian archbishop Sahak and the latters reply are mentioned.8
The “Hun” king’s envoys are named as Zirdkin-Khursan and
Chat-Khazar, where, as Minorsky notes, the second element
of the names should refer to the ambassadors nationality.4 In
a.d. 682 an Albanian bishop went north and preached Christi¬
anity successfully to Alp and his army. Heathen shrines, es¬
pecially that of a deity Spandiat or Aspandiat, identified by
the people with their supreme god Tengri Khan,9 are said to
have been destroyed and sacred trees cut down. The priests of
the native religion (shamans) were executed or burned to
death. The account of this mission affords a striking glimpse of
the religious practices of a group who, if not actually Khazars,
were at least nearly related to them, before the Khazar con¬
version to Judaism. Here we have an early contact with Christi¬
anity, clear traces of which are found among the Khazars dur¬
ing the whole historical period. The source does not mention
the results of the mission in a.d. 682, but no see was erected,6
and they can scarcely have been permanent.
Alp's expedition is to be distinguished from another and
greater Khazar invasion which was launched on the lands south
of the Caucasus a little later, probably in 65/685.T In the first
years of 'Abd-al-Malik (685-705), Arab control of the region
1 Marquart, Streifziige, 114, 302, dting Moses of Kalankatuk, ed.

Shahnazarean, n, 38.
* Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadlan, 106. * Marquart, Streifz., 514.
♦ Hudud, 411, n. 1. 9 Marquart, Streifz., 429.
• Ibid., 302.
T Ibid., 443, citing Stephan Asolik (Asoghik), transl. Dulaurier.
59 ‘
was relaxed.8 In consequence of this, or for some other reason,

the Khazars now attacked and overran Georgia, Armenia, and
Albania, apparently forgetful of the religious link which had
recently been forged with the latter. The inhabitants offered
resistance, but were powerless to stop them. The native prince
of Georgia and Grigor Mamikonian, prince of Armenia, were
killed in battle with the invaders. We must assume that the
result of this campaign was victory for the Khazars on a great
scale. It is notable, however, that the attempt does not seem
to have been made to hold territory south of the Caucasus.
The threat of the armies of the Caliphate, still in abeyance,
evidently deterred the Khazars from this step. We read simply
that having laid waste the country, they collected their pris¬
oners and withdrew north again.
Yet not many years later, in 89/707 according to Tabari,
Maslamah ibn-'Abd-al-Malik, half-brother of the reigning
Caliph Walid I, conquered fortresses and towns in Adharbayjan
and fought his way to Bab against the 'Turks.”8 If the notice is
reliable, it looks as if the Khazars were temporarily in posses¬
sion here. There is a report of the capture of Bab in a.h. 90 by
Muhammad ibn-Marwan.10 But in a.h. 91, in which year he
succeeded Muhammad ibn-Marwan, Maslamah is said to have
been engaged in Adharbayjan and to have reached Bab.11 The
notice suggests that another account may be right, according
to which it was Maslamah in 95/713 who captured Bab.12 In
any case, it seems evident that for a period the fortress-town,
at least, was under Khazar control.
In the Caliphate of 'Umar ibn-*Abd-al-'Aziz (717-720) the
Khazars made what was perhaps their first attack against
Islam.18 The year was a.h. 99/a.d. 717. Adharbayjan was in¬
vaded and a number of the Muslims were killed. The Caliph
sent Hatim ibn-al-Nu*man, like the sons of Rabi'ah, a member
*lbid.t 514, citing Levond (Ghevond), ed. Shahnazarean, 34, 35.

•Tabari, n, 1200. *°Caetani, Chronographia, 1088.
n Tabari, n, 1217. 18 Ibn Taghribardi, i, 255.
18 So Kxnosko, Araber und Chasoren, 361.
of the Bahilah clan.14 This commander defeated the invaders

with heavy loss and returned to the Caliph having fifty Kha-
zar prisoners in his train.
These seem to be the first recorded Khazar prisoners. Later
individual Khazars are occasionally mentioned within the Mus¬
lim empire. Perhaps the best known is Ishaq ibn-Kundaj
(Kundajiq) al-Khazari.15 He was a contemporary of the poet
Buhturi and repeatedly the subject of his praise. Buhturi says
that ibn-Kundaj had gained in Iraq glory additional to that
which he enjoyed in al-Bayda’ and Balanjar.16 Elsewhere he
refers to the ancient race of Ishaq ibn-Kundaj, and declares
that his ancestors were the generals of kings before the time
of dhu-Ru*ayn.,T This at once transfers the existence of the
Khazars to a remote period, for dhu-Ru'ayn is a Himyarite
king. Buhturi may well be in error or exaggerating, but the
case is somewhat different from the anachronisms which were
referred to earlier. His words may be intended to suggest that
ibn-Kundaj counted Begs of Khazaria among his ancestors. In
another poem Buhturi says that the subject of his panegyric
has performed an exploit which would entitle him to be "king
of al-Bayda’ who wears the crown.” We gather from the same
piece that his father’s name was that good Muslim one, Ayyub18
These passages at least indicate what we should expect, that
there was some common knowledge of Khazaria among con¬
temporary subjects of the Caliphate. We shall have occasion
to mention other Khazars among the Muslims in later chapters.
To return to the course of events, in 103/721-722 the Kha¬
zars attacked the Alans.19 The frontier was evidently set in
motion, and the second Arab-Khazar war may be said to have
14 Tabari, u, 1346.
19 A distinguished general in the wars between the Egyptian Khumara-
wayh and Mu'tamid (Caliph 870-692).
19 Diwan, ed. of 1329/1911, n, 21-22. Cf. Marquart, Streifz., 18. The
same poem refers to the origin of ibn-Kundaj in “the land of the Khaqan."
it Ibid., u, 294. u Ibid., i. 104; cf. 1. 9.
19 Tabari, u, 1437; Ya’qubi, n, 378. Kmosko (ibid.) thinks that this was
the Khazar reaction to the check of the Arabs at Constantinople a year
or two previously.
61
begun when in the next year a Muslim army under Thubayt
al-Nahrani met the Khazars20 at Marj al-Hijarah in Armenia,-1
where a great battle was fought. The Khazars, who are said to
have numbered 30,000,== gained a complete victory over the
Muslims, whose camp fell into the hands of the enemy. The
beaten army escaped to Syria. The Caliph Yazid ibn-‘Abd-al-
Malik (720-724) was much distressed and upbraided Thubayt,
who is said to have replied: “Commander of the Faithful, I
played no coward’s part, nor turned aside from meeting the
enemy. Horse clove to horse and man to man. I thrust with my
lance till it was broken and struck with my sword till it
shivered in pieces. But God, Who is blessed and exalted, does
what He wills.”23 It is noticeable that Tabari has nothing to
say of this reverse.
The threat to the lands of Islam was now considerable. The
Khazars prepared to occupy the territory uncovered by the re¬
treat of the Muslim army, and assembled all their forces. Jarrah
ibn-'Abdullah al-Hakami was hastily appointed governor of
Armenia, with orders to attack the enemy in their own terri¬
tory ( a.h. 104).24 When news came that Jarrah was marching
against them with a strong army, the Khazars fell back on
Bab, where a Muslim garrison still held out. Meanwhile Jarrah
reached Bardha'ah and rested his men there for several days,
finding time, apparently, to regulate the weights and measures
of the place. At all events, a “Jarrahi” measure, said to have
dated from this visit, was still in use when Baladhuri wrote.25
Jarrah then advanced across the Kur river and eventually
halted at a smaller stream called Rubas a few miles from Bab.
Word had been sent to the local chiefs to join him with their
levies, but Jarrah learned that one of them had warned the
20 ibn-al-Athir (v, 41) says that the Khazars were ^

Qipchaqs and other Turks. This must be an anachronism; cf. Chapter 1A,
ai Apparently in Armenia (Bal ami, 509), but cf. ibn-al-Athir, loc.cit.

« Bafami, 510. 23 Ibn-al-Athir, loc.cit.
n Tabari, n, 1453; ibn-al-Athir, s. anno.
28 Ed. De Goeje, 206.
62
Khazars of his approach. Accordingly he ordered his muezzin

to proclaim to the army that the general would remain on the
Rubas for several days. The Khazars were informed, as Jarrah
had foreseen would happen. Their main forces under “the son
of the accursed Khaqan"3,,-possibly the Beg of Khazaria is
meant—were already north of the mountains. The local com¬
mander was willing to avoid an encounter and made no hostile
move. When night came, Jarrah countermanded his previous
order, and advanced rapidly towards Bab. He and his men
reached the town while it was still dark without meeting opposi¬
tion. They entered by the wooden gate of the Narin citadel,
and marching through, encamped a short distance north of the
Bab al-Jihad37 (Gate of the Holy War). That morning two
strong raiding columns were sent out by Jarrah, with instruc¬
tions to proceed into enemy territory and rendezvous within
twenty-four hours at a point some twenty miles ahead. During
the day the main Muslim force advanced to the place agreed
on. At dawn the following morning they were joined by the
raiding columns, bearing a great booty of sheep and cattle
and many prisoners. Some were from the Khazar dependency
of Khaydhan3* (Qaytaq).
Next day under “Barjik,3* son of the Khaqan” a Khazar
force, of 40,000 men it is said, arrived from Hamzin,*0 to con-
2« Darband Ndmah, 464 n.

27 Persian Darband Ndmah, Dom, 464 n.; Bal’ami, 511, cf. Turkish
Darband Ndmah, ed. Kasem Beg, 544.
2» Khavdhan is perhaps a Persian, Qaytaq an Armenian form of the
name (Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadldn, 191). the place appears as Khayzan
(Baladhuri, 204, 206; De Coeje on Yaqut, Bulddn, iv, 251). Other forms
are definitely wrong: Jidan (Yaqut, loc.cit., Mas’udi, Muni;, n, 7);
Hida, Habda, Janda, Jandau (mss. of Bal’ami, Dom, 511); Khanda or
Jabda (Zotenberg, iv, 562).
29 Bal'ami’s text offers Barfik, Bar-hbl, Barhil, Barhik. Dom prefers
Barjil or Barjenk (466, n. 2), with Barfik as another possibility (465).
Zotenberg renders “Barkhebek” with a query (iv, 271). The Turkish
version of the Darband Ndmah quoted by Dom (463n.) has Pashenk.
30 Bal’ami, ibn-al-Athir, Darband Namah have Hasin, which is not
right. Elsewhere Bal’ami, speaking of Maslamah (Dom, 534), has
“wa-bigudhasht wa-ba-h-$nin [h-snainj shud wa-an du hisar bud," i.e.,
he passed on and came to H-snin, which consists of two fortresses. This
appears to be an attempt to explain a non-Arabic name. Baladhuri (206)
test the farther advance of the Muslims. A little speech ascribed

to Jarrah before the ensuing battle indicates respect for his op¬
ponents.' “Men," he is supposed to have said, “you have no
refuge to which to flee and no recourse, save God, Who is
great and glorious. Each of you who is killed will go to Para-
dise, and all who are victorious will gain booty and a fair
name."31 After a fierce engagement the Khazars broke and fled.
Great numbers of them were slain. As JaiTah had promised,
much booty was taken by the victors, after which the advance
was resumed. Hamzin and Targhu33 successively fell. Jarrah
settled the inhabitants of these places elsewhere. It is interest¬
ing to read that some of them were removed to Qabalah, south
of the Caucasus, which, according to Baladhuri, was occupied
by Khazars, apparently in his day.33
Jarrah then approached Balanjar, which had already been
the object of repeated Muslim attacks and the scene of a
formal siege in a.h. 32. At that date its strong fortifications
were partly responsible for the repulse of the Arabs. But sev¬
enty years had passed, and in the interval the defenses seem
to have been dismantled. The main obstacle in Jarrah’s time
was an improvised barricade of common wagons, fastened to¬
gether and drawn up on high ground round the fortress. When
the assault was made, the attackers found themselves in great
difficulties on this account. At last one of them raised his
scimitar and cried, “Muslims, which of you will devote himself
to God?” A number of his friends indicated that they would
join him in any attempt and took an oath to the death, break¬
ing the scabbards of their swords in token of this intention.
Then they returned to the attack, forcing their way up-hill
under a hail of arrows so thick that “the sun was darkened."
has Hamzin. Zeki Valid! Hbn-FadUn. 298 n.) gives H-snin and identi-
fies with Qaya Kent (Kand).
Bal'ami, 512-513. . , , . ,.
« Not Yarghu, as Kmosko, following the misreading m ibn-al-AtJiir,
s. anno 104. Targhu is not the same as Samandar ™enf>°ne<|
in the same account (Bal'ami, 513-514). ZfA Val.di (ibtd.) identifies
Targhu with Makhach Qala, cf. Minorsky, Hudiid, 452.
m Ed. De Goeje, 194. ’
64
Some of them succeeded in cutting the ropes which bound

the wagons together, and began to drag them down the
slope. Soon the way was clear for the attackers. Both sides
fought desperately “till men’s hearts were in their throats.”
At last the defenders weakened and gave way, and the Mus¬
lims took possession of the city.
It is significant for the wealth and general prosperity of the
Khazars that when the booty was distributed after the fall of
Balanjar each horseman in the Muslim army is said to have
received 300 dinars.34 If the number of the recipients is not
grossly exaggerated-it is put as high as 30,000s5—this repre¬
sents a huge sum of money. To it must apparently be added
the fifth, which belonged by law to the public treasury.
The Khazar governor of Balanjar5® escaped with a handful of
men to Samandar. His wife and son were captured and put up
for sale as slaves. Jarrah himself bought them for 100,000
dirhams, and then sent a safe-conduct to the Khazar, offering
to restore all that he had lost—wife, child, fortress, with his
belongings, great and small—evidently on the condition of his
accepting Muslim rule. To this the Khazar is said to have as¬
sented, but it is difficult to see how the story can be authentic.
In particular, what happened to Balanjar in the sequel, if it
thus became a Muslim town?
The fact is, we do not have the whole story of what took
place. After the fall of Balanjar, Jarrah is said to have caused
a number of the Khazars and their families to be drowned,
presumably in the Balanjar river.37 Many prisoners were taken.
The neighboring fortresses were reduced, and most of the in¬
habitants are said to have emigrated. It is readily under¬
standable that many of them moved north. Two hundred years
after this the traveler ibn-Fadlan came across several thou¬
sands of “Baranjar” among the Volga Bulgars. The identity
84 Ibn-al-Athlr, j. anno 104.

85 Ibn-al-Athir’s figure. Bal'ami makes 25,000 or only 20,000 before the
battle.
88 Bal’ami, 514; mihtar Balanjar; ibn-al-Athir: fdhib Balanjar.
87 Tabari, n, 1453. Cf. Chapter III, n. 39.
65
Baranjar/Balanjar seems as certain as these things can be,

and one may conjecture that the ancestors of the people seen
by ibn-Fadlan were from the Khazar town.38 In ibn-Fadlan’s
time, the Baranjar had recently been converted to Islam, but
he found a non-Muslim with the name Talut (Saul). This may
point to Judaism among them at an earlier period.
From Balanjar, Jarrah advanced to the fortress and town
of Wabandar39 (? Wanandar), an important place with numer¬
ous defenders.40 But they had no heart for fighting, preferring
to capitulate and pay an indemnity. Jarrah decided to con¬
tinue his march to Samandar and had already reached its
neighborhood when the former Khazar governor at Balanjar
wrote urgently to say that farther advance was dangerous.
Ahead of the Muslims lay another large enemy force, while
their lines of communication were now threatened by unrest
among the mountain chiefs. Orders were accordingly given to
retreat. The Arab army repassed the Caucasus, and as the
season was now advanced went into winter quarters in Shakki.41
Evidently Jarrah hoped to resume operations the following
year. He wrote to the Caliph and told him of the successes
gained, but, pointing out that the Khazars were not yet beaten,
he requested additional troops. In spring news came that
Yazid was dead (105/724). His successor Hisham, while con¬
firming Jarrah in his appointment, sent only promises of help.
When the campaigning season opened, Jarrah invaded Kha-
zaria again, this time by the Darial pass and the country of
the Alans,42 and operated against certain towns and fortresses
beyond Balanjar. Details of the campaign are wanting, so that
we are quite in the dark as to the Khazar reaction. In 106/725
he was engaged against the Alans and imposed the capitation
” Following Zeki Validi, ibid., 191-192; cf. ibn-Fadlan, §70.

39 Ibn-al-Athir, loc.cit. Cf. Chapter III, W-n-nd-r etc. and notes there.
40 Ibn-al-Athir, loc.cit., speaks of 40,000 families (1).
41 Otherwise Shakka, e.g. ibn-al-Faqih, 288. This is “die Stadt Saba
cited Kmosko, ibid., from Elias of Nisibis. The Latin transl. (E. W.
Brooks in Corp. Script. Christ. Orient.) has “urban Shabbam," but it
is incorrect.
43 Tabari, n, 1462; ibn-al-Athir, s. anno 105. •
66
tax.43 The Khazars are not mentioned. Next year the Caliph
recalled Jarrah and assigned the governorship of Armenia and
Adharbayjan to his own half-brother, Maslamah ibn-'Abd-al-
Malik.
The appointment of Maslamah is itself an indication of the
importance attached to the Khazar frontier at this period. The
son of a slave-girl and hence excluded from succession to the
throne, Maslamah for more than twenty years was one of the
principal props of Umayyad power and a foremost actor on the
stage of the East. He had already at this time commanded the
great expedition against Byzantium, when the Arabs invested
the capital of Christendom for more than a year (98/716-99/
717), and had put down the rebellion of Yazid ibn-al-Muhallab
(102/720). Maslamah’s chivalry, like his valor, was leg¬
endary.44 His exploits and personality indeed captured the
imagination not only of contemporaries45 but distant genera¬
tions.48 Such was the man now chosen to vindicate the glory
of Islam against the unbelieving Khazars.
At first the command was delegated to al-Harith ibn-'Amr of
the famous tribe of Tayy* who occupied Khazar territory and
took a number of villages ( a.h. 107).4T These gains cannot have
been very considerable. In 108 the Khazars appeared in Adhar¬
bayjan under the "son of the Khaqan.” Al-Harith went to en¬
counter them, and a battle was fought in which the invaders
were defeated and driven across the river Aras (Araxes).
Here they made a stand, but were again beaten by the Mus¬
lims and lost great numbers killed.48
In the next campaigning season (109/727) Maslamah ar¬
rived in person. Advancing from Adharbayjan he reoccupied
the pass of Darial, which had been lost, and marched into
43 Tabari, xi, 1472; ibn-al-Athir, s. anno 106.

44 Cf. Mustatraf, transl. Rat, i, 682, for Maslamah and a lady of Cairo;
ibn-Qutaybah, 'Uyun al-Akhbdr, ed. Brockelmann, 211.
45 E.g. Kumayt in the Hamdsoh, i, 774.
48 Maslamah’s expedition to Byzantium was treated in the Muhadarai
al-Abrar ascribed to ibn-‘Arabi and is an episode in the Khamsah of the
Turkish poet Nargisi.
47 Ibn-al-Athir, s. anno. 48 Ibid., s. anno 108.
ft
Khazaria. He is said to have been opposed by the Khaqan him¬

self, but returned with prisoners and booty.49 Nlaslamah, ac¬
cording to Mas'udi, at an unspecified date placed an Arab
garrison in the fortress which defended the pass of Darial.50
It was perhaps during this successful campaign that he did so.
The fortress was built on a massive rock overlooking a bridge
across a deep ravine and was, says Mas'udi, one of the most
famous in the world.
Next year the fighting was more serious. Maslamah advanced
as before from Darial (110/728) and engaged the armies of
the Khaqan for nearly a month. Then, we are told, torrential
rain descended, under cover of which the Khaqan fled.51
Though the Muslims claimed a victory, another story seems to
have been current.52 Maslamah withdrew past the so-called
“mosque of dhu-al-Qarnayn,”53 a residence of the Georgian
kings.
In spite of Maslamah’s reputation and ability and the partial
successes which he seems to have won, the Khazars evidently
had not yet been effectively dealt with. They were back in
Adharbayjan in the following year. Again they were repulsed
by al-Harith ibn-'Amr.54 About this time Maslamah was re¬
called by Hisham, and Jarrah ibn-'Abdullah after an absence
of several years returned as governor.
Jarrah is said to have campaigned in Khazaria in the same
year (a.h. 111). According to ibn-al-Athir, he advanced from
Tiflis (sc. through the Darial pass) and penetrated to al-Bayda’,
the Khazar capital, which he occupied. The exploit is at least
seriously exaggerated. There can be no question at this time of
a large-scale expedition, which alone would have been capable
of such a feat, and that after heavy fighting and systematic
49 Ibid., s. anno 109, cf. Ya'qubi, n, 395.

99 Muruf, u, 43ff.
91 Tabari, n, 1506; ibn-al-Athir, s. anno 110. Ibn-Taghribardi (x, 297)
calls this the "Campaign of the Mud,” apparently in error, cf. below.
92 Michael Syrus, ea. Chabot, n, 501.
93 Ibn-al-Athir, loc.cit., has "maslak dhi-al-Qamayn,” but cf. Marquart,
Streifz., 175.
94 Tabari, u, 1526; ibn-al-Athir, s. anno 111.
68
reduction of strong points. Khazaria was certainly not brought

to its knees in 111/729. It is possible that a raid by a flying
column actually got so far. On the other hand, how can a
relatively small force have reached the Volga, on which al-
Bayda lay, and have returned safely through hostile country,
as is stated by ibn-al-Athir? It is important to note that the
other authorities are silent about any invasion of Khazaria in
this year. Almost certainly there is confusion with the great
expedition of Marwan ibn-Muhammad (later Caliph as Mar-
wan II), which we have still to describe.
The year 112/730 was marked by perhaps the greatest de¬
feat ever sustained by the Arabs at the hands of the Khazars-
reason in itself for rejecting ibn-al-Athir’s notice of the events
of a.h. 111. In a.h. 112 the Khazar forces poured through the
pass of Darial53 under the commander Barjik, already men¬
tioned, to the number, it is said, of 300,000 men.36 Jarrah ap¬
pears to have wintered as once before in Shakki. Now he
marched to Bardha'ah and thence to Ardabil, where he awaited
developments. Part of his forces were diverted to other dis¬
tricts, and he sent out columns into the surrounding country.
The Khazars received word of his situation from the prince of
Georgia,87 and advanced as far as the southern Warathan, to
which they laid siege. Jarrah engaged the enemy near Warathan
but was unable to relieve the town. We next find him back at
Ardabil in close proximity to the main Khazar army. Advised
by a native of the country to hold a defensive position with his
back to Mt. Sabalan, which rose nearby, the governor decided
to risk a decisive encounter in the plain called Marj Ardabil,
near the town. The Khazars now came up with the Muslims,
and both sides prepared for battle.
Of the action itself we have, as usual, little reliable informa¬
tion. Jarrah had originally split up his available force. Yet the
Syrians who remained with him and the local levies were in
55 Tabari, n, 1530; ibn-al-Athir, s. anno 112.

56 Bal'ami, 517.
57 Ibid., 516. Dorn’s translation (469) is not right.
69
sufficient numbers and good enough heart to hold their ground

for two days in the most dreadful fighting which those who
took part had ever seen.59 Jarrah seems to have been culpable
in his decision to fight in the plain. The Khazars were greatly
superior in number, and by evening on the second day this
factor had told heavily. It was then seen that the situation of
the Muslims was desperate. The veterans in the ranks, and
especially the Qur’an-readers, on whose encouragement the
morale of a Muslim army in those days greatly depended, were
mostly dead. Night fell, and many of the survivors slipped
away under cover of darkness to their homes in Adharbayjan,
or elsewhere. At dawn on the third morning Jarrah had but
few men left, and these wounded or dispirited. The Khazars
renewed the attack, and the Arabs turned to fly. Yet when one
of Jarrah’s companions shouted, “To the Garden, Muslims,
not the Fire! Follow the path of God, not Satan!” they retained
the spirit to rally, and most of them fought on to the death.
Jarrah himself was killed commanding the shattered remnant.
His head was struck off, and afterwards his women and chil¬
dren fell into the hands of the Khazars. The victory of the
latter was complete. Much booty was taken, and only prison¬
ers were wanting, for the Muslim army was dead or dying.
A mere hundred escaped by flight. Ardabil was immediately
assaulted, and though it did not yield at once, the Khazars
were soon in possession. All the city’s fighting men were killed
and the women and children taken.89
The effect of this disaster was widely felt among the Mus¬
lims. Jarrah had been popular. His loss and the death of so
many of his men made a deep impression. The brutality of the
invaders excited indignant comment.90 Jarrah’s defeat was
68 Ibn-al-Athir, loc.cit.
39 The Khazar victory was also known to the Byzantines, cf. The-
ophanes, ed. Bonn, 626 under 720 (a.d. 728), who also speaks of the
"son of the Khaaan” 'o 'uios Khaganou. A tradition that Jarrah was killed
at Balanjar is referred to by Tabari (u, 1531) and ibn-al-Athir (loc.cit.).
It seems due to a confusion between his successful siege of Balanjar in
a.h. 104 and the earlier debacle there (a.h. 32).
80 Bal’ami, 519.
70
talked about in central Asia the same year and considerably

later.61 The Caliph himself was concerned by the heavy losses.
But more than all this, while measures were being taken at
Damascus to deal with the situation, the Khazars continued to
advance, and, overrunning Adharbayjan, reached Diyar Bakr
and the vicinity of Mosul.62 The alarming prospect of what
seemed a mass migration of Khazars63 was opening up before
the Caliph and his advisers.
Al-Hajjaj ibn-'Abdullah, the brother of Jarrah, had assumed
command in the north.64 As once before, Hisham had recourse
in the new emergency to Maslamah, and al-Hajjaj was set
aside. But first, on the advice of the vizirs, the Caliph sent for
Sa'id ibn-'Amr al-Harashi63 from Manbij in Syria. This officer
had previously held a command in Jurjan.66 It was Hisham’s
intention to employ him in stemming the Khazar tide until
such time as Maslamah was ready to take the field. According
to ibn-al-Athir, when Sa'id reached Damascus, Hisham said to
him, “I have heard that Jarrah has fled from the polytheists
[Khazars].” “Not so," replied Sa'id. “Jarrah had better knowl¬
edge of God than to fly. Rather he has been killed.” "What
then is your counsel?” asked the Caliph. ‘That you send me,”
was the reply, “with forty riders mounted on the horses of the
post, and every day another forty, and that you write to the
emirs of the armies to join me.” So Hisham acted on his advice.
According to another account, the Caliph with his own hand
gave Sa'id a standard and sent him north with 30,000 picked
men, adequate supplies, and 100,000 dirhams for the ex¬
penses of the campaign.67
When he reached al-Jazirah, Sa'id came upon a few strag¬
glers from the army of Jarrah, and a painful scene of recog¬
nition followed. Proceeding to the Armenian town of Khilat on
61 Tabari, n, 1531 and 1595 (a.h. 119).

62 Ibn-al-Athir, loc.cit.
63 Cf. Michael Syrus, n, 501. 84 Ibn-al-Athir, loc.cit.
85 Or al-Jurashi. Wellhausen says that al-Harashi is the nisbah to
Harish ibn-'Amir (Das arabische Reich, 281).
80 Ibn-Khaldun, m, 82. 82 Bal'azni, 520.
71
Lake Van, he found the Khazars in possession. The Muslims

attacked and took the town, then went on to Bardha'ah, re¬
ducing the fortresses en route. At Bardha'ah Said delivered a
sermon, in which he urged the people to unite in face of the
common danger; he appealed especially to the rich to relieve
the needs of the poor. Then, having recommended all to pray
for victory, he marched to Baylaqan.
While Said was encamped there, a local inhabitant com¬
plained that the “son of the Khaqan” had quartered one of
his tarkhansM in a neighboring village. The tarkhan had seized
the man’s daughters and was now drunk and helpless, and
could easily be taken. Said accordingly sent an officer to the
village. The detachment found the Khazar in a drunken sleep,
with the young women sitting unharmed by him, and im¬
mediately despatched him where he lay. Then, killing or dis¬
persing the other Khazars, they returned to Baylaqan and re¬
stored the girls to their father.
All this while, at Warathan, the Muslim garrison had held
out, though heavily beleaguered. Said’s next move was an
attempt to raise the siege, in which he was successful with the
help of a Khazar-speaking Persian, who passed through the
Khazar lines and announced to the garrison that help was near
at hand. The Khazars passed to the siege of Bajarwan, but on
Said’s advancing from Warathan, the Khazars raised the siege
and moved again on Ardabil with Said following. At Bajarwan
he was approached by a cavalier in white,*8 who informed him
that an army of Khazars, 10,000 strong with 5,000 Muslim pris¬
oners, was encamped at a distance of four parasangs. Said
accordingly sent one of his men to investigate. This was a
certain Ibrahim ibn-*Asim al-'Uqayli. He was familiar with the
«« Balami, 522: tarkhdni az an hhiid. The title was in use among the
Khazars, as among other Turkish peoples, and perhaps serves to connect
them with the West Turks. The original meaning is said to be "descend¬
ants of the iron-smiths”; cf. Zeki Validi, Ibn-Faqldn, 276.
•• Bal ami seems to intend a supernatural visitor. Ibn-al-Athir (loc.cit.)
speaks simply of a rider on a white horse. Ibn-Khaldun (m, 89) ration¬
alizes the story and renders "one of (Said’s) spies”
72
Khazar language,70 and, when disguised, had no difficulty in

joining their camp. Meantime Said made ready to attack with
a force of 4,000 men. Al-'Uqayli returned with the news that
the Khazars were indeed in the locality, and told how he had
seen a girl belonging to the harem of Jarrah molested by a
tarkhdn. When he heard her pray to God to save her, it was
only with difficulty that he had refrained from coming to her
help. Said and his men, much affected by what his officer had
told him, started at once and reached the Khazar position be¬
fore daybreak. They at once improvised an attack. Before any
alarm was given, the Khazars were surrounded. The takbir,
raised by the assailants, was re-echoed by Muslim prisoners
within the camp, and, thus stimulated, Said’s men fell on the
enemy, as they struggled out of sleep, with drastic effect. When
the sun rose, we are told, a great part of the 10,000 had been
massacred. The survivors fled to the “son of the Khaqan” and
told him of the disaster.
Several similar incidents involving Muslim successes under
Said’s command are recorded. Finally the Khazars assembled
to the number of no less than 100,000 under Barjik and lay
encamped on a river at Baylaqan.71 Said, with 50,000 men of
Syria, Iraq, and al-Jazirah, went to meet them. While the two
armies were preparing to engage, the Muslims observed the
head of Jarrah, fixed above the throne or car from which the
“son of the Khaqan” gave his orders, in the middle of the
Khazar ranks. As he looked, Said’s eyes filled with tears. “Truly
we belong to God, and to God we return,” said he. “Our life
is dishonored while the head of such a Muslim brother as
Jarrah remains in the possession of unbelievers ” Leading the
charge, he fought his way to where the head was fixed. Barjik
had descended from his car and was now on horseback. Said
struck him to the ground.72 He was saved by his guard, who
70 Perhaps a maula (client) and of Khazar extraction. He is mentioned

again (Tabari, n, 1594-1595) with the additional nisbah al-Khazari
(needlessly altered by D. H. Muller in loco).
71 Ibn-al-Athir, s. anno 112.
72 Some further details in Kasem Beg's Turkish "Tabari,” op.cit., 637.
73
dismounted and closed around their chief. According to an¬

other account, Said slew him and sent the head to Hisham.73
It was at all events another Muslim victory. The Khazars
were forced to flight, leaving countless dead and a great booty
behind them. Said returned in triumph to Bajarwan, where the
spoils were counted and a fifth sent to the Caliph. From what
remained each man of the Muslim army received, it is said, no
less than 1,700 dinars.u
As an authentic record of what took place, the narrative of
Said’s exploits against the Khazars is of course open to serious
doubt. The mysterious character of the horseman who directs
the Muslims and the numbers of the Khazar forces, rising pro¬
gressively after each defeat, belong to romance rather than
history. On the other hand, the account appears to contain
indication of early date, e.g., the Khaqan or his son is called
“the enemy of God,”75 surely a contemporary description.
Again, the exact hour of the day for one of the battles is given.Tfl
It is not credible that Bal'ami and ibn-al-Athir, who give the
same account, expanded the briefer notice in Tabari or filled
up the remarks of Baladhuri, who confines himself to saying
that Said raised the siege of Warathan and routed the Khazars.
Rather, the whole story seems to have been known to Tabari,
and also to Ya'qubi, though not given bv either of them in
detail, and looks like an imaginative contemporary account.
For his services, which at any rate were considerable, Said
was at first to reap little personal advantage. After distributing
the booty, he marched to Maymadh in Adharbayjan, but had
not yet engaged the Khazars when he received an angry letter
from Maslamah, blaming him for having attacked them and
announcing his supersession by 'Abd-al-Malik ibn-Muslim al-
'Uqayli.77 Said laid down his command and was by Maslamah’s
7» Ya'qubi, n, 381. Al-Mufaddal ibn-Salamah explains the proverb "He

came with the head of the khaqan" with reference to this exploit of
Said ibn-'Amr (Fdkhir, ed. Storey, 80). Cf. n. 96.
7* Bal'ami, 531. The amount is evidently much too large.
” Ibid., 529. ” Ibid.
17 Baladhuri, 206; Ya'qubi, n, 381. Bal'ami and ibn-al Athir differently.
74
orders confined at Qabalah. Here he had a conversation with

his superior officer, reported by Bal'ami. When Said was
brought before him, Maslamah asked if he had not received
instructions to desist from attacking the Khazars. Why had he
acted independently and endangered the Muslims? To this
Said answered that no word had reached him until God had
already destroyed the unbelieving Khazars, by giving him the
victory over them. “You lie,” said Maslamah. “You wished to
hear men speak of the numbers you had slain.” “Not so,” said
the other. “I desired the glory of God and acted to secure it.
The emir knows that it is the truth.” But Maslamah’s anger
was not to be appeased. He caused Said to be insulted and
manhandled. The Caliph’s standard was broken over his head.
Then he was removed to the public prison at Bardha'ah. As
soon as Hisham heard what had happened, he wrote to his
brother, expressing serious displeasure. After taking action
against Said, Maslamah had started out late in the season and
advanced through rain and snow beyond Bab into Khazaria.7*
But owing to the time already lost, a valuable opportunity for
dealing a decisive blow had passed. It could not now be retrieved
by Maslamah’s unseasonable exertions. Hisham had learned
what his brother was attempting and now in his letter wrote
the verse:
Do you leave the Khazars at Maymadh when you see them,

and pursue them at the ends of the earth?7*
Back from his expedition, Maslamah was obliged to make

fair amends to his former lieutenant. He sent Said the Caliph’s
letter and asked his pardon, with regrets for what had occurred.
Said was brought out of prison and, having been awarded a
ceremonial dress and gifts for himself and his family, was given
to understand that he was one whom the Caliph delighted to
honor. Certain estates now assigned to him were later known
by his name. In the face of all the material from a number of
78 Tabari, n, 1531-1532; ibn-al-Athir, s. anno 112.

T® Baladhuri, 207; cf. Hitti, Origins of the Islamic State, New York
1910, 324.
75
sources, we must allow that Said's activities were of real im¬

portance, though somewhat obscured by legend. He should
probably have a place among the most successful Arab com-
manders against the Khazars.
For the events of 112/730 our narrative gains confirmation
once again from the Khazar side. The memory of the capture
of Ardabll appears to have been retained long afterwards. Ac¬
cording to the Reply of Joseph, when the Jewish religion had
already been established among them, the king of the Khazars
was inspired to set up a place of worship, and for the purpose
of obtaining the necessary means undertook an expedition by
way of the Darial pass, into the country south of the mountains.
The principal objective of this expedition was Ardabil. The
Khazar returned with a treasure of gold and silver, and this
was dedicated and used for providing the furniture—ark,
lamp-stand, table, etc.-of a tabernacle on the Biblical model.
The Reply adds that these still existed (c. a.d. 960).8" This story
is no doubt legendary in its existing form. Yet there is nothing
unnatural in the Jewish Khazars having a tent set apart for
religious purposes. We find such later among Mongol Chris¬
tians.*1 An instance has already been mentioned of precious
metals from the lands south of the Caucasus being carried
north.82 We may safely say at least that the great victory of the
Khazars over Jarrah was not forgotten by them.
Maslamah’s greatest effort was made in the next year 113/
731.8a The situation from his point of view was hardly improv¬
ing. Fresh forces of Khazars had assembled north of the Cau¬
casus. Al-Harith ibn-'Amr al-Ta’i, previously left by Maslamah
at Bab, had not been able to prevent them from occupying the
place with 1,000 of their families.84 Perhaps as serious as any-
80 See Chapter VI.

81 Cf. D. M. Dunlop, 'The Karaits of East Asia,” B.S.O.A.S. 1944, »/2,
278-279, 286, 287.
82 See Chapter I, ad finem.
88 Jabari, n, 1560; ibn-al-Athir, s. anno 113; cf. Ya’qubi, n, 381. Ya’qubi
elsewhere (n, 395) gives a.h. 114. Lammens (E.Z., art. Maslamah) dates
the retreat from Khazaria in a.h. 115.
84 Baladhuri, 207: alf ohl bayt min al-Khazar. The expression ahl
76
thing else was the attitude of the native rulers, who were giv¬
ing the Muslims much trouble. We read of resistance at Khay-
dhan, where Maslamah dealt out severe measures. He then
passed to Bab with contingents from most of the former allies,
who had made a virtue of necessity and joined him of their
own accord. The Khazars in the fortress town were too few
to delay him, so, leaving them unmolested, the Arab general
passed into Khazaria, where he deployed his forces. This—
probably a dangerous thing to do—was at first successful. Iso¬
lated detachments of the Khazars were cither killed or put to
flight, and several towns or forts, among them Hamzin, fell
into Maslamah’s hands. The inhabitants of at least one place
burned themselves to death rather than surrender. The Mus¬
lims proceeded to Balanjar and then over the “mountains of
Balanjar”** to Samandar. Both these places, like Hamzin, were
very lightly defended, if at all, but they perhaps afforded plun¬
der to the invaders."*
Samandar was the farthest point reached. Having informa¬
tion that the main body of the Khazars and their allies, “a
multitude whose numbers God alone knew,” was close at hand,
like Jarrah in a similar situation,*7 Maslamah decided that it
was necessary to retreat. Now began a most spectacular
march.** Maslamah gave orders that the campfires should be
lighted before the withdrawal began, to deceive the enemy.
The tents were left as they had been pitched. The heavy bag¬
gage was sacrificed. By then many of the men were in no con¬
dition to march and fight at the same time. They were set at
the head of the column, while the freshest troops formed the
bayt,” as Zeki Validi notes (ibn-Fadlan, 190 n.) hardly by itself means
"distinguished families.” Bal'ami (533-534) has "a thousand men of the
tarkhans" (cf. 536, "a thousand families of Khazars”).
8S Tabari, loc.cit. A "mountain of the Khazars” is mentioned in Hudiid
al-Alam, §47. Zeki Validi ("Volkerschaften,” 44) doubtfully identifies it
with the Caucasus peak Bogos.
88 Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadlan, 305 (? from ibn-A'tham al-Kufi).
87 See above.
88 The retreat of Maslamah’s expedition was known to the Byzantines,
cf. Theophanes, 626, under 721 (a.d. 729).
77
rear. By forced marches, covering two stages in the normal

time for one, the Muslims retired by the way they had come.
According to ibn-al-Athir, they reached Bab at their last gasp.*0
Sometime later the Khazars, following through the passes,
made contact with the Muslims.50 Maslamah drew up his army
with Sulayman ibn-Hisham” on the left wing and Marwan ibn-
Muhammad on the right, while al-'Abbas ibn-al-Walid’- had
command of the center. Local levies under native chiefs bore
the shock of the Khazar attack. With the great standard of the
Umayyads unfurled,’0 the Arabs and their allies held their
position all day. Marwan specially distinguished himself in
the action. Often he was lost to view and once was reported to
Maslamah as dead. “No, by God!" said the general, "Not till
he has attained the Caliphate!" Towards evening a Khazar
deserter pointed out to Maslamah where the Khaqan sat in a
tented car’4 and urged him to attack it. Marwan volunteered,
but the task was given to another, Thabit al-Nahrani.” This
officer pressed forward, accompanied by a small picked force,
and with a blow of his sword cut open the brocade of the
•» Ibn-al-Athlr's account (loc.cit.) is the most detailed. Tabari (loc.cit.)

omits mention of the retreat (as does Ya’qubi).
>0 Tabari-ibn-al-Athir, in this agreeing with Theophanes (n. 88), put
the main engagement with the Khazars on this campaign, ,.e the en¬
gagement in which according to Tabari-ibn-al-Athir the soni of the
Khaqan" was killed, before the retreat from Khazana. Accoi^ng to
Yaq'Obi (loc.cit.) the battle was fought at W-r-?an ârthin).
This is almost certainly Varach an, i.e. the northern Warathan (cf Chap¬
ter III n. 17). According to ibn-A'tham al-Kufi the battle was at Darband
(Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadlan, 305). It cannot be assumed that the account
is fictitious on the general ground that Bal_ am. and ibn-A tharri abKOfi, are
unreliable, or because nothing is said about such a battle by Mma ,
when giving his opinion of Maslamah s conduct to the Caliph (see below).
There appears to be independent confirmation for the event
•• Son of the Caliph. His career was unfortunate and ended tragically
at the advent of the Abbasids.
92 Son of al-Walid I.
92 Balami, 534. - . , , v- n _
94 Zeki Validi (lbn-Fadlan, 120) quotes from ibn-A tham al-Kufa a
description of this car, which is called in the soura \-dadah (perhaps a
Khazar word, as Zeki Validi thinks probable). Its floor was spread w.th
various carpets. The tent-cover was of silk brocade and above was a
pomegranate of gold. For other cars in the train of a Khazar princess
see Chapter VII. nQ
It seems unlikely that this was the commander of a.h. 103.
78
tented car. The Khaqan was wounded, but in the confusion

managed to escape. Meanwhile the Muslims, having seen what
was happening, made a general charge and were soon left in
possession of the field.®6
It was possible after the withdrawal of the Khazars to deal
with the town of Bab at leisure. The place proved too strong
to take by assault, in spite of the artillery which Maslamah
brought up for the purpose. He then had recourse to the old
stratagem of poisoning the water supply. A single day of thirst
convinced the Khazars of the hopelessness of their position. The
next night they abandoned the town and fled northward. Mas¬
lamah and his army entered Bab, which in the period that fol¬
lowed was thoroughly reorganized. Separate quarters were cre¬
ated for the men of Damascus, Kufah, al-Jazirah, and Hims.
Granaries of wheat and barley were constructed, with a maga¬
zine for arms. A governor was appointed.*7 The fortifications
were restored, and an iron gate was put in place.*1 It is evident
98 Though Bal'ami’s account mentions Barjik, the "son of the Khaqan,

as well as the Khaqan, we cannot assume that the two Khazar kings are
intended, as the account appears to be confused. According to ibn-
Qutaibah (Ma drif, 185) Maslamah met and killed the Khaqan of the
Turks (Khazars) and built Bab in this year, a.h. 113. It seems more
likely that there was a battle with the Khazars in 113, as we have given
it, tnan that the reports of this (cf. also Baladhuri, 207, according to
which Marwan was with Maslamah and greatly distinguished himself
against the Khazars) refer to Said's victory the previous year, when
according to Ya'qubi, as already remarked, the son of the Khaqan was
killed and his head sent to Hisham. On the other hand, it is a suspicious
circumstance that in 113 another Khazar chief (the "son of the Khaqan”
according to Tabari-ibn-Athir, the Khaqan according to ibn-Qutaybah)
is said to have been killed during a campaign which was on the whole
unsuccessful and appears to have cost Maslamah his governorship. Pos¬
sibly Maslamah as at that time Said's superior officer got the credit for
what happened in the previous year. Certainly the proverb "He came
with the head of the Khaqan” (n. 73) or "Prouder than he who came
with the head of the Khaqan” (Maydani) should refer to an actual event.
This was taken by Freytag to be what happened in central Asia in a.h.
119 (Arabum Proverbia, i, 195). In that year the Khaqan of the Turks
(Turgesh) was killed after the Turkish defeat in a private quarrel and
was buried by his own people (Tabari, n, 1613). The heads of some of
the Turks with the insignia of the Khaqan were sent to Hisham (id., u,
1616), but there is no indication that his corpse came into the possession
of the Arabs.
•7 Bal'ami, 538.
98The Syriac chronicle cited by Kmosko, ibid. (ms. B.M. Add.
79
that these measures had the requirements of a future war in

view and must have been directed in the first place against the
Khazars. When all the arrangements had been made, Maslamah
left his relative Marwan in charge and returned to Syria
( A.H. 114).
The last phase of the second Arab-Khazar war is associated
with the name of Marwan ibn-Muhammad. Late in 114"
(732) he assembled an army put at 40,000 men and advanced
past Balanjar into Khazaria. Rain fell continuously. During the
campaign Marwan is said to have given orders for the tails of
the horses to be cut off because of the mud which clung to
them—the mud from which this expedition got its name.100
We do not read that much was accomplished. A number of the
enemy were killed and prisoners and booty taken.
Some time later101 Marwan presented himself, before his
cousin Hisham, and when asked the reason of his coming,
boldly criticized the measures which had been taken against
the Khazars since the defeat of Jarrah. In particular he spoke
slightingly of Maslamah. The Caliph listened to Marwan when
he proposed that he himself should be sent back to the frontier
with full powers and an army of 120,000 men. Hisham seems
to have been prompted to a decision by news from the north.
Said ibn-'Amr, who was then in command, had developed a
cataract and wTitten to the Caliph to ask for a successor.102 So
Marwan had his way and departed for the Caucasus frontier
with the Caliph's commission as governor of Armenia.
If Said, as we are told, was governor for two years,103 Mar¬
wan can hardly have returned till 117/735. Soon after his
arrival he established a new headquarters at Kasak, forty
parasangs from Bardha’ah and twenty from Tiflis.104 From
14,642, ed. Brooks, 235), speaks of masons and other workmen in the
army of Maslamah.
89 Tabari, n, 1562. >°® Bal'ami, ibid., cf. n. 51.
101 Ibn-al-Athir, s. anno 114. The indication here that Marwan returned
with Maslamah appears to be wrong.
I®* Bal'ami, 539.
105 Baladhuri, 207. Tabari ignores Said’s governorship (n, 1563, 1573).
104 So Baladhuri, ibid. BaUdhuri has Kisal, Bal'ami Kasai, but ibn-
80
the first it was his intention to take the offensive against the
Khazars, yet this he was unable to do immediately. As usual,
there were rebel chiefs in Armenia to deal with, and this en¬
tailed considerable fighting. An expedition was also necessary
to the Alan country, where the Muslims took and perhaps held
three fortresses.105 These operations seem to have kept Marwan
engaged for more than a year. It was not till 119.. <3/loa that
he was free to undertake his main enterprise, the invasion and,
if possible, the subjection of Khazaria.
When on the point of setting his army in motion against
Khazaria, he announced that he was about to attack the Alans.
A special envoy was sent to the Khazar Khaqan, who granted
the Muslims a truce on this understanding. A Khazar am¬
bassador came to Marwan to confirm the terms. He was de¬
layed in the camp while the Muslims made their final dispo¬
sitions.
Whatever may be thought of this negotiation-and it has to
be remembered that Marwan’s bad faith was at the expense
of embittered and dangerous foes of his house and nation—
the Muslim general's strategic conception is altogether admir¬
able. The plan was at once simple and original-first, to ensure
a surprise and then attack simultaneously through the passes of
Darband and Darial. Its execution was wholly successful.
Marwan now had at his disposal a large force, perhaps as many
as 150,000 men,l0T volunteers as well as regular levies. He him¬
self with the main body advanced through the Darial pass. At
the same time another army proceeded from Bab under abu
Yazid Usayd ibn-Zafir al-Sulami. For long the Khaqan and his
advisers must have remained uncertain of what was happen¬
ing. Abu Yazid had instructions to rendezvous at Samandar.
A'tham al-Kufi’s Kasak is probably right (Zeld Validi, Ibn-Fadldn, 296).

Tabari, n, 1573.
Ibn-al-Athir’s main account of Marwan’s expedition is given s. anno
114, but this is too early. He has a short doublet s. anno 119. Tabari has
nothing, beyond the fact that Marwan was governor of Armenia and
Adharbayjan in 119 (n, 1635), but cf. ibn-Taghribardi, i, 314. There is
general agreement that Marwan’s expedition was in 119/737 (Artamonov,
738).
So Bal ami, 539.
81
The place is significant. If Marwan, as is likely, had already

been there, his memories cannot have been agreeable, for the
great retreat in a.h. 113 had begun from Samandar. It had seen
the discomfiture of Jarrah as well as Maslamah. No Arab army
had been able to go farther.108 It seems to have been Marwan s
intention on the present occasion to reach Samandar in such
irresistible force as would carry the invaders over any obstacle
to the heart of Khazaria.
Balanjar was by-passed by the northern army. The two col¬
umns converged on their objective against negligible opposi¬
tion. When Samandar was reached108 a great review was held.
The army, we are told, was issued with white clothing-it was
the Umayyad color—and brand-new spears.110 How this could
have been done so far from a base is not indicated. Possibly
Marwan may have thought it worthwhile to convey a heavy
baggage-train with him, in order to give the farther advance
from Samandar the greater significance for every soldier in
the ranks.
The Khazar envoy had been detained until the last possible
moment. Then Marwan summoned him and, having abused the
Khazars roundly, declared open war. Even after this, he was
led back by a circuitous route, so that as much time as possible
might be gained.111 When at last the envoy reached his master,
Marwan was already deep in the Khazar country. Filled with
alarm, the Khaqan summoned his council and asked their
advice.11* They could recommend nothing better than an im¬
mediate flight from the capital, on the ground that it was hope¬
less either to oppose the Muslims as he was, or wait until
larger forces could be assembled. The Khaqan therefore with¬
drew northeast towards the mountains (Urals). His capital
was left screened by a picked force of considerable size. Mar¬
wan advanced from Samandar and in due course reached the
•
108 Except possibly raiding columns, see above.

109 Bal'ami, ibid.
110 So ibn-A'tham al-Kufi, cited Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadlan, 296 ff.
111 Ibn-al-Athir, s. anno 114.
»»* Ibn-al-Athir, loc.cit., who speaks of the “king of the Khazars,’ cf.
Baladhuri, 208, who has the “chief of the Khazars” ('azim). The council
is to be noted, cf. below.
82
neighborhood of al-Bayda',"3 as the Khazar metropolis was

then called by the Arabs, but did not attempt to blockade it.
Instead he turned away and marched north, along the right
bank of the Volga.
Above the Khazar country proper, settlements belonging to
the people called Burtas extended for some distance, as far as
the Volga Bulgars."1 Both peoples evidently at this time, as
later, belonged to the Khazar empire. The Burtas were now di¬
rectly exposed to Muslim attack and suffered severely. It is said
that 20,000 families were made prisoners and forced to emigrate
south."5 Great havoc was also caused by the invaders among
the herds of horses in this region."*
Meanwhile the Khazar army already mentioned, under a cer¬
tain Hazar Tarkhan, had followed Marwan along the opposite
bank of the Volga."7 The time came when the latter judged it
proper to attack them. The crossing of the river was assigned
to a Syrian, Kawthar ibn-al-Aswad al-'Anbari, who had instruc¬
tions to keep a lookout for the enemy and ambush them when
found. Marwan himself proposed to cross later, when they
could take the enemy between them. Kawthar was reluctant
to move (as well he might be), but the general would admit
no delay. We gather that some kind of pontoon bridge"* was
constructed on the Volga, by means of which the first Muslims
crossed over. A small party of Khazar huntsmen were over¬
powered and killed. On the first night, as they were preparing
to bivouac on the outskirts of a wood—for bv now the steppe
had been left behind"*—smoke was seen rising from its center,
and the Muslims judged, rightly as it proved, that this was
the Khazar army. Pushing forward, Kawthar and his men came
on the enemy encampment and, thanks to the unexpectedness
of their arrival, gained a rapid and decisive victory. From pris¬
oners Kawthar learned that the leader of the hunting-party
which they had earlier met was Hazar Tarkhan himself. There
118 So ibn-al-Athlr, ibn-Taghribardi, ibn-A'tham al-Kufi.
114 See Chapter V, 118 Baladhuri, 208; ibn-A'tham al-Kufi, loc.cit.
1,e Bal'ami, 540. 1,7 Ibn-A’tham al-Kufi, loc.cit.
"* Cf. Zeki Validi, Ibn-FacUdn, 300, n. 1.
119 The wooded character of the Burtas country is confirmed by ibn-
Rustah, 140.
83
X
was no further fighting east or west of the river. Kawthar re¬

joined the general. With his last available force destroyed, the
Khaqan now sent a request for terms. Marwan offered him, it
is said, a plain altemative-Islam or the sword. The envoy
asked for three days in which to bring back a decisive answer.
Evidently the Khaqan was not far away. At the expiration of
the time he returned to say that the Khaqan was ready to be¬
come a Muslim.
In his message the Khaqan requested that someone should
come to instruct him in Islam. Marwan sent two faqihs, Nuh
ibn-al-Sa ib al-Asadi and ‘Abd-al-Rahman al-Khawlani.120 The
chief topic of the religious discussion was apparently the obli¬
gation to abstain from certain kinds of food-“impure” meat,
blood, swine's flesh and wine. The Khaqan specially asked that
the meat and wine might be permitted him, a request which
led to a difference of opinion between the colleagues. Finally
the Khaqan was told that the prohibition was absolute, and he
expressed willingness to accept this ruling. There was no fur¬
ther obstacle, and the Khaqan professed Islam.
If we may conjecture Marwan’s intention, it was to treat
Khazaria like the small principalities of the Caucasus, which
had become more or less amenable as soon as their rulers ac¬
cepted the religion of the Caliph. Khazaria indeed was a differ¬
ent proposition. It appears that an Arab governor and a strong
permanent army would have been necessary to hold the coun¬
try. No doubt at this moment Marwan could have supplied
both, but he did nothing of the kind. The considerations which
weighed with him can only be guessed at. Perhaps it was
that seeing domestic trouble ahead and not wishing to have a
large number of troops committed far away, he hoped to be
*
able to control Khazaria through a Muslim Khaqan. In any

case, having superintended the return of the Khazar to his
capital, he bade him farewell and marched southwards with
his victorious army and a great train of prisoners.121 So ended
the famous “Raid of the Courser,” as the campaign was called.122
220 Bal’ami, ibn-A'tham al-Kufi.

121 The Khazar prisoners were settled "between the Samur and Shabiran
It is difficult to avoid the feeling of anticlimax. More should

have come of the Muslim successes. Marwan had no doubt
good enough reasons for withdrawal. From one point of view
his action was natural and proper. He applied to Khazaria the
precedent with which he was familiar, that of the Caucasus
principalities. He lived in other days than the first generation
of Muslims, when new solutions of new problems were success¬
fully applied. In accepting the precedent, Marwan showed, or
so it seems, that his political insight was by no means on a level
with his military genius. The Arabs at this time had a chance
of removing what from the beginning had proved a perpetual
obstacle to their advance and occasionally a menace to their
own security. This chance seems to have been thrown away by
the man who made it. It was never to come again. Khazaria
was not destined to become a Muslim province, but to remain
what it had been, an obstacle and potential threat to the Arabs,
until it succumbed long afterwards to other hands.
The remainder of Marwan’s governorship presents in general
little of direct interest for Khazar history. The two or three
years after 119/737 were spent in operations against the Avars
of the Sarir and other groups.1-3 Meanwhile the Khaqan of the
Khazars was evidently left to himself. An indication of what
may have been happening in Khazaria is afforded by the action
of one Cpas ibn-Madar,124 apparently chief of the Lakz
(Lesgians), who, refusing submission to Marwan, shut himself
up in his castle, where he was besieged, apparently in 122/740.
In the end he left the castle by night with a few companions,
intending to escape to the "king of the Khazars.” Opas may
have been in correspondence with some of the Khazar prisoners
recently settled in his neighborhood.123 It would appear that
at that time the Khaqan was thought to be capable of pursuing
[riversj in the lowland of al-Lakz.” The Burtas were sent to Khakhit

(Kakhetia), where they killed their (Muslim) emir and fled, but were
overtaken and killed by Marwan (Baladhuri, loc.cit.)
122 Ibn-Taghribardi, loc.cit.
128 Bal'ami, 541ff; Baladhuri, 208ff; ibn-al-Athir, s. anno 114 and the
doublet s. anno 121, with traces also in a third Diace, s. anno 118.
124 Bal'ami, 545; ibn-al-Athir, s. anno 114 ana s. anno 118.
128 Cf. n. 121.
85
an independent course. If the date a.d. 740 is right for the

Khazar conversion to Judaism,*28 he certainly was. It follows
from a remark of Baladhuri that Marwan at this time assigned
the post of honor to the Shirwan Shah “when the Muslims took
the field against the Khazars," that hostilities were at least
expected.127
At first sight, the statements that the Khaqan became a Mus¬
lim in a.d. 737 and Judaized three years later are, to say the
least, remarkable.128 It has already been suggested that they
bear some relation to each other.129 We have still to discuss
elsewhere the date of the conversion of the Khazars to Judaism.
Meantime, it may be noted that a phenomenon so rare in all
history becomes rather more understandable if a year or two
previously the religious and political situation in Khazaria had
been violently disturbed. A consideration which may here be
raised is that the story of the religious disputation which was
held according to the Hebrew sources before the Khaqan,
prior to his conversion to Judaism, is perhaps to be connected
with the presence of the Muslim shaikhs sent by Marwan. The
ingenious suggestion has been made130 that a certain 'Abd-al-
Rahman ibn-Zubayr mentioned in a tradition as one of three
persons who converted the king of the Bulgars to Islam, is the
same as 'Abd-al-Rahman al-Khawlani, one of the two faqihs
who were with the Khaqan. It is not to be excluded that, hav¬
ing withdrawn from Khazaria after an unsuccessful mission,
this man proceeded with better fortune to the Bulgars of the
Volga.
As already noticed, Marwan was engaged for some time after
his return from Khazaria in reducing the mountain kings, but
apparently intended to resume operations against the Khaqan
at a later date. We nowhere find that he did so. Disaffection
had spread among the Muslim inhabitants of his province, so
that he had to deal with a strong Kharijite movement. He re-
12* See especially Chapter VI. Baladhuri, 209.

12* If he were already a Jew in 737, somewhat less so. Cf. above, events
of 112/730.
12® Marquart, Streifz., 13. ,so By Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadlan, 307.
86
•«*«*«* •j* **
tained his governorship till the death of Hisham (125/743)

and later through the brief reigns of al-Walld II and Yazid III,
but no action seems to have been taken against the Khazars.
No doubt they made use of the respite to strengthen their po¬
sition. Yet more fortunate for the Khaqan and his friends was
the later course of events, from 126/744, the year in which
Marwan left his province to contend for the Caliphate. It is
probably no exaggeration to say that the subsequent dynastic
struggle between the Umayyads and the Abbasids saved Kha-
zaria. One of the effects of the revolution, as we can see from
the sequel, was to hold up Muslim expansion on the Caucasus
indefinitely.
The situation, however, had wider implications. As recently
as 114/732, in Hisham’s Caliphate, Muslim armies had been
engaged in the same year both north of the Pyrenees and be¬
yond the Caucasus. There is no proof of concerted action, de¬
termined and controlled by the Caliph in Damascus—the proba¬
bility is in fact the other way—but it may be thought that the
threat to Europe and Christendom was never so grave, even
when Constantinople had fallen, or when Turkish armies stood
at the gates of Vienna. The double attempt in that year failed.
In the west the Franks of Charles Martel defeated "Abderame”
('Abd-al-Rahman ibn-'AbdulIah al-Ghafiqi) at the battle of
Tours and drove the invaders back towards themountains.1*1 On
the Caucasus Marwan s attack was abortive. But, as we saw, in
119/737 Marwan was again in Khazaria, and this time, if we may
trust our sources, he came within an ace of succeeding. Had
Khazaria been permanently occupied by Marwan or one of his
successors, the following years would doubtless have seen great
Muslim campaigns on the Don and the Dnieper. Foiled in the
west, the Arabs might have been victorious in eastern Europe.
The margin by which Khazaria survived appears to have been
narrow, but it did survive, and the boundary of Islam in this
direction was permanently fixed on the Caucasus.
131 Hitti, History of the Arabs, ed. 3, 501, points out that even after
Tours the operations of the Muslims in other parts of France continued.
87
s-
THE KHAZAR CONVERSION TO JUDAISM
ACCORDING TO THE ARABIC SOURCES
There is no locus classicus in Arabic for the Judaizing of the

Khazars, but perhaps the most frequently canvassed passage
is the following, from the well-known Muruj al-Dhahab
(Meadows of Gold) of Mas'udi, begun in 332/943 and com¬
pleted in 336/947: “In this city [i.e., Atil, the capital of
Khazaria on the Volga] are Muslims, Christians, Jews and
pagans. The Jews are the king, his attendants and the Kha¬
zars of his kind [jins]. The king of the Khazars had already
become a Jew in the Caliphate of Harun al-Rashid, and there
joined him Jews from all the lands of Islam and from the
country of the Greeks. Indeed the king of the Greeks at the
present time, a.h. 332 [=a.d. 943-944], Armanus [i.e., Romanus
Lecapenus] has converted the Jews in his kingdom to Christi¬
anity and coerced them. We shall give the history and numbers
of the kings of the Greeks later in this book, with an account of
this king and him who shares his empire with him [i.e., Con¬
stantine Porphyrogenitus] at this time in which our book is
dated. Many Jews took flight from the country of the Greeks to
Khazaria, a$ we have described. An account is given of the
Judaizing of the Khazar king which we do not mention here.
We have already mentioned it in a previous work ”l
It is a matter of conjecture which of his writings Mas'udi here
refers to, and the account has not come to light. In a work of
Dimashqi (ob. 727/1327) the following occurs. “Ibn-al-Athlr
tells how in the days of Harun the Emperor forced the Jews
to emigrate. They came to the Khazar country, where they
found an intelligent but untutored race and offered them their
1 Muruj al-Dlwhab, n, 8-9. I have followed the arrangement of Bodleian

ms., Marsh 243 (x, 792), collated by Professor Kahle.
89
CONVERSION TO JUDAISM
religion. The inhabitants found it better than their own and

accepted it.”2 Marquart, who had looked without success for
the passage in ibn-al-Athir here indicated, came to the likely
opinion that Mas'udi is meant.3 Further, the Spaniard Bakri
(ob. 487/1094) has: ‘The reason for the conversion of the king
of the Khazars, who had previously been a heathen, to Judaism
was as follows. He had adopted Christianity. Then he recognized
the wrongness of his belief and began to speak with one of
his governors about the concern with which he was filled. The
other said to him, O king, the People of the Book form three
classes. Invite them and enquire of them, then follow which¬
ever is in possession of the truth. So he sent to the Christians
for a bishop. Now there was with him a Jew, skilled in debate,
who disputed with the bishop, asking him. What do you say
about Moses, son of Amram, and the Torah which was revealed
to him? The other replied, Moses is a prophet, and the Torah
is true. Then said the Jew to the king, He has admitted the
truth of my creed. Ask him now what he believes. So the king
asked him and he replied, I say that the Messiah, Jesus the
son of Mary, is the Word, and that he has made known the
mysteries in the name of God. Then the Jew said to the king
of the Khazars, He confesses a doctrine which I know not,
while he admits what 1 set forth. But the bishop was not strong
in bringing proofs. So he invited the Muslims, and they sent
him a learned and intelligent man who understood disputation.
But the Jew hired someone against him who poisoned him on
the way, so that he died. And the Jew was able to win the
king for his religion.”4 Whatever may be thought of the content
of this story, it gives us a tradition of a religious debate having
preceded the Khazar conversion to Judaism, which is unique
among the Arabic sources available. The part played by an¬
other prominent Khazar is to be noted. This is a feature of the
Hebrew accounts.5 Here it is he, not the king, who suggests
that a debate should be held. If the story in Bakri is in the
2 Cosmographie, ed. Mchrcn, 263. * Streifz., 6.

4 Ed. Kunik and Rosen, 44 (transl. Marquart, Streifz., 7-8).
5 See Chapter VI.
90
ACCORDING TO ARABIC SOURCES
main a reproduction of Mas'udi's lost account, as Marquart

thought probable, we have by combination with the passages
already cited that Mas'udi gave the conversion as having taken
place, following a disputation before the Khazar king, not
later than a.d. 809 (death of Harun). This result is in principle
not inconsistent with Jewish tradition. According to Jehudah
ha-Levi in Cosri (Kuzari), the conversion took place, after the
debate on the merits of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam which
is the setting of that work (and the theme of a large part of
the Reply of Joseph), in a.d. 740. The difference in Mas’udi’s
account with regard to dating may amount to less than fifty
years (Harun became Caliph in 170/786), and considering that
Mas'udi wrote, no doubt in haste,6 a century and a half after
Harun’s time, is not very serious.
We have now to show further evidence in Arabic sources for
the date of the conversion, and the circumstances in which it
took place. It is convenient to begin with Istakhri, whose account
is as follows:7 “As to Khazaria, it is the name of the region, and
its capital is called Atil.* Atil is also the name of the river which
flows to it from the Russians [al-Rus] and Bulgars [Bulghar].
Atil is in two parts,® one west of the river called Atil, which is
the larger, and the other east of it.10 The king lives in the
western part. The king in their language is called Bak and also
Bak. The extent of this part in length is about a league. It is
6 Cf. Marquart, Streifz., xxxv.

7 Ed. De Goeje, 220-226. I have also used a Chester Beatty ms. in
Professor Kahle’s collation (K).
8 De Goeje edited Ithil, but the most authentic form in Arabic is Atil,
sometimes Atil. In Hebrew '-t-l (Reply in L.V., ben-Daud), ’-til (Camb.
Doc.), *it-l (Eldad ha-Dani), always with ’ (and always of the river).
Amul of the Paris ed. of Muruj al-Dhahab is a serious blunder, which is
still having its effect.
9 According to others, the city was in three parts. Bury suggests that
the western town included an island on which, according to Mas'udi (see
below), the king resided (Eastern Roman Empire, 403).
10 Ibn-Hawqal (ed. De Goeje, 278) adds the names—west part, Atil;
east part, Khazaran. The second edition (Kramers, 389) gives west part.
Khazaran; east part, Atil. Kramers, in loco, seems to have shown that
De Coeje’s reading was due to a misunderstanding. Elsewhere ibn-Hawqal
says it was a small town (ed. Kramers, 15).
91
surrounded by a wall, though the buildings spread beyond.

Their houses are felt tents except a small number built of clay.11
They have markets and baths. In the town are people of the
Muslims, more than 10,000, it is said. They have about thirty
mosques. The king’s castle is at a distance from the river-bank
and is of brick.12 No one else owns a brick building, the king
not permitting anyone to build with brick. The wall already
mentioned has four gates, one of which opens on the river and
another on the steppe at the back of the city. The other two
also open on the steppe.13 Their king is a Jew. It is said that
his attendants number about 4,000 men. The Khazars are Mus¬
lims, Christians14 and Jews, and among them are a number of
idolaters. The smallest group is the Jews, most of them being
Muslims and Christians, though the king and his court are Jews.
"The predominating manners are those of the heathen. One
man shows respect for another by prostrating himself before
him. Their legal decisions [ahkdm] are peculiar, being accord¬
ing to old usages13 contrary to the religion of the Muslims,
Jews, and Christians. The royal army18 consists of 12,000 men.
When one dies another is put in his place. They have no regu-
“ Earlier the houses of the double town are said to have been of
wood. So at least Marquart (Streifz., 18) and Bury (loc.cit.), 1 do not
know on what authority (hardly Muqaddasi, 361).
12 It seems a reasonable inference that this castle was built sometime
after the building of Sarkil on the Don (see below, Chapter VII), and
in imitation of its construction, out of brick. If the Khazars had no work¬
men skilled enough for this, we might suppose that Creeks were employed.
13 Sentence added in K.
14 Astel (Atil) is mentioned as an episcopal town subject to a metro¬
politan at Doros under the Patriarch of Constantinople in an 8th century
document known as the Nodtia Episcopatuum (Kulakovsky, "The Gothic
Eparchy,” Zh.M.N.Pr., 1898-in Russian; cf. Vasiliev, Goths in the Crimea,
97). The same document gives the Khazars as Khotzeron (Khotziron),
where -on is the gen. plur. suffix.— In the biography of Stephen of Sudak
in the Crimea (8th cent.) a local Khazar chief, the tarkhdn George, is an
Orthodox Christian (ed. Vasilievsky, cited Poliak, Conversion, §2). The
Khazars had the Christian church service in their own language (Slavic
Life of Constantine, cited Marquart, Streifz., 190).
15 It is fairly plain from this and other passages that Turkish law, not
Rabbinism, applied in Khazaria.
1#Ibn-Hawqal (ed. Kramers, 390) has instead “all the army of Kha-
zaran.”
92
lar pay, except a pittance which comes to them at a long inter¬

val. When there is war or any disturbance occurs, they assemble.
“The king has no right to the property of the subjects.17 His
treasury depends on customs-dues [arsad] and tithes on mer¬
chandise, according to certain usages of theirs, from every land-
route and sea and river. To him18 belong regular payments
assessed on the people of the different places and districts,
consisting of every description of food, drink, etc., which he
requires. The king has seven judges19 [hukkam] from the Jews,
Christians, Muslims and idolaters. When the people have a law¬
suit it is they who judge it. The parties do not approach the
king himself but only these judges. Between the judges and the
king on the day of the trial there is an intermediary, by whom
they correspond with him about what is happening and have
access to him. He transmits his orders to them, which they
carry out.
“The city has no villages. But their farms are extensive. They
go out in summer for about twenty leagues through fields to
sow. They collect some of the crop on the river and some in
the steppe, and bring in their produce either on carts or by
the river. Their chief food is rice and fish. The honey and wax
brought from their country are brought to them from the terri¬
tory of the Russians and Bulghar. Similarly the beaver-skins
which are taken to all parts of the world are found only in
those rivers in the territory of Bulghar and the Russians and
Kiev, and not anywhere else so far as I know.
‘The eastern half of the [capital of the] Khazars contains
most of the merchants, the Muslims, and the merchandise. The
western is reserved for the king, his attendants,20 his army and
the pure-bred Khazars.21 The Khazar language is not that of
So in K.
18 De Goeje “to them” (wa-lahum); K xva-lahu.
19 Cf. Mas'udi, below, Chapter VII. Yaqut (Buldan, u, 437) has in
error "nine judges.”
20 Added in K.
21 Marquart (Streifz., 41, n. 2) renders "eigentliche Chazaren,” "real
Khazars,” identifying them with the "White Khazars” whose existence
is perhaps indicated by Istakhri (see below), Aq-Khazars presumably
93
(cf. Akatzirs in Chapter I). Zeki Validi (Ibn-Fadlan, 217 and n.) is
definitely of opinion that the words should be referred to the Khwanz-
mians in Khazar service (Masudi), reading with ibn-Hawqal, ed. 2,
“al-Khazar al-Khalis" for "al-Khazar al-khullas ’ (Istakhri and ibn-Hawqal,
ed 1). (It is inconsistent with this when he himself uses Marquart s
expression "die eigentlichen Chazaren,” Ibn-FadUin, 270, apparently in
Marquart's sense.) Certainly the plur. al-khullas coming immediately
after its sing, khalisah in a different sense (“reserved ) is awkward,
though it may be noted that in the Chester Beatty ms. of Istakhri (K)
al-Khazar al-khass “the Khazar upper class” is read and may conceivably
be right, while ibn-Hawqal, 1st ed., has khdssah for khalisah (ibn-Hawqal,
2nd ed., is different). Perhaps al-khullas as plural of khalis means ac¬
tually "White," cf. Qamus, s.v. If the form al-Khalis is original, we may
compare the people called Khwalis, mentioned twice in the Russian
Chronicle (cc. 3, 79). Whether Khalis/Khwalis is to be connected with
Khwarizm (with interchange of 1 and r), as Zeki Validi thinks, there is
no doubt that the name existed among the Khazars, cf. the Notitia
Episcopatuum, where 'o KhouaUs (Khwalis), like 'o Astel (n. 14) and
‘o Tumatarkha are sees subject to a metropolitan of Doros (Vasiliev,
Goths in the Crimea, 99, 101-103). Vasiliev follows Kulakovsky op.cit.,
who thought that a city Khouale lay in Khazaria near the mouth of the
Volga, on the basis, according to Vasiliev, of Arabic accounts of the Rus¬
sian campaigns in the Caspian, to be discussed below (Chapter IX). I
do not know of any Khazar city called Khoualft, Khwalis, etc., in the
Arabic sources for the expeditions of the Russians, nor indeed anywhere
else. A locality Chwalynsk is mentioned on the Volga (Zeki Validi, Ibn-
Fadlan, 217). It seems likely that the Khwalis are also to be found, as
Howorth observed (3rd Congress of Orientalists, ii 139), in Menander
Protector (300, 383) who mentions Khlidtai or Kholiatai perhaps cor¬
rectly Khoalitai (but according to Marquart K/io/uJtm=Khalaj (Kholach),
cf. Minorsky, Hudud, 347). But, further, the name and also apparently
the people survived the eclipse of the Khazar state. The Khalisioi are
mentioned as fighting against Manuel Comnenus in the 12th cent. (John
Cinnamus. ed. Bonn 107, cited Vasiliev. Goths, 99). Up to this time they
had retained “the Mosaic laws, but not in their pure form,’ as Vasiliev
translates the Creek, while the other "Huns” i.e., Hungarians, have
adopted Christianity. In another passage of the same author (ed. Bonn,
247) it is indicated that the Khalisioi were subject to the Hungarians.
There seems to be little doubt that they were Khwalis who at some tune
had passed from Khazar to Magyar rule (for a case of this, see Chapter
VII). The point that they observed only some of the Mosaic laws agrees
very well with what we know or can infer about the Khazars. None of
the names of tributary peoples in the Reply of Joseph as we have it is
immediately identifiable with Khwalis/Khali?/Halis but the Arisu there
mentioned may be the same. If so, the scats of the people in Khazar
times were on the Volga. It is tempting to make the further equation of
Arisu and the Khwarizmian Arsiyah (var. Arislyah in Masudi's text
translated below), for which the current rapprochement with As (the
Alans) is far from certain. No clarification of the obscure relations of the
Khazars and the Khwarizmians is possible from the expression Halis
Tarkhan, which is a figment, cf. Chapter VII, n. 43.
94
the Turks and not Persian, nor does the language of any section
of humanity coincide with it.22
“As to the river Atil, from what I have heard, it emerges
from the vicinity of the Kirgiz and flows between the Kaymaks
and the Chuzz, being the boundary between the two. Then it
proceeds west behind Bulghar, and turns back in its course
eastwards till it passes by the Russians. Then it goes past
Bulghar, then Burtas, and turns back in its course till it falls
into the sea of the Khazars [Caspian]. It is said that more than
seventy streams branch out from this river. The main body of
it flows by the Khazars till it falls into the sea. It is said that if
this river’s upper course were collected into one, its waters
would exceed the Oxus. Its size and weight of water are such
that when it reaches the sea it continues to flow as a river for
two days’ journey, prevailing over the water of the sea, so that
in winter it freezes owing to its freshness and sweetness, and
its color may be seen distinct from the color of the sea-water.
“The Khazars have a city called Samandar between [the
capital]23 and Bab al-Abwab. It has many gardens. It is said
that it contains about 4,000 vineyards towards the frontier of
the Sarir.24 The principal fruit is the grape. Here are people
of the Muslims, and they have mosques. Their dwellings are
made of wood, arranged crisscross, and their roofs are domed.
Their king is a Jew, related to the king of the Khazars.25 From
them to the frontier of the Sarir it is two leagues.28 Between
them and the lord of the Sarir is a truce.
‘The people of the Sarir are Christians. It is said that the
22 K adds jumlah kdfiyah, apparendy a gloss "complele sentence,” or

"completely” (?).
23 Text "fima baynaha,” without explicit antecedent, suggesting com¬
pilation (see below).
24 I.e., the Avar principality, cf. Minorsky, Hudud, 447.
23 He was perhaps a tudun, as Marquart suggested (Streifz. 21), i.e.,
a governor appointed by the Khazar central authority, rather than a
hereditary prince (elteber, Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fa<Jlan, 106). Cf. the gov¬
ernor of Balanjar (Chapter IV, n. 36).
28 Assuming that Samandar is present-day Qizlar on the Terek (Zeki
Validi, “Volkerschaften,” 47), the distance seems very short. Cf. Minor-
sky, Hudud, 452.
95
I
throne [sarir] belonged to one of the kings of Persia, and is

of gold. When their rule ceased, it was brought to the Sarir,
carried by one of the kings of Persia. I have heard that he was
a son of Bahram Chubin.27 The kingship to the present day is
among them. It is said that this throne was made for one of
the Khusraws over many years[?]. Between the Sarir and the
Muslims is a truce, and each of them is wary of the other.28
I know of no agglomeration of people in Khazar territory ex¬
cept Samandar.29 The Burtas are a nation bordering on the
Khazars. Between them and the latter is no other nation. They
are a people spread out along the valley of the Atil [Volga].
Burtas is the name of a territory, as are Russia and Khazaria.
The Sarir is the name of a kingdom, not of a city nor of
people.
“The Khazars do not resemble the Turks. They are black¬
haired, and are of two kinds, one called the Qara-Khazars
[Black Khazars], who are swarthy verging to deep black, as
if they were a kind of Indians, and a white kind, who are
strikingly handsome. The slaves found among the Khazars are
idolaters. These permit the sale of their children and the en¬
slavement of one another. As to the Jews and Christians among
them, their religion condemns the enslavement of one another,
like the Muslims. The Khazar country produces nothing which
can be exported to other lands except isinglass. As to the
slaves,80 honey, wax, beaver- and other skins, they are imported
to Khazaria. The dress of the Khazars and the surrounding na¬
tions is coats and tunics.81 No clothing is [sc. produced] in
the country. It is brought to them from the districts of Jurjan,
Tabaristan, Armenia, Adharbayjan, and the Greek empire.82
27 Bahrain Chubin is mentioned as active on the Caucasus frontier

under the Sassanids Anushirwan and Hormuz.
28 K alone has the last clause.
28 I.e., apparently, apart from the Khazar capital.
80 Text d-zaybaq, “quicksilver,” but d-raqiq as in K is to be preferred,
cf. De Goeje in loco (223).
81 I.e., an outer and an inner garment.
82 According to ibn-Fadlan (§25) the Ghuzz Turks similarly got
clothing from the lands of Islam south of the Oxus.
96
“As to their politics and system of government, their chief

man is called Khaqan of the Khazars. He is greater than the
king of the Khazars, except that it is the king of the Khazars
who appoints him.33 When they wish to appoint this Khaqan,
they bring him and throttle him with a piece of silk till he is
nearly strangled.34 Then they say to him, How long do you
wish to reign? He says. So and so many years. If he dies before
then, well and good. If not, he is killed when he reaches the
year in question.33 The Khaqanate is only valid among them in
a family of notables.34 He enjoys neither the right of command
nor of veto, but people do him honor and prostrate themselves
when they enter his presence. No one except a few such as the
king and those of his class [tabaqah] approaches him. When
the king enters his presence, which happens only on a
special occasion, he wallows in the dust, prostrating himself,
and stands at a distance till he allows him to come near. When
any serious eventuality befalls them, the Khaqan is brought
out. None of the Turks and the other unbelievers, who are
their neighbours, sees him but retires and docs not fight with
him, out of reverence for him. When he dies and is buried, no one
passes his tomb without dismounting and prostrating himself,
nor does he remount till he is at a distance from his tomb. Their
obedience to their king37 goes so far that when one of them is
perhaps condemned to death and, being one of their great men,
the king does not care to kill him openly, he commands him to
kill himself, and he withdraws to his house and kills himself.
The Khaqanate is in a group of notables who possess neither
sovereignty nor riches. When the chief place comes to one of
33 Ibn-Hawqal reverses the roles and makes the Khaqan install the Beg.
84 Cf. a remarkable parallel in a Chinese account of the Tu-kiien
(translation in St. Julien, J. A., vi, iii [18641, 332).
85 Cf. what ibn-Fadlan says about this, below. Sir J. C. Frazer had
an article on the subject, ‘The Killing of the Khazar Kings" (Folklore,
xxvm, 1917), to which Dr. H. G. Farmer kindly drew my attention.
86 Cf. a few lines below. Does Istakhri merely repeat himself, or is
this an indication that his account of the Khazar Khaqan is conflated?
871.e., the Khaqan. Cf. ibn-Fadlan’s observation on the action of the
Khaqan after a defeat.
97
them, they appoint him without regard to what his condition

is. A reliable witness told me that he had seen in one of their
markets a young man selling bread. They said that when their
Khaqan died, there was none worthier of the Khaqanate than
he, only he was a Muslim, and the Khaqanate is never given to
any but a Jew. The throne and canopy [qubbah] of gold38
which they have are never set up for any but the Khaqan. His
tents when they go forth are above the tents of the king. His
house in the town is higher than the house of the king.
“Burtas is the name of a territory. The people have houses of
wood and are scattered. The Bashkirs are of two kinds. The
one is at the extremity of the Chuzz country behind Bulghar. It
is said that their total numbers amount to about 2,000 men,89
in a strong position among woods where none can reach them.
They obey the Bulgars. The other Bashkirs border on the
Pechenegs, i.e., the Turkish Pechenegs40 bordering on the
Greeks. The language of the Bulgars is like that of the Kha-
zars.41 The Burtas have a different language. Similarly, the lan¬
guage of the Russians is unlike those of the Khazars and the
Burtas.
■‘Bulghar is the name of a city. The people are Muslims, and
in it is a cathedral mosque. Nearby is another city called
88 The qubbah of gold seems rather to be connected with the tented

car of the Khaqan (Chapter IV, n. 94) than with the golden tent of
other chiefs (among the Uigurs of the Orkhon in 821, cf. Minorsky,
"Tamlm," 279, 294-295, 303; among the Karayts in the time of Chingiz
Khan, cf. Raverty, Jabaqdt-i Ndsiri, 943 n.), though if it could be shown
that the possession of a gold tent was a mark of paramountcy, the detail
might serve to connect the Khazars with the Uigurs (cf. Chapter II). The
Reply of Joseph mentions a “tabernacle" in religious use among the
Khazars circa 960, but there is no precise reason for identifying this with
Istakhri's “qubbah of gold.”
*• The same figure occurs in a story in Gardizi (ed. Barthold, 85),
according to which the ancestor of the Bashkirs was a Khazar noble,
who at some unspecified time settled between the Khazars and the Kay-
maks with 2,000 men.
40 Bajanak Atrak, cf. Hudud, §20.
41 The language of the Bulgars is held to have been akin to Chuvash,
e.g. Barthold, E.I., art. Bulghar. Hence Ijtakhri appears to be correct in
saying that it resembled the Khazar language, also akin to Chuvash, see
below.
98
Suwar, in which also is a cathedral mosque. One who was

preacher there told me that the number of people in these two
cities amounts to about 10,000. They have buildings of wood
in which they shelter in winter. In summer they spread abroad
in tents. The preacher there told me that the night there is in
summer so short that a man does not prepare to travel in it
more than a league , while in winter the day is short and the
night is long, so that a day in winter is like the nights of
summer.
‘The Russians arc of three kinds. The king of those nearest
to Bulghar lives in a city called Kuyabah [Kiev]. It is larger
than Bulghar. Another kind, farther off than these, is called
§lawiyah [Slavs], and there is a kind called Arthaniyah, whose
king lives in Artha.42 The people come to trade in Kiev. It is
not recorded that any stranger has ever entered Artha, for
they kill all strangers who set foot in their land. They descend
by water to trade and say nothing of their affairs and merchan¬
dise. They let none accompany them or enter their land. From
Artha are brought black sable-skins and lead. The fox-skins of
Burtas are brought from that country.4* The Russians are a
people who burn their dead. Girls are burned voluntarily with
rich persons among them. Some shave the beard, others let it
grow like a forelock. Their dress is the short coat. The dress
of the Khazars, Bulgars, and Pechenegs is the full coat. These
Russians trade as far as Khazaria,44 the Greek empire and
Great Bulgaria, which borders the Greek empire on the north.
The last are very numerous. Their strength is so great that they
42 The forms Arthaniyah, Artha are not certain. Cf. Minorsky, Hudud,
434 ff.
43 Sentence added in K.
44 Ibn-Khurdadhbih (154) has greater detail. "As to the route of the
Russian merchants, who are a kind of Saqalibah [generic name for the
white-skinned races of eastern Europe], they bring beaver-skins and
black fox-skins and swords from the most distant parts of the $aqlab
country to the sea of the Creeks [Black Sea], and the lord of the Greeks
tithes them. If they travel by the Don, the river of the Saqalibah, they
K by Khamlij [Khamlikh], the capital of the Khazars, whose lord
vise tithes them. Then they reach the sea of Jurjan [Caspian] and
disembark on which of its coasts they will.”
99
have levied a tribute on the neighboring Greeks. The people

of Inner Bulgaria are Christians.”
This very important account by Istakhri, written about 320/
932,45 presumably owes something to his predecessors, espe¬
cially Balkhi, whose own work was composed in 308/920 or a
little later,4® but how much we are not in a position to say.
It is, however, clear that it was extensively used, or rather taken
over bodily, by Istakhri’s successors. Thus ibn-Hawqal’s account
of Khazaria is practically Istakhri (somewhat differently in the
two editions of ibn-Hawqal by De Goeje and Kramers).47
Yaqut also drew extensively on Istakhri. This is not at first
apparent, for Yaqut’s account of the Khazars is given on the
authority of ibn-Fadlan, one of the envoys of the Caliph
Muqtadir to the Bulgars of the Volga in 310/922, and is in¬
troduced as what ibn-Fadlan actually saw himself.48 But the
account as it stands contains obvious contradictions, which
must appear to every reader. Thus it is stated, first, that the
king of the Khazars is called in their language Y-l-k or Bak40
and later that his name is Khaqan. In consequence there has
been doubt not simply as to ibn-Fadlan’s authorship of the
whole account but, more seriously, whether on the basis of
such a document any clarification of the Khazar problem was
possible.
De Goeje seems first to have observed that the first part of
Yaqut’s article on the Khazars was to be found in Istakhri, and
he suggested that in spite of the attribution to ibn-Fadlan,
Istakhri was the author.90 This was in fact the case, but there
45 Brockelmann, C.A.L., i, 229, gives c. 340/951. De Goeje (Z.D.M.G.,

1871, 51) connected the publication of the work with that date, but it
was, he thought, written between 318 and 321.
48 Barthold in Hudud, 15.
Ibn-Hawqal, writing in 367/977, occasionally has new information,
notably on the great Russian expedition which involved the destruction
of the Khazar capital, but usually copies out Istakhri.
48 Bulddn, n, 436.
48 The form Y-l-k may be a mistake, not a variant. Zeki Validis re¬
marks (Ibn-Fadldn, 257) are not clear to me.
so Cf. Wustenfeld, Mu-jam al-Buldan, v, 173: “De Goeje macht mich
darauf aufmerksam dass sich dieses Stuck aus dem Reisebericht des Ibn
100
was no proof, so that Kmosko, writing in 1921, was justified in

disregarding it.51 Kmosko believed that ibn-Fadlan had a good
deal about the Khazars in common with Istakhri. There was the
unmistakable fact that Yaqut gave several pages on ibn-
Fadlan’s authority which appeared also in De Goeje's edition
of Istakhri. Kmosko accounted for this by the theory that
they had a common source. Others had supposed that because
ibn-Fadlan wrote earlier, Istakhri might have adopted his ac¬
count. Kmosko objected that on this view Istakhri had appar¬
ently substituted a much less vivid account of his own” for that
of ibn-Fadlan on the subject of the Khaqan (i.e., the last part
of Yaquts article). As against Frahn and Geza Kuun, Kmosko
was undoubtedly right in saying that Istakhri did not draw
on ibn-Fadlan, and he directed attention to the parallel ac¬
counts which we have of the Khaqan. But his own theory of
a common source for ibn-Fadlan and Istakhri (against which
there was the a priori consideration that travelers like ibn-
Fadlan do not usually quote previous writers at length) has
been disproved by the Meshed text of ibn-Fadlan, published
by Zeki Validi.83 Here we see that ibn-Fadlan has nothing in
common with Istakhri. When ibn-Fadlan comes to speak in
detail about the Khazars, all that he says is to be found in
the second part of Yaqut s article. It is therefore clear that
Yaqut’s notice is composite. The first part is Istakhri, though
cited for some reason on ibn-Fadlan’s authority, but instead
of continuing with Istakhri’s account of the Khaqan, he avails
himself of what ibn-Fadlan really wrote. Naturally enough
there are differences between the two accounts this conflated,
but we can now make use of both, as independent sources.84
Fadhlan . . . auch bei Igtachri . . . findet, welchem er die Autorschaft

vindiciren mochte, was mir noch zweifelhaft scheint."
51 See his article “Die Quellen Istachri’s in seinem Berichte iiber die
Chasaren," K6rdsi Csoma-Archivum, i (1921), 141.
82 The paragraph beginning “As to their politics” above. Cf. this with
ibn-Fadlan’s account below.
08 Ibn Fadlaris Reisebericht, A.KM., Leipzig 1939.
84 Professor H. Ritter writes (Z.D.M.G., 1942, 126 n.): “Bekanntlich
steht in Yaqut vor diesem Abschnitte noch ein weiterer iiber die Hazaren,
101
Kmosko thought it possible to show further that the ac¬

count of Khazaria in Istakhri consists of two parts originally
separate, of which one, distinctly referring to the Judaism of
the Khazars, goes back to about a.d. 800. If this can be made
out, then of course the case for something like the traditional
date of the conversion as a.d. 740 becomes very strong, and the
alternative dating—soon after a.d. 863 (Marquart),85 about 865
(Vernadsky )5e-may safely be disregarded. Kmosko’s argu¬
ments in detail are evidently vitiated by his mistaken view of
what constituted ibn-Fadlan’s account of the Khazars. It re¬
mains to be seen if his theory of Istakhri’s narrative as com¬
posite has anything in it, and whether some or all of it goes
back to circa 800. It must be allowed that the suggestion that
Istakhri’s narrative (the complete account, that is, not the
truncated form in Yaqut) consists of two parts originally sep¬
arate is attractive. The principal matters dealt with by Istakhri
follow each other thus: the Khazars, especially with reference
to the king (Bak, Beg)-the river Atil (Volga )-Samandar,
Sarir, Burtas-the Khazars, especially with reference to the
Khaqan—Burtas, Bashkirs, Bulgars, Russians. Each of the com¬
ponents might thus begin with the Khazars and pass on to their
neighbors, one giving a miscellaneous group of names, the
other neighboring peoples to the north.37 It is noticeable that
the Burtas are twice mentioned. There are other traces of
repetition and contradiction, cf. what is said about the Khazar
imports and the Khazar language. Towards the end Istakhri
den er gleichfalls Ibn Fadlan zuschreibt. und der sich auch bei l5tahri
findet. Durch das Fehlen dieses Abschnittes in M li e., the Meshed ms.
containing ibn-Fadlan’s Rihlah] ist wohl endgiiltig bewiesen dass
dieser Abschnitt nicht aus Ibn Fadlan stammt und dass Yaqut ihn fal-
schlich und versehentlich Ibn Fadlan zuschreibt.” Ritters caution {wohl
endgiiltig) is formally justified. But the contradictions between the brst
and second parts of Yaout’s notice are strictly incompatible with their
being originally the work of one author.
Streifz., 23. , _ ... c
••Ancient Russia (1943), 351, citing his own article The Date ot
the Conversion of the Khazars to Judaism,” Byzantion, xv (1941), /0-do.
sr Within this scheme there are perhaps traces of subdivisions, cf. nn.
23, 36.
102
mentions that the house of the Khaqan is higher than the Beg’s,
while earlier he has indicated that the castle of the king (Beg)
is the principal landmark. These considerations are not entirely
conclusive, but on the whole Kmosko seems to be right, and
the narrative of Istakhri looks as if it has been put together
in a systematic manner from more than one account.
As to the dating, Kmosko’s conclusions appear more doubt¬
ful. He supposes that Istakhri in one place refers to a time
when the Khazars had no mercenary troops, but only “a kind
of militia, or better, a number of insurgents.”*8 He is apparently
thinking of the words: “The royal army consists of 12,000 men.
When one dies another is put in his place. They have no reg¬
ular pay, except a pittance which comes to them at long inter¬
vals. When there is war or any disturbance occurs, they
assemble." Later, he argues, we know of a regular army of
Muslims in Khazaria, from ibn-Rustah (?) and Mas'udi, from
circa a.d. 800 when the Khazar army appears to have been re¬
organized. The theory that thereafter it consisted of Muslims
who did not wish to be sent to fight their correligionists ex¬
plains for Kmosko why, though the Caliphate was less power¬
ful than formerly, after the Khazar invasions of 145/762 and
183/799 they did not again attack the Arabs (see below, Chap¬
ter VII). All this is very well, but there is no real evidence that
the Khazar army was reorganized about a.d. 800. Mas'udi ob¬
serves indeed that the king of the Khazars alone in these
countries had a paid army, and says that the people called
Arsiyah5® who formed the royal army came to Khazaria “from
the neighborhood of Khwarizm, long ago, after the appearance
of Islam." The date of this can hardly be estimated. Ibn-Rustah
says nothing explicit about Muslims in the Khazar army, and in
any case his account, though no doubt referring to the first half
of the 9th century (see below), can hardly be cited for a hypo¬
thetical reorganization of the Khazar army circa 800. Further,
the words of Istakhri appear to indicate precisely a standing
58 "Insurgenten,” Kmosko, ibid.

89 Cf. n. 21 and see also below, Chapter VII. The form is not certain.
103
army."0 In general, we may say that the impression made by

Istakhri’s account of the Khazars, composite or not, is that it
refers to a period not so long before his own time. Kmosko’s
view of the dating appears to be a particularly bold inference
from the cessation of Khazar attacks on the Muslims after 800,
the reason of which we do not know. The view may conceiv¬
ably be right, but it can scarcely be used in support of a date
prior to this for the conversion to Judaism.
If the impression made by Istakhri's account of the Khazars
is that it is, so to speak, modem, the opposite is the case with
what ibn-Rustah has to say on the subject. Yet there should
not be more than thirty years between them, for ibn-Rustah
compiled his encyclopedia, from which the account of the
Khazars now to be given is taken, about 290 903, and Istakhri
wrote circa 320/932. Ibn-Rustah’s account*1 is quite short:
‘‘Between the Pechenegs and the Khazars is a journey of
10 days through deserts and wooded country. There is no
regular road or frequented paths between them and the Kha¬
zars. Their only route is through this wooded tangled country
till they reach Khazaria. Khazaria is an extensive region, con¬
nected on one side to a great mountain [i.e., the Caucasus],
the same as that which descends at its extremity to Tulas®-
and Awghaz [Abkhaz]. This mountain extends to the region of
Tiflis.
‘They have a king who is called Isha. The supreme king is
Khazar Khaqan. He does not enjoy the obedience of the Kha¬
zars but has the name only. The power to command belongs
to the Isha, since in regard to control and the armies he is so
placed that he does not have to care for anyone above him.
Their supreme ruler is a Jew, and likewise the Isha and those
of the generals and the chief men who follow his way of think¬
ing. The rest of them have a religion like the religion of the
Turks.
•o So taken by Marquart, Streifz., 4.

•i Ed. De Coeie. 139-140.
«2 A compound with As, cf. Minorsky, Hudud, 4o6.
104
‘Their capital is Sarighshin and in it63 [?] is another city

called H-b ?-l-'(gh) or H(kh)-??-l-gh [? Khanbaligh]. The
population remains during the winter in these two cities. When
spring days come, they go out to the steppe and continue there
till the approach of winter. In these two cities are Muslims,
who possess mosques, imams, muezzins, and schools.
‘Their king, the Isha, levies a number of horsemen on the
people of power and wealth among them, according to their
possessions and the extent of their means of livelihood. They
raid the Pechenegs every year. This Isha takes charge of the
departure himself and goes out on his expeditions with his men.
They have a fine appearance. When they go out in any direc¬
tion, they do so armed in full array, with banners, spears, and
strong coats of mail. He rides forth with 10,000 horsemen, of
whom some are regular paid troops and others have been
levied on the rich. When he goes out in any direction, a kind
of disk is prepared in his presence, fashioned like a drum. It
is carried by a horseman who bears it before him [i.e., the
Isha]. He follows at the head of his army, who see the light of
the disk. When they take booty, they collect it all in his camp.
Then the Isha chooses what he likes and takes it for himself.
He leaves them the rest of the booty, to be divided among
themselves.”
There are some striking new points here. The subordinate
king is said to be called Isha, which is quite unlike Istakhri’s
Bak or Bak. According to ibn-Rustah, the capital of Khazaria
is neither al-Bayda’ as in the Arab historians nor the Khazaran
or Atil of the geographers (e.g. ibn-Hawqal), but Sarighshin,
here mentioned with another town, perhaps Khanbaligh,
Khambaligh (Khamlij). Gardizi, who wrote in Persian circa
a.d. 1050, has an account*4 similar to ibn-Rustah. In this the
subordinate king of the Khazars appears as Abshad. Gardizi’s
names for the towns closely resemble those in ibn-Rustah, as
do the forms given by Sharaf al-Zaman Marwazi, another
•* Or "at it, near it.”

««Ed. Barthold, 95ff.
105
writer of the 11th century, who has an abbreviated form in

Arabic of the same general account.45
At first sight, there is nothing in common between Isha or
Abshad and Bak of the other tradition. The latter form is con¬
firmed, as it seems, not only by ibn-Fadlan, who gives Khaqan
B-h for the subordinate king, and the Greek sources, where we
find Peh, but presumably also by the later Turkish title Beg or
Bey. Isha and Abshad thus present a real difficulty. The orig¬
inal of which these words are evidently forms has been read
in different ways, there being general agreement that the
second syllable must be the title Shad, found elsewhere.44 Zeki
Validi has suggested that we should read Aba-shad, where
Aba, Ebe, is ibn-Fadlan’s B-h, and presumably also the same
as Istakhris Bak.47
As to Sarighshin and Khanbaligh, it would appear that a
double town is indicated, the later Khazaran-Atil. We may
compare Buda-Pest, as perhaps showing a tendency to give
separate names to settlements facing each other across a river.
The transliteration here adopted is provisional. Sarighshin
should be “Yellow (Town),”48 the Arabic al-Bayda’ "the White
(City),” which certainly is applied, as we have seen, to the
Khazar capital. Khanbaligh (Hab Baligh), according to Zajqcz-
kowski, means “the Whole Town."48 It is probable that the
word is the same as Khamlij (or Khamlikh), the Khazar capi¬
tal according to ibn-Khurdadhbih,70 or more exactly the east¬
ern, commercial half of the town.71 As to the identity of
Sarighshin with Saqsin we shall have something to say later.
Cardizi’s account of the Khazars contains some things which
8S Ed. Minorsky, Royal Asiatic Society (Forlong Fund, xxn), 1942.

44 Cf. Shath, son of Ziebel, and Chat-Khazar, above.
67 Ibn-Fadlan, 257. Other suggestions are Al-shad (Marquart, Streifz.,
24), Ay-shad (Minorsky) and Alp-shad (Zaj^czkowski). Munkacsi had
already suggested Ab-shad (Finnisch-Ugrische Forschungen, xn, 98-
102, cited Zeki Validi, ibid.).
88 Zajqczkowski (cf. O. Pritsak, Der Islam, B. 29, 99) and similarly
Marquart, Streifz., 1 (Sarighshar) and Minorsky, Hudiid, 453. Pritsak
(ib. 102) suggests "West Town.**
89 Cf. Pritsak, op.cit., 99. 70 Cf. n. 44.
71 Marquart, 203, cf. Minorsky, Hudiid, 454.
106
arc not in ibn-Rustah. One of the additions gives interesting

information, not found elsewhere, about the military arrange¬
ments of the Khazars. The general (solar), by which perhaps
the Abshad (Aba-shad) or Beg is meant, gives orders that each
of his men should carry with him what seems to be a sharp
stake of a certain thickness or length, for constructing a pali¬
sade, further strengthened with shields, round the camp when
on an expedition. He tells us also that the Khazars levied a
small contribution from the Muslims in the two towns, and
refers apparently to raids on the Burtas, as to which ibn-Rustah
is silent. In Khazaria, he says, are fields and gardens and
abundance of good things. There is much honey, and good
wax is brought from thence. Ibn-Rustah mentions nothing
of this.
To return now to ibn-Rustah, there is general agreement that
he is not the original author of the description of the Khazars
and other northern peoples found in his book. It appears that
this description goes back to Jayhani, whose geographical work
is now lost.12 In Jayhani’s account, as reflected in ibn-Rustah,
there are, however, unmistakable traces of a date much earlier
than his own. Ibn-Fadlan met Jayhani in 309/921 on his way to
visit the Bulgars on the Volga. But evidently quite a different
order of dating is indicated for some of the contents of Jayhani’s
book. It is not merely that isolated details, presumably from
Jayhani, such as that Britain is ruled by seven kings-a state of
affairs which ceased to exist in 827 when the Heptarchy was
dissolved-are found in ibn-Rustah and point to the first half
of the 9th century,73 but the situation of whole peoples is so
represented as it existed at this time and not later, e.g. the
Pechenegs.74 It may be accepted with Barthold75 that the main
source of Jayhani’s account of the northern peoples was Mus¬
lim ibn-abi-Muslim al-Jarmi, who was alive in 231/846 and is
known to have written about the Greeks and their neighbors,
72 See Marquart, Streifz., 24-27; Barthold, art. Bulghar; Minor-
sky, Hudiid, xvii, and "A False Jayhani,” B.S.O.A.S., 1949, xiii/1, 89-96.
73 Marquart, Streifz., 29. 78 Marquart, ibid., 160.
78 Loc.cit., cf. Marquart, Streifz., 28.
107
including the Khazars.76 Ibn-Khurdadhbih was familiar with

al-Jarmi’s work.77 Jayhani may have used him directly or
through ibn-Khurdadhbih.79
That ibn-Rustah’s account of the Khazars has traces of a
date as early as the time of al-Jarmi is quite certain, even if it
should later be found that the course of transmission has been
different from what we have assumed. It is not simply that we
find in ibn-Rustah the names Sarighshin and Khanbaligh,
which in the 10th century, as we see from ibn-Hawqal, had
passed out of use. Ibn-Fadlan reports that in his time (310/
922) the second king of the Khazars was called Khaqan B-h.
But ibn-Rustah knows him as Isha (Aba-shad, Ebe-shad). This
should refer to a period at least earlier than a.d. 833, when he
was already called bv his later title, as we see from the Greek
account of the building of Sarkil." How much farther back we
have to set ibn-Rustah’s account is not clear. Since his two
towns correspond to the later Khazaran-Atil, it cannot in any
case be earlier than the transference of the Khazar capital to
the Volga. But as this important event is said to have taken
place in the days of Salman ibn-Rabi'ah90 it is theoretically
possible that ibn-Rustah's account envisages a time as early as
740, when the Khazars are said to have adopted Judaism.
It is objected, however, by Marquart that ibn-Rustah’s ac¬
count is not uniformly old, e.g., it says that in the two cities
of Khazaria there are numerous Muslims with mosques, imams,
muezzins, and schools.*1 But this cannot be shown to be an
interpolation. So far from it being an anachronism to speak of
Islam as already established in Khazaria in the first part of
the 9th century, this is what we should be led from other
sources to expect. Ibn-Khurdadhbih (circa 232/846) states that
the direction for prayer (qiblah) of the Khazars is the Ka'bah
at Meccah.82 It seems certain that ibn-Khurdadhbih here refers
to the Arsiyah already mentioned. These people were evidently
78 Mas'udi, Tanbih, 191. 77 Ed. De Goeje, 105.

78 Cf. Minorsky, Hudud, xvi. 79 See Chapter VII.
80 Cf. above. Chapter III, n. 43. 81 Streifz., 27.
82 Ed. De Goeje, 5.
108
numerous and later at least devoted to Islam. It is natural

that they should already, e.g., before 833, have had the re¬
ligious establishment indicated by ibn-Rustah.
It might be argued that the fact of the Khazar kings being
Jews has been added bv Jayhani or another to an older ac¬
count. But in this case it seems extremely likely that other
‘modern” traits would have been introduced. As this is not
what we find, it would follow that ibn-Rustah’s account of the
Khazars is a unity. It is difficult to resist the conclusion that
the Khazars or at least their kings and some of the principal
men were Jews when this account was originally written, i.e., if
we are right, not later than the first half of the 9th century.83
It is convenient to give here ibn-Fadlan’s account of the
Khazars, noting that this does not purport to be the result of
personal observation. What ibn-Fadlan sets down, he heard
from the Bulgars of the Volga, and perhaps partly also from
the Khazar ibn-Bashtwa, with whom he traveled from Baghdad
as far as Bukhara. In view of the unfriendly relations between
the Khazar ruler and his nominal dependent, the Yaltawar
(Elteber)84 of the Bulgars, we can be quite sure that ibn-
Fadlan’s informants were not prejudiced in the Khazars’ favor,
but the reverse. Subjective coloring seems discernible in more
than one part of ibn-Fadlan’s account. This is so when he
speaks of the domestic arrangements of the Khaqan, who is
represented as having twenty-five wives and sixty concubines.
The mere numbers, on the scale of a Solomon, suggest exag¬
geration. The harem of the Khaqan is, however, referred to a
little after this time by Mas'udi.8* We have also to allow that
the mention of twenty-five wives “each the daughter of one of
the kings who confront him” should bear some relation to
what is said in one of the versions of Eldad ha-Dani (fior.
end of 9th century a.d.), viz., that the Khaqan of the Khazars
has twenty-five kings subordinate to him.86 The situation has
83 The remark of ibn al-Faqlh (circa 290/903) that "the Khazars arc
all Jews and have lately become so” (298) should go back through
Jayhani (cf. Fihrist 154, quoted Minorsky, Hudud xvn) to al-Jarmi.
84 Cf. Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadlan, 105. 85 See below.
88 For the narrative of Eldad ha-Dani, see Chapter VI.
109
a direct illustration in what ibn-Fadlan’s narrative tells us

of how the Bulgar chief tried to save his daughter from the
“king of the Khazars,” and was no doubt described to ibn-
Fadlan in connection with this incident.87 The difficulty, then,
is not so much the number of the women as the fantastic set¬
ting. That each of them had a castle of her own, as is stated,
is out of the question for the Khazar capital. As we find from
other descriptions, there was a castle some distance from the
Volga,88 or alternatively, perhaps at a different period, on an
island in the river,8* where presumably both the Khaqan and
the Beg had their quarters, or at most there were two royal
buildings. So the Arabic sources. In the Hebrew Reply of
Joseph, the queen with her women attendants and eunuchs
lives apart from the camp. This in itself is quite probable. In
the nature of the case, the Khaqan, like the Bulgar Almish, had
a principal wife (Khatun),90 though this is not indicated by
ibn-Fadlan, who appears to have been misinformed about the
situation. The women had no doubt, not each a separate castle,
but apartments or rather an apartment in the harem. This seems
clear also from the mention of a single eunuch in attendance,
and, although to say that this functionary conducts his charge
to the king "more quickly than the flash of an eye” is fanciful
exaggeration, it suggests that all the court lived within a short
distance. The passage as a whole seems intended to represent
the uxoriousness of the Jewish king in an invidious light, just
as the description of punishments dealt out by the Khaqan
to unsuccessful generals, when his active functions elsewhere
and even in ibn-Fadlan’s account itself are represented as neg¬
ligible or even nonexistent, is probably motivated by the desire
to make him appear an arbitrary and cruel tyrant.
Apart from some incidental references to the Khazars in
the course of his narrative which indicate the dislike and fear
87 Ibn-Fadlan, §78.
88 I$takhri-ibn-Hawqal.
89 Mas’udi (below); ibn-Sald in abu-al-Fida’, ed. Reinaud and De
Slane, 203 □.
80 For the story of a Khatun of the Khazars, see Chapter VII.
no
felt for his Jewish masters by the Bulgar king,91 ibn-Fadlan’s

main account of the Khazars is as follows:
“As to the king of the Khazars whose name is Khaqan, he
only appears every four months for recreation. He is called
the Great Khaqan. His lieutenant is called Khaqan B-h. It is
he who leads the armies and gives them their orders. He con¬
trols and manages state affairs, appears in public and goes on
military expeditions. The neighboring kings obey him. He goes
humbly in every day to the superior Khaqan, displaying defer¬
ence and modesty. He never enters except barefoot, with a
piece of wood in his hand. When he has greeted him, he lights
the wood in his presence, and when it has finished burning,
he sits with the king on his throne at his right hand. His place
is taken by a man called K-nd-r Khaqan,95 and his in turn by
one called Jawshygh-r.93
“The custom of the superior king is that he does not give
audience to the people and does not speak with them, and no
one enters his presence except those we have mentioned. Power
to loose and to bind, punishments and the rule of the kingdom
belong to his lieutenant, the Khaqan B-h.
‘The custom of the superior king is that when he dies a
great hall is built for him, containing twenty chambers. In
each of these a grave is dug for him, and stones are broken
till they become like powder, which is then sprinkled therein,
and pitch is spread over that again. Under the building is a
river.94 The river is large and rapid. They bring the river over
the grave03 and say that it is in order that no devil or man,
91 §$ 48, 78.
92 Zeki Validi (Ibn-Fadlan, 260) connects with the Magyar title
Kiindii, Kiinda, reading here for K-n-d-r, K-nda of which KuncUjiq (see
above) is a diminutive (ibid., 135, n. 2). Zajqczkowski (Studies, 33)
suggests kondiir “chief, judge ”
93 Cf. Chapter II, n. 33.
34 The printed text of Yaqut is here incomprehensible (wa-taht al-dar
w-al-nahr nahr kabir yajri). Frahn proposed w-al-qabr for w-al-nahr
(Khazars, 608). The addition of nahr after al-dar in Zeki Validi’s text
restores the sense simply.
95 The printed text has tva-yafalun al-qabr fauxj dhalikd al-nahr (they
place the grave over that river), corrected in Zeki Validi’s text.
1 1 1
no worm or creeping beast, may come to him. When he is

buried the heads of those who buried him are struck off, so
that it may not be known in which of the chambers is his tomb.
His grave is called “Paradise,” and they say, He has entered
Paradise. All the chambers are spread with silk brocade inter¬
woven with gold.
“The custom of the king of the Khazars is that he has twenty-
five wives. Each of them is the daughter of one of the kings
who confront him, taken freely or by force. He has also sixty
slave-girls, concubines, all of superb beauty. Each of them,
concubines as well as free-born ladies, is in a castle of her
own. She has an alcove roofed with teak, and round each
alcove is a pavilion. Each one of them has an attendant who
acts as chamberlain. When the king wishes to embrace one of
them, he sends to the attendant who is her chamberlain, and
he brings her quicker than the flash of an eye. He sets her on
the king’s couch and stands at the door of the royal alcove.
When the king has left her, the attendant takes her by the
hand and goes away, nor does he thereafter quit her for a
moment.
“When this great king rides out, all his army rides out with
him. Between him and the troops of riders is a mile’s distance.
None of his subjects sees him without falling on his face, doing
obeisance to him, nor does he raise his head till he has passed
him.®8
'The length of their rule is forty years. If the king exceeds
it by a single day, the subjects and his courtiers kill him, say¬
ing, His reason has failed and his understanding is become
disordered.®7
•e Cf. ibn-Fadlan, §60. (The Yaltawar of the Bulgars rode out unac¬
companied. His subjects stood up when he passed, taking off their caps,
which they put under their arms.) The contrast between the free Bul¬
gars and the abject Khazars is to some extent subjective, cf., however,
what I$takhri says about prostration in Khazaria (mentioned thrice).
91 Cf. also Mas'udi, below. Chapter VII. Saxo Grammaticus says that
among the “Slavs,” “by public statute of the ancients, the succession was
appointed to the slayers of the kings" (translation of Elton, London
1894, 334).
112
“When he sends out a body of troops, they do not in any

circumstances retreat. If they are defeated, every one who
returns to him is killed. As to the army generals and his lieu¬
tenant [i.e., the Beg], when they are defeated he sends for
them and their wives and children, and gives them in their
presence to others, while they look on. He deals similarly with
their horses, valuables, arms, and dwellings. Sometimes he
cuts every one of them in two and crucifies them and some¬
times he hangs them by the neck from trees. Sometimes, when
he would treat them well, he makes them grooms.9*
“The king of the Khazars has a great city on the river Atil,
on both banks. On one bank are the Muslims, on the other the
king and his companions. Over the Muslims is one of the king’s
pages called Kh-z," who is a Muslim. The law-suits [ahkam]
of the Muslims living in the Khazar capital [balad al-Khazar]
and those who pass back and forth to trade are referred
to that Muslim page. None but he takes cognizance of their
affairs or decides between the parties.100
‘The Muslims in this city have a cathedral mosque, where
they pray and appear on Fridays. It has a high minaret and
several muezzins. When word reached the king of the Khazars
in 310/922 that the Muslims had destroyed the synagogue
which was in Dar al-Babunaj,101 he gave orders to destroy the
88 I$tnkhri and ibn-Fadlan both mention the authority of the Khaqan

in certain cases. Mas'udi has nothing of this.
” Possibly=Silk (khazz). Mas'udi, writing twenty years later than
ibn-Fadlan, speaks of a Muslim "vizier” in the Khazar capital, called
Ahmad ibn-Kuyah. These officials presumably had dealings with the re¬
spective informants.
100 Istakhri implies that there were several Muslim judges, and this is
distinctly stated by Mas'udi (two). The "vizier” mentioned in the pre¬
ceding note is evidently different from the judges.
101 Unidentified. As Zeki Validi says (Ibn-Fadlan, 102, n. 4), Mar-
quart's investigation of the passage (Streifz., 4, 477-479) has led to no
solution of what is meant by "Camomile House.” But his own effort to
connect the name with Spain (Dar Adhalbunajzzthe dwelling of Adal-
phuns, Alfonso) and the activities there of *Umar ibn-Hafsun is not con¬
vincing. Zeki Validi here translates kanisah as "church,” which in this
context is not right. The Khazar Khaqan is of course represented as
angry at the destruction bv Muslims of a synagogue, presumably out¬
side his own dominions. The suggestion of Brutzkus in Encyclopedia
113
minaret, and he killed the muezzins. He said, If I did not

fear that not a synagogue would be left in the lands of Islam
but would be destroyed, I should destroy the mosque.
‘The Khazars and their king are all [sic] Jews.102 The
Saqalibah [i.e., the Volga Bulgars, etc.] and all who live near
them are subject to him. He addresses them as slaves and they
serve him obediently. Some hold the opinion that Gog and
Magog are the Khazars."10*
The fact is striking that the mosques, imams, muezzins, and
Muslim schools of Khazaria are mentioned by ibn-Rustah,
while in ibn-Fadlan’s account only the Friday mosque and its
muezzins appear. This does not mean either that the statement
in ibn-Rustah is inaccurate, or that in ibn-Fadlan’s time Islam
had suffered a setback in Khazaria. Ibn-Fadlan is concerned
to tell what happened to the principal mosque and leaves the
others out of account, either because he had not heard par¬
ticularly about them, or for some other reason. Twenty years
later, the mosques of Khazaria are mentioned by Mas*udi.104
There is no reason to suppose that only one existed when ibn-
Fadlan was on the Volga.
There is much that is interesting in ibn-Fadlan’s account,
which, when all is said, yields to none of the Arabic sources on
the Khazars in importance, though it has nothing specific about
the conversion. We see clearly, as in Istakhri, that the Judaism
of the kings and their circle existed side by side with institu¬
tions deriving from the heathen past. The double kingship
has nothing to do with the acceptance of Judaism, nor was the
Khaqan a figure in any way similar to a Jewish high-priest.105
Judaica art. Khazaren, that a town in the Caucasus with the name “Gate
of Chungar” Bab al-J-nj-r is open to various objections.
102 This is evidently exaggerated. Zeld Validi omits Yaqut’s kulluhum
“all of them.”
The last three sentences are regarded by Zeki Validi as an addition
of Yaqut.
104 See below, Chapter VII. .
108 There have been various attempts to explain the title Khaqan from
Hebrew hdkhdm “wise.” Kasem Beg had a theory that it was connected
with Hebrew kohin, “priest ” Needless to say, such views are altogether
— *
unfounded. Cf. also Chapter VI, at n. 46.
■ ~ 114 .
The arrangements at his burial recall reports of the obsequies

of Alaric (a.d. 410) and Attila (a.d. 453)xoe and connect him
directly with Turkish antiquity.107
Evidently the Judaism of the Khaqan did not lead him to
uproot old customs to which the populace was attached. The
situation as we see it, not in ibn-Fadlan alone, is undoubtedly
to be connected with a number of facts which otherwise are
difficult to account for: the impression of the Khazars as a
pagan people gained in a.d. 780 by Abo of Tiflis, and again
circa a.d. 860 by Constantine (Cyril); the absence of solid in¬
formation about the Khazars from the headquarters of Jewry
in Babylonia (Iraq), which apparently corresponds to a lack
of interest in them and their doings; the stages in the rap¬
prochement of the Khazars to Judaism according to the
Hebrew “Khazar Correspondence.” But of the fact of the
Judaism of the Khazars, to the extent indicated, however much
it fell short of complete Rabbinism, there is, in view of all the
evidence, not the slightest doubt. Though it is not desirable to
insist on a formal conversion taking place after a religious
debate circa a.d. 740, as is stated by Jehudah ha-Levi-which
remains on his authority and without specific confirmation
from elsewhere—that Jewish influence began to be felt in
Khazaria before the middle of the 8th century is distinctly
more probable than that this was so only after a.d. 860. A
rigorous demonstration that the leading Khazars became Jews
at the earlier date is hardly possible, but in the face of the
evidence as a whole this is undoubtedly the conclusion to which
we seem to be led.
10(1 Cf. Zelci Validi, Ibn-Fadlan, 266.

I0T It may here be observed that the statement made by J. L. Ras¬
mussen (J.A. i, v [18241, 305), that in the 6th century the Khazars
fought a war with the Danish king Frode, seems difficult if not impossible
to substantiate. Neither Jordanes nor Saxo Grammaticus mentions such
an event, and it is only by the most fragile of hypotheses (from the
possibility that the Khazars=the Akatzirs, who might have marched
with the Huns) that one can bring the Khazars into relation with Frode,
or rather with one of the rulers who are supposed to have borne that
name.
115
CHAPTER VI
so
«>$_
THE KHAZAR CONVERSION TO JUDAISM
ACCORDING TO THE HEBREW SOURCES
The Arabic sources offer no indication of the date of the con¬

version more precise than the statement of Mas'udi, already
quoted, that it took place in the Caliphate of Harun al-Rashid,
i.e., circa a.d. 800. In a work of Jehudah ha-Levi entitled The
Khazar (Khazari) written originally in Arabic in a.d. 1140 and
later translated into Hebrew by ibn-Tibbon under the title
Cosri (Kuzari), the date 740 is given. Ha-Levi’s work, as is
well known, is a defense of Rabbinic Judaism, cast in the form
of a dialogue which is represented as having taken place in
Khazaria 400 years before the author's own time. In this dia¬
logue the interlocutors are the Khazar king and others. Ha-Levi
is not concerned to enlarge on the setting, his main interest
being theological not historical, but he regards the conversion
of the king to Judaism at this date as an accepted fact. The
book Cosri (Kuzari) has at all times enjoyed high considera¬
tion that is not confined to Jewish circles. It was edited in the
17th century by the younger Buxtorf, and Herder, the German
romantic, compared it favorably with the Platonic dialogues.
In more modern times it has continued to be an object of study.
What little ha-Levi has to say about Khazaria and the Kha-
zars is as follows: “Having often been asked what arguments
and replies I had to offer to those philosophers who differ from
us and to men of other religions (except the Christians), also
to the heretics among us who deviate from the Jewish religion
as it is commonly accepted, there occurred to my mind what
I had heard of the reasonings and arguments of a certain
scholar who was with the king of the Khazars, I mean him who
accepted Judaism four hundred years ago. It is recorded and
116
ACCORDING TO HEBREW SOURCES
made known in the histories that a dream was several times

repeated to him in which an angel spoke with him and told
him that his intentions were acceptable to the Creator, but not
his works. Yet he was very devout in the Khazar religion, tak¬
ing part himself in the temple service and sacrifices with a
sincere heart. While he was occupied with these works an
angel appeared to him by night, saying, Your intentions are ac¬
ceptable, but not your works. This caused him to enquire into
the truth of faith and religion, so that finally he became a Jew,
and with him many of the Khazars. Among the reasonings and
arguments of the Jewish scholar were some in which his heart
found rest and to which his understanding assented. 1 have
thought it right to set down these things as they befell. The
wise will understand.
“They relate that when the king of the Khazars had seen in
his dream that his intentions but not his works were acceptable
to the Creator and was commanded in his dream to seek the
works which were acceptable, he enquired of a certain philos¬
opher of the time about his faith."
A short dialogue with the “philosopher" then follows. Ha-
Levi proceeds: "Afterwards the Khazar said to himself, I will
ask a Christian and a Muslim. ... So he sent for a wise man
of the Christians.”
There follows a dialogue with the Christian, and “after¬
wards,” we are told, “he sent for a wise man of the Muslims.”
Their conversation is given as before. Finally a learned Jew is
summoned, and after some discussion with the Jew the first
part of the book ends. It should be noted that the speakers
are introduced one after another. There is no general debate
in which they all take part.
The second section of the Kuzari begins with the following
mise-en-scene. “Afterwards, as is made known in the books of
the Khazars, the Khazar revealed the secret of his dream to
the general of his army. Now the dream had repeatedly told
him to seek the work pleasing to God in the mountains of
Warsan [cf. Varach'an, WarathanJ. So both of them, the king
117
and the general, set out for the mountains, which are in a
desert by the sea. They came by night to the cave where cer¬
tain Jews rested all the Sabbath and, being seen by them,
were admitted to their religion and circumcised there in the
cave. Afterwards they returned to their own country. Though
their hearts were inclined to the religion of the Jews, they
concealed their faith till they had devised means to reveal
their secret little by little to certain intimates. Finally they be¬
came numerous and avowed what they had not before dis¬
closed. Thus prevailing over the rest of the Khazars, they in¬
duced them to become Jews. They sent to every land for
learned men and books and studied the Law. It is also shown
[i.e., apparently in the “books of the Khazars”] how they be¬
came prosperous, overcame their enemies, subdued territories,
and had hidden treasures revealed to them. They increased, it
is said, to hundreds of thousands, loved the Law, and wished
for a sanctuary, so that they set up a tabernacle like that of
Moses. They honored native Israelites and blessed their name.
All this is related in their books. When the king had learned
the Law and the Prophets, he took the scholar to be his teacher,
asking him questions about the Jews. The first question was
about the name and attributes ascribed to God.” From this
point the book proceeds by question and answer, the scholar
replying to the king’s enquiries.
On reading the passages just quoted, our first impression may
well be that they are apocryphal. The crude supernaturalism
does not indeed, by itself, invalidate a document of this period.
But what is said of the Khazars throws doubt on the historical
basis of the story. They are represented as having a place of
worship in which prayers and sacrifices were offered, before
accepting Judaism. This is not easily reconcilable with what
we know of the heathen Turks, such as the Khazars undoubt¬
edly were before conversion. Further, the presence with the
king of the Khazars of a “philosopher,” where we should ex¬
pect a shamanist priest, is difficult That the Khazar king and
118
his general should have submitted to the rite of circumcision

at the hands of obscure strangers seems incredible.
On the other hand, some details in the story speak more
favorably for its objectivity. The prominence of the general
side by side with the king is striking, in view of the Khaqan
and Beg of Khazaria. The scene is set in the “mountains of
Warsan,”1 said to be “in a desert near the sea.” Warsan should
be Varach'an at the east end of the Caucasus,2 identified with
the northern Warathan*—conveniently near Khazaria, though
not apparently at this time in Khazar territory, as the locality
is presented by ha-Levi. The cave which he mentions has also
to be noted. It appears to be referred to elsewhere. But, par¬
ticularly, the precise dating of these events, which ha-Levi
says took place “400 years ago,” or as is given unequivocally in
the course of the dialogue a.m. 4500, i.e., a.d. 740, seems to
speak for the objectivity of the account. Though it is at present
impossible to be sure where ha-Levi got this information, it
would be hazardous to suppose that he simply invented it.
Rather, he had certain sources, to which he has given a free,
literary treatment. He refers to the "histories” and the “books
of the Khazars,” though he does not say explicitly that he has
used them. He may be writing from oral accounts, for in his
own words "there occurred to my mind what I had heard of
the reasonings and arguments of a certain scholar etc.” We
shall have something to say later about his possible oral sources.
Meantime it may be noted that his insistence on the “books of
the Khazars” appears to indicate at any rate a belief that such
existed. We have the statement of the author of the Fihrist
(circa 987) that the Khazars used the Hebrew script in their
writing.4 In the absolute nonexistence of Khazar documents in
any other medium, we might suppose that if there were such
1 The “river of Warshan” is apparently mentioned in the Reply of

Joseph, at “20 parasangs” from the Khazar capital. Zeki Validi places it
in the Volga delta (Ibn-Fadlan, 157). Marquart’s suggestion that here
in the Reply “mountain of Warsan” is the original reading (Streifz., 20)
seems unlikely in view of L.V.
2 For Varach'an, see Chapter III.
* Cf. Chapter IV, n. 90. « Ed. Fliigel, 20.
119
works as ha-Levi indicates, they were in Hebrew letters. On

the other hand, according to the Tankh-i Fakhr al-Din Mu¬
barak Shah, written in 1206, “the Khazars have a script which
is related to the script of the Russians [Rus]. A group of Greeks
[Rum] who are near them write in this script and are called
Greek Russians [Rum-Rus]. They write from left to right, and
the letters are not joined to one another. They number twenty-
one.”5 A contemporary of ha-Levi, Abraham ben-Daud, states
that persons of Khazar extraction were in Toledo in his own
time.® It is therefore not excluded that, as well as informants,
“books of the Khazars" with information about the conversion
to Judaism were available in Spain.7
In view of the undoubted existence of the so-called Khazar
Correspondence in ha-Levi’s time—it was in the hands of a
Spanish rabbi forty or fifty years before the Kuzari was pub¬
lished"—the supposition that ha-Levi knew it is not unnatural.
Whether this was so and to what extent he may have made
use of it will be considered when we come to deal with the
Correspondence, which purports to be an interchange of letters
between Hasday ibn-Shaprut, a well-known Jewish personality
in Spain, and Joseph, king of the Khazars, not later than 961,
both texts being in Hebrew. It is enough to say here that the
expression “books of the Khazars” is not applicable with any
exactness to the Correspondence, and more especially that
8 Ed. E. Denison Ross, London 1927, 46 (cited by R. N. Frye, "Notes

to Islamic Sources on the Slavs and the Rus," Muslim W orld, January
1950, 23).
9 See the translation given below. It is not clear that the Khazar Jews
seen by Abraham ben-Daud in Spain were descendants of the Khazar
kings, as has repeatedly been said.
7 The Yiddish printed book Ma aseh ha-Shem by Simon Akiba Baer
ben-Joseph (Bodleian Library, Opp. 8°, 1103 (1], fols. 29b-30b) has a
curious story according to which tne famous Abraham ben-Ezra marries
the daughter of R. Juaah (apparently R. Jchudah ha-Levi) in Khazaria.
"Es war ein melek der hat eeheissen Kuzari, der war ein grosser mel-
umad, un einer heisst Rabbenu Judah, der war ein grosser Talmid
hakham, un er lemet mit den melek Kuzari, un er war ihm maggid un
war ein guter, frommer Jehudi. Nun war der Rabbi Judah stets bei den
melek un er konnt nit ohn ihm leben, etc.” This late Yiddish tale is of
course quite unhistorical.
8 Jehudah ben-Barzillay al-Barsaloni, see below.
120
important details given by ha-Levi are not in the letters, e.g.,

the visit to Warsan and the date 740.
It is perhaps a question if the "histories” which he mentions
are the same as the "books of the Khazars.” We might nat¬
urally suppose that ha-Levi had knowledge of Mas'udi’s lost
account of the Judaizing of the Khazars,* which was written
before 943-944 and appears to have been independent of the
Khazar Correspondence. When he speaks of "histories,” it
might be to this or similar Arabic works that he refers. It
is noticeable that in the passage quoted ha-Levi does not name
the "scholar” in Khazaria, whose arguments he claims to give
and who is elsewhere called Isaac Sangari. If he were de¬
pendent entirely on Nlas'udi or other Arabic authors together
with, perhaps, the Correspondence, he would presumably be
ignorant of the name of Isaac Sangari. On the other hand, he
gives one piece of information which he can scarcely have had
from Mas'udi—the date 740 for the conversion. It is extremely
unlikely that Mas'udi’s lost account, whatever details it gave,
contradicted his statement in the Muruj al-Dhahab that the
Khazars became Jews in the Caliphate of Harun al-Rashid.
Unless this date is an arbitrary invention of ha-Levi, which
seems improbable, he must have had it, it would seem, not
from the Arabic tradition represented by Mas'udi, but from
some Jewish, possibly Khazar source.10
• See Chapter V.
10 The earliest Western authority for Khazar Judaism may antedate
the earliest Jewish authority (cf. n. 44) by as much as a century. He is
Christian Druthmar of Aquitaine (9th century), a Benedictine of Corvei
in Westphalia, who wrote a commentary on St. Matthew's Gospel for
the monks of a monastery in the Ardennes. Mar quart (Streifz., 23-24)
supposed that this was written in 864 or shortly earlier. Druthmar was
evidently a man of considerable independence of mind, cf. the remarks
in his Preface (Migne, Patrologia, Ser. 2, t. 106): in this Commentary
he proposes "plus historicum sensum sequi quam spiritalem: quia irra-
tionabile mihi videtur, spiritalem intclligcntiam in libro aliquo quaerere,
et historicam penitus ignorare." On Matthew 24.14 (Migne, ibid.,
col. 1456) he says: "Nescimus jam gentem sub coelo in qua Christiani
non habeantur. Nam et in Cog et in Magog, quae sunt gentes Hunnorum,
quae ab eis Gazari vocantur, jam una gens quae fortior erat ex his quas
Alexander conduxerat, circumcisa est, et omnem Judaismum observat.”
This may have been written considerably before the year 864 suggested
121
One view of the Khazar setting of ha-Levi’s book is ill-

founded and has led to unfortunate results. The title-page of
Buxtorfs edition of the Cosri (Kuzari) has the name R. Isaac
Sangari as that of the Khazar king’s principal interlocutor.
Buxtorf appears to have got this from his own reading. The
name Isaac Sangari is perhaps not attested before the 13th
century, when he is mentioned by Nahmanides.11 Shem Tob
ibn-Shem Tob (ob. 1430) states that R. Isaac Sangari was “a
scholar attached to the Khazar king, who became a Jew owing
to him, many years ago in the country of Togarmah [the
Turks], as is made known in certain writings. The fine responses
of this rabbi, showing his great knowledge of the Law, the
Kabbalah and all the other branches, existed in a disconnected
form in Arabic. R. Jehudah ha-Levi, the Spanish poet, found
them and composed a book in Arabic from them, just as they
were, which was translated into Hebrew."12 Ibn-Shem 1 ob was
followed by R. Gedaliah (circa 1587), who stated, however,
that the responses of Isaac Sangari were in the Khazar lan¬
guage.13 What ibn-Shem Tob evidently means is that the sub¬
stance of the scholar’s replies to the Khazar king in ha-Levi s
Cosri (Kuzari) was based on the responses of Isaac Sangari,
who had formerly been active in Khazaria. But, waiving the
difficulty of how these can be supposed to have existed to
ha-Levi’s hand in Arabic, much less in the Khazar language,
as Gedaliah gratuitously stated, it is impossible to believe that
the “reasonings and arguments" of the scholar, which now
form the greater part of the Kuzari, a lengthy work, reached
him from Isaac Sangari or anyone else. They were clearly com¬
posed ad hoc by ha-Levi from his knowledge of Rabbinic
by Marquart (800 has been given by an early editor of the commen¬

tary), but in view of the uncertainty of the exact date it can hardly be
used in support of the Khazar conversion having taken place in the 8th
n In a discourse before the king of Castile circa 1263 (ed. Jellinek

with the title Torat Adonai Temimah, Vienna, 1872), cf. Strack, Firko-
vitch und seine Entdeckungen, Leipzig 1876, 24 n.
12 Sepher ha-Emunoth, quoted Buxtorf, Praef.; Strack, ibid., 23 n.
X3 Ibid.
122
Judaism, on the basis of something he had heard, as he him¬

self says. There is no question here of direct oral transmission
of a great number of actual responses. Nor is there anything
in the Kuzari to suggest that the author had a collection of
written responses before him. The “histories” and “books of
the Khazars” can hardly by any ingenuity be taken in the sense
of responses of a particular rabbi, and must refer to chronicles,
etc., real or imaginary.
The view of ibn-Shem Tob was argued with great insistence
by Firkovitch (19th century), who gave it a characteristic turn
of his own. In a letter written at the beginning of his remark¬
able career, he expressed the view that the responses of R.
Isaac Sangari came into the hands of Jehudah ha-Levi who,
recognizing that they contradicted the teachings of Rabbinism,
translated them into Arabic in an altered form.14 Firkovitch
was satisfied that Isaac Sangari was a Karaite, in accordance
with his theory that the Karaites had left Palestine before the
time of Christ and were in the Crimea earlier than the arrival
of the Khazars.15 His authority for this was not of course mere
texts, but his own Karaite teacher, whom he names, and he
clinches the matter by adding “and I agree with him”1*
Firkovitch went much further than these assertions. He pro¬
duced what he declared to be the epitaph of Isaac Sangari,
which he claimed to have found in the Crimea, reading in
Hebrew character “Isaac Sangari P-g.”17 The last letters sug¬
gested the Beg of Khazaria. This was of course rejected as
unauthentic.18 Another inscription reading simply “Sangarith”
»« See a German version in Strack, ibid., 16ff, also Harkavy, Denk-

mdler, 27011.
13 Cf. Strack, ibid., 25-26. Firkovitch’s view included that the Karaites
were specially favored by the Khazars. perhaps with a passage of the
Cosri (Kuzari) in mind (in, xxii). But it seems to be an anachronism to
speak of Karaites so early as a.d. 740, and I know of no contemporary
evidence that Karaites later were prominent in Khazaria.
18 Strack, ibid., 23.
17 Cf. Harkavy, Denkmaler, 174 and facsimile (Plate 2).
18 N. Slouschz in Melanges H. Derenbourg speaks of Hebrew money
found in Poland with the legend “Abraham Pech” (citing Harkavy,
“Evrei-kazaki,” Russki Evrei, 1880). An article by Lelewel discusses a
123
Khazar Correspondence has remained, it may be said, the text

and Latin translation of the two letters, published by the
younger Buxtorf as long ago as 1660. The letters were printed
by Buxtorf, in his edition of the Cosri (Kuzari) already men¬
tioned, from a Hebrew book entitled Qol Mcbasser, which had
been sent to him by a friend. They were obviously regarded
by Buxtorf with great suspicion. We underline the attitude of
Buxtorf because other scholars before and since his time re¬
acted similarly when the Khazar Correspondence was first
brought to their notice. When Buxtorf first learned about the
Khazars, he was inclined to connect their name with the Per¬
sian Khusraw (Chosroes).2* This in itself shows that he was
on very unfamiliar ground.
Buxtorf corrected his earlier impression of a connection be¬
tween the Khazars and Khusraw,27 but he proceeded to get
into difficulties with the alleged sender of the letter to Kha-
zaria, Hasday ibn-Shaprut. There is now plenty of information
about this colorful personality, who rose to eminence in the
Spain of 'Abd-al-Rahman al-Nasir.” Of Jewish birth, his ac¬
tivities included the successful cure of a Christian prince and
his reception in a spectacular manner at Cordova, patronage
of several of the leading figures of the Jewish revival of let¬
ters in Spain, correspondence with the learned of Babylonia,
and much else besides, which can be gathered from Arabic as
well as Hebrew sources. Buxtorf had recourse to Ganz’s Zemah
David, a standard work of the time on Jewish chronology, and
could only find references to Hasday Crescas and Shem Tob
ben-Isaac Shaprut," both belonging to the 14th century. Of
the actual circumstances of Hasday ibn-Shaprut in the 10th
he seems to have had no idea. Accordingly, when he found a
mention of the Khazar Correspondence in Abraham ben-Daud,
28 Buxtorf on Cosri (Kuzari), i, i, n. 6.

27 Buxtorf, Praefat.
28 See E. L£vi-Provencal, Histoire de VEspagne musulmane, T. 1
(1944), 326ff; Cratz, Geschichte der Juden, ed. 3, v, 297ff, with the
references there cited.
29 Pointed out to me by Mr. J. L. Teicher.
126
who flourished in the 12th century, he suspected that the pas¬

sage was interpolated. The account of Abraham ben-Daud is
as follows:30
“You will find congregations of Israel spread abroad from
the town of Sala at the extremity of the Maghrib, as far as
Tahart at its commencement, the extremity of Africa [Ifriqiyah,
Tunis], in all Africa, Egypt, the country of the Sabaeans,
Arabia, Babylonia, Elam, Persia, Dedan, the country of the
Cirgashites which is called Jurjan, Tabaristan, as far as Daylam
and the river Itil [Atil], where live the Khazar peoples who be¬
came proselytes. Their king Joseph sent a letter to R. Hasday, the
prince, bar Isaac benn-Shaprut and informed him that he and
all his people followed the Rabbanite faith. We have seen in
Toledo some of their descendants, pupils of the wise, and they
told us that the remnant of them followed the Rabbanite faith.”
It is remarkable that Buxtorf was prepared to introduce the
theory of interpolation to explain what he could not readily
understand. Unaware of the historical Hasday ibn-Shaprut
and misled by the references in Zemah David, which were to
other people, he failed to see that this passage in Abraham
ben-Daud is confirmation, so far as it goes, of the Khazar
Correspondence. Buxtorfs services in making the letters gen¬
erally accessible in the West are not to be minimized, but,
great Hebraist as he was, his skepticism is demonstrably ill-
founded. Our information by this time is much more extensive,
for we now have sources which throw a flood of light on
Khazaria. Mutatis mutandis, the case of Buxtorf deserves to be
considered by those who would still cut the knot of an intricate
problem by hasty recourse to a theory of interpolation.32
It may thus be said that the investigation of the Khazar
Correspondence was unfavorably launched when Buxtorf took
position to it in a negative sense. When more came to be
30 Sevher ha-Qabbalah, ed. Neubauer, Mediaeval Jewish Chronicles

(Anecaota Oxoniensia, i), 78. The date of the work according to its
editor (ibid., xiii) is a.d. 1161.
31 Text “ben." For juxtaposition of “bar” and “ben," see below.
32 See especially “Le ‘Glozel’ khazare," H. Gregoire, Buzantion, xu
(1937 ) 225-266.
127
known, there was still ground for uncertainty. Buxtorf gave

some cursory data about his only source, the work Qol Mebas¬
ser. When this book was investigated closely, the yield of in¬
formation was very slight. Its author, an otherwise unknown
Jew called Isaac Aqrish, while on a voyage from Constantinople
to Alexandria, as he tells us, in 1561-1562 and subsequently in
Egypt, heard rumors of an independent Jewish kingdom, re¬
ferring, it would seem, to the Falashas. In 1577 or later his
findings on the subject were published in Constantinople in
the book seen by Buxtorf.” Where Isaac Aqrish obtained the
text of the Khazar Correspondence is unfortunately not men¬
tioned. There is room for varying opinions on this important
point. Mann says that he “evidently obtained his copy in
Cairo.”34 It has been supposed that the two documents were
from the Cairo Cenizah. But nothing explicit is said in Qol
Mebasser, and it may be that its author did not see the Cor¬
respondence until his return to Constantinople.
This is evidently unsatisfactory. But one is bound to dissent
from the view that the Khazar Correspondence is not an in¬
tegral part of Qol Mebasser and has been inserted later, with
a reference to it interpolated in the introductory remarks of
Aqrish in order to conceal the addition.
Aqrish reports that after his arrival in Cairo from Alexandria
he visited a Jewish rabbi who was physician to the Turkish
governor of Egypt under Sultan Sulayman. The rabbi told
Aqrish that a short time earlier he had seen the governor read¬
ing a letter from an Abyssinian prince Doshdomor, who men¬
tioned the help which he had recently received in war from
a Jewish ruler. Aqrish goes on to describe the visit of another
Abyssinian, unnamed, to Constantinople and gives the words
of Sinan Pasha, vizir of the Sultan Murad, on the subject of
the Jewish kingdom. Then he proceeds: "When I heard these
words and saw a letter, which was sent to the king of the
33 The Bodleian copies (Nos. 1074 and 1098) belong to different edi¬
tions, both apparently undated. (1577 is the date of composition of the
work.)
34 Texts and Studies, i, 8.
128
Khazars and his reply, I decided to print them ‘with an iron

pen and lead’ (Job 19, 24), to strengthen the people and in
order that they should believe firmly that the Jews have a
kingdom and dominion.”35 The context suggests that Aqrish
saw the Correspondence in Constantinople rather than in
Egypt. It was in any case in Constantinople that his book,
as already said, was published.
In the passage just quoted, Landau,36 following Gregoire,
wants to excise the words “which was sent to the king of the
Khazars and his reply” and supposes that the “letter” here
mentioned had originally nothing to do with the Khazar Cor¬
respondence, but was in fact the letter of the Abyssinian prince
Doshdomor to the governor of Egypt. This seems to be de¬
monstrably wrong: a, the matter of Doshdomor’s letter belongs
to the visit of Aqrish to Egypt under Sultan Sulayman (1520-
1566). Aqrish has gone on to mention quite other things, the
visit of another Abyssinian to Constantinople, and the remarks
of Sinan Pasha under Murad (1574-1577). There is no reason
why he should return to speak of Doshdomor’s letter. bt Aqrish
had never seen Doshdomor’s letter but he saw the other, c, if
Doshdomor’s letter were intended it should be referred to as
“the letter,” for it has already been mentioned. An interpolator
might then conceivably have added the words "which was sent
to the king of the Khazars and his reply” and the passage
would read smoothly. But the text is “a letter” (egerelh). This
must be original, for an interpolator had no reason to alter
“the letter” (ha-egereth) if Aqrish had written it. Clearly a
second letter, not the Abyssinian Doshdomor’s, is intended by
I believe that these points are sufficient to dispose of the

view that Qol Mebasser has been interpolated. Nothing con¬
clusive has been urged in support of it. Landau says that
Aqrish in Constantinople at the end of the 16th century must
35 Following the text of Qol Mebasser in Kokovtsov.

36 M. Landau, 'The Present Position of the Khazar Problem,” Zion,
1943, §1 (in Hebrew).
129
have known about the Khazars and been aware that their
state had long ago ceased to exist. It looks as if he had never
heard of them, though he knew the legend of the river Sam-
bation. Aqrish gives the impression of having used the Cor¬
respondence in support of his contention that a Jewish king¬
dom existed in simple ignorance. The text as it stands con¬
firms this. Apparently the name Hasday ibn-Shaprut has been
omitted by Aqrish, in the passage quoted, as unfamiliar to
him. An interpolator would surely have added it. It is alto¬
gether likely that he saw a copy of the Correspondence in
Constantinople or elsewhere in the period 1574-1577 (reign of
Murad) and shortly afterwards reproduced it in good faith.
So much for the possibility of interpolation in the work of
Aqrish. If anyone thinks that the Khazar Correspondence was
first composed in 1577 and published in Qol Mebosser, 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
16th century. This will prove a very difficult or rather an
impossible task.
When we try to get behind the printed editions of Qol
Mebasser, the results are not entirely satisfactory. The only
known manuscript containing both the Letter of Hasday and
the Reply of Joseph is in the library of Christ Church, Ox-
ford.ST This manuscript presents a remarkably close similarity
to the printed text, as may be seen from Kokovtsovs edition
and as I have personally checked. It is not easy to say what
is the genetic connection between the two, but it is unlikely
that the manuscript, as has several times been suggested, is
actually a transcript of the printed text. Rather, as Kokovtsov
says, the manuscript served directly or indirectly as a source
of the printed text. But it has no claims to great antiquity.
Undated like the Christ Church manuscript is another in
37 No. 193. Owing to the liberality of the Christ Church authorities I

was able to consult this valuable ms. not only in the Bodleian but also
in Glasgow University Library. Though collated once again by myself,
the ms. yielded little or nothing which had escaped Kokovtsov.
130
the Leningrad Public Library,38 which contains along with

midrashic material a longer version of the Reply of Joseph
than is found in the Christ Church manuscript and the printed
text of Aqrish, but lacks the Letter of Hasday. Attention was
directed to this manuscript by Harkavy, a most diligent student
of Khazar antiquities, in 1S74, and hailed by him as the un¬
doubted original of the previously known version.50 Unfortu¬
nately the Long Version of the Reply of Joseph passed to the
Leningrad library via Firkovitch, who had apparently acquired
it in Egypt in the sixties of last century.40 This connection with
Firkovitch did not predispose investigators to regard it as an
undoubted relic of antiquity. It would appear, however, that in
this case we need not immediately suspect a forgery. Chwol-
son, who had examined it, states that the whole manuscript
is written in the same hand and there are no additions of any
kind.11 It is supposed to date from the 13th century.42 Unless
therefore this indication of date is completely wrong and
Firkovitch is responsible for the whole—contrary to his usual
method of fabrication, which was to make alterations and ad¬
ditions in authentic documents—we probably have to reckon
with the Long Version as considerably older than the printed
text of Aqrish. Harkavy, in spite of his very critical attitude to
Firkovitch and his discoveries, had no hesitation in accepting
it as the original of the Short Version in Aqrish, as already said.
If the view of Harkavy, which for once coincides with Chwol-
son's, is not right, most people will agree with Kokovtsov’s
cautious statement'3 that as basis for both versions there is
certainly the same original text, which is in general better
preserved in the Long Version.
That the Khazar Correspondence is a forgery of the 16th
century can scarcely be taken seriously in view of what has
38 ms. Heb. 157 of the 2nd Firkovitch Collection.

39 Measeph Niddahim, i, no. 8.
40 Chwolson, Corpus, German ed., St. Petersburg 1882, 143, n. 6.
41 Ibid., 520 (quoted similarly bv Kokovtsov from the Russian ed.,
1884, 499).
42 Ibid., 143 n. 6. 43 Op.cit., Introduction.
131
been said, especially with regard to the plain references to it

in works of much earlier date. We have already quoted one
such from Abraham ben-Daud. This does not stand alone.
Setting aside general references to the conversion of the Kha-
zars in Jewish sources, such as we find frequently, at least
from the 10th century,44 we have what appears to be an au¬
thentic citation of the Reply of Joseph as early as the time of
R. Jehudah ben-Barzillay of Barcelona, whose Sepher ha-
'Ittim is dated between 1090 and 1105.45
R. Jehudah of Barcelona writes as follows: "We have seen
in some mss. the copy of a letter which King Joseph, son of
Aaron, the Khazar priest [ha-Kohen, presumably for ha-Kagan,
the Khaqan]4* wrote to R. Hasday bar Isaac. We do not know
if the letter is genuine or not, and if it is a fact that the Kha-
zars, who are Turks, became proselytes. It is not definite
whether all that is written in the letter is fact and truth or
not. There may be falsehoods written in it, or people may
have added to it, or there may be error on the part of the
scribe. . . . The reason why we need to write in this our book
things which seem to be exaggerated is that we have found in
the letter of this king Joseph to R. Hasday that R. Hasday
had asked him of what family he was, the condition of the
king, how his fathers had been gathered under the wings of
the Presence [i.e., become Jews] and how great were his
kingdom and dominion. He replied to him on every head,
writing all the particulars in the letter."47 There follows a part
of the Reply of Joseph, agreeing in general with the Long
Version and supporting the view of Kokovtsov that the Long
Version preserves the original better than the Short Version.
It is pretty safe to allow that the Khazar Correspondence,
44 The earliest Jewish reference to the Khazar conversion may be in

the Kitdb al-Riyad wa-l-Hadaiq of Qirqisani (Brit. Mus. Or. 2492)
circa 937, cited by Landau, “Present Position,” Introd. But other refer¬
ences in Saadiah Caon could be earlier (cf. Chapter VII, n. 273). ^
•a S. Asaf, in Jeshurun xi, nos. 9-10 (cited Poliak, Conversion, $3).
Text in Kokovtsov. ...
4« Cf. Poliak, “Conversion,” §4. 47 Following Kokovtsov s text.
132
the Letter of Hasday as well as the Reply of Joseph, existed

already in the time of R. Jehudah of Barcelona. Kokovtsov
says that R. Jehudah has not a word about the Letter of
Hasday,48 which is true, but its existence is certainly implied.
Granting so much, the authenticity is still not certain. It is
very striking that R. Jehudah himself expresses doubts about
the Reply of Joseph. At first sight the fact that a skeptical
view was thus early adopted may tend to confirm our suspi¬
cions. But it should be observed that the doubts of the rabbi
are not precise and, as in the case of Buxtorf, may simply
mean that he was not informed about the Khazars.
External evidence will take us little further than this, that
the Correspondence seems to have existed in Spain in the 11th
century. The question of authenticity will have to be decided,
if possible, on internal grounds.
The Letter of Hasday begins with a poem (piut), which is
remarkable for the acrostic given by the initial letters of the
lines. This reads “I, Hasday bar Isaac bar Ezra bar Shaprut.
Menahem ben-Saruq.”4® The latter name, given not quite
perfectly in the text of Qol Mebasser but nearly enough, is that
of the well-known literary man of the 10th century, whose con¬
nection with Hasday is undoubted, and it is plausible to sug¬
gest that the poem containing the acrostic and presumably
what follows were written by him as Hasday’s secretary. Ob¬
viously, the existence of the acrostic does not prove that the
Letter of Hasday was written by Menahem ben-Saruq (though
this has been said) and is therefore genuine, but from another
angle this result can perhaps be reached. Landau has com¬
pared the extant works of Menahem with the Letter of Hasday,
from the point of view of style, and has no doubt that it is his.90
Another consideration is that the same pint exists in a manu¬
script of the Hebrew Bible examined independently by Har-
48 Op.cit., Introd. •‘Bar*’ as well as "ben," cf. above.

50 Present Position," §2, cf. his earlier Beitrdge zum Chazarenproblem,
Breslau 1938 Landau in his review (Qiryath Sepher, xxi, 19ff) of Po¬
liak s Khazaria takes him strongly to task for saving that the introduction
only is in Menahem’s style (cf. Khazaria, 21). *
133
kavy and E. Deinard, where it is explicitly ascribed to Mena-

hem.51 This text of the poem appears to be independent of that
in Qol Mebasser, though it is apparently of recent date.5-
The poem appears to insist on the military glory of the
Khazar ruler. After a number of lines devoted to good wishes
for the success of his arms, there comes what looks like a
reference to a particular victory:
Consider now, pillars of earth! mo has ever heard or seen

the like?
That survivors should prevail over the mighty! They put them
to flight and destroyed!?] a city and all that was in it.”
The strong arm of the Most High helped them and was their
salvation.
This is the work of the Almighty and His recompense to the
sinful kingdom.
Landau called attention to this passage, pointing out that

the expression “the sinful kingdom” is regularly applied to
Byzantium.” The point will be referred to again, when we
come to discuss what is called the Cambridge Document.
The prose part of the Letter of Hasday, after compliments
and generalities, proceeds to acquaint the Khazar king with
the geographical situation of Spain, and the writer gives some
information of the same kind about Khazaria, which, however,
is quite obscure. Apparently he wishes to provide data by
which his correspondent may fix the position of Spain with
reference to Khazaria, and lie has made use of Arabic geo¬
graphical works for the purpose. The general tone of the
Letter is, however, one of enquiry. The writer’s knowledge of
Khazaria, or perhaps of its importance, is represented as being
of recent date. He states that two Spanish Jews, R. Jehudah
bar Meir bar Nathan and R. Joseph Hagaris, have visited the
country recently, but does not claim to have spoken with them.
He sets out the natural wealth of Spain and speaks of himself
»i Landau, op.cit., §2. 51 Cf. Kokovtsov, Introd.

»» Or “delivered up" (?), cf. Amos 6, 8. ” Op.cit., §4.
134
as in charge of incoming foreign trade. Among the foreigners

who came to Spain were certain people who appear as “the
merchant-envoys of Khurasan.*'3 These Khurasanians, if they
were such, assured the writer of the Letter, as he tells us, that
the Jewish kingdom of Khazaria existed, but he did not at
first believe them.
Later, the writer of the Letter says, he heard an account
of the Khazar Jews from the Byzantine envoys. This passage
runs as follows: “I questioned them [i.e., the Byzantine envoys]
about the matter [i.e., the report of the merchant-envoys of
Khurasan] and they replied to me that it was true, and that
the name of the kingdom is Khazaria.56 Between Constantinople
and their country is a journey of 15 days by sea, but, said they,
between us by land are many intervening peoples. The name
of the ruling king is Joseph. Ships come to us from their land,
bringing fish, skins [i.e., probably furs] and all kinds of mer¬
chandise. They are in alliance with us and honored by us.
Between us and them are embassies and gifts. They are power¬
ful and have a fortress for their raiding bands and armies
which go forth at times.”
Hasday, if he is in fact the sender of the Letter, here seems
to tell us how he knew the name of his correspondent. In the
heading of the Letter, conformably with this passage, Joseph is
called “the king of the Khazars,” whereas in the heading of
the Reply he appears as “the Turkish [Togarmian] king.”
Obviously, however, these headings may be from the hand of
an editor. There is no ground for certainty, even if the Reply
is proved genuine, that “the Turkish king” was his official
Hebrew style.
In the passage above quoted, Khazaria is said to be 15 days
by sea from Constantinople. We may anticipate a little to men¬
tion that the Cambridge Document puts the distance at 9 days
by sea. Possibly the writer of the Letter means the length of
33 It is not clear why envoys from Khurasan should visit the Cordovan
court. See below.
33 Text “al-Khazar.” See below.
135
L
the journey to the Khazar capital on the Volga, while the other
thinks of some point nearer Constantinople. The route by the
Black Sea, Sea of Azov, and the Don-Volga passage, elsewhere
called “the Khazarian way,"” must be intended in our passage
and the “fortress” is doubtless Sarkil, built for the Khazars by
Greek engineers in a.d. 833.”
It is probably nowhere else explicitly stated, as here, that
the Khazars trade, in their own ships apparently, with Con¬
stantinople. Among the merchandise which they are said to
bring, fish and apparently furs are specially mentioned. We
know from Arabic sources that both articles were among the
Khazar exports to the lands of Islam. The Khazar military
power is again mentioned.
After what he had been told, Hasday, according to the Let¬
ter, decided to get in touch with the king of the Khazars, and
by his own account had some difficulty in doing so. First, he
sent a certain Mar Isaac bar Nathan to Constantinople with
instructions to proceed from there to Khazaria. But his mes¬
senger was not encouraged by the Emperor, probably Con¬
stantine Porphyrogenitus, to continue his journey, and some¬
time later returned to Spain, without having visited the coun¬
try of the Khazars. Then Hasday, still according to the Letter,
considered the possibility of sending a message to Khazaria
via Jerusalem, Mesopotamia, and Armenia. The arrival at Cor¬
dova of an embassy from “the king of the Gebalim, who are
the Saqlab”59 altered his plans. With this embassy were a
couple of Jews, Mar Saul and Mar Joseph, who, on hearing of
Hasday’s desire to make contact with the Khazars, offered their
services as intermediaries. The suggestion was agreeable to
Hasday, and we are to understand that the Letter actually
reached its destination by their means, being finally put into
the hands of the Khazar king, according to the Reply, by a
certain R. Jacob or (L. V.) Isaac ben-Eliezer, a central Euro¬
pean Jew.
Cf. G. Vernadsky, Ancient Russia, Yale 1943, 350, citing the Slavic
Vita Constantini.
6* Chapter VII. " Cf. Saqalibah.
136
f
The Arabic author Maqqari60 speaks of an embassy to Cor¬

dova from Huttu (Otto), king of the Saqalibah, identified with
the visit of John of Gorz, the envoy of the Emperor Otto I, in
953-955/'1 What nation is intended by the “Gebalim who are
the Saqlab" has not been finally determined.62 Gregoire has
advanced the view that the Gebalim are the Gauls,63 which
name the Hebrew may be said to represent (with pronunci¬
ation Gebhalim). It is very inviting to identify the Saqlab
with Maqqari s Saqalibah, as subjects of the German Emperor,
both forms apparently due to “Saxones.” Hasday’s Letter
should thus allude at this point to the visit of John of Gorz.
In any case, Mar Saul and Mar Joseph are said to have told
Hasday that some years previously a Khazar Jew, or at least
a former resident at the Khazar king’s court, named Mar
Amram had come to Spain,64 but Hasday’s enquiries for him
had not proved successful. This should indicate that inter¬
course with Khazaria was rare.
Poliak’s view that the Correspondence as a whole is not in¬
deed a forgery, but a work of the 11th century (sc. ante R.
Jehudah of Barcelona) composed in a conventional literary
form to spread information about the Khazars among the Jews66
is hardly tenable. If this is so, what is the point of mentioning
half-a-dozen obscure names as those of men involved, one way
or another, in Hasday’s search for information? Why the Letter
of Hasday at all, which, though considerably longer than the
Reply of Joseph, has very little indeed about the Khazars, if
the purpose of writing it and the Reply was, as Poliak sup¬
poses, simply to give a popular account of Khazaria? If the
80 I. 235; ibn-Khaldun, iv, 143.

61 Cf. Levi-Provenâl, op.cit., 383.
82 Kokovtsov has a long discussion, op.cit., 62, n. 3.
83 In Melanges R. Dussaud, 489. I owe the reference to Professor A.
M. Honcyman.
84 So apparently ha ilenu. Otherwise, “to the land of the Gebalim”
(oratio recta).
85 “Conversion.” §3; cf. Khazaria, 19: the author of the Correspond¬
r ence was alive in Spain in 1070-1080. Landau in his review, loc.cit.,
rightly takes exception to this.
137
Letter is an introduction to the information about the Khazars

in the Reply, it is certainly a very curious one-full of facts
about Spain and the Umayyads which have nothing to do with
Khazaria, and mentioning with great detail and, it must be
allowed, considerable plausibility how it came to be written
and despatched. A homilist or pamphleteer would surely have
dispensed with all this and got down to the business of describ-
ing Khazaria with much less ado.
Poliak argues against the historicity of the Letter of Hasday
on the ground that the sender had apparently never read the
Arabic geographical and historical literature on the Khazars,
and that this is unthinkable in a man in Hasday’s position in
10th century Spain. The argument is not convincing. The
sender of the Letter in fact gives us to understand that he has
had recourse to books, presumably geographical works in
Arabic, for the situation of Khazaria," and he mentions cer¬
tain details evidently based on these, e.g., correct statements
of the latitude of Cordova and Constantinople. Poliak regards
this as an inner contradiction within the Letter.'‘
Earlier than Poliak, Marquart had taken a similar line." He
thought that Hasday must have known about the Khazars, and
refers in this connection to the Radhaniyah, one of whose routes
in their continuous journeying from West to East and back
again was overland across Europe to "Khamlij (Khamlikh),
the capital of the Khazars" and thence via the Caspian to Trans-
oxiana and as far afield as China. According to ibn-Khurdadhbih
(circa a.d. 846), who is the principal authority for the Radh¬
aniyah, they were Jews from Spain." But in the Letter
Hasday hears first of the existence of the Jewish king from the
Khurasanians and the Byzantine envoys. Therefore, according
to Marquart, it cannot be genuine. This again falls short of a
demonstration. Conceivably the “merchant envoys of Khurasan
and the Radhaniyah were the same, regarded as Occidentals
«• Cf. above. •’ "Conversion," §3. " Streifz., 24.

•» Ibn-Khurdadhbih, 153, has Radhaniyah, which we have retained.
lbn-al-Faqih, 270, has Rahdaniyah, which may be from Persian (rohdan.
"knowing the way,” cf. Marquart, Streifz., 350).
138
(Spaniards) in the East, and Orientals in the West. In any

case, the writer of the Letter repeatedly indicates that he knows
something of Khazaria. His sources of information are not only
books, but also traditions, apparently current in Spain.70 If in
one place he speaks of ‘‘the astonishment which filled me at the
report of your kingdom, which had not reached us” the words
should not be pressed too far. It would be hazardous to base
a formal argument against the authenticity of the Letter on
the alleged ignorance of its author in regard to the Khazars.
There is a very important passage in the Reply of Joseph
which raises several questions and may be conveniently dis¬
cussed here, in connection with the views of Poliak and Mar-
quart just referred to. In the Short Version this reads: “What
you have related of your country [i.e., Spain] and the genealogy
of your king has already reached us. Already there have passed
between our fathers letters of reciprocal civilities. This cir¬
cumstance is preserved in our books [and] known to all the
elders of our country, in all the East, as you have mentioned.
We shall renew the old friendship between our fathers and
make it an inheritance for our children.” The words “in all the
East, as you have mentioned” yield no plain meaning. We cer¬
tainly find no reference to letters passing between Spain and
Khazaria at an earlier date in our text of the Letter of Hasday.
It is clear that the Letter as we have it is not only corrupt
in places but also incomplete. Landau has pointed out that in
the Reply reference is made to an enquiry on the part of
Hasday as to the possibility of a Khazar envoy coming to Cor-
dova.T1 There is no trace of such an enquiry in our present text
of the Letter. Did the Letter then contain originally some in¬
dication of previous contact between Spain and Khazaria? The
answer seems to be that it did not. The same passage in the
Long Version reads differently: “Already there have passed be¬
tween our fathers letters and reciprocal civilities. This circum¬
stance is preserved in our books [and] known to all the elders
of our country. At all times we hear about your country and
70 See below. 71 "Present Position,” §2.
139
the greatness of its king-may his Creator preserve him and

God restore him to the kingdom of his fathers in the East, as
you have mentioned. We shall renew the old friendship be¬
tween our fathers and make it an inheritance for our children.
This refers to the following passage in the Letter: “1 shall tell
my lord the king the name of the king who rules over us. His
name is ‘Abd-al-Rahman ibn-Muhammad [ibn-'Abdullah ibn-
Muhammad]72 ibn'Abd-al-Rahman ibn-Hakam ibn-Hishamibn-
'Abd-al-Rahman. . . . 'Abd-al-Rahman, the 8th in line, was he
who came to Spain when the Abbasids, their relations, who rule
at present in Iraq, claimed to rule over them. ... He was the
son of Mu'awiyah ibn-Hisham ibn-'Abd-al-Malik. Here the
writer of the Letter has given the genealogy of the Spanish
Umayyads and indicates that the Abbasids were usurpers. This
is taken up in the Reply of Joseph, which expresses the polite
wish that the Umayyads may be restored to the Caliphate in
the East.
It is of course unthinkable that the Khazars were not per¬
fectly well informed of the contemporary political scene among
their old enemies, the Arabs. The Reply of Joseph, if an au¬
thentic document, must certainly have a correct notion of the
rulers of the Muslim East. Yet this is far from clear in the pas¬
sage of the Short Version just considered. The situation is
saved, in this respect, by the Long Version, which clearly indi¬
cates that the writer of the Reply knew the relation between
the Abbasids and the Umayyads.
What are we to say of the statement in the Reply that "al¬
ready there have passed between our fathers letters and re¬
ciprocal civilities’*? Would not the historical Hasday have
known of previous contact between Spain and Khazaria? The
answer must be that he almost certainly would. The Letter of
Hasday indeed refers to one incident, which probably comes
under the rubric “previous contact with Khazaria, viz. the visit
to Spain circa a.d. 880 of the Jewish traveler Eldad ha-Dani.
Mention of the Danite comes immediately after a question
72 The two names must be supplied.
140
about the Khazar spoken language. The point is evidently to

ask the Khazar king if he knows anything about him.73 Our
versions of the Reply, however, afford no light on this.
Was Eldad really a Khazar? It seems at least possible. One
fact about him which appears to stand out from a great deal
of nonsense in the sources is that he insisted on speaking He¬
brew. This may no doubt be explained in other ways, but the
simplest reason perhaps is that he knew no Arabic. This is
unthinkable if he were a Palestinian or African Jew, as has been
suggested, but would be natural in a Khazar. Some of the
Hebrew words which he used have been preserved in a letter
of enquiry about him, directed by the Jews of Kairouan to
Zemah Gaon in Babvlonia.74 Frankl was inclined to think these
w
could be explained from the Greek, and consequently that

Eldad was from a Greek-speaking country.Ts Gratz believed
that he may have been an emissary of the Karaites,7* and al¬
lows that he had visited Constantinople, where he supposes
he heard about the Khazars on the Volga. As is well known,
Eldad refers to Khazaria in his narrative, stating that Simeon
and the half-tribe Manasseh lived there.77 The Khazars, he says,
were very numerous and took tribute from 28 kingdoms. Some
of the Muslims were tributarv to them. In view of the fantastic
character of much of Eldad’s narrative we cannot lay great
stress on what is here said about the Khazars, but this cer¬
tainly stands in some relation to other sources. We have already
cited ibn-Fadlan’s remark about the 25 wives, each the daugh¬
ter of a neighboring king, in the harem of the Khazar Khaqan.
Some versions of Eldad give not 28 but 25 kingdoms as de¬
pendent on the Khazars. Again, the Reply mentions 9 -f- 15 -f-
13 nations as tributary to Joseph. There is some ground for
thinking that the 9 nations form the home provinces of the
country.78 The remaining 15 -j- 13 correspond with Eldad’s
73 So Kokovtsov, op.ext., 70, n. 1.
74 See A. Neubauer in J.Q.R., i (1889), 105.
73 Cf. ibid., 109. 78 Ceschichte, ed. 3, v, 239.
77 See below.
78 Cf. the quotation from Constantine Por., below.
141
figure. As to the location of Eldad’s own tribe of Dan, he places

it on the river Sambation. It is idle to pursue the question of
whether the mysterious Sambation is to be connected with
Sambatas,79 which, according to Constantine Porphyrogenitus,
was another name for Kiev, and so the Dnieper or possibly the
Don.80 In any case, Eldad ha-Dani may well have been a
Khazar Jew, like others who came to Spain in the course of the
centuries. But there is no hint of a Khazar embassy to Spain
in our text of Hasday’s Letter, nor could there have been orig¬
inally, consistently with other things which are said.
The solution of the difficulty probably is that the writer of
the Reply means to say that the Khazars had been in contact
in past times, not with Umayyad Spain, but with the Umayyads
in the East. A Khazar ambassador was certainly in the company
of al-Fadl ibn-Sahl, presumably in Baghdad, during the Caliph¬
ate of Ma’mun81 (a.d. 813-833). In the nature of the case there
are likely to have been other earlier visits. Khazar relations
with the Muslim East in earlier times are not most accurately
to be described in the words of the writer of the Reply as
“interchange of letters and civilities,” but it would be natural
to stress the pleasant side in reply to the Spanish minister. On
the basis of this passage, Brutzkus seems to be right in saying
that the Khazars had archives from which it was possible for
them to draw information about the relation between them and
the Umayyads in the 8th century.82 It would be to the same
records that the Reply elsewhere refers in speaking about the
great Khazar expansion in the 7th century recorded in the
19 De Admin. Imp., c.9. Cf. Minorsky, Hudud, 431, n. 3, who mentions

that a Russion investigator Lashchenko (Kiev i Sambatas, Dokladi Akad.,
S.S.S.R., 1930) gives 22 different explanations of Sambatas (Slavonic,
Scandinavian, Hungarian, etc.) and inclines to the Khazar origin of the
name, as suggested by Brutzkus. Brutzkus would make Kiev and Sam¬
ba t both Khazar names (Enc. Jud., art. Chasaren).
80 Cf. Marquart, Streifz., 198.
81 Hu$ri, Zahr al-Adub, i, 254.
82 Enc. Jud., art. Chasaren. Jehudah ha-Levi makes the Khazar king
speak as if he were familiar with documents centuries old: "We find
learned writings in the mss. of their authors, [dating! from 500 years
[back]"(Kuzari, i, 1).
142
Greek sources: “I have a written record that when my fathers

were few, God gave them power, might, and valor, and they
made war after war with many nations greater and mightier
than they. With God’s help they drove them out and inherited
their land. Some of them they made tributary to this day. The
land which I live in was formerly held by the W-n-nt-r. Our
fathers the Khazars came and fought them, etc.”*3 It is an inter¬
esting question, if the record was contemporary, in what lan¬
guage it was originally drawn up.
We are, however, diverging from our present business, which
is to estimate the value of the Letter of Hasday as a historical
source. After what has been said, that it was actually sent by
the Spanish minister to Khazaria seems the safest conclusion.
The date would be before a.d. 961, when *Abd-al-Rahman
ceased to reign, and perhaps after 954, taken as the year of the
embassy recorded by Maqqari. Those who see in the Letter
a reflection of the Messianic hopes of the Jews are perhaps
right.84 But Hasday evidently wanted a great deal more in¬
formation besides the possible date of the end of the age, not
all of which apparently he got. The Letter asks to what tribe
Joseph belongs. There is no answer in the Reply, perhaps be¬
cause he was not a Jew by descent and had no tribe. We have
seen reason for the view that Khazar Judaism even in the 10th
century was very imperfect. Hence perhaps there is no answer
forthcoming on the part of Joseph to enquiries as to his method
of procession to his place of worship, and as to whether war
abrogates the Sabbath. It is plain that a Khazar king would not
wish to give the number of his armed forces, though he was
apparently requested by Hasday to do so. Unless there are
important omissions in both versions of the Reply—which cer¬
tainly cannot at present be proved—there is a marked absence
of correspondence between questions of the Letter and answers
given in the Reply. This should probably be regarded as an
indication that the documents are what they purport to be and
not a literary invention. Against the authenticity of the Letter
83 Cf. Chapter III. 84 Cf. Landau, Beitrdge, passim.
143
of Hasday criticism has been unable to produce convincing

proofs, so that provisionally it is to be accepted. As we see
from the Latin Life (most conveniently in Migne’s Patrologia,
ser. 2, Vol. 137) c. 121, John of Gorz found Hasday (Hasdeu)
occupying a trusted position at the court of 'Abd-al-Rahman
III, and actually fulfilling the kind of function which he claims
for himself in the Letter. These facts strongly reinforce the
conclusion already reached.
What of the Reply of Joseph? The Reply begins by referring
to the principal contents of Hasday’s Letter and recapitulating
a number of his questions, which Joseph expresses himself as
willing to answer in detail. After a short account of the early
history of the Khazars in which the W-n-nt-r episode already
cited takes a special place, Joseph proceeds to deal at consider¬
able length with the Khazar conversion to Judaism under king
Bulan. This in fact forms the main part of the Reply. Later, we
are told, under Bulan’s descendant (grandson?) Obadiah there
was a reformation and (Rabbinic?) Judaism was introduced.
Joseph then traces his own descent from Obadiah and gives a
description of his country and capital. He refers to Hasday s
question about the end of the age, which is answered in a some¬
what noncommittal fashion, and finally expresses the hope that
Hasday may come to Khazaria.
It is obvious that the genuineness of Hasday’s Letter does
not carry with it that of the Reply. Jost, a long time ago, ac¬
cepting the Letter, found that the Reply contained Arabisms,
and concluded that it must have been composed by an Arabic¬
speaking Jew in Spain.85 More recently Steinschneider, while
allowing the genuineness of the Letter of Hasday, characterized
the Reply as a later fabrication.8'' What the grounds of this
dictum may be he does not say. The position of Landau is that
Hasday’s Letter must be genuine because of the close similarity
of its style to that of extant works of Menahem ben-Saruq, who
« Geschichte, Berlin 1826, vi, 365-366 Harkavy, who lists other Arab¬
isms in the L.V. of the Reply (Measeph Niddahim, i, no. 10), rightly
does not draw the conclusion that it must have been composed in Spain.
88 Geschichtsliteratur der Juden (1905), 19.
144
evidently composed it for the minister. The Reply on the other

hand may, he thinks, be genuine, but this is not demonstrable.87
One general consideration is that we have no independent
testimony (apart from the Cambridge Document) that King
Joseph was a historical person. This undoubtedly determines
us to approach the Reply with somewhat greater hesitation
than the Letter. Such evidence as the Muslim sources offer on
the names of Khazar chiefs affords no support for the existence
of a king in Khazaria with a Hebrew name. Further, it is not
entirely clear whether Joseph is Khaqan or Beg. Not only does
Hasday, in the piut already discussed, address him as a com¬
mander in war, but Joseph apparently refers to himself as “the
mighty king, who has not been put to flight by armies, etc.”
and again says: "I live at the mouth of the river [i.e., Atil,
Volga], By the help of the Almighty, 1 guard the mouth of the
river and do not suffer the Russians who come in their ships88
to proceed by sea against the Arabs. ... I fight with them,
etc." This appears to be language more appropriate to the Beg
than the Khaqan. Yet he is, as he tells us, descended from a
long line of rulers, whereas the Beg’s office was probably not
hereditary. In one form of the text, that in the Sepher ha-
'Ittim of R. Jehudah of Barcelona, the title Kagan, Khaqan
seems even to have been mentioned explicitly.
On the whole, it must be allowed that Joseph is the Khaqan.
We have to suppose that the Khaqans of Khazaria had Hebrew
"throne-names” in addition to their Turkish names. Possibly
the Khaqan was at all times the titular commander of the
armies (cf. the passage of ibn-Fadlan, which gives us the in¬
formation that he had power to replace unsuccessful com¬
manders and even the Beg himself), though no doubt the con¬
duct of operations was in the hands of the Beg, as the Muslim
87 “Present Position,” §3. Landau explicitly contradicts Poliak's state¬

ment (“Conversion," §3) that he (Landau) accepted as genuine both
Letter and Reply. The view that Landau sponsored the authenticity of
the Reply as well as the Letter has gained considerable currency and
appears not only in Vernadsky's Ancient Russia (212), but also in Mrs.
Chadwick’s Beginnings of Russian History (41, citing Vernadsky).
88 Cf. Chapters VII. IX.
145
sources tell us with practical unanimity. We know from them

that the Khaqan occasionally rode out with the Khazar forces,
even in time of war, so that when Joseph speaks of living with
his captains and making excursions through the Khazar terri¬
tory, he may envisage more than ceremonial occasions. That the
Khaqan was prominent when winter-quarters were exchanged
for the encampments of spring and summer seems very likely,
and perhaps these important movements were brought into con¬
nection with the great Jewish festivals.8®
The positive reasons against the authenticity of the Reply
(in addition to the presence of Arabisms) have been listed by
Landau as I, the sharp attacks on Islam contained in the Reply,
unaccountable in a letter to a high official of a Muslim sov¬
ereign; 2, the lack of Jewish and local color in the description of
the Khazar state; 3, omissions in the geographical description
of Khazaria; and 4, the improbable arguments used by the in¬
terlocutors in the religious debate, as recorded in the Reply.®0
Before examining these, it should be said that the two versions
of the Reply stand or fall together. Though it is possible that
the Long Version contains later additions—Kokovtsov has
argued strongly that the eulogies, of which it has a number,
may be such®1—it is certain that, on the whole, it is nearer the
original than the Short Version. A proof of this are the passages
where the Short Version does no more than abridge the Long.
Where, e.g., the Short Version simply refers to nine tributary
nations on the Volga, fifteen towards the south and thirteen to
the west, the Long Version gives their names in every case.
We have already noticed a passage, incomprehensible in the
Short Version, which becomes clear by the addition of some
words in the other. Similar is the following in the Short Version:
“From that day when our fathers were gathered under the
wings of the Presence, He subdued before us all our enemies
and humbled all the nations and tongues round about us. None
89 Reply (L.V.): "From the month of Nisan we go out. ... I and my

captains and servants set out. ... At the end of the month Kisliw, in the
days of the feast of Dedication, we return to the city."
90 "Present Position," §3. 91 Op cit., Introd.
146
has withstood us to this day. All of them pay me tribute by

the hands of the kings of Edom and Ishmael [i.e., the By¬
zantine Emperors and the Caliphs]." It is nowhere else sug¬
gested and the fact is incredible that the Greek Emperor and
the Caliph paid tribute to the Khazars as representatives of
other nations-the plain meaning of the text. On the other
hand, the Long Version has: “From the day that my fathers
were gathered to this religion, the God of Israel subdued all
their enemies and humbled every nation and tongue round
about them, the kings of Edom, the kings of Ishmael and all
the kings of the Gentiles. No man withstood them, and they
were all tributary.” This is less garbled than the Short Version
and less objectionable. The suggestion that the Emperor and
the Caliph paid tribute to the Khazars at all is somewhat dis¬
concerting. But it appears as a mere rhetorical flourish in the
Long Version. We know that a sum was promised and prob¬
ably paid in ibn-Fadlan’s time by the Caliph Muqtadir to the
Bulgars.” This money presumably passed across the Khaqan’s
frontiers without his knowledge, against his will. The purpose—
to build a fortress for the Bulgar king-was certainly contrary
to his interest. Other sums may have come from Baghdad, and
from Byzantium at the time of the important Christian mission
to Khazaria circa 860,93 or after the military successes of the
Khazars referred to in the Cambridge Document. Joseph uses
a grandiloquent style about himself and his position elsewhere,
as we have seen, and, recalling occasions when his powerful
neighbors had found it expedient to send money into Khazaria,
may have been ready to describe it as tribute. Or he may refer
to the valuable presents such as were periodically sent to the
northern nations from Byzantium, as tribute from the Emperor.
Otherwise there is still the possibility of some remaining dis¬
location of the text in the Long Version which we are not in a
position to set right.
Landau’s first count has in view the hostile and inaccurate
characterization of Islam put in the mouth of the Christian
02 Ibn-Fadlan, §§ 1, 48. 88 See Chapter VII.
147
interlocutor in the course of the religious debate: “What is

the religion of Ishmael, compared with that of Israel? They
have no sabbaths and no sacred seasons, no commandments and
no statutes. They eat every unclean thing, etc.” It is difficult
to see why these words can have no place in a genuine letter
to Hasday. Written in Hebrew, the Reply was hardly likely to
become common property in Spain and cause embarrassment
to the recipient. Hasday himself was no Muslim and doubtless
had no special tenderness for the religion of his master. The
injurious statements are in any case represented as spoken not
by Joseph, but long ago in the debate which preceded his
ancestor’s conversion.
As to Landau’s second count, there is a good deal of Jewish
color, if by that is meant reference to characteristic institutions
of the Israelites. The Reply is written in Hebrew and in a
Hebrew distinct from that of the Letter—a most important
point, to which we shall return. After an attack on Ardabil
(for which we have the synchronism 112/730 in the Arabic
sources)04 the Reply tells that there was set up a tabernacle on
the Biblical model (with ark, candlestick, etc.). We surely
have the strongest Jewish color when the writer states that a
generation or two after the conversion there was a reformation
of religion under Obadiah, when synagogues and schools were
built and the Khazars became familiar with Torah, Nlishnah
and Talmud and with the liturgy.09 Joseph can produce a list
of ancestors, all (except Bulan) with Hebrew names. He has
been in touch with the Jew, ben-Eliezer. If on the other hand
traits appear which are non-Jewish, notably the semi-nomadic
life of the Khazar population, this is in accordance with what
9* Cf. Chapter IV. ,

For the period between Bulan and Obadiah it might be supposed
that Karaism prevailed in Khazaria (circa 740-800), but this is probably
too early ('Anan ben-David, usually spoken of as the founder of die
Karaite movement, flourished circa 760). For the same period Poliak
assumed a “religion of Abraham,” distinct from Judaism ("Conversion,
§§ 3-4, Khazaria, 141-143). This expression comes in the Reply without
any unusual significance, as synonym for "religion of Israel.”
148
we read elsewhere and is to be explained by the Turkish origin

of the nation.
As to local color in the Reply, it is at least as evident as in
the Letter of Hasday for Spain. One trait, the semi-nomadism of
the Khazars, has just been noticed. What Joseph says about
tribute-paying nations is well illustrated by the Russian Chron¬
icle96 and confirmed by Istakhri, whose statement about “regu¬
lar payments assessed on the people of the different places”
has already been quoted. Istakhri also confirms in a striking
manner what Joseph relates of the exodus from the Khazar
capital which took place in spring: “From the month Nisan we
go out from the city, each man to his vineyard and to his
field and to his tillage.” There is one point in the Reply, which,
according to Cassel,*7 is sufficient by itself to establish the truth
of the whole document. This is the mention of "a certain one,
their great general” (S.V.), or “a certain general among them"
(L.V.) in the main part of the Reply (the conversion story)
alongside the Khazar king. It certainly seems to be a reference
to the Beg of Khazaria. Other points which may be noted are
the statement that Joseph guards the Volga mouth and pre¬
vents the Russians coming downstream to the Caspian, and the
threefold division of the Khazar capital (the measurements
being raised to astronomical dimensions by the transmission ).••
Thirdly, Landau refers to omissions in the geographical de¬
scription of Khazaria. This point was stressed by Poliak, who
argued that the geographical information in the Reply is what
might be obtained by a traveler to the Khazar capital from Con¬
stantinople via the Crimea and overland from Tamatarkha
(Taman), and suggested that the account of some such trav¬
eler was in fact made use of by whoever composed the Reply.®*
The absence of any definition of the Khazar frontier to the
east appeared particularly significant to Poliak, since one of
the requests in Hasday’s Letter is for information about the
cities “near to [Khazaria] in the direction of Khurasan, Bardh-
99 See Chapter VII. »7 Quoted Kokovtsov, op.cit., 76, n. 2.

88 Cf. ibid., 110, n. 38. •» ■•Conversion,” §3; Khazaria, 21.
149
a'ah and Bab al-Abwab.”100 The apparent omission in the

Reply may be accounted for by other reasons. In the direction
of Khurasan there were no important cities. What interest for
a correspondent in Spain had the settlements of Abaskun101 and
Manqishlagh102 on the east shore of the Caspian, with the ex¬
ception of a fishing station, Dihistanan Sir,103 north of Abaskun,
perhaps the only places east of the Volga where there was a
permanent population? The eastern marches of Khazaria were
desert or at best poor grazing land, infested by semi-hostile
tribesmen, still more barbarous than the Khazars themselves.
More important than to list such names was to make clear that
the Khazar frontier extended "towards Khwarizm as far as
Jurjan [for Gurganj?],” as the Reply (L.V.) does, in this agree¬
ing with the Arab geographer Qudamah.104 Corroboration is
forthcoming also in the narrative of ibn-Fadlan, from which we
see that the effective boundary between the Ghuzz nomads,
who may have acknowledged Khazar supremacy, and the lands
of Islam was the Oxus.
But why no information about Khwarizm, pursues Poliak,
in view of the trade relations which existed between it and
Khazaria? We simply do not know.105
The last of Landau’s list of objections to the Reply has ref-
100 Poliak here apparently assumes that Hasday’s Letter is genuine.

xox From Abaskun ships sailed across to Bab al-Abwab and northwest
to the Volga mouth (I?takhri, 227, cf. 213). Mas'udi says that he him¬
self sailed from Abaskun to Jabaristin (Muruj, i, 274).
102 Manqishlagh lav on the Khazar frontier in the direction of Jurjan,
according to Muqaddasi, 355 (Binqishlah there). It is identified by
Barthold (E.I., art. Mangishlak) with Siyah Kuh, north of Abaskun
(I$takhri, 190, 219).
108 I$takhri, 219. Minorsky (Hudud, 193) would read Dihistanan-sar.
104 B.G.A., vi, 259.
108 V. Altman (“Ancient Khorezmian Civilisation in the Light of the
Latest Archaeological Discoveries [1937-19451,” J.A.O.S., 67, 2, 1947)
says that there are reasons to believe that Judaism “was brought to
Khazaria in the 8th century through Khorezm,” and that 8th century
coins discovered by Sergei Tolstovs expedition “testify to the political
unity of Khazaria and Khorezm in the middle of the 8th century." I do
not know the grounds for these statements. Tolstov’s article “In the
Deserts of Khwarizm" (Asiatic Review, 40, 1944, 408-414) throws no
light on the points mentioned by Altman.
150
4
erence to improbable arguments used by the interlocutors in

the religious debate, as recorded therein. There is no a priori
reason why the king must have given an accurate account of
opinions which he did not share, in describing a theological
debate held long before his time. It is obvious that the author
of a fabricated “Reply of Joseph” might well have put appropri¬
ate observations in the mouth of his disputants. The words of
the qadi who says of the Christians that they “bow down to
the work of their own hands” seem to have clear reference to
image worship. The trait seems authentic: image worship was
already practiced in the 7th century and the beginning of
the 8th.
As to the date of the conversion given in the Long Version
of the Reply, it is there stated roundly that the event took
place “340 years ago.” The Reply, if genuine, must have fol¬
lowed Has day’s Letter, in which 'Abd-al-Rahman al-Nasir of
Spain is mentioned as still alive, at a comparatively short in¬
terval. At latest it must have been written in 961 or 962. On
the reckoning of the Reply, the latest date for the conversion
would accordingly be a.d. 621 or 622.100 But obviously ten years
before the Hegirah there could be no Muslim qadi in Khazaria
or anywhere else, and the story of the debate as it stands in
the Reply involves the Muslim qadi not incidentally but integ¬
rally. We must probably agree with Landau that the figure is
a late addition of some copyist.101
It remains to adduce some new positive evidence in the mat¬
ter. The following very simple test has not, I believe, hitherto
108 Isidore of Seville (Contra ludaeos, i, 8, quoted Gratz, v, 63, n. 3)

writes: "Iudaei mentientes nescio quem regem ex eenere Iudaeorum in
extremis Orientis partibus regnum tenere.” Cf. Harkavy, R.E.J., v, 203.
This was used by Harkavy in support of the date circa 620 for the
Khazar conversion, Isidore’s dates being 570-636. But all the other evi¬
dence is in favor of a later date. At the end of the 7th century the
Khazars were still pagan; cf. Chapter IV (Alp Ilutver) and Chapter VII
(the tudun of Cherson).
107 Perhaps through an error the figure 340 has come down instead of
240. So Westberg, “K analizy vostochnikh istochnikov,” Z.Af.N.P., 1908,
34 (cited Bury, E.R.E., 408,n. 1).
151
been applied to the Khazar Correspondence.'” In the Long

Version of the Reply the classical Hebrew construction of Waw
conversive with the Imperfect to express the past tense occurs
not more than once or twice, as against nearly 100 instances
where the past is expressed by the Perfect and simple Waw.
On the other hand, in the Letter of Hasday the past tense is
rendered nearly 50 times by Waw conversive and the Imper-
feet, and only 14 times by simple Waw and the Perfect. This
is a radical difference of style, and on the face of it the Letter
was written by a different hand. We may further adduce for
comparison the Short Version of the Reply, which bears un¬
mistakable traces of having been worked over and altered from
the Long Version. In the Short Version the construction with
Waw conversive is introduced whenever the redactor para¬
phrases the words of the Long Version, which he does fre¬
quently, and occasionally in other places. The process of sub¬
stitution of the Imperfect with Warn conversive for simple Waw
and the Perfect is quite plain and allows us to affirm with
greater positiveness than Kokovtsov permitted himself that the
Long Version is more original.'” But the proportion of the two
constructions in the Short Version and in the Letter is quite
different, for in the Short Version, while Waw conversive with
the Imperfect occurs 37 times, simple Waw with the Perfect
registers itself no fewer than 50 times. These results may be
tabulated:
Waw Conversive Simple Waw
with Imperfect with Perfect
LETTER 48 14
REPLY (s.v.) 37 50
REPLY (L.V.) 1 95
Hence we may say positively that the Letter was not redacted
by the same hand as the Short Version, as might have been
suspected. We should therefore be entitled to compare it di-
*0* It was suggested by conversations with Dr. John Bowman, while

we were together in Glasgow.*
See above.
152
rectly with the Long Version and, in view of the striking dif¬
ference of usage, affirm a separate authorship.
The question of whether further conclusions are to be drawn
from this result is to be approached with circumspection. It
may be stated in general terms that nothing decisive appears
to have been alleged against the factual contents of the Reply
of Joseph in its more original form, the Long Version. The
stylistic difference supports its authenticity. It is what might
be expected in documents emanating from widely separated
parts of the Jewish world, where also the level of culture was
by no means the same. It is perhaps allowable here to record the
impression, for what it is worth, that in general the language
of the Reply is less artificial, more naive,1X0 than that of the
Letter. There is nothing in the Reply corresponding to the
elaborate pint with which the Spanish minister, or rather his
secretary, begins to address Joseph. We may also draw at¬
tention to something more definite than impressions. The forms
for the Arabic word qadi in the Long Version of the Reply are
spelled with Daleth and have the Hebrew definite article: qadi,
ha-qadi. In the Short Version, under Arabic influence, we find
on the contrary Tsaddi with point and the Arabic definite ar¬
ticle: qadi, al-qadi. Yet more striking is the fact that for the
Khazars in the Letter of Hasday we have repeatedly the Arabi-
cised al-Khazar, while in the Reply (L.V. and S.V.) the forms
Kazar and Kazariim (without the Arabic article) alone occur.
In the Reply the pass of Darial is Dar Alan (the old Iranian
name), while in the Letter of Hasday the pass of Darband is
the Arabic Bab al-Abwab. The latter name also occurs in the
Reply, but in the quaint form “Gate of Bab al-Abwab,'*m which
is tautological, implying ignorance of the meaning of the Ara¬
bic name. These look like real indications that the Reply orig¬
inally was written in a non-Arabic-speaking environment.
It may at least be allowed that Poliak’s theory of the Khazar
Correspondence as a popular account of Khazaria, cast in the
Similarly Landau, "Present Position,” §3.

111 Sha'ar Bab al-Abwab (L.V.).
153
conventional form of letters, which we have already suggested

did not cover the facts, can now be ruled out, the difference
between Letter and Reply going far beyond what might in this
case be expected. But if the Letter and Reply are not by dif¬
ferent hands, as they appear to be, an attempt had been made
to give this impression. We cannot avoid this conclusion by
bringing in the possibility of earlier redactions of the docu¬
ments, for which there is no evidence. But who then can have
fabricated them, presumably between the limits 961 and 1105,
and for what purpose, are unanswerable questions. It is diffi¬
cult not to admit that the Reply of Joseph is in the main au-
thentic.
The authenticity of the Khazar Correspondence is also sug¬
gested by the mention of Hasday ibn-Shaprut in connection
with Khazaria in a manuscript of ibn-Hawqal as early as a.d.
1086.m The passage runs: “Hasday ibn-Ishaq thinks that this

great long mountain [Caucasus] is connected with the moun¬
tains of Armenia and traverses the country of the Greeks, ex¬
tending to Khazaran and the mountains of Armenia. He was
well informed about these parts because he visited them and
met their principal kings and leading men.” The source and
import of these words are alike obscure. In Hasday's Letter he
expresses a desire to visit Khazaria, and in the Reply Joseph
appears to welcome the idea. In any case, it appears that this
is unexceptionable early evidence, independent, so far as can
be seen, of the Hebrew tradition, for the interest of the Jewish
statesman in Spain in the affairs of Khazaria.
The account of the Khazar conversion in the Reply of Joseph
bears a general resemblance to that in the Cosri (Kuzari) of
Jehudah ha-Levi. In both, the king of the Khazars has a dream
in which an angel speaks to him. The general (?Beg) figures
side by side with the king (Khaqan) in the two stories and in
both a “tabernacle” is set up (called by the Reply ohel, by the
The notice appears on a map in ms. Serai 3346 dated 479/1086,

used by Kramers as the basis of the 2nd edition of ibn-Hawqal, which see
(193). Cf. Zeki Validi, "Volkerschaften,” 50,n. 1.
154
Kuzari mishkan). The central episode in both accounts is a

religious discussion.113 There are also divergences. The Kuzari
leaves the king unnamed. The Reply calls him Bulan. Accord¬
ing to the Reply, Bulan, before the dream, has driven out the
“sorcerers and idolators” (shamanists) from the land. According
to the Kuzari, at this time he was very devout in the Khazar
religion (shamanism). The course of the religious discussion is
different in the two accounts, notably in the omission by the
Kuzari of a general debate which according to the Reply con¬
cluded the proceedings. The Kuzari again disagrees with the
Reply in making the erection of the “tabernacle follow the
discussion. Further, ha-Levi has nothing (possibly owing to
the plan of the Kuzari) about the reform of religion which,
according to the Reply, took place under a later king Obadiah.
In view of the differences we cannot say roundly that Jehudah
ha-Levi was acquainted with the Reply, but the probability
seems to be that he was, and took such liberties with it as
suited him. Certainly both the Reply and the Kuzari represent
the same general form of the story.
Quite a different account of the conversion of the Khazars
is given in the Cambridge Document, so-called from its pres-
1,8 In view of the suggested connection between the Khazars and the
Uigurs (Chapter II), an account in Juwayni (ed. Mirza Muhammad,
C.Af.S., I, 43ff) of the conversion of the Uigurs from shamanism to an¬
other religion is interesting. The parallels between this and what we read
of the Khazar conversion from shamanism to Judaism are somewhat re¬
markable. In the Juwayni story the impulse to change is owing to a dream
of the ruler Biiqu Khan, and this dream appears also to his vizier. There
follows a religious debate, at which the native representatives of the old
religion and representatives of the new, summoned for the purpose, dis¬
pute, and the latter are successful. In Juwayni it seems fairly clear that
Buddhism is intended as the new religion of the Uigurs. Marquart has
shown (Sitzungsberichte d. preuss. Akad., 1912, 486ft) that the basis of
the story is the historical conversion of the Uigurs to Manichaeism under
Buqu Khaqan shortly after a.d. 762 (ibid., 487), and that Juwayni pre¬
sumably got his information from the trilingual inscription of Qara-Bal-
gasun, which reported the conversion (ibid., 496-7). There is thus no
possibility, in spite of the similarities, that one account is derived from
the other. We must allow that the narratives refer to distinct historical
events, and that where they resemble each other, this is due to coinci¬
dence, or rather to the presence of the same concepts in the minds of
those who related the two occurrences.
1 55
ent location,114 a fragment of rather less than 100 lines of He¬

brew, dating perhaps from the 12th century, which belonged
to the material from the Cairo Genizah and was first published
by Schechter in 1912.115 The Document is evidently part of a
letter from someone unnamed, who speaks of Joseph, king of
Khazaria, as a contemporary, to another anonymous person,
who, like Joseph, is referred to by the writer as “my lord” and
whose messengers have come to Constantinople by sea. It is
natural to think of this other person as Hasday ibn-Shaprut,
while the fact that the writer speaks of Khazaria as “our land,”
Joseph as “my lord,” etc. suggests that he was a Khazar Jew.
But what may be the relation of the Document to the Khazar
Correspondence is not clear. Kokovtsov regarded the Document
as formally an alternative answer to the Letter of Hasday, and
found the circumstance suspicious.116 The mutual silence be¬
tween both parts of the Correspondence and the Cambridge
Document is especially noteworthy. The Document appears to
know that Hasday has already sent envoys to Constantinople,
but not of either Letter or Reply. We may suppose therefore
that it was written before the Correspondence, and that the
envovs are Isaac bar Nathan and his company mentioned in
Hasday s Letter. But why, then, does Joseph in his Reply not
refer to a previous communication to Hasday from Khazaria?
Similarly, we might expect that Hasday would refer to the
Document, if he had received it. If the Document is later than
the Correspondence, it might be expected to refer to Letter or
Reply or both.
These difficulties can be got round by supposing that the
Document was sent, not from Khazaria, but Constantinople,117
perhaps when Isaac bar Nathan, Hasday’s special envoy, un¬
able to proceed farther, as is explained in the Letter, gave up
his intention of traveling to Khazaria and returned to Cordova.
This is very plausible, if it can be made out, with Dubnov,118
114 T-S Loan 38 in Cambridge University Library.

1,5 J.Q.R., m (1912-1913), 181ff. ' "*Op.cit.t Introd.
11T Mann, Texts and Studies, i, 8, n. 11.
^Weltgeschichte des jiidischen Volkes, rv, 481.
156
that R. Jehudah of Barcelona mentions the Cambridge Docu¬

ment as well as the Khazar Correspondence in the following
passage from his Sepher ha-'Ittim, already referred to, where
he says: "We have found a copy of another letter, which a Jew
wrote in his own language in Constantinople from the kings
[sic] of Constantinople and mentioning wars which occurred
between the kings of Constantinople and king Aaron, likewise
wars between the sons of the Gentile kings and king Joseph,
son of king Aaron, and likewise that the Khazars had become
proselytes and had kings who were proselytes. We have heard
that the account of all this is in the books of the Arabs [and
this is written in their books].” It has been argued that the
language of a Jew in Constantinople should be Greek rather
than Hebrew,119 and further that, as the Cambridge Document
represents the Khazar kings as Jewish from the first, not as
becoming Jews, it cannot be the same as that seen by R.
Jehudah.120 But these are minor criticisms, and it may be that
Dubnov’s identification is right. The Cambridge Document
certainly speaks of the Khazar conversion and gives a good
deal of information about the wars of the Greeks and others
with the Khazars in the time of Joseph and his immediate
predecessors. If the document was written in Constantinople,
it is readily understandable that neither Hasday nor Joseph
should mention it. (Hasday may be presumed to have received
it, when he wrote his Letter.)
But this does not solve other difficulties which the Cambridge
Document presents. If the account of the conversion in the
Reply is reliable, as it should be, what are we to say of the
alternative version of that event in the Document? Here we are
told that at an early date Jews arrived in Khazaria, apparently
from Armenia, and merged with the native population. The
Khazars at this time had no kings, but in time of war were com¬
manded by elected generals. It happened that on one occasion
a Jew (unnamed) became general. Later he came more directly
under the influence of the Jewish religion. News of this reached
1,8 Mann, loc.cit. 120 Poliak, “Conversion,” §3.
157
the kings of “Macedon” (the Greeks) and the Arabs, and en¬
voys were sent to expostulate with him (?). Their representa¬
tions apparently made an impression on other chiefs who re¬
mained unconverted, and it was resolved to hold a religious
debate. When learned men of the three religions had met and
debated without any satisfactory result being reached, the
Khazar chiefs recommended that certain “books of the Law of
Moses” should be brought out from a “cave in the valley of
Tizul” and explained by the Jews. This was duly done, and in
the sequel the Jews of Khazaria en masse repented of their
previous indifference and carried the rest of the population
with them to Judaism. Jews from “Baghdad, Khurasan and the
land of the Greeks” began to come to Khazaria. The Khaqanate
was established. The name of the Jewish leader (so far anony¬
mous) was changed to Sabriel, and he became the first king
of the Khazars.
In this account the religious change under "Sabriel” is repre¬
sented as a reformation carried through by certain Jews who
have long been resident in Khazaria, as well as "Sabriel,” his
father-in-law, unnamed, and wife Serah. There is a prima facie
case for Schechter’s suggestion that the conversion story in the
Cambridge Document is an expansion of what we read in the
Reply about religious activity under Obadiah, a descendant of
Bulan. Schechter conjectured that the name Sabriel, seemingly
unknown elsewhere, might be a corruption of Abdiel, Abdeel,
itself an alternative form of Obadiah with similar meaning
(“servant of El,” for “servant of Jah”). But the ingenious sugges¬
tion has to be disallowed. We cannot assume that in the first part
of the Document, now lost, there was an account of an earlier
conversion. To assume with Schechter that Sabriel is Obadiah
involves either that the debate under Bulan, which for some
reason the Document says nothing about, was repeated later
under Obadiah, or that the account of Bulans activity and his
successors to Obadiah in the Reply is a fiction. Both alterna¬
tives are cumbrous and improbable. We must therefore allow
that Sabriel is Bulan under a Hebrew name.
Perhaps the most striking point in the account of the con-
158
version in the Cambridge Document is what it says about an

accompanying constitutional change. This is neither more nor
less than the creation of the double kingship. It is explicitly
stated that the Khaqanate now appeared. After the conversion
‘ the men of the land appointed over them one of the wise men
as judge. They call his name, in the tongue of Qazaria [Kha-
zaria], Kagan [Khaqan]. Therefore the judges who arose after
him are called by the name of Kagan to this day.” The Docu¬
ment proceeds: “As to the great general of Qazaria, they turned
his name into Sabriel and made him king over them.” As
Schechter said, this appears to refer to the office of Beg.121
The existence of a shadow king, as the Khaqan to a consider¬
able extent appears to have been in the later period, at all
events, might suggest the supersession of one dynasty by
another, and Mas'udi evidently thought so.122 It seems, how¬
ever, among the Khazars to have been a feature connected with
their nomadic past rather than an innovation.12* In view of the
later situation, it is conceivable that the Khaqan represented
kings thrust aside by the Judaiscrs, whose leader established
himself as a kind of “mayor of the palace" to the old dynasty.
But this is not what the Document says. The Jewish general
did not set aside the Khaqan in order to hold power as the
first Beg of Khazaria, for there were no Khaqans till after¬
wards, according to this account. It is demonstrably wrong.
There is no doubt of the existence of Khazar Khaqans in the
first half of the 8th century, and Justinian II, for example, met
one of them.124 The only possible doubt is as to the existence
at this time of the Beg, though he too is nearly certainly at¬
tested. The Cambridge Document, however, says that after the
conversion the Khazars appointed a Khaqan as judge, sub¬
ordinate, apparently, to Sabriel, who became king. This re¬
verses the historical relationship, and as it stands is quite in-
221 Op.cit., 189.

122 Cf. his remark quoted below. Chapter VII.
123 Alfoldi’s view of the double kingship as derived originally from the
system of independent command in the right and left wings of the horde
is perhaps right, in his paper “La royaute double des Turcs” (2me Con-
gres Turc d’Histoire, Istanbul, 1937).
224 See Chapter VII.
159
version in the Cambridge Document is what it says about an

accompanying constitutional change. This is neither more nor
less than the creation of the double kingship. It is explicitly
stated that the Khaqanate now appeared. After the conversion
‘ the men of the land appointed over them one of the wise men
as judge. They call his name, in the tongue of Qazaria [Kha-
zaria], Kagan [Khaqan]. Therefore the judges who arose after
him are called by the name of Kagan to this day.” The Docu¬
ment proceeds: “As to the great general of Qazaria, they turned
his name into Sabriel and made him king over them.” As
Schechter said, this appears to refer to the office of Beg.121
The existence of a shadow king, as the Khaqan to a consider¬
able extent appears to have been in the later period, at all
events, might suggest the supersession of one dynasty by
another, and Mas'udi evidently thought so.122 It seems, how¬
ever, among the Khazars to have been a feature connected with
their nomadic past rather than an innovation.12* In view of the
later situation, it is conceivable that the Khaqan represented
kings thrust aside by the Judaisers, whose leader established
himself as a kind of “mayor of the palace" to the old dynasty.
But this is not what the Document says. The Jewish general
did not set aside the Khaqan in order to hold power as the
first Beg of Khazaria, for there were no Khaqans till after¬
wards, according to this account. It is demonstrably wrong.
There is no doubt of the existence of Khazar Khaqans in the
first half of the 8th century, and Justinian II, for example, met
one of them.124 The only possible doubt is as to the existence
at this time of the Beg, though he too is nearly certainly at¬
tested. The Cambridge Document, however, says that after the
conversion the Khazars appointed a Khaqan as judge, sub¬
ordinate, apparently, to Sabriel, who became king. This re¬
verses the historical relationship, and as it stands is quite in-
121 Op.cit., 189.

122 C . his remark quoted below. Chapter VII.
123 A foldi's view of the double kingship as derived originally from the
system of independent command in the right and left wings of the horde
is perhaps right, in his paper "La rovaute double des Turcs" (2me Con-
gres Turc d’Histcrire, Istanbul, 1937).
“4 See Chapter VII.
159
credible.125 But there is yet more. According to the Document,

the first Khaqan was one of the wise men, these presumably
being the “wise men of Israel” mentioned just before. But that
a Jewish rabbi was ever Khaqan of Khazaria, as seems to be
said, is beyond the bounds of possibility. It is quite possible that
Jewish judges were appointed after the conversion,12’5 but of
»« According to the Reply of Joseph the Khaqanate went back to the

origins of the nation: "The son sits on the throne of his father. This is
our custom and the custom of our fathers from the time that.they were
on the earth" We may here consider Zeki Validis view (Ibn-Fadltn,
270, 274) that the Khazar Khaqans belonged to a very ancient nihng
family among the Turks called in the Chinese sources Asena (Achena,
Ashihna, Assena) after an eponymous ancestor of that name (ct. M
Julien J.A., vi, hi, 1864; Chavannes. Documents, passim). ™s famUy
originally belonged to the Hiung-nu (Parker. Thousand Years.129) and
became the ruling group of the first Turk;sfi emP‘re/^'1<ueh’
Turks), providing Khaqans for both East and West Turks f Parker, ibid.;
Marquart, Streifl, 46). Zeki Validi finds that the Qara-khanids (llek
Khans) and the family of Borchigin Qayat. to which the Mongol con¬
queror Chingiz Khan belonged, were branches of the Asena dynasty in
later times. The principal basis for the view th.at K.ha.z-?^KhaT^S
were a branch of the same dynasty is a passage in Hudud al- Alam, ^,
according to which the king (Khaqan) of the khazars is one of the
descendants of Ansa." This name. Queried by Minorsky, is read Asna-
Ascna by Zeki Validi. The suggested new reading is very attractive. It is
no objection that similar forms (lsha, Abshad) are found in ibn-Rustah
and Cardizi for the second Khazar king (Beg). These forms have al¬
ready found an explanation (Chapter V). Zeki Validi regards it as now
certain that the ruling house among the Khazars was a branch of the
Kok Turks, or rather that it and the ruling house among the Turks were
independent branches of the same Asena family, on the ground that the
Khazars had no close connection with the Kbk Turks. Together with the
Asena family there existed in Khazaria other racial groups who in central
Asia were always closely connected with them, including doubtfully the
Uigurs (ibid., 270-271). , , r it a i
This is of course the same line of thought as has been followed in
Chapter II. It is somewhat remarkable that according to Bar Hcbraeus
(Syriac Chronicle, cd. Budge, 81v, col. l=transl. 232) the wife of the
Seljuk Malik Shah was the daughter of "Tafragh, king of the
"Tafragh" is evidently Tamghaj ibn-Bughra, the llek Khan (Tankh-i
Guzidah, 444). Though not impossibly the llek Khans were of Uigur
origin (cf. Barthold, Zur Geschichte des Chnstentums in Mittel-Asien,
1901 47ff), this is by no means to say that they were Khazars. It is a
question if Bar Hebraeus knew of a connection through the Asena with
Khazaria. Marquart had already conjectured that the Asena provided the
Khaqans of the Khazars (Streifz., 47). j .. ....
Jewish judges in Khazaria are mentioned by Istakhn and Mas udi.
160
a constitutional change on the scale indicated at this time there

can be no question. The Document gives the story of Bulan,
from a different angle and under a Hebrew name. To say that
he was of Jewish origin may be right, but it is more likely that
he belonged to the Turkish house from which earlier Khaqans
of Khazaria had sprung.1” Whatever Bulan may mean,128 the
name is evidently Turkish. The misinformation about the
Khaqanate could be explained by the impression which the
writer of the Document had gathered of the later situation of
the Khazar Khaqans and possible confusion of the title with
the Hebrew word for “wise,*' hakham. While the Cambridge
Document is not to be impugned as unauthentic on the score
of this garbled account of the conversion, one feels bound to
regard its other data, e.g., the wars of the Khazars in the 9th
and 10th centuries, of which it is almost the only testimony,
with increased caution.
Poliak has attempted to defend from the Arabic sources
what the Cambridge Document says about a political change
accompanying the conversion. This must be judged a complete
failure. His construction neither clears up the historical situa¬
tion128 nor offers the slightest ground for thinking that the
Cambridge Document is here reliable.
1=7 The Georgian Chronicle is said to give Bulkhan as the name of the
Khazar commander in the raid of 112/730 (cf. Poliak, Khazaria, 141;
Bury, E.R.E., 406, n. 1, citing Westberg in Z.M.N.P., 1908). Bulkhan
is not reducible to any of the forms of the name Barjik, otherwise at¬
tested as the Khazar commander on this occasion (cf. Chapter IV, esp.
n. 29). If Bulkhan is right and=Bulan, it seems preferable to admit that
the Khaqan accompanied the expedition rather than that Bulan was
simply the Beg.
128 According to Brutzkus (Enc. Jud., art. Chasaren) Bulan means
“wise,” but this is denied by Zaj^czkowski (Culture, §3). Poliak's re¬
marks are not very helpful ("Conversion,” §4; Khazaria, 141): Bulan is an
Arabicized (sic) form of some such Turkish name as balaban "hawk”—
otherwise it is "bear”—or qaplan "panther." Cf. the Khazar name rendered
Bulkhan, Buljan, Bluch'an (previous note and Chapter VII). Also per¬
haps ton Bokhanon, the name of the West Turkish commandant at Bos¬
porus in 576 (Menander, 404).
128 E.g., he treats the second part of Yaqut’s composite account of the
Khazars (see previous Chapter) as a "pre-conversion source.” It is in
fact ibn-Fadlan, as already given, written about 922.
161
If, then, the Cambridge Document has information which

either cannot be checked by any sources or positively contra¬
dicts what we read elsewhere, can it be relied on in such cases?
Dubnov130 and also Landau131 are evidently impressed by the
historical facts which the Document appears to give on the re¬
lations of the Khazars with other peoples shortly before the
correspondence. But how far can what it says be accepted? A
good deal of the data cannot be checked in any way. For ex¬
ample, it speaks of a war with the Greeks under Benjamin, the
grandfather of Joseph. Again, under Aaron, the father of Jo¬
seph, the Greek Emperor is said to have incited the Alans
against the Khazars. Under Joseph himself the Russians are
represented as attacking Tamatarkha,133 at the instigation of the
Emperor Romanus, and by way of reprisal the Khazars attack
Greek territory, taking several towns and apparently assaulting
the important center, Cherson.133 All this seems to be in some
disagreement with the account of Khazaria according to the
Greek envoys in Hasday’s Letter. Dubnov praises the objectivity
of the Document, which, he says, does not introduce the super¬
natural element in speaking of the conversion. But it would be
very desirable to test the objectivity with other information.
It is true that Constantine Porphyrogenitus, writing in a.d.
947-950 visualizes conditions in which the Alans may be used

against the Khazars.134 But we should like to know that on a
particular occasion about this time they were so used. In gen¬
eral, we scarcely read of war between the Khazars and By¬
zantines except in the Cambridge Document.
Various objections against the Document are raised by
Kokovtsov. His main count is that it is dependent in style and
content on Sepher Josippon. This being so, he argues, the Cam¬
bridge Document must be a compilation, not an authentic let¬
ter.13* The stylistic dependence alleged by Kokovtsov can
hardly be said to be established.136 As to the factual content,
which Kokovtsov thinks has also been influenced by Josippon,
130 Op.cit., tv, 480-481. 131 "Present Position," §4.
132 Kokovtsov, op.cit., 118, n. 4. 133 See below.
134 Cf. the passage cited below. 133 Op.cit., Introd.
138 Cf. Landau, "Present Position,” §4.
162
the two instances he alleges scarcely prove the point, i, The

writer of the Cambridge Document of course knows the later
name Khazaria (he writes regularly Qazaria), but is con¬
cerned to tell his correspondent that the old name was Arqanus.
This presumably goes back to Greek 'Urkanous. Where the
writer of the Document may have got it is a question. But it
is not obvious that Josippon is the source. Bar Hebraeus in a
notice of a.d. 1036 identifies Hyrcania with “the land of the
Khazars,”157 and if this is not proof of the validity of the state¬
ment in the Document, it at least opens possibilities other than
that the writer of the Document simply borrowed his remark
from Josippon.
2, Kokovtsov's other instance of presumed factual depend¬
ence on Josippon is the statement in the Document that "the
name of the royal city is Qazar [Khazar]* which, thinks
Kokovtsov, was borrowed from some lost version of the work.
Undoubtedly the reference is to Khazaran, which as we have
seen was the western half of the Khazar capital, where the king
lived.188 The Cambridge Document here gives authentic in¬
formation.
Kokovtsov considers the identification of the Cambridge
Document with the second letter seen by R. Jehudah of Bar¬
celona, as already referred to, and finds it unproven. Some of
the points he makes are not indisputable. He naturally also
refers to what is said about the Khaqanate in the Document
and characterizes it as fantastic.1”
It may be observed that the use of Waw conversive with the
Imperfect for the past tense is found in the Cambridge Docu¬
ment even more frequently than in the Letter of Hasday, and
in this respect it is at the opposite pole from the Long Version
of the Reply, thus:
Waw Conversive Simple Waw
with Imperfect with Perfect
HASDAYS LETTER 48 14
REPLY (L.V.) 1 95
CAMBRIDGE DOC. 57 8
137 Syriac Chronicle, ed. Budge, fol. 69, col. l=transl. 195.
138 Cf. Chapter V, n. 10. See above.
163
This result evidently confirms that the Cambridge Document

and the Reply of Joseph are from a different source.
Let us see whether the Document contains verifiable his¬
torical material. It refers several times to the Alans. The fa¬
mous pass and fortification of Dar-i Alan (Darial) in the
Caucasus figure constantly in the wars of the Khazars and the
Arabs earlier, and though we do not gather from the Arabic
sources that the Alans were at this period independent and
ruled by their own king,140 or that some of them were Jews,
both these indications of the Document are in themselves quite
credible. If we are to judge by what is said here in the Docu¬
ment and in Joseph’s Reply, their independence was qualified
and perhaps a matter of dispute.141 On the situation in the
10th century we have the following passage, already referred
to, from the De Administrando Imperio of Constantine Porphy-
rogenitus:142
“10. Concerning Khazaria, how war is to be made upon them
and by whom. As the Chuzz are able to make war on the Kha¬
zars, being near them, so likewise the ruler of Alania, because
the Nine Climates of Khazaria are close to Alania, and the Alan
can, if he wishes, raid them and cause great damage and dis¬
tress to the Khazars from that quarter. For the whole livelihood
and wealth of Khazaria consists of these Nine Climates.
“11. Concerning Fort Cherson and Fort Bosporus. As the
ruler of Alania is not at peace with the Khazars,143 but rather
holds preferable the friendship of the Creek emperor, if the
Khazars will not maintain friendship and peace, he can injure
them greatly by blockading the roads and attacking them un¬
expectedly when they pass through to Sarkil, the Climates and
Cherson. If the aforementioned ruler will take trouble to
hinder them, Cherson and the Climates will enjoy profound
X4° This is implied perhaps in the accounts of Marwan's expedition in

119/737. The Alan capital Magas (distinct from the fortress in the Pass
of Darial mentioned in Chapter IV) was destroyed in 1239 by the Mon¬
gols (cf. V. Minorsky, “Caucasica in,” B.S.O.A.S., 1952, xiv/2).
The Reply (L.V.) indeed claims that "all the Alans” were tributary.
x«a Ed. Bonn, m, 80. 143 Cf. n. 141.
164
peace. For if the Khazars fear an attack of the Alans and have
no freedom of attacking Cherson and the Climates with an
army, being unable to go to war with both at the same time,
they will be compelled to keep peace.”
In view of this passage it is perfectly credible when the Cam¬
bridge Document states that on one occasion in a previous
reign the Emperor stirred up the Alans against the Khazars.
But we do not read anywhere else that he actually did so.
So far as I know, the valley or plain of Tizul, where ac¬
cording to the Document there was a cave with books of the
Jewish Law, has not yet been identified. It may be suggested
that this name is the Greek Tzour, Arabic Sul, for the Pass of
Darband. Confirmation seems to be available in the other form
of the conversion story, for according to the Kuzari the scene
of the conversion was partly in a cave where certain Jews kept
the Sabbath in the mountains of Warsan. This should be the
same locality, at the east end of the Caucasus.
As already said, we get no direct information elsewhere
about the wars of the Khazars with the Greeks in the 10th
century. The so-called Fragments of the Gothic Toparch,144
a document written in Greek, apparently in the 10th century,
seem to refer to the Khazars, without naming them, as the
enemy to the north of the Crimea with whom the Gothic
toparch is fighting. Brutzkus has suggested that there is an
intimate connection between these Fragments, the Cambridge
Document and the piut at the beginning of the Letter of
Hasday.145 This may well be. As already remarked, it is reason¬
able to suppose that the poem of Menahem ben-Saruq cele¬
brated a definite victory of the Khazars in war, and presum¬
ably news of this had reached Spain in the Cambridge Docu¬
ment. If it was clear to the Khazar Joseph from the piut that
Hasday already knew of his military success, it is possible, pace
144 VVestberg, Die Fragmente des Toporca Goticus aus dem 10. Jahr-
hundert, M.R.A., 1902.
145 Pismo khazarskogo evreia, Berlin, 1924 (cited Landau, “Present
Position," §4).
165
Kokovtsov,'*' that he did not End it necessary to recall the recent

. Rpnlv We may go further than this. According
r^clb L, .he .®ck by «-«
S Tamatarkha a. .he i-**-
2 Khazar "Pesah" (? Paseah) attacked Greek territory. This
IfapârtfJceal the Beg of Khazaria (ei*er for Peh,
“ even>Pesah(Pe-sad{Pe-shad(Be-shad (Ebe-shad^ The H -
brew words Bu(o)lsh-tsi hu Besah hmygr are
at least clear that the last word (translated doubtfully by
Schechter as "the Reverer”) is a Fuel participle written de¬
fectively and to be read hc-meyuqqar. We^shoul1 no dmb
render "Bulsh-tsi, who is the honored Beg. The Begs fu
on a supreme commander seems well indicated by the com
text In the words of the Document: “He took three cities and
very many hamlets besides. From there he marched against
ShoJli) -nd fo«gh. .Pi- “

Cherson >*' If as seems likely the Document went on to say
ZlrX
that Cherson was captured by the Khazars, we ây suppose
that it is the city referred to in the pint at the beginning of
^Thlrfisânodier line along which it «"ay sho^n *e

Cambridge Document appears to contain h.storical maten .
Wc have§already mentioned that it presents a different accou
of the conversion and the events leading up to it from th
in the Replv of Joseph, with which latter in the main the
account in the Cosri (Kuzori) agrees. The Cambridge
ment also does not, it seems, stand alone. As has been md,
cated, the Letter of Hasday contains traditions cuirent .
Spain, which are evidently quoted with the intention of fil¬
ing out whether the Khazar king knows anything about therm
Hasday asks his correspondent to inform bim concerning h
root of the matter ... how Israel came to be in *at place
fi e Khazaria]. Our fathers have told us that in the beginm g
pk.« w. b«. my
. « f. i 147 Kokovtsov, 119, n. 9.
»: %% Kkhazar Correspondence, ed. A. Siproni, Tel Aviv, n.d.,
has "your settlement”

166
lord knows that Mount Seir is far from the place where he
lives. Our elders say that formerly it was called Mount Seir,
but persecutions prevailed, and they went out from affliction to
affliction, till they got possession of the land where they now
dwell. Also the old men of the former generation who can be
relied on have told us how on account of their faithlessness a
persecution was decreed, and an army of Chaldaeans rose up in
anger and wrath. They hid the books of the Law and the Holy
Scriptures in a cave, and for this reason they prayed in the
cave. On account of the books they taught their sons to pray
in the cave morning and evening, till the times were lengthened
and they forgot and no longer knew about the cave, why they
were accustomed to pray therein. But they practiced the cus¬
tom of their fathers without knowing why. After a long time
there arose a man of Israel who was eager to know why. He
entered the cave, found it full of books and brought them out
from there. From that day they set themselves to learn the Law.
Thus have our fathers told us, as the earlier generations heard,
the one from the other. The whole matter is ancient.” The last
words seem to exclude the possibility that Hasday is simply
rehearsing to Joseph some of the contents of the Document.
We may therefore see in Hasday’s Letter, which claims to
give a tradition current among the Jews in Spain, traces of
the account of the conversion offered by the Cambridge Doc¬
ument, diverging in certain respects from what may be called
the primary account in the Reply, e.g., the “man of Israel
who enters the cave bears a strong resemblance to Bulan-
Sabriel as he appears in the Document. But if the Document
contains existing tradition, it is an indication of authenticity.
The Spanish tradition, so to call it, seems also to have left a
trace in the Kuzari, viz. the visit to the cave.
The Document mentions historical characters, Oleg, the Rus¬
sian chief, and Romanus Lecapenus, but these are introduced
in such a way as to raise difficulties rather than solve them. In
the case of Romanus there is some confirmation for what is
represented as his persecution of the Jews in Mas'udi. An ex-
167
ample of coincidence between the Document and other sources

is afforded by the observation, ‘They say in our land that our
fathers were of the tribe of Simeon, but we do not understand
the truth of the matter .” This undoubtedly corresponds to what
is said in the narrative of Eldad ha-Dani about the tribe of
Simeon and the half-tribe Manasseh being in the land of the
Khazars.14* In the version of Eldad’s narrative given by Car-
moly the Document finds a yet closer parallel, for there one
reads: “The tribe of Simeon is in the land of the Khazars on
the river Itil [Atil]. The name of their king is Ezekiel [sic].
They are innumerable and take tribute from twenty-five king¬
doms. Many of the Arabs pay them tribute. The descendants
of Simeon speak Hebrew, Khazar, and Arabic, and are oc¬
cupied with the written and oral Law, with verbal tradition
and logical deductions, etc/’140 This version of Eldad has been
characterized as a forgery by Zunz151 and Neubauer,112 and
there is no reason to dissent from their finding. The name of
Ezekiel does not figure in the list of Khazar Khaqans in the
Reply and is quite likely to be a figment.153 In another work
published by Carmoly and also regarded as a forgery, Aqtan
cTMar Jacob, we read that "When the Khazars adopted Juda¬
ism, Simeon joined them.”154 In view of Eldad's doubtful au¬
thority and the dubious character of the publications of Car¬
moly, these citations hardly strengthen the case for the
authenticity, though it seems worthwhile to bring them to-
In general, the Document appears to contain historical fact.

The presence of Jews from the East in Khazaria at an early
date; the identity of Sabriel as the founder of Khazar Judaism
u9 D. H. Muller, Die Recensionen und Versionen des Eldad liad-Dani

(D.K.A.W.. 1892), cited Marquart, Streifz., 198, n. 3.
180 Eldad ha-Dani, Paris, 1838, end of pereq g'.
151 Gesammelte Schriften, Berlin, 1875, I, 157-8.
152 J-Q-R-, i» 114.
153 A Khaqan Zacharias is mentioned in the short Life of Constantine,
see below. Chapter VII. Steingass, Persian Dictionary, gives a Khazar
king called Ilyas, without further information.
184 Cited /. E., art. Simeon.
168
with Bulan; the later wars of the Khazars (especially the cam¬
paign, apparently under the Beg, against the Greeks)-these
are no doubt to be regarded as additions to our knowledge of
the Khazars. On the other hand, the Document gives some
information which is doubtful and some which is positively
false, e.g., the account of the Khaqanate. Possibly many of the
difficulties are due to the state of the text. Assuming that
Schechter’s dating of the manuscript is correct (12th cen¬
tury),185 there would at all events have been plenty of time
for corruption to take place. This may be the explanation of
why the Cambridge Document, which has struck several crit¬
ics as objective and historical, should also have given the op¬
posite impression.
Before concluding this account of the Hebrew sources bear¬
ing on the Khazar conversion to Judaism, it is necessary to say
something about certain fragments from the Genizah, which
have been published by Mann.158 The first is an incomplete
letter addressed to a woman, sent, the editor thinks, by Has-
day to the Empress Helena, wife of Constantine Porphyro-
genitus. Hasday is indicated by the mention apparently of the
writers good intentions towards the Christians of Cordova.
It is known that after Constantine got rid of Lecapenus, in 944,
his wife was very active in the government. As this letter pleads
for tolerance towards the Jews in Constantinople, it is reason¬
able to see in it another indication that the persecution of the
Jews under Romanus was a fact. The second fragment is ac¬
cording to Mann the heading of a letter to Constantine, un¬
named but eulogized in a way appropriate to that learned
monarch. The writer mentions that a communication from his
correspondent to the Caliph 'Abd-al-Rahman has previously
reached Spain. Presumably this letter too was written by
Hasday. Landau, who suggests that both fragments are part
of the same document, composed like the Letter of Hasday
by Menahem ben-Saruq, takes Poliak strongly to task for
arbitrarily supposing that the “Caliph -Abd-al-Rahman” is
155 Op.cit., 184. is« Texts and studies, h 21ff
169
•Abd-al-Rahman I.*" The test employed above (comparative

frequency of Waw converge and simple Waw with the Per¬
fect for a past tense) can hardly be applied here owing to he
fragmentary character of these Genizah documents. They did
not originally belong, it seems, to the same manuscript as the
Cambridge Document.'” Yet there may have been some kind
of collection of Hasdays correspondence in the Genizah at one
time. The existence of the fragments certainly tends to confirm
our impression that the Cambridge Document is not fraudulent.
We mav tentatively put together the picture which seems to
emerge, as follows. Sometime before 112/730, the leading Kha-
zars may have come under the influence of Judaism. The m-
dication of time in the Reply of Joseph (earlier than 961) is
to be rejected, but possibly the Reply's “340 years ago shou d
be read as "240 years ago.” This would give earlier than 721
for the first acceptance of Judaism by the Khazars. In 112/
a successful Khazar attack on Ardabil takes place, involvmg
the defeat and death of Jarrah ibn-'Abdullah, the Arab general
opposed to them. The situation is reversed in 119/737, when
Marwan imposes Islam on a defeated Khaqan. Shortly after
this the Arab armies withdraw, and the Khaqan accepts a
modified Judaism, apparently after a religious debate, circa
740, the date given by ha-Levi in the Kuzari. Two generations
later, circa 800,159 a descendant of the Khaqan accepts Ra
binic Judaism. The part played by Byzantium in these trans¬
actions has scarcely been alluded to and will have to be con¬
sidered in the course of the next chapter.
Ill Cambridge* Dwumenlt^3 Ko a page; Mann'* fragments. 25-26
remembered that this is approximately the date indicated

for the conversion by the Arabic sources (Chapter V. ad init.).
170
CHAPTER VII <♦*
TWO HUNDRED YEARS OF KHAZAR HISTORY
In discussinc the Judaism of the Khazars we have been led to

speak of events of the 10th century. We must now resume the
chronological sequence from 119/737, when Marwans expedi¬
tion into Khazaria took place, as related at the end of Chapter
IV’, and even retrace our steps for some distance before that
date.
As we have seen, there was contact between the Khazars
and Greeks circa a.d. 627 under Heraclius. Thereafter the
Byzantine writers appear to maintain silence in regard to the
Khazars till the days of the second Justinian, son of Constan¬
tine IV. In 695, after a reign of ten years during which he had
made himself intolerable to his subjects, Justinian II was de¬
posed, mutilated, and banished to the Crimea.1 It seems that
he resided quietly in Cherson for some years,* and then caused
great alarm by publicly declaring that he intended to recover
his lost empire. Leaving Cherson for Doros (Daras), the capi¬
tal of the Goths of the Crimea, he requested an interview with
the Khazar Khaqan. The Khaqan received the ex-Emperor with
great honor, listened to what he had to say, and gave him his
own sister in marriage.3 The Khazar appears to have been
called Busir.4 The name of his sister is given as Theodora. It
is not to be inferred that she was a Christian before marriage.
Rather, Theodora was a baptismal name,5 dating from the time
of her marriage or her husband’s restoration, and chosen by
1 Theophanes, ed. Bonn, 566; Nicephorus, ed. Bonn, 44.

2 Perhaps till a.d. 704; cf. Bury, Later Roman Empire, u, 360.
8 Theophanes, 571; Nicephorus. 46.
4 Bousiros (cf. n. 12, below) or Ibouziros (Vernadsky, Ancient Russiti,
251). Zaj^czkowski prefers Bazir, and Pritsak compares the name of a
9th century Qara-khanid, Bazir Arslan Khan (Der Islam, xxix, 99).
8 As in the case of Eirene, wife of Constantine V, see below.
171
HISTORY FOR TWO HUNDRED YEARS
Justinian II because the queen of his famous namesake had

been so called.6 With the permission of the Khaqan, Justinian
removed to Phanagoria,7 now Taman, on the east shore of the
strait of Kertch.
Meanwhile the Emperor, now Tiberius III, had heard of
what was happening, and sent repeated messages to the Kha¬
qan, offering him a large reward for Justinian alive or dead.
The Khazar prepared to sacrifice his recently acquired ally.
Under pretext of providing Justinian with a bodyguard, he
dispatched a troop to Phanagoria. Instructions were at the same
time given to his representative there, the Khazar Papatzes,
and to Balgitzes,* governor of Bosporus across the strait, that
the ex-Emperor was to be put out of the way. The plot was
disclosed to Theodora by one of her brother’s household and
she informed her husband. Justinian requested to see Papatzes,
with whom he had been on intimate terms, and, when they
were alone together, contrived to strangle him with a cord.
Later he disposed of Balgitzes in the same way. Having sent
Theodora back to her brother,* he himself proceeded in a fish¬
ing-boat to Cherson, where a number of his friends joined him.
The further steps by which Justinian recovered his throne
do not concern us here. Mas*udi gives a r£sum6 of these and
the following events, observing that Justinian did not like what
he saw among the Khazars and turned for help to Terbel, king
of the Bulgars.10 When he was again securely established in
Byzantium (a.d. 705), he sent a fleet to bring his wife from
Khazaria. The Khaqan, evidently willing that the past should
• So Bury, L.R.E., u, 358.

7 Otherwise Tamatarkha (Constantine Por., De Admin. Imp., c. 42),
explained as "tarkhanate on the gulf’ by A. Krymsky (cited Pritsak,
ibid.); Tmutorokan or Tmutorakan (Russian Chronicle, c. 52, etc.);
Samkarsh (ibn-al-Faqih, 271, cf. Marquart, Sireifz., 163; Reply of Joseph,
L. V.; Cambridge Document, cf. Chapter VI, n. 132). Cf. Theophanes,
545: Phanagourian kai tous ekeise oikountas 'Ebraious.
8 This name is usually compared with Bulsh-tsi in the Cambridge
Document. The latter Zaj^czkowski would read as Bulgi(Bolgi)tsi, Bal-
gichi, in the sense of "governor” (quoted Pritsak, ibid.).
9 Nicephorus (47) speaks of her father.
»•> Tanbih, 164.
172
be forgotten, wrote to the Emperor, criticizing him for not

having been content to send two or three ships instead of the
fleet (which had lost many ships on the voyage out by storms),
as if he wished to recover his wife by force.11 His letter also
brought the news that a son had been bom in Khazaria to the
Emperor. Theodora and her infant son were escorted to the
Greek capital by a certain Theophylact the chamberlain, and
were duly crowned as Augusta and Augustus. The Khazar
lady’s statue was set up in Constantinople near her husband’s,
and it is said that the Khaqan himself often sat there when on
a visit to the city.12
In the events which preceded Justinian’s final fall, the Kha¬
zar Khaqan played an important, even decisive, part. The Em¬
peror had retained a strong impression of the hostility with
which he had been treated by the inhabitants of the Crimea.
In 710 he sent a great armada to carry the 100,000 men who
are said to have been embarked. The commanders of the ex¬
pedition had orders to put to the sword the people of Cherson,
Bosporus, and certain other places.1* With them went two
prominent men, the spatharius Elias and a certain Bardanes,
who had been exiled by Tiberius III but recalled by Justinian.
Elias was the Emperor’s nominee for the governorship of
Cherson, when it had been reduced. On the other hand, the
presence of Bardanes with the expedition seems to have been
a mark of Justinian’s suspicion rather than special favor.14
This account in our authorities is not altogether satisfactory.
The stated aims of the armament—to punish the inhabitants of
cities in the Crimea and to set up a governor in Cherson—
could, it seems, have been attained by a much smaller force.
11 Theophanes, 575.
12 So the anonymous Parastaseis Suntomoi Khronikai (dating from circa
a.d. 750, according to Krumbacher) in Banduri, lmperium Orientate,
Paris 1711, i, iii, 90=Codinus, ed. Bonn, 166ff. The Khaqan's name ap¬
pears as Bouserou Gliabarou, the second part of which is rendered by
Zajqczkowski as Yalbars, Jilbar(s), (eg.. Culture. §4). Brutzkus is far
wrong in sayine that Busir-Culawar was the name of the daughter of
the Khaqan and means “Rose-gatherer” (Enc. Jud., art. Chasaren).
18 Theophanes, 578. 14 Cf. Nicephorus, 50.
173
Was there a serious threat at this time from the Khaqan? We

have noticed Khazar officials in Bosporus15 as well as Phana-
goria. In Cherson also there was a tudun as governor, repre¬
senting the Khaqan.16 This tudun had no doubt been sent to
Cherson after Justinian had quitted the town, probably in 704.
Otherwise, we may suppose, it would have been unnecessary
for the ex-Emperor to proceed to Doros before making con¬
tact with the Khazars. There is evidence enough to say that
the two most important cities in the Crimea were at least par¬
tially under Khazar control.17 The reason for Justinian s great
expedition may well have been to recover territory which was
in danger of being lost to the empire or had actually passed
into Khazar hands.
In any case, the consequences proved disastrous for Justin¬
ian. The Byzantine armament took Cherson without resistance.
A number of the children were spared, as well as some of the
principal men, including the Khazar governor (tudun). Others
met a wretched end. What had been done or omitted proved
not to be to Justinian’s liking. Orders came that the expedi¬
tion with their prisoners should immediately return to Byzan¬
tium. In spite of the late season-it was now October-the com¬
manders had no choice but to obey. Setting sail, they ran into
19 According to Bury (L.R.E., u, 358, n. 1), Bosporus was conquered

by the Khazars in the 6th century. This is too early. The passage which
Bury had in mind (Menander, 404) says that Bosporus was attacked
by the (West) Turks, coor>erating with the Utigurs {ibid., 399), circa
575. It has already been referred to in Chapter II.
“ Theophanes, 578; Nicephorus, 51. Tudun is a title, not a proper
name, as the editors, Classen and I. Bekker, and Bury (L.R.E., n, 363-
364) took it. Vasiliev (Goths, 85) mentions an attempted derivation from
Chinese tudun], "provincial commander,” and suggests that the Khazars
"may have assumed this title at that remote time when they were wander¬
ing as a nomadic tribe in Central Asia and were in contact with the
Chinese." The tudun appears to have been a governor appointed bv the
Khazar central authority, distinct from the elteber, or semi-independent,
hereditary prince, as among the Bulgars. But the system was evidently
not uniform. According to ibn-Rustah (140) the Burdas or Burtts were
subject to the king of the Khazars and possessed a mounted force of
10,000 men. They had no chief (ra'is), i.e., neither tudun nor elteber,
but in every locality one or two elders decided lawsuits.
” Cf. Bury, L.R.E., n, 359.
174
a great storm, which wrecked many vessels and caused the

loss of an estimated 73,000 lives. Justinian’s reaction to this
disaster indicates that his mind was unbalanced. He expressed
only satisfaction at the news and made preparations to dispatch
another armament,18 to level Cherson to the ground. Yet he is
to be acquitted of himself having supervised the torture of
leading citizens of Cherson by burning or drowning.19 This
was done in the Crimea, and not necessarily by his orders.
When news of what they must expect reached the Crimea, the
inhabitants determined to resist to the end. They made prepara¬
tions for defense and sought help from the Khazars. Elias,
governor of Cherson, and Bardanes declared against Justinian.
This development was duly reported to Byzantium. Realizing
perhaps, when it was too late, the seriousness of the situation,
Justinian sent out a mission headed by two of the leading men
in Byzantium, who were to restore the status quo as far as pos¬
sible in Cherson and reinstate the survivors, some of whom, in¬
cluding the Khazar tudun, now accompanied them. The diplo¬
mats were also to make apologies to the Khaqan (evidently
among other things for the removal of his tudun to Byzantium)
and to return with Elias and Bardanes, against whom Justinian
was now principally enraged. This was an impossible program
to carry out. At Cherson they were refused a hearing. On the
following day the principals were permitted to enter the city
but were there put to the sword. A force of 300 soldiers had
accompanied the envoys. These, with the former tudun of
Cherson, were handed over to the Khazars and sent off to¬
gether to the Khaqan. On the way the tudun died. The 300
Greek prisoners were at once slain in his honor, or rather as a
sacrifice to accompany him on his last journey.20
18 So Nicephorus. Theophanes appears to say that a fleet was actually

sent.
18 Bury (L.R.E., n, 363) is surely wrong in saying so; cf. Nicephorus,
50-51. Certain important words appear to be omitted in the text of
Theophanes.
20 The practice is vouched for among the Scythians of Herodotus,
Huns, etc.; cf. Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadlan, 138ff, 237.
175
Since they had murdered the ambassadors of Justinian, it

was a logical step for the insurgents to elect one of themselves
Emperor, and this they now did. Bardanes was chosen and
assumed the title of Philippicus. When Justinian heard what
had happened, he avenged himself in a shocking manner on
the family of Elias at Byzantium and dispatched a fleet
equipped with all the material for a mediaeval siege. Having
reached Cherson, the Greek commander Maurus proceeded
to reduce its defenses, and had overthrown two of the main
towers when the arrival of Khazar reinforcements produced a
lull in the fighting. Bardanes, or Philippicus as he should now
be called, uncertain of the result, took advantage of the new
situation to withdraw to the Khazar court. Maurus found him¬
self no longer strong enough to force an issue. Afraid of re¬
turning unsuccessful to Justinian, he decided to acknowledge
Philippicus as Emperor, and in this was followed by all his
men. But the Khaqan refused to hand over his guest, though
it was to his own countrymen who had already declared their
allegiance, until they had taken a solemn engagement not to
betray him, and further exacted from them a sum of money,
by way of security or as a ransom for Philippicus. This was
duly paid by the Greeks, and, no further difficulties being
raised by the Khaqan, Philippicus was received by his new ad¬
herents. Before many months had passed, he was established in
Byzantium, and Justinian and his son were dead.”
In the course of these events we see the Khaqan of the
Khazars bulking large on the stage of the Crimea, if not dom¬
inating the situation. By abandoning Justinian he appears to
have made the latter's downfall certain. Bardanes (Philippicus)
could hardly have survived without Khazar support. It does
not seem an exaggeration to say that at this juncture the
Khaqan was able practically to give a new ruler to the Greek
empire. The date was a.d. 711. The Khazars had emerged on
the Black Sea not many decades earlier.” A few years after
» Cf. Theophanes, 583. ” Cf. Chapter HI.
176
this they were ready to take the offensive against Islam (as
described).
It is interesting to notice that in 692, i.e., before his banish¬
ment and subsequent contact with the Khazars, Justinian II
permitted the Trullan Synod to issue its decree for the “up¬
rooting of Jewish perversity.”23 When Leo the Isaurian became
Emperor, one of his measures, passed probably in 720,24 was
the compulsory conversion of all Jews to Christianity. These
persecutions of the Jews of Byzantium are to be connected, as
Mas*udi indicates,25 with the adoption of Judaism by the Kha¬
zars. Sometime later, Leo the Isaurian married his son Con¬
stantine to a Khazar princess. The date is given as 732, i.e., a
year or two following the great Khazar invasion of the lands
of Islam recorded in the Hebrew and Arabic sources. The
events are hardly unrelated.2® That Constantine’s bride was
not originally a Christian goes without saying. Her name ap¬
pears to have been Chichak.27 She was baptized at the time
of her marriage and renamed Eirene. We are told of her that
"having learned the sacred letters, she became distinguished for
piety.”28 The expression “sacred letters” should mean more than
the Greek language, and possibly a knowledge of the Hebrew
Bible is intended. If the princess is credited with a knowledge
of Hebrew, it is attractive to think that she might have learned
it in Khazaria. There is a description of her husband in the
23 Bury, L.R.E., u, 326-327, 388. ’• Bury, op.cit., n, 431.
25 Cf. Chapter V, ad init.
29 Bury (E.R.E., 407) observes that the Khazar princess who married
Constantine V in 732 must have been the daughter or sister of the
Khaqan defeated by Marwan, adding that "in this period there were
circumstances tending to draw the Khazars in the opposite directions of
Christ and Muhammad. And this is precisely the period to which the
evidence of the Letter of Joseph seems to assign the conversion to
Judaism" (Bury, ibid.). Cf. Chapter IV, ad finem.
21 The scholiast on Constantine Por., De Caerimoniis Aulae Byzantinae,
I, i (ed. Bonn, 22) explains the name tzitzdkion for a certain kind of
state garment as a Khazar word, apparently derived from the name of the
Khazar Empress who introduced it. It is assumed, following Reiske (Con¬
stantine Por., ed. Bonn, n, 126-127) that the Khazar Empress was
Eirene, mother of Leo the Khazar. The words of the text tes Khazarikos
tes augoustis might equally apply to Theodora; cf. above.
28 Theophanes, ed. Bonn, 631.
177
12th century writer Zonaras which characterizes him as “neither

Christian nor Hellene [i.e., pagan] nor Jew, but a mixture of
impiety.”29 It seems possible that Zonaras thought of Constan¬
tine as a kind of Jew, with reference to his Khazar wife. These
indications are tenuous, but perhaps they confirm the presence
of Judaism among the Khazars at the time of the marriage of
Constantine and Eirene. On the other hand, there is no evi¬
dence in the Arabic sources that the Khaqan was a Jew when
in 737 he underwent religious instruction at the hands of two
Muslim faqihs*0
Constantine reigned from a.d. 740 (Constantine V) and hav¬
ing lost his wife about 747 remained a widower, as Bar
Hebraeus mentions, for three years.*1 Eirene had borne her
husband a son, who became Emperor as Leo IV, sumamed the
Khazar after his mother (reigned 775-780). A passage in the
De Administrando Imperio speaks of an Emperor Leo who
“took a wife from Khazaria” and “contracted a marriage al¬
liance with the Khaqan of the Khazars.”52 No Emperor Leo,
so far as we know, married a Khazar princess. Nor is Leo the
Isaurian acting for his son Constantine intended, but evi¬
dently Leo IV,” who in fact married an Athenian. It is re¬
markable that in this treatise the imperial author Porphyro-
genitus appears to have confused the facts.*4 From the same
passage we gather that a grant of robes of honor and certain
wreaths or crowns was occasionally made to the Khazars, here
described as one of the “unbelieving and unhonored Northern
” Ed. Bonn, ni, 265. *° Cf. Chapter IV, ad finem.

ai Syriac Chronicle, transl. Budge, 113.
a* Ed. Bonn, 83, 87.
83 This seems certain from the words describing his death, ibid., 84.
Cf. Bury, L.R.E., n, 479n.
*4 Gibbon has a remark about “the marriage of Leo, or rather of his
father, Constantine the Fourth, with the daughter of the king of the
Chozars [Khazars],” in which perhaps he tacitly corrects Constantine
(Decline and Fall, c. 53). Gibbon in general is not illuminating on these
Khazar relationships, and in this case Constantine V should be named.
Elsewhere he speaks of Constantine having “chosen a barbarian wife"
(c. 48), which is scarcely likely, seeing that the bridegroom was a boy
of 13 or so, and the match had obviously been arranged by his vigorous
father (cf. Theoph., 614, 631).
178
races,” by the Byzantine authorities. It would be natural if

Leo IV, as well as making improper use of state garlands per¬
sonally, as we are told he did,35 wished to bestow them on his
Khazar relations.
We may now pick up the thread of the narrative at the point
where we abandoned it in Chapter IV. The second Arab-Kha-
zar war had ended in the discomfiture of the Khaqan and,
according to the Arabic sources, his forced conversion to Islam.
The dissensions which vexed the Caliphate before and after
the accession of Marwan ibn-Muhammad enabled the Khazars
to recover. In 134/751, when the Abbasids were establishing
themselves in the distant province of Hind, the representative
of the old order there, Mansur ibn-Jumhur, was defeated and
killed. His successor, unequal to the contest, fled with the
harem and property of Mansur to Khazaria.38 Clearly at this
time the Khazar state was independent.
In 141/758 Yazid ibn-Usayd al-Sulami governed Armenia
for the Abbasid Mansur. A garrison was at this time established
by him at the pass of Darial. Later instructions came from the
Caliph, bidding his governor enter into a marriage alliance with
the king of the Khazars.*7 It is reasonable to suppose that the
Khazars were again felt to be dangerous, and this following
events showed to be a fact.
Yazid ibn-Usayd made ready to carry out his sovereign’s
wishes. We have an account of the magnificence of the caval¬
cade which brought the Khazar princess38 south through the
passes of the Caucasus. She was accompanied by tarkhdns39
and numerous female attendants and slaves. Ten covered
waggons—moving tents made of the finest silk, the floors of
which were spread with sable furs—contained her suite. Twenty
others carried the gold and silver vessels and other valuables
33 Ibid., 83. 3« Tabari, ra, 80.

37 Ya'qubi, n, 446; Baladhuri, 210. He was a son of Marwan’s lieu¬
tenant in 737.
38 According to Levond she was the daughter of the Khaqan (Vernad¬
sky, Anc. Russ., 288, citing Brosset, Histoire de la Georgie, i, 257, n. 1).
39 Tabari, m, 647.
179
which made up the dowry of the Khazar lady.10 The marriage

was celebrated perhaps at Bardha'ah, where the princess later
died at the birth of her son." The child also died, and the
Khazar attendants left for their own country, full of suspicions
of the Muslims and persuaded, it is said, that their mistress
had been treacherously killed. The Khaqan chose to regard
what had happened as an occasion for war.*-
Under a general whose name is given as Ras Tarkhan*3 the
Khazars poured south.** The territories of Hasnin (Hamzin),
«° Ibn-A tham al-Kufi, cited Zeki Validi. lbn-Fadldn, 120.

41 Tabari, loc.cit. .
42 It is here assumed that what Tabari relates under A-H- ]82 ™ 183
about a Khazar princess who goes as bride to the Barmecide Fadl ibn-
Yahya, then governor of Armenia, belongs properly to a h. 145. Under
a.h.' 183 Tabari offers alternative reasons for the Khazar invasion which
took place in that year. It looks as if his -daughter of the Khaqan

motivation is due to confusion with the events of 145. Cf. Marquart,
StTf* So YaÔbi!(Tabari, m, 328, Astrakhan). Ya’qubi calls him

further "king of the Khazars" (malik d-Khazar). There is no variant
Halis Tarkhin (cf. Chapter V, n. 21) in Yaoubi, m spite of Barthold
(£./., art. Khazar) and Zeki Validi (Ibn-Fadtin, 218 n.). Houtsmas
text by a typographical slip offers two notes (g), and Hans is a variant
for Halbas, not fir Ras, as these scholars assert. Houtsmas note on the
passage reads simply: (g) Ita cod., calling attention to the reading Ras
Tarkhan.—Tabari's Astarkhan, if original, perhaps means Tarkhan of
the As," (cf. Arsiyah in Mas'udi), As Tarkhan (not Astar Khan, as in
£./., art. Tiflis). There is more evidence for Yaqubis form Has larkhan,
which Marquart thought he may have got from an Armenian source
(Streifz., 355, n. 2). Variants of the Armenian form are Tarkhan Rai and
Razh Tarkhan (Streifz.. 5, n. 1 and 114). The latter is from Levond (ed.
Shahnazarean, 163), who says that the Khaqan of the Khazars sent a
great army under a general of that name, belonging to the horde ot the
Khatiriltber. Ya’qubi would thus be wrong in calling Ras J^Yhan king
of the Khazars, if by that the Khaqan is meant. Nor was he the Khazar
Beg. if Khatiriltber includes the title elteber, as seems likely. (Zeki
Validi explains Khatiriltber as a noble family among the Khazars, Ibn-
Fadlan, 106.) Tabari (loc.cit.) adds after the name Astarkhan the
Khwarizmian." This again suggests the Arsiyah, who are "from the
neighborhood of Khwarizm” (Masudi). Vernadsky’s observations on an
assumed Rus ( <Ras) Tarkhan (Anc. Russ., 285ff) appear very hazardous.
44 Ya’qubi seems to put the event in a.h. 141, while Tabari gives a.h.
147 for the invasion under “Astarkhan the Khwarizmian." But Tabari
(in, 318=ibn-al-Athir, v, 212) gives a Khazar attack on Armenia via
Bab in a.h. 145, and this year is also given by Bar Hebraeus (Synac
Chronicle, transl. Budge, 114). Possibly the events now to be described
lasted over several years. Yaqut (Buldan, i, 439) gives no date.
180
Lakz, and the Alan country in the neighborhood of Darial were

overwhelmed.43 The invaders continued their passage into the
lands of the Caliphate. The deputy of the governor was

routed.46 Yazid ibn-Usayd himself avoided an encounter.
Mansur on hearing the news dispatched a force of 20,000 from
Syria and al-Jazirah, which effected a junction with Yazid ibn-

Usayd. But the battle went against them, and they were obliged
to retreat. The situation was now alarming. Regular troops not
being available, the Caliph was forced to the extraordinary

expedient of opening the gaols and releasing prisoners, to the
number of 7,000, whom he armed and sent north. The army in¬
cluded masons and other artisans, and when the reinforcements
arrived their first task was to construct a number of fortifica¬
tions, which were speedily garrisoned and the Khazars in this

way contained.47 We hear of no other great battle. Shortly
afterwards one of these fortresses which lay to the west
(Kamkh) passed into the hands of the Greeks. Though at¬
tacked by the Caliph’s brother during a whole summer (151/
768), it was not retaken. This expedition is notable because
Khazar troops formed part of the Muslim army.4*

Mahdi succeeded Mansur as Caliph in 158/775. About 780
a young Arab of Baghdad, who afterwards enjoyed fame as
St. Abo of Tiflis, visited the Khazar country in company of
the Georgian prince Nerse. The saint’s life was written in
Georgian not very long after his death.4* Though no doubt the
product of cloistered ignorance rather than a firsthand relation
of fact, this record may contain genuine reminiscences of the
journey. According to its author, Nerse decided to leave his
45 According to Bar Hebraeus (loc.cit.) the Khazars took captive

50,000 people. The K. al-Unwan of al-Manbiji (Agapius of Mabbug)
has the same figure (ed. Vasiliev, Paris 1909, n, 543, cited Kmosko,
“Die Quellen Istachri’s etc.,” KSrosi Csoma-Archivum, 1921).
44 His name was Musa ibn-Ka’b (al-Manbiji, loc.cit.).
41 Ya'qubi, n, 447.
48 Assemani, Bibl. Orient., n, 113, citing Dionysius of Tel Mahre.
48 See K. Schultze, Das Martyrium des heiligen Abo von Tiflis, Texte
u. Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur, Neue
Folge, 13, 1905.
181
country in consequence of the vexations of the Arabs. Sending

his wife and children to neighboring Abkhazia, he withdrew at
the head of 300 followers through the pass of Darial to Kha-
zaria. No explanation of the visit is given, but it was doubtless
to solicit armed help. It appears from the friendly manner in
which he was received that Khazar policy was at this time
independent of the Caliph and disposed to conciliate the Chris¬
tians. Here, as in older accounts, Khazaria is styled the “Land
of the North,” and the Khaqan appears as the “King of the
North.” The legend connecting the Khazars with Gog and
Magog recurs in this Georgian account. If the Khazars are here
described as “wild men with hideous faces and the manners
of wild beasts, eaters of blood,”50 this too may be part of the
tradition rather than what was actually observed by the trav¬
elers. Yet the Armenian author Moses of Kalankatuk speaks
similarly of the “horrible multitude of Khazars with insolent,
broad, lashless faces and long falling hair, like women.”51 A
number of the towns and villages of Khazaria contained Chris¬
tians, and we are probably to understand that in Khazaria Abo,
for some time past an adherent of Christianity, was baptized
“by reverend priests.” In general, according to the writer, “the
Khazars have no belief, but recognize only a creator God."53
Nothing is said explicitly about the religion of the Khazar
king.83 It is not clear that the Georgian travelers ever reached
the Khazar capital on the Volga. Some time after his arrival,
Nerse asked leave of his host to depart to Abkhazia. The
Khazar acceded and sent the party on its way with many gifts.
They passed through “the land of the heathen, who believe in
no God”54 for three days and nights55 before reaching their
90 Schultze, 23.
91 Quoted Marquart, Streifz., 44, n. 4.
82 Schultze, ibid.
93 Zaj^czkowski draws attention to the interest shown at the Khazar
court in Constantine’s official post and status before assigning him his
place at the royal table as an authentic trait, pointing to the existence
of ancient Turkish traditions among the Khazars (“Culture,” §4).
94 Schultze, 24.
99 Vasiliev (Goths in the Crimea, 99) says that the journey took three
months.
182
destination. This detail of the distance to Abkhazia should be

reliable. Perhaps the Georgians found the Khazar king at a
camping ground far south of Atil.
Towards the end of the 8th century, in 786 or 787, the Goths
of the Crimea were attacked by the Khazars. Doros,56 their
capital and chief fortress, was besieged and captured and a
Khazar tudurx installed.57 Under their bishop John, the Goths
rose against the intruders and at first met with some success.
Eventually, however, the warlike bishop had to submit. While
in prison he is said to have healed the child of the Khazar
commandant.58 The Khazars did not retain possession of Doros
for long. A few years after this the town was in Greek hands.59
To turn again to the Muslim East, the Caliphate of Harun
al-Rashid—from 170/786—was marked by continual disturb¬
ances in Armenia. The Armenians had revolted on the death of
Mahdi and remained unsubdued during the short reign of
Hadi.fl0 Under Harun al-Rashid a succession of governors failed
to establish peace. Beyond the frontier, the Khazars seem to
have remained quiescent, not attempting to profit by the Ca¬
liph’s difficulties. In 180/796 a new governor, Sa'id ibn-Salm,
was appointed.61 For some time all went well. Then Sa’id gave
offence to the native aristocracy, and trouble began again. The
56 Doros has usually been identified with the impressive site known
as Mankup Qala (cf. Vasiliev, Coths, 47ff), but now the Russian archae¬
ologists claim that Eski Kermcn is mediaeval Doros (op.cit., 51, 129 n.).
57Ov.cit., 91; cf. 106.
58 The primary source is the Life of St. John of Cothia (in Act. Boll.).
It has been published with a commentary by Vasilievsky, Rus.-Vizant.
Issledovaniya, u.
69 For a toparch of Cothia after a.d. 795 cf. Vasiliev, op.cit., 105.
69 Ya’qubi, n, 515.
ai Tabari, in, 648. Two alternative accounts of the sequel are offered
by Tabari. The first seems properly to refer to an earlier incident, cf. n.
42. According to his second account, the Khazars are called in by a
certain •’ibn-al-Munajjim,” apparently "the son of the astronomer,” though
Munajjim is also a personal name. It should probably be corrected to
"ibn-al-Najm,” see below. This second account has been followed. It is
very unlikely that the loss of a daughter gave the Khazar Khaqan a
pretext for war against the Caliphate on more than one occasion. The
confusion may be due to similarity of name of the governors of Armenia
in a.h. 145 (Yazid ibn-Usayd) and 183 (Yazid ibn-Mazyad).
183
commandant at Bab was a certain Najm ibn-Hashim.82 The

governor caused him to be executed and installed another
officer in his place. His son threw off allegiance, killed Said’s
nominee83 and wrote to the king of the Khazars for assistance
against the Muslims.64 The Khazar responded to the appeal and
arrived at Bab with a large army, put in one account as high
as 100,000 men.63 Overcoming all resistance, the invaders swept
forward till they reached the river Kur (Cyrus). Here they
halted, but not before Harun had been seriously alarmed. His
first measures went awry, but for some reason the threat never
fully materialized. After causing widespread devastation in
which Christians, i.e., presumably Armenians, as well as Mus¬
lims suffered heavily, the Khazars retired with their prisoners.
When some time had elapsed, Yazid ibn-Mazyad al-Shaybani,
a former governor, arrived with full powers.88 By then the
Khazars had disappeared, and Armenia submitted quietly to his
rule. The invaders had been in the country for seventy days.
It was the last great Khazar exploit against the Arabs of
which we have a record (183/799).
The Georgian Chronicle has a story67 somewhat similar to
the episode involving the daughter of the Khaqan and Yazid
ibn-Usayd, which we have assigned above to 145/762. Accord¬
ing to the Chronicle, Juansher, the ruling prince of Georgia, had
Ya'qubi, n, 518. .
•» According to Weil (Ceschichte der Chalifen, n. 158) one reason al¬
leged by the historians (he cites ibn-al-Athir, ibn-Khaldun, and al-Yah i)
for the Khazar irruption circa a.h. 183 is that the Khaqan of the Khazars
had been killed by an Arab who wished to avenge the death of his
father. A possible source of this is the late writer al-Yafii, (his Mirdt
al-Jandn composed circa 750/1349). Ibn-al-Athir (vi, 54) and ibn-
Khaldun (m, 225) know nothing of any such fatality to a Khazar
Khaqan. The mistake is noted by Vasiliev (Goths, 92).
Tabari, loc.cit. t . ...
•» So ibn-al-Jawzi, quoted by De Goeje in Tabari, loc.cit. Otherwise this
was the number of Muslims stated to have been taken prisoner by the
Khazars.
••De* Goeje (Enc. Brit. ed. xi, art. Caliphate) mentions also Khuzay-
mah ibn-Khazim. In the text Yaqubi’s account has been followed. The
valor of Yazid ibn-Mazyad against the Khazars was praised by the poets;
cf. ibn-al-Athir, vi, 55.
67 Cf. Marquart, Streifz., 416ff.
184
a beautiful young sister. Her fame having reached the Khazar

Khaqan, he sent an envoy with a proposal of marriage, prom¬
ising in return to help the Georgians to resist the Arabs. The
mother and brother of Juansher strongly disapproved, and the
girl herself spoke scornfully of the Khazar. Three years passed,
and the Khaqan sent his general Bluch'an into Georgia. Bluch'an
(in the Armenian version of the story Buljan)88 captured the
castle of Juansher, taking him and his sister prisoners. As they
were being escorted to Khazaria through the pass of Darial, the
princess took poison. Bluch'an reached the Khaqan’s court and
told of the death of the prospective bride. The Khaqan re¬
quested to see the body and, enraged that it had not been
brought to him, gave orders that his general should be pun¬
ished by death. A rope was placed round his neck and the ends
were given to two horsemen, who then rode apart, so that the
head was tom from the trunk. After seven years’ imprisonment,
concludes the story, Juansher was permitted to return to his
kingdom.
Marquart would connect the Khazar attack on Georgia under
Bluch'an with the events of 183/799.” Certain points in the
tale seem authentic. It is consistent with what we find else¬
where that the Khaqan should request the daughter of a neigh¬
boring ruler in marriage in a peremptory fashion, and that he
should have absolute power of life and death over a general
and even the Beg,70 who may be intended in the story. On the
other hand, the Khaqan is represented apparently as a heathen,
not a Jew. The story can hardly be adduced, however, as evi¬
dence that the Khazar conversion had not yet taken place.
In the reign of the same Juansher, it appears that the Abkha¬
zian prince Leo, son of a daughter of the Khazar king,71 i.e.
presumably the Khaqan, made himself independent of the
Greeks with the help of the Khazars. This is one of the few
occasions when we find them opposing the Emperor.
88 Marquart, ib. 417, n. 2. For the name, cf. Bulan, Bulkhan (Chapter
VI, n. 127).
69 Streifz., 417. 70 Ibn-Fadlan, Chapter V.
71 Marquart, Streifz., 422. Cf. Barthold, E.7., art. Abkhkz.
185
In or about 218/833 the Khaqan and Beg of Khazaria7- ap¬

plied to Byzantium for help in building a fortress on the Don.73
The Emperor Theophilus sent a naval squadron which pro¬
ceeded via Cherson and the Sea of Azov to Khazar territory.
Somewhere on the Don the Greeks built a fortress of brick,
in Greek Aspron Hospition (Constantine Por.), or Leukon
Oikema (Theophanes Con.), and called by the Russians Biela
Viezha.74 The Khazars themselves spoke of Sarkil” All these
names meant much the same, the White, or Yellow, House, or
Castle. Sarkil can be explained in this sense from the Chuvash
dialect of Turkish,76 a fact which appears to provide a key to
the statement of Istakhri-ibn-Hawqal, enigmatic in view of the
Turkish affinities of the Khazars, that their language was dif¬
ferent from Turkish.77 For Chuvash is characterized by substi¬
tution of /, i and r for sh, a and z of the majority of Turkish
dialects, e.g. Ottoman Turkish. A "Lir” Turkish dialect, to use
the convenient expression, was no doubt incomprehensible, like
Chuvash in modern times,78 to “Shaz” Turkish speakers, and the
remark that the Khazars did not speak Turkish is probably to
be explained in this way. The language of the Volga Bulgars
probably also belonged to the Lir Turkish group, and hence
no doubt the Bulgar language is said by Istakhri-ibn-Hawqal
to be like that of the Khazars.7*
As to the purpose of the fortress, presumably it was intended
for defense against an enemy coming from the west. Who this
enemy may have been is not perfectly clear. The Pechenegs,
suggested by one of the Creek sources which speak of the in-
72 Constantine Por., De Admin. Imp., c. 42; Theophanes Contin., 122.

73 The exact site is doubtful. Vernadsky (Anc. Russ., 305) places it
on the left bank of the Don at the mouth of the Tsymla river. According
to Marquart (Streifz., 474), Sarkil lay at the mouth of the Don.
78 Cf. Chapter IX.
78 Reply of Joseph, L.V.: Sarkil (Sharkil).
78 It can be explained similarly, according to Zajqczkowski, from com¬
mon, i.e.,Shaz, Turkish (quoted Pritsak, Der Islam, xxlx, 99), see below.
77 Cf. Chapter V. 7? Barthold, E.I., art. Bulghar.
7» Cf. Chapter V.
186
HISTORY FOR TWO HUND
RED YEARS
cident, are not known to have passed west of the Don till
suty years later," though earlier bands may be thought of-
Mas’udi, m a passage yet to be quoted, describing an expe-
aSTb n Tr ,0 the Caspian by way of ,he sea °f Azov

and the Don-Volga route in 301/913, mentions a Khazar strong
point somewhere along their course, at which troops were regut
w!th f STt TnSl ,he GhUZZ " This rniSht be Entiled

th Sarkil. It has also been thought that Sarkil was built
against the Magyars." Perhaps rather the enemies of the Kha-
zars in this quarter were already (218/833) the Russians
w,s*—■* —
ReSnlvk'nfdT0UbtIrSuma!ned 3 mil',ary P°St- 11 is ™«ned in the
Rep!) of Joseph, but docs not appear in the lists of Khazar
towns given by Muqaddasi and Hudud aUAlam« nor else¬
where in the Muslim sources. For this reason alone Poliaks
suggestion that Sarkil was the center of one of the four princi¬
palities into which, according to him, Khazaria was divided, is
*°See below.
Peche"^ “ving east of

by Uudud al-'Alam, {$20 47 “J,
Caucasus, who had left theirJ.TJ^Tla" Pecheneg5 °f th=
Va'idi’ ••V°U--haf,en.-^5T PS * C°mpany
statement (143) tha,

the Magyars and other neii»h/L cmselves with a ditch against
schaften," 51 52 neighbou"ng Peoples. Cf. Zeki Validi, “V6lker-
Bu, Bury
(51, 355)fdAUlhaBuVhlr°srmae '0W”S repea,ed in **» places

Bayda, KhamlJ(,Bala^/’^
in the province of Saqsin according tn Ah' B?^ndt ,* flourishing town
T“' • sa; st wrs
187
unacceptable.88 Still less was it the capital of Khazaria, as others

have supposed.87
Several Arabic sources report a story which, if it does not
afford a glimpse of the real Khazaria, at least presents the
Khazars as seen by Arab eyes in the 9th century.88 It is said
to have been told in the company of al-Fadl ibn-Sahl, the well-
known vizier of al-Ma'mun (813-833), by a Khazar ambassa¬
dor.89 On the occasion of a famine, the Khatun, sister of the
Khazar king, by her wise advice caused the Khazars to submit
themselves as a people to God’s will, with the result of securing
early relief from their predicament.90 The words ascribed to
the Khatun are sufficiently commonplace. It is significant, how¬
ever, that in one version the Khazars have recourse first to “the
door of the inferior king,” apparently the Khatun’s brother, and
then to “the door of the superior king." The Khaqan and Beg are
plainly indicated, and the trait seems authentic.91 Al-Fadl ibn-
Sahl was one of the most powerful men in Islam, and it is natural
that the Khazar ambassador should have visited him. On the
other hand, we scarcely hear elsewhere of any Khazar mission
to Baghdad. Nor is there any indication that Khazar women
played an important part in affairs, though this would be nat¬
ural enough, certainly in the case of ladies of the highest rank,
among a Turkish people. In the story, after her successful in¬
tromission in politics the Khatun is apparently invested with the
kingship. This detail at least seems pure fiction. Again, the con¬
tent of the speech ascribed to the Khatun does not imply
Khazar Judaism.
Poliak ("Conversion,” §2) does not attempt to prove that the
Khazar empire was so divided and he has modified the view in Khazaria,
43-55, but cf. 218.
87 E.g. Slouschz in Melanges H. Derenbourg, 72, 76.
88 Found in the K. al-Musiajdd min Fa'aldt al-Ajivad of al-Tanukhi (d.
384/994), ed. L. Paully, Stuttgart, 1939; the Zahr al-Addb of al-Husri (d.
after 413/1022; and the Sirdj al-Muliik of al-Jartushi (d. circa 520/
1126). But the tale goes back to Jahiz (d. 255/869).
89 The date is not later than 202/818, the year of al-Fadl’s death.
90 Zahr al-Addb, ed. Zeki Mubarak, i, 254-255.
9* Sirdj al-Muluk, ed. Cairo 1306, 152, cited Zeki Validi. lbn-Fadldn,
264.
188
r
It is said that the Jews of Iraq entertained hopes that the Kha-
zars would destroy the Caliphate.92 How real the threat was at
different times we have already seen. A certain light is thrown
on the situation by the accounts of the fall of Afshin.93 This
man, a Turk of Usrushunah and one of the ablest of Mutasim s
generals, was disgraced and fell from power in 225/840. Shortly
before his apprehension, it is said, he had planned to escape
via Mosul and Armenia to Khazaria, whence he hoped to reach
Turkestan and return to the lands of the Caliphate at the head
of an army.94 Clearly he entertained or at least was suspected
of very grandiose schemes. He is said to have been in cor¬
respondence with the Greeks, and to have contemplated mak¬
ing use of the Khazars against the Muslims. When he was put
on trial, the accusation was an unusual one. It was alleged that
he was a Magian-an adherent, that is, of the proscribed re¬
ligion of Zoroaster-and evidence was produced which at least
gave color to the charge. This can have had nothing to do with
the Khazars, for although one text describes them as Magians,95
there is no corroboration that this faith ever flourished in their
country.™ The statement that the Khazars were Magians is on a
par with others which make Zoroastrians of the Vikings who
harried the coast of Spain, or the pagan Rus. Vernadsky's sug¬
gestion that the original religion of the Khazars involved adora¬
tion of fire appears baseless.97
A reference in the Kitab al-Aghani9S to a young Khazar page
or slave who attracted the attention of the poet abu-Tammam
(ob. perhaps in 231/846) raises the question of people of Kha¬
zar extraction living under the Caliphate. Undoubtedly there
82 Harkavy in the Kohut Memorial Volume, 244-in Hebrew-citing

the Magid, 1877. 6
83 Cf. E. M. Wright, “Babak of Badhdh and al-Afshin during the years
816-841," Muslim World, 1948, 43-59.
84 Tabari, m, 1305.
83 Tabari, Ikhtildf al-Fuqaha, ed. Schacht, Leiden 1933, 200.
98Zeki Validi (Ibn-Fadlan, 319, n. 1) suggests the possibility of
Buddhists among the Khazars, but it is virtually certain that neither
Buddhism nor Zoroastrianism ever influenced them to any extent.
87 Enciclopedia Italiana, art. Chazari.
88 xv, 107.
189
i"
were such. Perhaps best known are Ishaq ibn-Kundaj (or

Kundajiq) al-Khazari, already referred to, and Tak.n .bn-
•Abdullah al-Khazari, who was three times governor of Eg>pt
(flor. circa 920). Both were apparently soldiers of f°rt“ne
rose to power in the Caliphs service. 'Abdullah ibn-Basht*a
al-Khazari, who has also been mentioned earlier, was perhaps
a disaffected subject of the Khaqan. There were also people of
humbler rank, like the 300 families who in 8o4 left Khawna
because of their desire for Islam," and having arrived at Bab,
were settled by the governor of Armenia and Adharbaylan in
a northern town.- A number of traditionists are mentioned
whose names suggest a Khazar origin.- Some of these doubt¬
less were connected with the town of Darband-i Khazaran
(Bab) and hence used the nisbah al-Khazari, though of Arab
or mixed origin, but others may well have been Khazars pur
sane. We do not get the impression that Khazars in the lands
of Islam were particularly numerous, but certainly they existe
in various spheres of life.103
The Caliph al-Wathiq (227/842-232/847) is said to have sent
the learned Muhammad ibn-Musa al-Khwarizmi at the begin¬
ning of his reign to “Tarkhan, king of the Khazars. If it is a
fact that al-Khwarizmi visited Khazaria, very probably he did
so for scientific purposes.- The notice is given only by Muqad-
dasi - The visit of a certain Sallam the Interpreter to kha-
zaria"15 a little later is better authenticated. We are not here
»• cf. Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadlan, 109.

100 Shamkur (Baladhuri, 203); cf. Marquart, Stretfz., 412.
*o* Cf. Sam'ani, Ansdb (C M S.), fol. 198-

jo: For Khazars at Samarra, cf. Chapter VIII, n. oj. .„ . n a c
ios cf. D. M. Dunlop. “Muhammad ibn-Musa al-Khwanzmi, /.R.A.S.,
1943, 248-250.
lolz^kiâMi ]Ubn2Fadlan, 198, n.) used for Sallam’s journey the

complementary’ references in “>n-Khurd4dhbih, Jdri£
and Muqaddasi. To these may be added ibn-Rus ah (149 ) Vazwini
(Cosmography, ed. Wustenfeld, .128) and Nâyr. (.. 374 c,t,ng Idn«).
Barbier de Meynard in his translation of .bn-Khurdadhb.h (M.1865
241 n 1) says “Mukadessy ajoute ici un fait que )e n ai trouve dans
aucune autre version: Wathiq avail env°y>pr^den*rnentl astronome Mo¬
hammed fils de Mousa, originate du Kharezm, chez le Tharkhan, roi
190
HISTORY r U R IWU n u in ur tu
concerned with the itinerary of Sallam’s journey except as it re¬

lates to the Khazars, but something has to be said about the
circumstances. Sallam dealt with the Caliph’s Turkish cor¬
respondence and is credited with knowing thirty languages.106
The account of his journey was given verbally to ibn-Khur¬
dadhbih, from a written memoir prepared for the Caliph. Ac¬
cording to this, Wathiq, becoming alarmed to think that the
“Wall of Gog and Magog” had been breached,107 commissioned
Sallam to proceed to it and investigate. Furnished with a letter
from the Caliph to Ishaq ibn-Ismail ibn-Shu'ayb, the governor
of Armenia,108 Sallam started for the Caucasus and reaching
Tiflis, met the governor and gave him Wathiq’s instructions.
Ishaq ibn-Shu'ayb sent the party on to the ruler of the Sarir,
with whom he was on good terms, and from the country of the
Sarir they successively reached the king of the Alans and the
Filan Shah. The latter wrote in the interests of the travelers
to ‘Tarkhan, king of the Khazars." The information about
Khazaria in Sallam’s account is very meager. We are told that
his party remained with the king only for a day and a night,109
or for five days.110 Ibn-Khurdadhbih gives the same name to
the Khazar ruler as does Muqaddasi for a year or two earlier.
But it is difficult to think that it is authentic. Tarkhan is a
Turkish title rather than a proper name. We have met it several
times already as the designation of subordinate officers. It
would seem that in the account either ‘Tarkhan" has been sub¬
stituted for something else,111 or, if Tarkhan is right, another
name has to be supplied before it, as in the combinations
Hazar Tarkhan112 and Ras Tarkhan.112 Muqaddasi’s use of the
des Khozars. Ce voyageur se joignit a moi, etc.” (i.e., to Sallam). This

is not what is said in Muqaddasi, ed. De Goeje, 362.
109 Ibn-Rustah, 149; ibn-Khurdadhbih, 163.
107 Cf. a tradition of Muhammad's alarm for the same reason (Bukhari,
cd. Krehl, 60, 7) and similarly Qazwini, Cosmography, n, 417.
108 a governor of Armenia in Wathiq’s Caliphate is apparently re¬
ferred to by Moses of Kalankatuk (ni, 20, cited Marquart, Streifz., 462)

as “Khazr patgos.”
i°» Ibn-Khurdadhbih, 163. 110 Qazwini, i, 128.
m Cf. “Khaqan, king of the Khazars,” e.g., Ya qubi, n, 518.
n* Cf. Chapter IV. 112 See above.
191
V* -c ~ ***»’ ■■-***■
same expression is hardly confirmation for its authenticity, for

Muqaddasi (writing circa 375/985) doubtless makes use of
what he found in his sources for Sallam’s journey.1 “
There is no reason to suspect, in its main outline at least,
what is said about Sallam’s journey by his contemporary ibn-
Khurdadhbih. The case is somewhat different for various stories
which were later connected with Sallam’s name and cited on
his authority. One of these speaks of an “island of sheep
otherwise unknown, lying “between the Khazars and the Bui-
gars,” which Sallam is said to have reached by ship.115 Another
mentions a kind of mermaid, seen by Sallam while in the com¬
pany of the Khazar king.11* Neither of these stories occurs in
the account of ibn-Khurdadhbih.
A year or two before Wathiq became Caliph, the overthrow
of the powerful Uigur state (a.d. 840) brought about a revo¬
lution in Asia. It has been suggested that rumors of this reached
the Caliph and caused him to send out the expedition just re¬
ferred to.1” In that case it is remarkable that Sallam was
ordered to proceed to the Caucasus, not directly into central
Asia. The journey was, however, conceived by the Caliph as to
the “Wall of Cog and Magog." Gog and Magog and the wall
built by dhu-al-Qarnayn (Alexander the Great) to contain them
are of course mentioned in the Quran.11* The cryptic passage
was at an early date explained to mean the Caucasus fortification
(dating from pre-Islamic times) known as the Wall of Dar-
band.119 Hence doubtless Sallam was sent first to Wathiq s gov¬
ernor in this quarter. There is a tradition in Tabari, already
glanced at,1" which, if known to Wathiq, may have contributed
to turn his thoughts to the Caucasus. According to this, the Per¬
sian governor of Darband, some time before the arrival of the
Muslims, had sent out an expedition to Alexander's Dyke. The
general 'Abd-al-Rahman ibn-Rabi'ah is said to have been pres-
read that the king of the Khazars
**« Yet in Hudiid al-Alam, §50 we
is called Tarkhan Khaqan.
ns Qazwini, loc.cit. *1C Ibid., cf. n, 418.
117 Marquart, Streifz., 90. Sur. 18, 91-97.
**» Cf. Chapter I. **o In Chapter III.
192
ent when the leader of the Persian expedition returned ex¬

hausted after two years of travel. This man is represented as
having reached the Dyke and is made to describe it in terms
similar to the account of Sallam in ibn-Khurdadhbih.m It is
impossible to be sure that Tabari’s story is authentic, but evi¬
dently it was current about the time of Sallam’s expedition.
Sallam’s nationality is not clear. It is perhaps most natural to
think of him as an Arab, but it is not excluded that he was a
Khazar who had taken service with the Caliph. He may have
been a Khazar Jew.122 In any case, it would appear that after
reaching Khazaria, he knew or was directed where to go to fulfill
Wathiq’s commission. Mention is made of five guides—the com¬
paratively large number apparently for a long journey—which
the king of the Khazars assigned him.125 The suggestion is that
there was some knowledge of and interest in central Asia
among the Khazars at the time. Unfortunately it is quite im¬
possible to gather from Sallam’s account how far Khazaria
extended to the northeast.
We have already referred to the governor of Armenia and
Adharbayjan who in 240/854 permitted a number of Khazar
families to pass by way of Bab al-Abwab into the lands of
121 Successive courses of bright and dark material (copper and iron)
are the most prominent feature of both accounts, which of course may
be influenced by the Qur’an passage, in which iron and molten brass are
mentioned. Sallam at any rate should be reporting something which he
had seen. Perhaps Sallam came eventually, as Zeki Valid! thinks (Ibn-
Fadlan, 196 n.) to the Iron Gate, Talka, north of Kulja in the Tien Shan.
Marquart (Streifz., 86) follows De Coeje (De muur van Gog en Magog,
87) in supposing that the Great Wall of China is meant. Count E.
Zichy ("Le voyage de Sallam I'interpr&te,” K6rosi Csoma-Archivum, i,
193ff) found that the Wall of Gog and Magog was some passage in the
Urals, but this does not seem particularly likely. Yet a passage in the
Chester Beatty ms. of Istakhri represents the Wall as “behind Arta
(Artha),” a Russian province or people (cf. Chapter V). Another al¬
leged visit to the Wall in the time of the Prophet is described by
Damir!, Hayat al-Hayawbn, ed. of Cairo, a.h. 1284, n, 478, s.v. Yajuj
wa-Majuj.
122 The name Sallam was occasionally carried by Jews, e.g. Sallam
ibn-abi-al-Huqayq (Ya’qubi, n, 51).
123 Ibn-Khurdadhbih, 163. Zeki Validi (“Volkerschaften,” 52) mentions
a two months' journey from Khazaria to the Wall. Cf. ibn al-Faqih, 298.
193
Islam. This was Bugha the elder.124 He settled the immigrants
on the old site of Shamkur and renamed the place Mutawak-
killyah, in honor of the reigning Caliph. He is also said to have
brought 3,000 families of Alans (As) through the pass of
Darial,125 these too perhaps subjects of the Khazar Khaqan.
About the same time he attacked the Sanariyah, a Christian
group living in the mountains north of Tiflis.120 Repulsing his
first assault, they opened communication with the Khaqan, as
well as with the Greek Emperor and the ruler of the Slavs.127
There was no intervention, it seems, as a result of these
demarches, but Bugha was soon recalled. In one account he
is said to have come under suspicion of being himself in trea¬
sonable correspondence with the Khazars, who are described
as his fellow-countrymen.128
About 833, as already mentioned, Khazar envoys visited Con¬
stantinople to solicit Creek help in building Sarkil. Later in
the century an embassy from the Khaqan to the Emperor
Michael III, perhaps in 860, brought a request of quite an¬
other kind, that persons might be sent them to explain Christi¬
anity.12* The Patriarch Photius advised the Emperor to send to
Khazaria a pupil and protege of his, Constantine,130 and this
Michael agreed to do. Photius may have felt a direct and per¬
sonal interest in Khazaria, for possibly he was himself of
Khazar extraction. So, it seems, we might best explain the
epithet “Khazar-face,” applied to him once in anger by the
Emperor.131
Constantine proceeded via the Crimea to Khazaria. He re¬
mained for a time in Cherson, studying the Khazar language,
»2« Baladhuri, 203.

Georgian Chronicle, cited Marquart, Streifz., 412.
128 Cf. Minorsky, HudUd, 400ff.
222 Ya'qubi, n, 598.
128 Georgian Chronicle, ibid.
*2® Marquart, Streifz., 13fF; Bury, E.R.E., 486-487; Vernadsky, Anc.
Russ., 388. The work of Dvomik (Les Ugendes dc Constantin et de
Mtthode vues de Byzance. Byzantino-Slavica Supplementa, i, Prague
1933) is frequently referred to bv Zajqczkowski, “Culture."
230 Often called Cyril, the Apostle of the Slavs.
131 Symeon Magister, ed. Bonn, 673.
194
or according to another account Hebrew and Samaritan132 (?).
Then by the Don-Volga route133 he traveled to Atil, and down
the Caspian coast, till he met the Khaqan,134 possibly at Saman-
dar.135 A disputation was held,136 represented as a victory for
the Christian protagonist, but only 200 persons are reported to
have been baptized. Though Constantine made a good impres¬
sion on the Khazar chief, his mission was evidently not very
successful. Some time later he returned to Constantinople.
The religious disputation took place in the presence of the
Khaqan between Jews versed in Scripture on the one hand, and
Constantine on the other. From this Zajaczkowski137 rightly
concludes that in the middle of the 9th century the followers
of Judaism were very important and even the decisive factor
at the Khaqan’s court, though he is careful to state, following
Dvomik,13* that there is no direct evidence here that the Kha-
zars were already converted to Judaism. On the other hand,
the accounts of Constantine’s mission can hardly be used to
show that the conversion to Judaism did not take place until
a little later. The character of the Khazars as Judaized Turks
has constantly to be kept in mind. This probably means that
their Judaism-limited no doubt in any case to a comparatively
small group-was always superficial. That they were liable to
relapse to paganism may be implied by what is said in the
Reply of Joseph about a reformation circa 800 under a new
king. It is to be supposed that visitors like Abo from Baghdad
and the highly cultured Constantine might get an unfavorable
impression of the savage conditions of the country, but, even
so, we have no direct record of what these two observers
actually found in Khazaria. Their views on the Khazars and the
record of their activities among them are simply what the
132 Cf. Bury, E.R.E., 394, n. 6.

133 The so-called "Khazarian Way” (Vemadskv, Anc. Russ., 350, citing
the Slavic Vita Constantini).
134 Marquart (Streifz., 21) cites a short Vita Constantini in which the
Khaqan is called Zacharias. There is no confirmation elsewhere.
135 Vernadsky (350) affirms this positively.
136 Or series of disputations. Cf. Bury, £./?.£., 395, n. 2.
137 "Culture,” §4. cf. n. 129.
biographers elected to write down. In face of the general

accord of the Arabic and Hebrew traditions, especially since
our investigation has throughout tended towards the rehabili¬
tation of the latter, the negative testimony of the accounts of
Abo and Constantine in regard to Khazar Judaism up to circa
861 seems of little weight.1”
We must now discuss the important but embroiled question
of relations between the Khazars and the Hungarians. Informa¬
tion on the subject is principally derived from a few chapters
in the De Administrando lmperio of Constantine Porphyrogeni-
tus. The imperial author says that 55 years earlier, i.e., in 893,
assuming that his book was written in 948, the Khazars and the
Chuzz in alliance attacked the Pechenegs and drove them from
their territory between the Volga and Ural rivers.’*0 The date
is confirmed approximately by the independent authority of
Reginald of Prum, who gives 889 for the migration of the
Pechenegs.'41 They passed into territory hitherto occupied by
the 'Turks,” as the Hungarians are regularly called in the Greek
sources. We may render “Magyars,” though strictly this was
the name of only one of their tribes. The Magyars in turn were
forced to emigrate. It is the same process we have seen operat¬
ing at an earlier period.
Constantine speaks as if the Magyars were obliged to with¬
draw before the Pechenegs twice,141 first from Lebedia (so
called after the Magyar chief or voevod Lebedias) to Atelkuzu,
supposed to mean “[the country] between the rivers,”141 and
then from Atelkuzu to the region occupied by the Magyars in
Constantine’s time (and our own) on the middle Danube.
While in Lebedia, as he further informs us, the Magyars for
three years fought as allies of the Khazars, and the Khazar
Khaqan gave Lebedias a noble Khazar lady as wife. She bore
«» Vernadsky and others place the final conversion of the Khazars to

Judaism a few years after this.
140 De Admin. Imp., c. 37. „ ...
141 Reginonis Abbatis Prumiensis Chronicon, cited Minorsky, tftMua,
313, n. 2. „ ftn
De Admin. Imp. c. 38. 141 Marquart, Streifz., 33.
196
him no son. Soon after the Magyars had established themselves

in Atelkuzu, the Khaqan summoned Lebedias to Chelandia
(Kalancha) in the Crimea and offered to make him sole ruler
(archon) of his people under Khazar suzerainty. Lebedias pro¬
posed instead Almutzes,144 whom failing his son Arpad. In the
event Arpad was raised upon a shield in what Constantine calls
the Khazar manner1*5 and proclaimed, according to the text,
zakanos, which perhaps is simply for Khaqan.146 After some
time the Pechenegs again attacked the Magyars and drove them
westwards from Atelkuzu.
Various attempts have been made to explain the topography
and chronology of the migrations of the Hungarians and to
elucidate the relation with the Khazars which is involved. That
this was at one time close there can be no doubt. Constantine
tells us that before their migration into modern Hungary, the
Magyars were joined by three tribes of people called Kabars147
from Khazaria. It is not quite clear whether the form Kabar
represents their original name or what they were called by the
Magyars. They belonged to the defeated faction in a civil war
and, escaping to Hungarian territory, had settled there in
friendship with the inhabitants. The Kabars showed them¬
selves more enterprising and warlike than the Hungarians, and
obtained first place among their tribes. Constantine invites us
to think of them as heading the migration into modem Hun¬
gary. So closely united were the two nations, or rather so in¬
fluential did the Kabars become, that the Hungarians learned
the language of the newcomers and had retained it up to Con¬
stantine’s own time.148 The singular fact that Khazar was
144 Or Salmutzes.
145 Constantine here (c. 38) perhaps accommodates the practice among
Khazars and Kok Turks (cf. Chapter V, n. 34) to the classical elevation
of the general on a shield.
148 For zakanos Vernadsky (Anc. Russ., 214) compares the Slav word
zakon, “law.”
147 Others write "Kavars." Cf. "Cowart” in the Chronicle of Salzburg
(cited Gregoire, "Le nom et 1’origine des Hongrois,” Z.D.M.G., B. 91
[1937], 640). 6
148 Op.cit., c. 39.
197
spoken in Hungary at least till the middle of the 10th century

appears to be confirmed by vestiges of the “L.r Turkish speech
presumably the idiom of the Khazar-speaking Kabars, winch
are said to be discernible still in Magyar.149
It has to be borne in mind that the Khazar emp.re in the
west in the 9th century covered a wide area and included a
number of tributary groups. Thus we read in the Russian
Chronicle150 that at one time the Polians, south of the middle
Dnieper, were attacked by the Khazars in the wooded, hilly
country along the river and obliged to pay the tribute of a
sword per hearth. The Chronicle says that these swords were
two-edged, and that when the fact came to the knowledge of
the Khazar ruler and his elders,'51 they were alarmed, for the
swords of the Khazars had but a single edge. The story refers
presumably to the period before a.d. 859,155 in which year, also
according to the Chronicle, the Polians, Severians and Viati-
chians paid the Khazars an ermine or sable skin for each house¬
hold.155 The Khazar occupation of Kiev is undoubted. Accord¬
ing to the Russian Chronicle, the inhabitants of this town paid
tribute to the Khazars before 862.15‘ Sometime later the Russian
Oleg established himself there,155 and hence no doubt, as no
longer a Khazar possession, Kiev does not appear in the Reply.
But the Khazars left traces of their presence which were long
in disappearing.150 Of the peoples mentioned, at least the Via-
i»oc. 12.
res.***-- ,
A council of elders among the Khazars docs not seem to be men¬
tioned elsewhere. The expression “elders of our county in the Reply of
Joseph appears to have only a general significance. Yet cf. Chapters iv,
n’ i” VernaSsky i^nt'kuss., 332) thinks that the Khazars first appeared

at Kiev about 840.
im Russian Chronicle, c. 14. 154 Ibid., c. 15.
»• Acco'ring8to the “Notary of King Bela" (13th century) the men

of Kiev were conquered by the Magyars under their voevod Olom
(Vernadsky, Anc. Russ.. 332). Olom is apparently the same as Almush
198
tichians seem to have remained subject to the Khaqan till 965,

when Sviatoslav was told by them that they gave the Khazars
a piece of money per plough.117
About the migration of the Magyars into Hungary, in the
circumstances indicated, at the end of the 9th century there is
general agreement. It is their earlier history which has been
the subject of debate. Marquart supposed that though they had
previously given the Khazars trouble (as evidenced by an ob¬
scure remark of ibn-Rustah that the Khazars at one time had
made a wall or ditch to defend themselves from the Magyars)158
they were checked by the building of Sarkil and lost their
power to injure their neighbors. Situated west of the Don, the
Magyars were brought into dependence on the Khazar Khaqan.
In 862 they are mentioned in a chronicle as appearing on the
Danube and even in German territory.159 Once before, circa
839, they are spoken of on the Danube.140 The interval 840-860
corresponds, says Marquart, to the time when they were al¬
lied with the Khazars and engaged in the Khaqan's wars.141
Thus Constantine should have said twenty, not three years, for
the length of time during which the Magyars, while in Lebedia,
belonged to the Khazar empire. Then, circa 860, they were
thrust by the Pechenegs west of the Dnieper into Atelkuzu, ex¬
tending from the Dnieper as far as the Sereth. This was a severe
blow for the Khazars, and explains why it was easy for the Rus¬
sians to establish themselves in Kiev. The Khaqan was unwill¬
ing to give up his empire in the west without a struggle.16- He
(Almish, see n. 170 below) and Almoutzes in Constantine Por. The

palace of Almush seems to be spoken of in the Russian Chron., c. 18,
as on a hill near Kiev. The situation of the cathedral of St. Elias in
Kiev is also connected in the Chronicle, c. 27, with the Khazars. The
legend of the founding of Kiev (c. 15) mentions a certain Khoriv, i.e.,
perhaps Horeb, with reference to the Khazar Jews (cf. Vernadsky, Anc.
Russ., 333). A further indication of their connection with Kiev is or
was the so-called Cate of the Khazars (N. Slouschz, in Melanges H.
Derenbourg, 79).
157 Chronicle, c. 32. 138 Cf. n. 83, above.
159 Marquart, Streifz., 33, citing Hincmar of Rheims, Mon. Germ. Scr.,
I, 50.
189 Streifz., 30. Cf. n. 156. Streifz., 34.
199
was no longer afraid of the Magyars and wished to strengthen

them against the Pechenegs and Russians. So, shortly after
their establishment in Atelkuzu, he sent for Lebedias and of-
fered him the kingship of the Magyars.
Bury’s view is in principle the same.14’ The Magyars were
displaced from their seats in Lebedia, the country between the
Don and the Dnieper, by the Pechenegs, advancing from the
Volga. They passed into Atelkuzu between the Dnieper and
the lower reaches of the Pruth and the Sereth, and the first
use they made of their new position was to invade central
Europe in 862, as already indicated. Bury argues that the mi¬
gration of the Magyars from Lebedia must have taken place
before 862 but after 860, when Constantine is reported to have
met raiding Magyars on his way from the Crimea to Kha-
zaria.144 This shows, according to Bury, that at that date they
were still in their old habitat, Lebedia. Constantine Porphyro-
genitus says that while in Lebedia they fought in the Khazar
wars for three years, but this, in the view of Bury, as well as
Marquart, is too short a time. Bury adopts Westberg’s correc¬
tion of 3 to 33, and assuming that the Magyars were in Lebedia
for 33 years, fixes their arrival there, doubtfully from the Cau-
casus region, in 822-826.1®5
Further, Bury follows Constantine in saying that Lebedias
married a noble Khazar lady before the migration to Atelkuzu
and shortly after that event was approached by the Khaqan,
who offered to make him ruler of all seven tribes of the Hun¬
garians. Arpad was chosen, and thus the Khazars instituted
kingship among the Magyars. Bury remarks that it is difficult
to see why the Khazar government should have taken the in-
itiative.16® He proposes to connect the innovation with the
arrival of the Kabars from Khazaria, who, as we have seen,
rapidly took a leading place in the councils of the Magyars.
Bury does not take into account the idea (Marquart) that the
migration of the Magyars to Atelkuzu increased the danger to
im E.R.E., 423ff. 164 See above.

E.R.E., 491. 1M lbid.t 426.
200
the Khazars from the Russians and that it was this which de¬
termined the appointment of a Hungarian king subordinate to
himself by the Khaqan, nor does he allow Marquart’s sugges¬
tion that the new line of kings descended from Arpad were
Khazars (Kabars).167
Another account of these obscure transactions is given by
Gregoire, who finds that the Magyars were defeated and dis¬
placed by the Pechenegs once only, circa 894-897.166 Their
previous home between the Dnieper and the Sereth was called
alternatively Lebedia and Atelkuzu. Constantine’s chapter 38
appears to speak of successive migrations. In fact, it contains
two distinct accounts of the same event. It is unnecessary there¬
fore to look for an earlier habitat of the Magyars, or to attempt
to find a date for their migration from Lebedia to Atelkuzu,
which is a figment. When the Magyars are said to have been
allied with the Khazars for three years in Lebedia/Atelkuzu
this, according to Gregoire, is a misreading of t' as treis. But
t' means 300. The Magyars were 300 years in Khazar alliance
and fought with them, as Constantine says, “in all their wars.”
It is thus easily explained how the Magyars could raid central
Europe in 839 and again in 862. Earlier than this, we scarcely
hear of them, but it does not follow that they were not in
approximately the same region under Khazar suzerainty for
a long time, as Gregoire says. On the other hand, the Dnieper-
Sereth territory as the Magyar habitat during the whole period
seems too far to the west. Vernadsky, who on the basis of topo-
nymical and archaeological evidence accepts that the Magyars
were in south Russia for long, thinks that they were centered
in different areas at different times.16* He points out that they
are likely to have come in from the Caucasus area soon after
the expulsion of the Bulgars (Onogundurs) by the Khazars in
187 Streifz., 52 and n. The suggestion does not seem right. Marquart
elsewhere (Str., 497) cites Simon de Keza, u, i, 19, according to which
Almus (sic), father of Arpad, was “de genere Tumi."
188 H. Gregoire, “Le nom et l’origine des Hongrois,” Z.D.M.G., B. 91
(1937), 633.
189 Vernadsky, Anc. Russ., 240-242.
201
the 7th century, and therefore regards the time-note “300

years” as approximate only. He does not doubt that the restora¬
tion of that figure is right.'" , . . ,
We have now to consider Constantines remarks in chapter
38 of his work already referred to, to the effect that when the
Pechenegs defeated the Magyars and invaded their country, a
section of the latter went off towards Persia and these
preserved the old name of the Magyars "Sabarti-asphah, by
which previously all had been known. There should be some
connection between the Sabarti (Savarti) and the Sawardiyah
who circa 765 sacked Shamkur, south of the Caucasus. ‘ Yet
we read of the departure of the former towards Persia only
after a defeat by the Pechenegs, apparently towards the end ot
the 9th century. Is Gregoire’s view then to be modified m the
sense that though the Pechenegs, as he says, defeated the Mag¬
yars once only, circa 896, the latter were earlier defeated, split
in two and obliged to leave their territory by some other
people?1” Strictly speaking, according to Constantine, the peo¬
ple who defeated the Magyars and induced the departure of a
no The relation between Magyars and Bulgars must at onetirn.. have

been close. Even as late as Constantine Por. (10th cent, )
Hungarian tribes retained the name Koutourgermat-ou which,
U is o be explained (cf. Minorsky. Hud., 319), .spresumablythe same
as Kutrigur. etc., which appear among the Bulgars < Chap!ter Illh
Magyar and Bashkir (Bashgird) are in some sense interclwngeabfc names
(eg' Marquart. Streifi., 68). Nemeth’s view mentioned by Minorsky
lludud, 318) is that the latter were originally a Hunganan tnbe which
migrated northwards from the Caucasus (see below), and accordmg to
Moravcsik (Minorsky, ibid.) this took place at the *Te
Onogundurs were driven westward (cf. Chapter III). In lbn 5 "T
(310/922) the native Bulgar ruler on the Volga was called
Almish, which should be the same name as Almutzes f ,h.e
Though the Turkish origin of the Magyars is contested (cf. J. Szinnyei,
Die Herkunft der Ungam, 1923), dilerenUation may largelv consist m
this, that the main body of the Bulgars withdrew themselves "°njKbu“ r
influences at a much earlier period than the Magyars, there being
least 200 years between the westward movement! of the >wo P*°P,esv
m Baladhuri, 203; cf. Mas udi, Muni/, n, 75: Siyawardiyah. This even
took “in the days when Yazid ibn-Usayd [cf. above] had left
A™r Vernadsky (Anc. Buss., 271) in effect answersthis 9u«s,io"^vfix;

ing on the Norsemen, but what he says is not convincing. Cf. Crego.re,
op.cit635.
202
section of them to the east were the so-called Kangars, the

bravest of the Pecheneg tribes.173 Gregoire has identified the
Kangars with the Khazar tribes called Kabars, giving plausible
reasons for this paradox.174 Was it then after a defeat by the
Kabars, circa 760, that the “Sabarti-asphali” went off “towards
Persia”? It is attractive to think that the “insurrection” (apos-
tasia) of the Kabars which forced them to withdraw from Kha-
zaria, as Constantine tells us, had something to do with the
conversion of the ruling section of the Khazars to Judaism circa
740. But unless the defeat of the Magyars was much later than
760, the Arpad who “a short time afterwards”175 became first
king of the Magyars could not possibly have had grandsons
who were alive in the time of Constantine, circa 950. As to the
fact that two grandsons of Arpad were alive at that date there
is no reasonable doubt.174 The events then of which Constan¬
tine is speaking are hardly to be connected with the raid of
the Sawardiyah in 760 or so. This merely confirms the presence
of Magyars in or near the Caucasus at the time177 and is inde¬
pendent of any defeat of their kinsmen in the Russian steppes.
The movement of the same people "towards Persia” of which
Constantine speaks took place later. It appears to be unrecorded
in the Muslim sources.
As to the kingship among the Magyars, Gregoire finds that
the reason for Arpad’s appointment was not what is suggested
by chapter 38 of the De Administrando Imperio-either that
the Khazar wife of Lebedias had no son, or that Lebedias for
some private motive, e.g., magnanimity, was unwilling to act.
Rather, Lebedias was set aside because of his failure against
Symeon the Bulgar, when invited by the Emperor Leo VI to
attack him.178 Against this, it is distinctly mentioned by Con¬
stantine that the Liuntis (not Lebedias) who led the unsuccess-
173 De Admin. Imp., c. 37. 174 Op.cit., 638.

174 De Admin. Imp., c. 38.
173 They are named De Admin. Imp., c. 40.
177 The Magyars appear to be mentioned in the Caucasus region by
Hudiid al-'Alam, §22 (written 372/982).
178 Op.cit., 635-636.
203
ful expedition against Symeon was the son of Atpad, and the
relationship is not doubted by Bury.-” It seems likely also that
Lebedias was no longer leader of the Magyars at the tune of
the expedition (895). Granting that the final expulsion of the
Magyars from Atelkuzu was in 896, as Gregoire says the Pech-
enegs if Reginald of Prum is to be relied on,”0 had already ap¬
peared in 889. A suitable time for direct Khazar intervention
we assume that the Kabars had joined the Magyars at an in¬
definite period earlier) would be after the first Pecheneg as¬
sault, not later than 890 or 891. The suggestion therefore is that
from that date Arpad, not Lebedias, was in control. We thus
have certain reservations in accepting what Gregoire says, but
on the main issue-that Constantine is speaking of one great
historical migration of the Magyars, not two-his view seems
undoubtedly to be right.
We may now give some important extracts from Mas utli s
principal surviving work, the Muruj ol-Dhahab (Meadows of
Gold), to which reference has been frequent in the foregoing
Chapters. This book was begun in 332/943 and completed in
336/947 m Mas'udi thus can tell of the Russian expedition into
the Caspian at the beginning of the 4th century of the Hijrah,
but knows nothing of a later disastrous attack on the Khazar
capital.182
Paris ed., n, 7-14. i) ‘The people of Bab al-Abwab suffer
injury from a kingdom called Khaydhan.- This nation forms
part of the Khazar empire,- the capital of which used to be a
m De Admin. Imp. c. 40; E.R.E., 490.
i»i BrockelmannT&AX., 1. 145. For the dale 332/943 cf. Chapter V,
ad init.
Not^dT/as'fhe Paris ed. has; cf. Chapter IV n. 28. According to
SSSSiES&i
conquest. The king of Khavdhan though a Mushm )
rWfnt had the title S--yfan which seems to be Turkish jriuiazar;.
M“" sky (HJdad 449, n.y4) compares the tide Se-li-fa in the Chmese
snsSErys-* w°w
204
city 8 days185 from the city of Bab, called Samandar,188 which

at the present time is inhabited by a Khazar population. The
fact is it was conquered in early times by Sulayman ibn-Rabi'ah
al-Bahili,187 and the king removed thence to the city of Atil,188
between which and the former is seven days’ journey.188 It is
in Atil that the king of the Khazars now lives. The city is in
three parts, separated by a great river which comes down from
the higher parts of the lands of the Turks. A branch goes out
from it to the territory of the Bulgars and falls into the sea of
Maeotis.180 The city is on both banks. In the middle of the river
is an island containing the king's palace.181 His castle is on the
edge of this island.102 There is a bridge of ships to one of the
banks. In this city are Muslims, Christians, Jews and pa¬
gans. . . .1M
“As to the pagans in his territory they are of several kinds,
including the §aqalibah184 and the Rus, who live on one of the
two banks of this city. They bum their dead with their horses,
of the Burtas. Here the Paris ed. has muluk for mulk, but the correct read¬
ing is in Bodleian ms. Marsh 243 (cf. Chapter V, n. 1).
According to Ijtakhri (219) it was only four days from Bab to
Samandar, which, if Samandar is Qizlar on the Terek (Chapter V, n. 26),
seems more plausible.
In the Tanbih (62) Masudi states that Balanjar was the Khazar
capital. Yiqut (Buldan, s.v. Samandar) eives the same information^ as
here, citing al-Azhari, i.e., abu-Mansur Muhammad ibn-Ahmad, ob. 370/
980 (Brockelmann, C.A.L., i. 129), while Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (J. Greaves,
Binae Tabulae, 13) agrees with the Tanbih that Balanjar was the capital.
Cf. Chapter III, n. 40.
*8T There seems to be nothing in the sources about any attack on Sa¬
mandar by Salmon ibn-Rabi'ah, for whose exploits see Chapter III.
188 The Paris ed. has Amul for Atil, in error, throughout.
189 So Istakhri, 219. Elsewhere (227) he has eight days between Atil
and Samandar.
190 The "branch” is the Don.
191 Mas'udi agrees with the Reply of Joseph that the king of the
Khazars (Khaqan) lived on an island.
192 It is not clear whether a second building is meant.
»9S A reference to the Khazars as Jews follows here. It has already
been given at the beginning of Chapter V.
194 Zeki Validi (Ibn-Fodlan, 295-331) seems to have shown that
"Saqalibah” is not simply an equivalent for Slavs, but applies also to
Turco-Finnish, Finnish, and even Germanic peoples. Cf. Chapter VI.
Saqilibah apparently for Saxones.
205
arms, and personal adornments. When a man dies his wife is

burned alive with him, though if the wife dies, the man is not
burned. If one of them dies unwed, he is given a wife after
death. The women desire to be burned, in order themselves
to enter paradise along with (their husbands).”5 This is also
the practice of the Indians, as we have mentioned previously,
except that the woman among the Indians is not burned with
her husband unless she chooses.
‘The predominating element in this country are the Muslims,
because they form the royal army.1** They are known in this
country as Arsiyah,I9? and are immigrants from the neighbor¬
hood of Khwarizm. Long ago, after the appearance of Islam,
there was war and pestilence in their territory, and they re¬
paired to the Khazar king. They are strong and courageous,
and the Khazar king relies on them in his wars. They have
continued to reside in his country on certain conditions, one be¬
ing the open profession of their religion, with permission for
mosques and the call to prayer. Further the vizierate must be¬
long to them.198 At present the vizier is one of them, Ahmad
ibn-Kuyah.199 When the king of the Khazars is at war with the
Muslims, they have a separate place in his army and do not
fight the people of their own faith. They fight with him against
all the unbelievers. At such times about 7,000:o° of them ride
with the king, archers with breast-plates, helmets, and coats of
mail. Some also are lancers, equipped and armed like the Mus¬
lims. They also have Muslim judges (quddt). The custom in
An eyewitness account of a ceremony which took place after the

death of a Russian chief in (Volga) Bulgar territory is given by lbn-
Fadlan (§§87-92). v _ti
Cf. the similar phrase in Istakhri (Chapter V), and below.
187 The Paris ed. has the variants Larsiyah (Larisiyah), Arsiyah (An-
siyah), Arisiyah, etc. It is natural to compare As, A$, the usual later name
for the Alans (from the time of the Mongol invasions, but also as early
as the 9th cent., Marquart, Sfr., 172). Cf. Chapter V, n. 21, ad finem.
188 Mas'udi probably exaggerates here. See below.
»88 Or "Guyah,” “Guwaih, “Kuwaih."
200 Cf. the figures in Istakhri and ibn-Rustah given in Chapter V, and
on the other hand the much larger numbers in time of war, reported by
the Muslim historians.
206
the Khazar capital is to have seven judges.201 Of these two are

for the Muslims, two for the Khazars judging according to the
Torah, two for those among them who are Christians judging
according to the Gospel,202 and one for the Saqalibah, Rus and
other pagans judging according to pagan law, i.e., on theoretical
principles.203 When a serious case is brought up, of which they
have no knowledge, they come before the Muslim judges and
plead there, obeying what the law of Islam lays down.204
"None of the kings of the East in this quarter has a regularly
provisioned army except the king of the Khazars. All the Mus¬
lims in those parts are known by the names of these people,
the Arsiyah, and the Rus and §aqalibah, whom we have men¬
tioned as pagans. They are the army and servitors of the king.205
In his city are many200 Muslims, merchants and craftsmen, be¬
sides the Arsiyah, who have come to his country because of his
justice and the security which he offers. They have a cathedral
mosque and a minaret which rises above the royal castle, and
other mosques there besides, with schools where the children
learn the Quran. If the Muslims and Christians there are
agreed, the king cannot cope with them.207
“Mas'udi says: What we have said does not refer to the king
of the Khazars, we mean the Khaqan. The fact is that in Kha-
zaria there is a Khaqan, whose custom it is to be in the power
of another king and in his house. The Khaqan is in the interior
of a castle, able neither to ride forth nor to appear to the nobles
201 Cf. Istakhri, ibid. According to Hudud al-'Alam, §50, "This king
has in this town [AtilJ seven judges [not "governors"! belonging to seven
different creeds.” The word used (hdkim) reflects I$takhri (hukkam)
rather than Mas'udi (qudat).
202 A misconception. Some ecclesiastical code mav be intended, like
the "Livre Timonnier” in Russia (Platonov, Russie CMtienne, 521).
203 The words used are qadaya *aqliyah. Cf. ibn-Fadlan (§20) of the
Chuzz: la yadinun li’Udh bi-din tva-la yarfi un Ua 'aql, “they do not
worship God, nor do they have recourse to reason.**
204 This is not confirmed by the case mentioned by ibn-Hawqal, see
below.
203 I have followed the text—not the rendering-of the Paris ed. with
some hesitation, adopting tva-hum (K) for hum.
2oa The Bodleian ms. (n. 184) adds kathir.
207 Cf. below in the next citation from Mas'udi.
207
or commons, nor to go out from his lodging,"'8 where he is

with his women, neither ordering nor forbidding, nor managing
affairs of state. Yet the sovereignty of the Khazars is not secured
to their king save by the Khaqan being with him in the capital
and in his castle. When Khazaria suffers from dearth or any
calamity befalls their country or war with some other nation
or any emergency, the commons and the nobles hasten to the
king of the Khazars,209 saying, We have drawn a bad omen
from this Khaqan and his reign, and have augured ill of him,
so kill him, or hand him over to us to kill. Sometimes he hands
him over to them, and they kill him.210 Sometimes he under¬
takes this himself. But sometimes he shows him mercy and
protects him, as guilty of no crime or sin. This is the custom of
the Khazars at present. I do not know if it originated in ancient
or modern times. The dignity of this Khaqan belongs to a
family among their chief men, in whom I suppose the kingship
originally resided,211 but God knows best.
“The Khazars have boats,212 in which passengers embark
with merchandise on a river above the city, which flows into its
river from the country higher up. It is called Burtas, and on its
banks are Turkish nations of settled habits, forming part of
This is either due to exaggeration or refers to the custom in later

times. Ijtakhri, however, as wellas the Reply of Joseph indicates that the
Khaqan took part in military activities. , .
ao® Cf. what appears to be an instance of this above, when the Khatun
of the Khazars" allays a popular outcry.
210 The Khaqan in certain circumstances might also dispose ot the ute
of the Beg, according to ibn-Fadlan (Chapter V).
211 Zeki Validi speaks of the double kingship at some length (Ibn-
Fadlan, 292-295, also 257 and 272), as an institution among the Qara-
Khanids and Avars and paralleled among non-Turkish peoples by the
Shogun beside the Mikado in mediaeval Japan. The parallel between the
Khazar Khaqan and the Mikado was likewise drawn by Schechter
(J.O.R., m, 189). The double kingship at Sparta naturally also occurs
to mind. Recently Alfoldi’s theory that the double kingship among no¬
madic peoples corresponds to leadership of the two wings of the horde,
involving division of the tribes (cf. O. Pritsak, "Karachanidische Streit-
fragen," Oriens, m, 2 (19501, 211), has won wide acceptance. Cf.
Chapter VI, n. 123. « .
aia Zaw&riq, pi. of zauraq. These cannot have been very small boats,
for certain troublesome Hanbalites were conveyed from Baghdad as far
as ’Uman in a zauraq in a.h. 321 (ibn-al-Athir, vm, 86). See below.
208
the Khazar empire. Their holdings stretch uninterruptedly be¬

tween Khazaria and the Bulgars. This river comes from the
neighborhood of the land of the Bulgars, and ships pass on it
between the Bulgars and the Khazars.”
Paris ed., n, 18-23. ii) “The Rus form several nations of dif¬
ferent kinds, among them a sort called Ludh'aniyah,213 who
are the most numerous. They pass with merchandise to the
countries of Spain, Rome, Constantinople, and Khazaria. Some
time after a.h. 300(=a.d. 912-913) there came about 500 ships,
manned each by 100 persons, and entered the strait of Nitas214
which is connected with the river219 of the Khazars. Men in
the service of the Khazar king are posted there with strong
defenses,216 blocking the approach of anyone who comes from
the sea and from that direction by land where a branch217
from the river of the Khazars connects with the sea of Nitas.
The fact is that nomads of the Turkish Ghuzz come to that
region and winter there. Often the water which connects the
Khazar river with the strait of Nitas is frozen, and the Ghuzz
cross over with their horses. It is a great water, but does not
give way under them, owing to the extent to which it is frozen.
Thus they pass into Khazaria.218 Often the king of the Khazars
2,8 So BodJ. ms. The Paris ed. has al-Ludh'anah, rendered "Lithu¬
anians.” Marquart, who always reads al-Ludhgh4nah (Streifz., 342-353),
discussed possible explanations of the word, which comes again in Mas'udi
(Tanbih. 141) as ai-Kudhkanah (De Coeje, in be. suggested for the
latter al-Kudhlanah, comparing Gotland). Marquart wanted to find a
connection with al-Radhanlyah or al-Rahdaniyah (cf. Chapter VI, n. 69).
But Minorsky seems right in identifying the difficult word with al-Urd-
maniyun, the Norsemen (£./., art. Rus). The Leiden ms. 537a (cf. Mar¬
quart, Streifz., 330 S.) has here Ludhalyah.—Elsewhere in this section I
have once or twice followed its readings.
214 I.e., of Kertch.
2,3 So read, not "sea of the Khazars.” as both the Bodleian ms. and
Paris ed. show (nahr al-Khazar for bahr al-Khazar). Mas udi elsewhere
(Murttj, i, 273) is concerned to show that there is no connection between
the Black Sea (Nitas) and the Caspian (bahr al-Khazar).
218 Tamatarkha rather than Sarlril seems to be meant.
217 The singular is required. Cf. “that branch of water” below.
218 Mas'udi appears to say that the Khazar garrison was exposed to
attack from the land side by the Ghuzz before they reached Khazar ter¬
ritory. This is possible if a Don fortress is meant. Cf. Marquart, Streifz.,
209
goes out against them, when the men he has posted there are
unable to hold them. He prevents them from crossing the ice
and drives them from his kingdom. In summer it is not possible
for the Turks to cross.
“When the ships of the Rus came to the Khazars posted at
the mouth of the strait, they sent a letter to the Khazar king,
requesting to be allowed to pass through his country and
descend his river, and so enter the sea of the Khazars, which
is the sea of Jurjan, Tabaristan and other places belonging to
the barbarians, as we have mentioned, on condition that they
should give him half of what they might take in booty from the
peoples of the sca-coast. He granted them permission, and they
entered the strait,219 reached the river mouth,220 and began as¬
cending that branch of water till they reached the river of the
Khazars. They descended it to the city of Atil, and passing
through, came out on the estuary of the river, where it joins the
Khazar sea. From the estuary to the city of Atil the river is very
large and its waters abundant.
‘The ships of the Rus spread throughout the sea. Their raid¬
ing parties were directed against Jil,221 Daylam, Tabaristan,
Abaskun on the coast of Jurjan, the naphtha country and the
neighborhood of Adharbayjan. The fact is that from the city of
Ardabil in Adharbayjan to the sea is about three days. The Rus
shed blood, destroyed the women and children, took booty,
and raided and burned in all directions. The nations round the
sea were greatly alarmed, because they had not been ac¬
customed in time past to any enemy making his way to them
there, for only merchant-ships and fishing vessels used to pass
therein.222 The Rus fought with the people of Jil, Daylam and
the coast of Jurjan and some of the inhabitants of Bardha'ah,
Arran, al-Baylaqan and Adharbayjan,2JS and also with an officer
219 Marquart suggested that the Russians had sailed down the Dnieper
and round the Crimea (Streifz., 335).
22«> Sc. of the Don. 221 Or Jilftn.
222 There had been Russian expeditions to the Caspian previously.
223 Some of these names are read only in the Cairo print of a.h. 1303
(in the margin of ibn-al-Athir).
210
of ibn-abi-al-Saj224 and came to the naphtha coast in the coun¬

try of Shirwan, which is known as Baku. When the Rus with¬
drew from the coasts of the sea, they took shelter in islands
near the source of the naphtha, a few miles from it. Now the
king of Shirwan at the time was 'Ali ibn-al-Haytham.”5 The
people made preparations and embarking in small boats and
merchant-ships, passed over to the islands. But the Rus turned
on them, and thousands of the Muslims were killed or drowned.
The Rus continued many months in this sea, as we have de¬
scribed, and none of the natives who border it were able to
reach them. People armed themselves against them and were
on the alert for them, since the sea is populous, with many na¬
tions living on its shores.
“When they had gained enough booty and were tired of what
they were about, they started for the mouth of the Khazar river,
informing the king of the Khazars, and conveying to him rich
booty, according to the conditions which he had fixed with
them. (The king of the Khazars does not possess ships, nor are
his men experienced in handling them.224 If it were not for
this, there would be great harm done to the Muslims by him.)
The Arsiyah and other Muslims who were in Khazaria learned
of the situation of the Rus, and said to the king of the Khazars,
Leave us to deal with these people. They have raided the lands
of the Muslims, our brothers, and have shed blood and en¬
slaved women and children. And he could not gainsay them.
So he sent to the Rus, informing them of the determination of
the Muslims to fight them. The Muslims assembled and went
forth to find them, proceeding downstream.227 When the two
armies came within sight of each other, the Rus disembarked
224 Abu-al-Qasim Yusuf ibn-abi al-Saj, d. 315/928 (Zambaur, 179).

«*He was later killed in a war against the Khazars (Minorsky,
lludud, 406, citing Ahmad ibn-Lutfullah Munejjim-Bashi, Sahd'if al-
Akhbta Hii, 174, a Turkish abridged translation [Istanbul, 1285/1868]
ot his Arabic JamV al-Dutvcl, which though late [the author died in
1113/17021 uses a Tarikh Bab al-Abwdb of the 10th or 11th century).
228 This should mean that there was no navy in Khazaria. Cf. Chap¬
ter VIII. r
227 1.e., on land.
211
and drew up in order of battle against the Muslims, with whom

were a number of the Christians living in Atil, so that they
were about 15,000 men, with horses and equipment. The fight¬
ing continued for three days. God helped the Muslims against
them. The Rus were put to the sword. Some were killed and
others were drowned. About 5,000 of them escaped, and re¬
embarking on their ships, reached the other bank in the neigh¬
borhood of the Burtas. Here they left their ships and kept to
the land. Some of them were killed by the Burtas. Others who
had reached the Bulgars (who are Muslims) were killed by
them. Of those slain by the Muslims on the banks of the Kha-
zar river there were counted about 30,000.22* There has been
no repetition on the part of the Rus of what we have described
since that year.””9
Paris ed., n, 58ff. iii) “We say that near Khazaria and Alania,
to the westward, there lie four Turkish nations, who trace their
descent originally from a common ancestor. They are both
nomad and settled, and are difficult of approach and very
courageous. Each of them has a king. The extent of each
kingdom is several days’ journey. A portion of their territory
touches the sea of Nitas. Their raids extend to the lands of
Rome and almost as far as Spain. They have the mastery over
all other nations in these parts. Between them and the king
of the Khazars is a truce, and so with the ruler of the Alans.
The region where they live is contiguous with Khazaria. The
first of these nations is called Bajna [?], next to which is the
second, called Bajghird [Bashkir].”0 Next to the latter is a
nation called Bajnak [Pecheneg], which is the most warlike of
these nations, and next again another called Nukardah231 [?].
Their kings are nomads.
228 Of the original number of Russians (50,000), 35,000 are thus ac¬
counted for.
228 Mas’udi knows nothing of later Russian expeditions in 943 and
965, for which see Chapter IX.
230 Presumably the Magyars are here meant, cf. n. 170.
231 Perhaps for the Lombards, cf. Anqlrdah (ibn-'Abd al-Barr, K. al-
Qasd uxi-l-Amam, Cairo, a.h. 1350, 28), Ankubardiyin (ibn-Rustah, 128),
but Marquart pertinently asks what the Lombards have to do with the
Pechenegs and Magyars (Sfr., 66).
212
“After a.h. 320, or in that year,332 they were at war with the
Greeks. The Creeks possess on the frontier of their territory,
near these four tribes which I have mentioned, a large Greek
city called Walandar.233 It has a large population, and is
strongly situated between the mountains and the sea. The in¬
habitants held off the nations which we have just mentioned,
and the Turks were unable to reach Greek territory, owing to
the obstacles presented by the mountains, the sea and the in¬
habitants of the town.
“Now there was war among these four tribes, arising out of
some difference among themselves in regard to a Muslim mer¬
chant from Ardabil. He had been the guest of one of them,
and the people of another nation had wronged him. Hence they
were divided.234 The Greeks of Walandar raided their homes
while they were absent, took captive many children and drove
away the cattle. News of this reached them while engaged in
their war. They came together and rendered each other the
price of blood. Then they moved in a body against the city of
Walandar with about 60,000 horsemen. This was without any
mustering or levy. If there had been such, they would have
amounted to about 100,000 horsemen. When news of them
reached Romanus, the present Greek Emperor, it being now
a.h. 332, he despatched against them 12,000 horsemen, who
had been converted to Christianity. These were armed with
lances in the Arab fashion. They were supported by 50,000
Greeks. They advanced to the city of Walandar in eight days
and encamping behind it, confronted the enemy. Though the
Turks had killed many of the people of Walandar, yet its in¬
habitants resisted thanks to their wall, till these reinforcements
reached them. When the four kings learned of the arrival of
the newly-converted Christians and the Greeks, they sent to
232 Ibn-al-Athir, who follows Mas'udi, gives 322/934, and according

to Georgius Monachus in 934 the Magyars overran Thrace and came as
far as Constantinople (both cited by Marquart, Streifz., 64).
233 See below.
234 The presence of merchants from the lands of Islam in east and
central Europe is confirmed elsewhere, see below (ibn-Hawqal) and
Chapter VIII.
213
their own lands and collected the Muslim merchants among

them, who had come to their country from Khazaria, Bab,
Alania and elsewhere, and also those in the four nations who
had been converted to Islam. These have no intercourse with
the others except in war against the unbelievers. When the two
armies were drawn up for battle, the new converts to Christi¬
anity appeared in front of the Greeks. The merchants who were
in the foremost ranks of the Turks went out to them and invited
them to become Muslims, declaring that if they adopted the
faith of the Turks, they would escort them from their
own country to the territory of Islam. They refused, however,
and the two sides closed with one another.' Mas'udi then relates
the success of the Turks, their capture of Walandar and ap¬
pearance in the neighborhood of Constantinople, before going
farther afield in search of booty.
The contents of the first and second of these extracts are
discussed fairly fully in other chapters. Here something has to
be said about the third. This deals principally with an attack
on “Walandar” circa 320/932 by four Turkish tribes. In the
TanbihMas'udi says that the town of Walandar lay on the
extreme eastern frontier of the Byzantine empire and gave its
name to the Turkish nomads in the vicinity, who were known
collectively as al-Walandariyah and comprised the same four
tribes as in the passage from the Muruj al-DJiahab just quoted.
We are apparently to understand that after their capture of Wal¬
andar, as related in the sequel to that passage, they were
known by its name. It is quite plain from both passages that
Mas'udi thinks of the Turkish tribesmen as operating on the
European side of the Bosporus and indeed far into central
Europe. While there is some ground for thinking that the name
Walandar is to be connected W-n-nd-r, W-b-nd-r, W-n-nt-r,*36
etc. in the Caucasus region, it seems impossible that the mili¬
tary operations described by Mas'udi took place there.*3'
Ed. De Goeje, 180. 236 Cf. Chapter III.

mzeki Validi (“Volkerschaften ” 48ff) makes the "large Greek city
called Walandar" into a mountain-fortress in Abkhazia.
214
Gregoire’s suggestion that Walandar is Adrianople238 (cap¬

tured by the Bulgars in 923) fits well with the detail that the
Greeks advanced to meet the Turks for eight days (? from
Constantinople) and with the fact that large numbers are said
to have been engaged. There is, however, agreement that the
passage is embroiled. One remark may be added. It is men¬
tioned elsewhere that some of the Imperial guard from Con¬
stantinople fell into the hands of Symeon the Bulgar, shortly
before the Magyar expedition against him of which we have
spoken. Among the guardsmen were Khazars, as had for a
considerable time been usual.239 Symeon is said to have sent
them back to the capital with their noses cut off.240 The savage
action receives an explanation if he, or rather some of his
officers, regarded the Khazars in Greek service as traitors. This
would no doubt have been the case if Symeon actually had
Khazars fighting in his armies, as may be implied by Mas'udi’s
story.
Ibn-Hawqal’s narrative, as has already been said,241 follows
Istakhri’s very closely, usually almost verbatim. A very interest¬
ing addition in ibn-Hawqal is the following story, inserted after
Istakhri’s account of the Khazar judges.242
“Frequently things occur in the decisions of the king of the
Khazars which sound like a fairy-tale. Such, for example, is
what al-Mu'tadid related, when he had been mentioned in his
presence and the speaker referred to him scornfully. Not so,
said the Caliph. It is related of the Prophet that he said, God
Whose name is great makes no man ruler of a people, without
aiding him by a kind of guidance, even if he is an unbeliever.
A good instance of this is that there was a certain man belong¬
ing to Khazaran,243 who had a son, skilled in trading and ex¬
perienced in buying and selling. He sent him to Inner Bulgaria
and kept him supplied with merchandise. Then, after he had
sent his son away, he adopted one of his slaves, brought him
238 Op.cit., 642. **» See below.
240 Cf. Marquart, Streifz.. 521. 241 Cf. Chapter V.
242 Ibn-Hawqal, ed. De Goeje, 279ff; ibn-Hawqal, ed. Kramers, 391ff.
243 The western half of the double town is intended, see below.
215
up and educated him. His intelligence was good in what was

suggested to him in the way of business, so that the merchant
called him his son, owing to his nearness to him through duti¬
fulness and ability. The real son continued long abroad, while
the slave remained in the service of his father, until the man
died. Application was made by the son for supplies, not know¬
ing that his father was dead. The slave, however, took what
was sent him, without sending equivalent merchandise in re¬
turn. The son wrote asking him to send supplies to the usual
amount. The answer of the slave was a summons to return
home, that the account might be settled for the goods which he
held, and that he [i.e., the slave] might recover from him his
father’s property. This was enough to bring the real son back
to his father’s house in Khazaran, and the two of them began to
dispute and argue the case with proofs. But when one of them
had produced what he reckoned adequate proof, the other ad¬
vanced objections which held him up.
‘The dispute between them lasted a whole year. The quarrel,
having gone on so long, became very involved, so that the
matter ended in a deadlock. The king then undertook to try
the case between the parties and, having assembled all the
judges244 and the people of the city, held a court. The con¬
testants repeated their claims from the beginning of the dis¬
pute. The king could see no advantage for either, owing to the
equality of the proofs in his sight. So he said to the son, 'Do you
really know your father’s grave?* ‘I have been told of it,’ he
replied, *but I did not see his interment, to be sure of it.’ Then
he asked the slave who made the claim, ‘Do you know your
father’s grave?* *Yes,’ said he, ‘I had charge of his burial.’ Then
the king said, 'Away, the two of you, and bring me a bone, if
you find any/ The slave went to the grave, removed a bone and
brought it to him. Then he said to the slave who claimed to be
the merchant’s son, ‘Bleed yourself,’ which he did, and the
king gave orders that his blood should be cast upon the bone.
But the blood went from it and adhered to no part of it. Next
244 Who had presumably heard the preliminaries.
216
the son was bled, and his blood was cast upon the bone and
adhered to it. Then the king punished the slave severely and
handed over him and his wealth to the son.”245
It is clear that we have here to do with a very primitive order
of ideas. As in similar cases, if this does not correspond to the
stage of intellectual development actually reached by the Kha-
zars up to the time of al-Mu'tadid (reigned 279/892-2S9/902),
it evidently represents what their neighbors thought about
them. Assuming that the story has a basis of truth, it tends
to strengthen the impression that the superiority which the
Arabs appear to have felt as a more cultured nation than the
Khazars was justified. It provides also a further indication that
the Khazar state was far from being administered on the lines
laid down by Rabbinism. For Rabbinism the decision of a
legal issue by any such method as is here ascribed to the Kha¬
zar king is out of the question.
The authenticity of some of the details at all events is doubt¬
ful. Al-Mu'tadid must have had the story, if it be his, at second
hand. The direct participation of the king in legal proceedings,
however natural in itself, is in contradiction to Istakhri’s state¬
ment, actually incorporated in ibn-Hawqal’s own account. On
the other hand, in the development of the dispute the existence
of judges is perhaps implied and they are said to be present—
along with the townspeople—at the final trial. There is no con¬
firmation for Mas'udi’s remark that in difficult decisions the
Muslim judges were consulted and the law of Islam was fol¬
lowed.24a It is of course possible that in exceptional circum¬
stances the king (?Beg) took charge. The principal actors live
in Khazaran, i.e., presumably the aristocratic western bank of
the double town.247 We cannot, however, infer that they were
243 The point of the story should be that the soi-disant son alone is
willing to desecrate his father’s grave.
246 Quoted above.
247 It seems possible that the name Khazaran, as the king’s residence,
was sometimes applied to the Khazar capital as a whole, cr. Chapter V,
n. 16. On the other hand, Khazaran occurs, apparently as a Persian
plural form in -an, for the people (Chapter I, n. 61), i.e., equivalent to
al-Khazar.
217
Jews, for according to Istakhri not all the Muslims lived on the
eastern bank, though mostly they did. The son is sent to Inner
Bulgaria, i.e., probably, the territory on the Danube, present-
day Bulgaria.248 We seem already to have learned from Mas'udi
that there were Muslim merchants on the northern frontier of
the Byzantine empire.
This story of ibn-Hawqal seems to find an echo in the Tuhfat
al-Albdb of abu-Hamid al-Andalusi,249 who there speaks of his
eldest son as living in Bashghird (cf. Bajghird) and says that
he was there himself in 545/1150.”° Abu-Hamid’s work is de¬
scribed as a modest account of a journey.2*1 It is, however,
difficult to reconcile such an estimate with some of the con¬
tents, e.g., the statement that in Bashghird there are 78 cities,
each as great and prosperous as Baghdad or Isfahan.2*8 Even
if Bashghird is here Hungary, as Ferrand suggested, the exag¬
geration is excessive. Abu-Hamid in the Tuhfah claims to have
traveled extensively in the lands north of the Caliphate. He
had “passed from Sakhsin [Saqsin] in the country of the Kha-
zars and Turks to the Khwarizm Shah8** three times”2*4 and
been “near Rome,”2*3 of which he has given a description. But
abu-Hamid’s travels may have taken him no farther than the
cities of Syria and Iraq—though indeed even these were a long
way from his reputed birthplace in Granada. The Tuhfat al-
Albdb certainly gives the impression of being to a considerable
extent a collection of miscellaneous information and sensational
reports gathered from earlier writers and perhaps partly in¬
vented. His son in Bashghird, whether this is Hungary, the
Bashkir country in Russia238 or somewhere else, may like his
journey there be pure fiction.257 However this may be, Mar-
248 Marquart, Streifz., 517. Ed. Ferrand in JA.t 1925.

850 Errand, 194-195. Brockelmann, CA.L., Sup. i, 878.
"2 Ferrand, 195.
253 Or rather this is here a place-name. Cf. Chapter IX, n. 59.
254 Ferrand, 87. 233 Ibid., 195.
238 Brockelmann, loc.cit.
237 A full investigation of all the books bearing his name is needed
before the status of abu-Hamid can become perfectly clear. A work on
him is promised by Professor E. Garcia G6mez of Madrid.
218
quart-s suggestion that the Reply of Joseph is dependent on

the Tuhfat al-Albab cannot be accepted- As the book was
wntten in 557/1162,“* it was obviously not the source of the
Reply, which as we have seen was already known in the first
years of the 12th century at latest.
The Khazars in the service of Byzantium, mutilated by the
Bulgar Symeon, have already been mentioned. Khazar guards
in the Greek capital are spoken of at least as early as ibn-
Hustah. They are represented as stationed at one of the gates
of the Imperial palace, holding bows in their hands.- At a
later period the Emperor Constantine refers to Khazar guards
repeatedly. With the men of Farghanah they formed a small
corps cTdhte,»* paying a considerable sum for the privilege of
enrolment.-"3 The collocation of Khazars and men of Farghanah
is interesting. It is met with also at Samarra — To the Feast of
the Nativity, Constantine tells us, the Khazars of the guard
were invited along with their comrades from Farghanah and
elsewhere-** At this ceremony, as again at the Easter celebra¬
tions, the Bulgars had precedence over the Khazars — It
seems extremely unlikely that the Khazars in the Emperors
service practiced Judaism.
We may close this chapter with some particulars about the
Khazars in relation to the headquarters of Jewry in Iraq, or
Babylon, as the Hebrew writers still affected to call it. In the
Reply of Joseph it is stated in regard to the “end of the por¬
tents, i.e., the expected appearance of the Messiah, that the
Khazars “look towards the Lord our Cod and towards the wise
!00 ion "* Brockelmann, loc.ctt.
- Bury (!RE 228 „ ■>> .C?T Aui' B»z- * B°"". 693.

paid £3^2.8 o”o ^t,e5J.CalCUla,fd 'hat * Kha“' of ,hc ^
283 Cf. Chapter VIII, n. 67.
284 Op.cit., 749. ms lbid 772
Stfeifi, 219 P ^ Canying SPCare and shields. Cl Maiquart,
219
men of Israel, the academies of Jerusalem and Babylon.”267

But it is difficult to show that Khazaria fell within the sphere
of authority of the Prince of the Captivity. The Jewish trav¬
eler Benjamin of Tudela (circa 1170) found Khazars both at
Constantinople and at Alexandria.”9 He is silent about Kha¬
zaria as such, presumably an indication that the kingdom no
longer existed, especially if, as Adler thought,*'sa one reason for
his journey was to find an asylum for the Jews. When he speaks
of “all the land of the Turks (Togarmim)" with Alania and
Jurjan as subject to the jurisdiction of the Prince of the Cap¬
tivity, this only doubtfully includes reference to the Khazar
Jews.
On the other hand, R. Petahiah270 (circa 1185) is said to have
seen at Baghdad ambassadors from some northern people,
called Meshech or Magog, who had become Jews and been in
communication with the Head of the Academy. They welcomed
poor scholars to teach their children Torah and Talmud.271 It
is by no means clear that the Khazars are meant, though both
Meshech272 and Magog have Khazar associations. R. Petahiah
mentions Khazaria distinctly, and has nothing more to say of
it than that he passed through the country in eight days and
heard the wailing of women and the barking of dogs. There is
evidence in the Hebrew sources that the Khazars were known
in Iraq. The famous Sa’adiah Gaon (892-942) was certainly
aware of their existence and mentions them more than once.273
The expression "Hiram, king of Tyre" he explains not as a
proper name, but as a title “like Caliph for the ruler of the
287 Kokovtsov (Introduction) notes that the academy at Sura con¬

tinued to function till circa a.d. 943-953. Thereafter there was only one
Babylonian academy, which is the situation represented in the Reply of
Joseph (S.V.).
288 Cf. Chapter VIII, n. 64.
289 Benjamin of Tudela. ed. Adler, Introduction, xii.
270 Ed. Benisch, London, 1856, 46ff.
271 Scholars going from Egypt are specially mentioned.
272 For Meshech=Saqsin, cf. Chapter IX. Petahiah also speaks of the
country of Kedar, E. of the Dnieper. Perhaps in both cases there is a
more or less arbitrary use of Biblical names, cf. Sepharad=Spain.
273 Cf. Harkavy, Kohut Memorial Volume, 244ff.
220
Arabs and Khaqan for the king of the Khazars.”274 Commenting

on a Biblical verse215 Sa'adiah notices a custom told him of the
Khazar kings. In Khazaria, when a man executes an order, he
does not tell the king that it has been carried out till he re¬
ceives another. Again in one of his responses the Gaon mentions
a certain Isaac bar Abraham, who has apparently gone from
Iraq to Khazaria and settled there. In a passage from the
Karaite Japhet ibn-*Ali of Basrah (flor. 950-980) the word
mamzer, translated “bastard,” is significantly explained by the
Khazars “who became Jews.”274 In another Karaite author,
Jacob ben-Reuben (11th century) the Khazar conversion to
Judaism is mentioned, and they are said to form “a single na¬
tion, who do not bear the yoke of exile, but are great warriors
paying no tribute to the Gentiles."277 Further, W. Bacher278
thought that he had found a reference to the conversion of the
Khazar king in the midrashic work Tanna cTBe Elijah (Elijah
Rabbah), circa 974.279
The yield of Hebrew passages is small, and none of these
passages tells us explicitly that the Khazars came under the
jurisdiction of the central Jewish organization. They are rep¬
resented as remote from the centers of Judaism, little known,
and the object of conjecture rather than observation or in¬
formed opinion. It was scarcely physical remoteness alone that
determined the attitude of the Jewish authorities, as mirrored
in the literary works at our disposal. The reason for official
neglect of the Khazars was, at least in part, their imperfect
adherence to the practice of Judaism.
274 Harkavy mentions that he has seen a reference to the Khazar

Khaqan in Biruni (op.cit., 245). I do not know what passage he refers to.
275 Exodus, 19.9.
276 At the time of the Exile, adds the author. He means that it hap¬
pened a long time ago.
277 Both these references are taken from the same article by Harkavy.
278 R.E.J., xx (1889), 144-146.
279 It is remarkable that Druthmar, the earliest Latin authority for the
Judaism of the Khazars (Chapter VI, n. 10), antedates all these refer¬
ences by many years.
221
CAUSES OF THE DECLINE
OF THE KHAZARS
It is plain that at one time the Khazars were more powerful

than any of their neighbors except the Byzantine Creeks and
the Arabs of the Caliphate, yet national groups, such as the
Bulgars and the Georgians, which suffered at their hands or
were actually included in the Khazar empire, are still m exist¬
ence, while the Khazars themselves have long since passed
away, or at most are represented by vestigial communities in
the Crimea, the Caucasus, and perhaps elsewhere.' To con¬
sider the reasons for the decline of a people is always interest¬
ing. In the case of the Khazars the process was so complete as
to merit our special attention. Do the sources belonging to the
period when their state flourished suggest any inherent causes
of weakness? r
It has been usual for those who have studied the history ot
the Khazars to stress that while the religion of the ruling class
was Judaism, so that Khazaria during the highest stage of its
development, the 9th and 10th centuries of our era, may fairly
be called a Jewish state, other religions were extensively prac¬
ticed. The Muslims especially, as forming an important part
of the army, must have wielded considerable political power.
The mixed character of the state in this respect has been pointed
. A "Khazar" conunuru.y at Chufut 0.1. near UMM

Crimea last century is mentioned by Munk (M-. i, I■ » - h
Zaiaczkowskfs view that the Karaites are modern representatives of the
Starina, xi, Leningrad 1924]). For the "Mountain Jews of ™ Caucasus,
bu, can-
not be relied on for details.

222
to as a favorable feature, connected with the Judaism of its
rulers, whose policy, it is conjectured, involved full liberty of
religion for all. We may note in passing that the degree of
civilization reached by the Khazars may easily be exaggerated.2
It is by no means clear that the idea of religious toleration ever
presented itself to them, or could have done so. Granting, how¬
ever, that there was de facto toleration of various creeds to a
greater extent than in contemporary Christian or even Muslim
states—the situation rather resembling that in countries ruled
by the Mongols later-we may enquire whether this lack of
uniformity of faith was not a serious source of weakness. It
seems trifling to suggest that the Judaism of the Khazars in it¬
self led to a decline of the national vigor.3 There may be more
in the view that the cosmopolitan character imparted to the
state by Jewish leadership endangered its survival and in the
end proved disastrous.
Historically, however, the situation among the Khazars ap¬
pears to have been the result of causes with which their Juda¬
ism—never in any case highly developed—had nothing to do.
The parallel of the Mongol state already suggested holds. In
the normal course of their expansion and consolidation as a
political power, groups of varying religious allegiance came
under the control of the Khazars from an early date. For the
presence of Christians and Muslims in Khazaria, presumably
in large numbers, Khazar Judaism does not seem in any way
accountable. Nor can it be said that this was in the long run
fatal. The downfall of Khazaria, as we shall see, was not the
result of defeats inflicted by Byzantium or the Caliphate. There
is no question of a wholesale defection to the enemy of one of
the non-Jewish groups. Rather we have to take the religious
2 H. Rosenthal in J.E. says: "The Chazars enjoyed all the privileges of

civilised nations, a well-constituted and tolerant government, a flourish¬
ing trade and a well-disciplined standing army. In a time when fanati¬
cism, ignorance, and anarchy reigned in western Europe, the kingdom
of the Chazars could boast of its just and broadminded administration’
(art. Chazars). Even Munk (loc.cit.) writes: "les lois des Khazares pro-
clamaient une liberie de conscience illimitee.”
8 Marquart, Streifz., 27, cf. 5.
223
THE DECLINE OF THE KHAZARS
differences among the Khazar population along with racial dif¬

ferences. Together these undoubtedly gave a highly diversified
pattern to the Khazar empire. Nomads of the steppes, towns¬
men of the capital and the other cities (each no doubt with
special characteristics), cultivators and hunters from the west¬
ern provinces, Turks, Jews, and Arabs, as well as men of Slav
and Finnish or kindred race-all were represented in Khazaria.
This conglomeration of peoples and creeds is to be thought of
as presided over by an aristocracy, whom we may call the
White Khazars,* consisting of a relatively small number of
partially Judaized Turks. It was apparently they who held to¬
gether the various countries and provinces, which for the rest
remained under native rulers. When this picture is examined,
it turns out to be not unlike what we find in other empires.
The diversity of population in the territory controlled by the
Khazars was no doubt very great, scarcely to be matched in¬
deed among contemporary states, but not unparalleled in other
times. It would be hazardous to say that the absence of racial
or religious solidarity was the prime cause of the collapse of
their empire.
Our information indicates another potential source of weak¬
ness. The material resources of Khazaria were limited. Thus
Muqaddasi says with reference to the steppes of the Volga in
the vicinity of the capital that the country is bare and dry with¬
out cattle or fruits.5 There is no doubt some exaggeration here.
We know that the Khazars possessed camels.5 They were per¬
haps of a particular breed, of small size, distinct from the
"Bactrian” two-humped variety.7 Muqaddasi himself in an¬
other place mentions the numerous sheep of the country.5 The
Khazars could mount many thousands of cavalry and must of
course have had an abundant supply of horses. We read in fact
* Cf. Istakhri, quoted Chapter V. 5 Ed. De Coeje, 361.

e As did the Bulgars apparently (abu-Hamid al-Andalusi, ed. Feirand,
238, quoting Qazwini). The Burtas possessed not only camels but cattle
(baqar) as well (ibn-Rustah, 141).
’Zeki Validi, Ibrx-Fadlarx, 15, n. 3, citing ibn-Atham al-Kuh (barai
ms., n, 241b).
» Ed. De Goeje, 355.
224
that Marwan during the Arab invasion of Khazaria in 119/737

destroyed large studs in the course of his march up the Volga.®
According to ibn-Sald, the riding animals of the Khazars were
unusually big10—presumably referring to the horses. The steppe
was cultivated at least in places. Both the Hebrew Correspond¬
ence and Istakhri, as already noted, speak of the fields extend¬
ing round the capital for a distance of 60 or 70 miles. Gardizi
also mentions the fields (kishtzdrha) of the Khazars.11 Crops
of millet12 and rice13 were raised. Nluqaddasi says that they
used an inferior kind of bread called “athir.”14 Fish formed part
of the staple diet.15
As to other products of the country, Muqaddasi19 and
Gardizi17 both mention abundant honey, to which Gardizi adds
excellent wax. But Istakhri says more than once that the honey
and wax which came from Khazaria were brought from else¬
where and reexported.19 We hear also of Khazar fox-skins.1®
Istakhri makes clear that furs of different kinds, as well as the
honey and wax, reached the Khazars from Russian and Bul¬
garian territory.20 According to ibn-Rustah21 and Gardizi22
there was much honey in the Burtas country, upstream from
Khazaria proper towards the Bulgars. As far as furs are con¬
cerned, though the sables of Bulghar were famous23 and there
was a special fox-skin of Burtas,24 where marten-skins were also
• Bal’ami, 540, cf. Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadldn, 304.

10 Cf. Chapter I, n. 35. Ibn-Sald accounts for the fact by the cold,
wet climate.
11 Ed. Barthold, 96.
12 Cf. the story in Mirkhwand quoted D’Herbelot, art. Khozars.
13 Cf. I$takhri, quoted Chapter V. 14 Ed. De Goeje, 361, cf. 359.
18 Istakhri, ibid. 38 Ed. De Coeje, 355. 32 Ed. Barthold. 96.
18 Ibid. 39 Abu-Hamid al-Andalusi, 212.
20 Istakhri (ibid.) mentions beaver-skins in two places. In one of these
(Similarly the beaver-skins etc.) the Chester Beatty ms. (cf. Chapter V,
n. 7) substitutes “otter-skins.”
21 Ed. De Coeie, 141.
22 Ed. Barthold, 97. 13 Abu-Hamid al-Andalusi, loc.cit.
24 The Chester Beatty ms. of Istakhri (n. 20) speaks of fuliid d-
tha'alib d-mansiibah ila Burtas. We leam from Mas’udi (Tanbth, 63)
that the black fox-skins of Burtas were the best in the world. Mas’udi
mentions other kinds, the red and the white, etc. The Caliph Mahdi,
while living at Rayy before his accession, had tested different furs for
225
important,25 a large quantity must have come from Russia,

which of course unlike the first-named regions lay outside the
Khazar empire. Ibn-Khurdadhbih28 and following him ibn-al-
Faqih2T speak of the beaver-skins and black fox-skins brought
by the Russian merchants first to Constantinople, then by way
of the Black Sea, the strait of Kertch and the Don to the Volga
and the Khazar capital.28 Here the Khaqan or his representative
obliged the Russian merchants to pay a tenth of the value of
their wares. These merchants continued their journey down the
Volga to the sea, selling what they had brought, including
sword-blades as well as furs, in Jurjan, on the opposite side of
the Caspian. Ibn al-Faqih also speaks of Khazar spears.29 That
the Russian merchants always traveled so far afield is unlikely.
We find them in ibn-Fadlan’s time among the Volga Bulgars.30
Undoubtedly they proceeded from there as far as Khazaran-
Atil, as is explicitly stated by Istakhri81 and ibn-Hawqal.32
Mas*udi mentions them on one bank of the Khazar capital.33
The traffic was probably lucrative, for there was a demand for
these northern furs among the Muslim upper classes,84 but it
is doubtful if it can be reckoned a great Khazar asset, except
in so far as consignments could be taxed.
Istakhri mentions other commodities reaching Khazaria.
There was a trade in lead, also with the Russians, but this was
perhaps obtained at Kiev by Khazar merchants.85 More im-
heat, by the simple process of placing them in sealed bottles out of

doors on a cold night, and satisfied himself by inspection that the black
fox fur, which alone had not frozen in its container, was the warmest (I).
The qddi of Aleppo Baha’-al-Din ibn-Shaddad (d. 632/1234) as a very
old man wore a mantle of Burtas fur (ibn-Khallikan, n, 530).
28 Ibn-Rustah, 141.
28 Ed. De Goeje, 154. Cf. Chapter V, n. 44.
*T Ed. De Goeje, 270-271.
28 Khamlij madinat al-Khazar, according to ibn-Khurdadhbih. Ibn-al-
Faqih (loc.cit.) has “khalij al-Khazar” "the gulf of the Khazars,” which
should be corrected.
29 Ed. De Goeje, 50 (cited Zeki Vaiidi, Ibn-Fodldn, 210).
Cf. Chapter VII, n. 195. ** Ibid.
82 Ed. De Goeje, 281; ed. Kramers, 392. » Chapter VII.
34 Mas udi, Tanbih, 63; cf. n. 24 supra. *• I$takhri, ibid.
226
portant was the brisk traffic in slaves down the Volga, which is
mentioned by Istakhri and confirmed by ibn-Fadlan.3e The
fact that the Russians brought slaves from the north is certain,
and it is further implied that there was a slave-market in the
Khazar capital,” whence they frequently passed to Muslim
lands.3* This need not surprise us, for in other parts of Europe
at a much later date slavery survived.3* Istakhri says that to sell
their own children into slavery was repugnant to the Jews and
Christians of Khazaria, as well as to the Muslims, and was only
practiced by the heathen.*0 There was evidently no objection
to the institution as such, nor did the Judaism of the rulers
lead them to discountenance it. On the contrary, the existence of
slaves was tolerated, and they were bought and sold openly like
other marketable goods. A further stage of the slave-route from
the north seems to have been at Darband (Bab al-Abwab).*1
Similarly in western Europe at the same period, in France and
Spain, a traffic in slaves from north to south was kept up, and
there is no reason to suppose that the part said to have been
played by Jews is an invention of malicious enemies."
If the Darband-Namah is to be trusted, the Khazars con¬
trolled silver and gold" (or copper)«* mines in the Caucasus
region, from the produce of which their troops on this frontier
are said to have been paid. The province of Samandar, lying
3* 5577, 83.
37 Istakhri s words are "The slaves found among the Khazars are idol-
aters, who permit the sale of their children and the enslavement of one
an°'th"- abTr.e,,9'ap,er v>- The sales evidently took place in
Khazartn-Atd. Abu-al-Fida (217) says that Saray (see below) was a
great slave-market.
» Istakhri, ed. De Coeje, 305, speaks of $aqlab and Khazar slaves with
pT°fJUI;k,S^n\tioas reaching Khwarizm, cf. Zeki Validi, Ihn-
Falldn, 309 Cf also ibn-Hawqal. ed. De Goeje. 281 (the Khwarizmians
captive6) QndS °f lhC Bu g3rS and §a9aIibah. plunder them and take them
Ch’reb S^°ând A and as late as a.d. 1258, see Cunningham’s

Church History of Scotland (1882), i, 110.
!! fo,Uo,wing t** remark quoted in n. 37, above.
!! #“*** ol-Alnm, §36. 40. « Maqqari, i, 92.
th* KaffK I4”7' .*Near was a g°,d (?) and at
the ™
source of the Terek a silver mine.”
44 Cf. Kasem Beg, 465.
227
on the northern side of the mountains, appears to have been

rich and fertile. Istakhri and ibn-Hawqal refer to its gardens
and vineyards, the latter numbering many thousands.45 Else¬
where too in Khazar territory gardens were perhaps to be
found, as mentioned by Gardizi.48 It is evidently not possible
to give a systematic account of the material resources of the
Khazars. The most important of these were doubtless livestock
and the produce of their agriculture. There appears to have
been no surplus of either. We have the striking statement of
Istakhri that the only Khazar export, as distinct from what was
brought into the country and reexported, was isinglass.47
Their activity as merchants seems none the less to have been
considerable. Mas'udi’s remark about the king of the Khazars
possessing no ships (marakib) and his men being unaccustomed
to their use48 is misleading in this connection. Barthold has
pointed out that it is inconsistent with what Hilal al-§abi’
says about a sea-wall in the Caspian at Darband, the purpose
of which was “to prevent the ships (marakib) of the Khazars
from entering."49 Further, Mas'udi’s account of the Khazars
shows some contradiction in saying explicitly elsewhere that
the Khazars had vessels (zawariq) in which people went up¬
stream from the capital,90 and that ships (sufun) passed back
and forward between the Khazars and the Bulgars.91 This is
said also by Muqaddasi,82 and ibn-Fadlan mentions that when
a ship (safxnah) put in on Bulgar territory, coming from Kha-
zaria, the Bulgar chief (Yaltawar, Elteber) rode down in per¬
son and took a tenth of the cargo for himself." It is not men-
48 I$takhri’s figure (quoted Chapter V) is 4,000, increased in the text

of ibn-Hawqal to 40,000.
48 Ed. Barthold, 96. 41 Istakhri, ibid. 48 Quoted, Chapter VII.
49 Hilal al-$abi’ ed. Amedroz, 217, cited £./., art. Khazar. This in¬
formation apparently refers to the time of the celebrated vizier Ali ibn-
al-Furat (c. 268/900), for which Hilal al-Sabi' (c. 390/999) cites con¬
temporary authorities. But it could mean that the sea-wall was originally
built against the Khazars by Anushirwan (cf. Qudamah, 261, speaking of
al-ha’it fi-al-bahr), in which case it may be legendary (cf. Chapter I).
We do not in general hear of Khazar attacks by sea against the Caspian
coast (but cf. below, Chapter IX).
89 Quoted, Chapter VII. 81 Ibid. ** Ed. De Goeje, 365. 88 §77.
228
tioned that the Bulgars possessed ships, and we can hardly sup¬
pose that the main traffic on the Volga was in Russian hands.54
There was at all events a bridge of ships (sufun) across the
river at the Khazar capital, according to Mas*udi’s express
statement.55 The context of his remark first quoted is the Rus¬
sian expedition down the Volga in 301/913, and possibly what
he means is that the Khazar ruler had no navy to match the
invaders. Alternatively, he has been misinformed. It is interest¬
ing to find that Mas'udi’s opinion is still apparently current.55
The probable fact, however, is that Khazar ships sailed not
only on the Volga but also on the Caspian, the so-called Sea
of the Khazars, making use of the sea-routes indicated by
Istakhri,57 if not threatening Darband, as envisaged by the pas¬
sage from Hilal al-Sabi*. According to the short account of
Khazaria in the Letter of Hasday, ships of the country appear
to have come as far as Constantinople (circa 3*10/950), hardly
from the capital on the Volga (using the Don-Volga passage),
but rather from the Black Sea port of Tamatarkha (Phanagoria,
Taman, Tmutorakan), where long before, as we have seen,58
the Greek Emperor Justinian II found a vessel to take him
back to his own country. It should be observed that the sea
of Azov as well as the Caspian was sometimes called the Sea
of the Khazars.59
Khazar trade was also carried on by land. The caravan route
round the head of the Caspian must always have possessed
considerable importance, though we can speak with some cer¬
tainty only of the linking of Khazaria with Khwarizm.80 In
54 Mas'udi (Tanbih, 62) says that large ships ply on the Volga (nahr
al-Khazar) from Khwarizm and elsewhere with merchandise and all sorts
of wares.
33 See Chapter VII.
38 Sava (cf. n. 1) mentions the remark of El-Musidi (sic) that the
kings of the Khazars had no ships on the Caspian, for the Khazars were
no sailors.
37 Ed. De Coeje, 226-227.
38 Chapter VII. 39 Mas'udi, Tanbih, 138.
60 It is implied by ibn-Fadlan that there was regular traffic along the
route his party took. Cf. n. 38.
229
ibn-Hawqal’s story81 a firm in the capital had its representative,

as we should nowadays say, in Inner Bulghar, apparently Bul¬
garia on the Danube. According to the Jewish traveler Ibra¬
him ibn-Ya’qub (10th century) the Khazars spoke the language
of the Saqalibah.82 If so, they hardly learned it except by travel
in the country. We read in Mas'udi that there were Muslim mer¬
chants from Khazaria on the northern frontiers of Byzantium.83
The 12th century traveler Benjamin of Tudela says that he
met merchants of Khazaria in Constantinople and also in Al¬
exandria.84 Ya'qubi remarks that among the profusion of mer¬
chandise which reached Baghdad were goods from Khazaria.8r
Russian merchants, as we have seen, made direct contact with
the lands of the Caliphate, and the Jewish Radhaniyah88 visited
the Khazar capital as well as Baghdad and other Muslim cities.
Khazar merchants perhaps shared in the traffic. \a‘qubi men¬
tions a street or quarter in Samarra where the Khazars lived
near the Turks and the natives of Farghanah.87 It is not
necessary to suppose that these were exclusively mercenary
soldiers.
In regard to manufactures, isinglass has already been men¬
tioned. This was evidently prepared from the catches of fishers
along the Volga. We know at least that in the Khazar capital
Muslim craftsmen were numerous.8" It is remarkable, however,
that according to Istakhri no clothing was produced in the
country.89 The long coats worn by the Khazars,70 also their
tunics, were imported from the Muslim lands or Byzantium.
The Chuzz (Oguz), who were politically dependent on the
Khaqan, also bought clothing from the Muslims.71 The absence
81 See Chapter VII. t .

82 Bekri, 39 (quoted Marquart, Streifz., 192). Cf. T. Kowalski, Rela-
tio Ibrahim ibn-Ja’kub de itinere Slavico quae tradUur apud al-Bokri
(Monumenta Poloniae Historica, Nov. Ser., t.i., v, Cracow 1946).
83 See Chapter VII.
88 Ed. Adler, 12, 76. Asher's ed. omits the references.
88 K. al-Buldan, 234. 88 Cf. Chapter VI, n. 69. 87 Buldan, 262.
88 Mas’udi, quoted Chapter VII. 89 See Chapter V.
to I$takhri (ibid.) contrasts the long or full coats of the Khazars with
the short coats of the Russians.

71 Ibn-Fadlan, §25.
230
of this important industry, though it can scarcely have been so

complete as Istakhri says, suggests that Khazar manufacturing
was at a low level of development,72 and at the same time we
have an indication of the cultural influence exerted on Kha-

zaria by the Empire and the Caliphate.
The archaeologist T. J. Arne found that the Khazar civiliza¬

tion was strongly influenced by Persian models, and that, for
certain, imitations of Sassanid craftsmanship were frequent in

Khazaria.73 Similarly he found that plates intended for the
ornamentation of belts, discovered in western Russia and

Sweden, bear characteristic Persian designs, and must have
been manufactured within the limits of Khazar cultural in¬

fluence, the type having reached the Khazars from Persia.74
Again he speaks of clasps (fibules) of supposed Byzantine
origin having been imitated in the countries dominated by
Khazar culture after the 8th century.75 But all this is less re¬
markable than the claim made by the well-known numismatist

Zambaur that for the most part the imitations of Arab coinage,
which are numerous in archaeological finds in Sweden and
Russia, were systematically made in Khazar mints.7" Arne ob¬
jected to Zambaur (a) that such imitations have hardly been
found in Khazar territory, and (b) that a mould of stone in¬
tended to counterfeit Samanid money has been found well be¬

yond the Khazar sphere of influence at any time (Vitebsk).
This stone mould from Vitebsk is mentioned by Barthold in

connection with Russian minting.77 It is of course striking that
we have no native Khazar coinage78 and almost impossible to
72 Ijtakhri (213) mentions a regular trade between Astarabad and

Khazaria, of which the silk produced in the neighborhood of Astarabad
evidently formed an important part, no doubt already manufactured.
96 9^° SU*de 6t l 0rient (Archives d'Etudes Orientates, 8), Upsala 1914,
24 Ibid., 157. ts Ibid., 143.

78 E. von Zambaur, “Orientalische Miinzen in Nord- und Ost-Europa”
(Vortrag in der WienerNumism. Cesellsch., 1902) and “Die Miinzen der
Lhazaren (Monatsblatt der numism. Cescllschaft in Wien, viu, 1911),
cited Arne, ibid., 86.
"Decouverte, 196, cited R. Hennig, “Die mittelalterische arabische
Handelsverkehr in Ost-Europa," Der Islam, B. 22 (1935).
78 Cf. Chapter VI, n. 18.
231
think that the commercial activity of Khazaran-Atil proceeded

by primitive barter. But meantime no evidence seems to have
accrued in favor of Zambaur’s view.
The general impression which we gain from the facts given is
that Atil was an important entrepdt for commerce, east and
west, as well as north and south. The prosperity of Khazaria
evidently depended less on the resources of the country than on
its favorable position across important trade-routes. What we
can learn of the fiscal system confirms this. Taxation seems to
have fallen lightly on the natives, and perhaps the Khazars
proper (White Khazars) had only the obligation of military
service. According to Istakhri, whom we have so often quoted,
the king had no right to the property of subjects.78 This may
refer to the Beg, for elsewhere it is said that the Khaqan enjoys
payments and fixed subsidies which come to him from dues
falling on the whole population.*0 In any case, the Beg was the
chief executive power, and presumably his expenditure was the
greatest single item on the Khazar budget. Istakhri’s words are
to the effect that the sources of the kings income were twofold,
customs-dues and tithes on merchandise coming along the
land and water routes of the country, and tribute levied in
kind within the empire.*1
As to the dues mentioned by Istakhri as the first source of
revenue, we have already seen that the Russian merchants trad¬
ing in furs and swords paid the Khazar Khaqan or his repre¬
sentative a tenth of the value of their cargoes. All the Russian
trade appears to have been similarly taxed,** and we may per¬
haps infer that this tithing was general, i.e., incident also upon
the Muslims who visited Khazaria. Possibly connected with the
collection of such customs and the incidental legal cases was
the function of two Khazar officials who appear to have oc¬
cupied the same post, in ibn-Fadlan’s time a certain Khazz”
and in Mas*udi’s one Ahmad ibn-Kuyah*4 (Guyah). Both these
»• See Chapter V, n. 17. . 80 Ibn-Hawqal, ed. Kramers, 396.

•» See Chapter V, above. 88 Ibn-Hawqal, ed. Kramers, 392.
88 Chapter V, n. 99. 84 Chapter VII, n. 199.
' 232 '

men certainly held an important office, which cannot have been

that of Beg. They were Muslims, and the Beg was naturally a
Jewish Khazar.85 Nor apparently was either of them a regular
Muslim judge. The Muslim judges, like those of the Jews and
the Christians, were two in number,88 but Khazz and later
Ahmad ibn-Kuyah were evidently independent in their own
sphere, whatever it was.
The second of these two sources of revenue can be illustrated
from the Russian Chronicle. We have already mentioned the
Slav nations, Polians and others, who paid tribute to the Kha-
zars in the 9th and 10th centuries.87 Evidently the Khazars took
as the unit of taxation of subject peoples the individual hearth
or plough, and assessed payment at a sword or a sable-skin, or
in other cases a piece of money per plough or per head.88 The
incidence of this was perhaps irregular, when a commodity was
required, or as often as it was convenient to collect it. The
Bulgar chief (Yaltawar, Elteber) similarly contributed a sable-
skin for each household.88
Such then appears to have been a main part of the public
revenue of the Khazars-customs and the tribute of subject peo¬
ples. The private wealth of the country, derived principally
from commercial enterprises in the handling of imports, was no
doubt considerable. But, as we have indicated, there were no
large natural resources available for export, nor a steady sup¬
ply of the products of home industry. The Khazar economy in
these circumstances appears as highly artificial. Everything
was dependent on political prestige and military strength. It is
evident that heavy customs would be no more welcome to
traders than the tribute in kind to the nations from whom it
was taken. To secure both the one and the other force, or at
least a display of force, was necessary. It appears from the
88 Ibn-Rustah, I$takhri, see Chapter V. 88 Masudi, Chapter VII.

87 See Chapter VII. 88 Russian Chronicle, cc. 12, 14, 15, 32.
89 Ibn-Fadfan, §77, cf. §56. Each household contributed a sable skin
which the Yaltawar then transmitted to the Khazar authorities. Y&qut
(Buldan, art. Bulghar) quoting the same passage has for “sable-skin,”
"ox-hide,” evidently in error.
233
Russian Chronicle that the Slav tribes were willing as soon as

an opportunity offered to throw off their dependence on the
Khazars.90 We gather from ibn-Fadlan that the central author¬
ity was no more popular in the east of the empire, among the
Bulgars and Ghuzz.91 As long, we may say, as the Khazars were
able to hold their conquests as they had won them, by force of
arms, such a system might work. But when once their military
power had been broken, the whole economy was liable to
collapse.
At some point this is undoubtedly what happened. Payments
in kind and customs-dues must have in consequence ceased for
the time being to flow into the treasury'. Disaffected groups
would seek their independence. A weakened central authority
would be unable at once to send men to reoccupy strategic
points formerly held, or to enforce the old contributions. The
machinery of the state having been thus violently thrown out
of gear, to set it in operation again was evidently found to be
impossible. We may suppose that if the bases of their power
in the area between the Volga and the Caucasus had been more
richly endowed by nature, or if they had had a pronounced
bent for the industrial arts, the Khazars might have been able
to consolidate what remained to them, to win back by diplo¬
macy or reconquer piecemeal the revolted peoples and gradu¬
ally to reestablish their political and commercial system in their
former territory. These conditions were, however, lacking.
Though the racial and religious differences within the Kha-
zar empire no doubt contributed to its disintegration, the main
cause of this is to be looked for in its character as an agglomera¬
tion of adjacent territories, without natural frontiers and far
from self-sufficient, incapable in the long run of forming a
permanently stable political and economic unit. For a time
these territories had passed into the hands of a military aris¬
tocracy, the Judaized Khazars, who so long as their horsemen
could control what lay between their garrisons and towns
wielded a redoubtable power. In respect of geographical ex-
90 C. 15. Cf. Platonov, op.cit., 497, 498. »» §§36, 48, 78.
234
m*
tent and political importance Khazaria, as we have seen, for

a permd challenged comparison with the greatest nations of
that age. This state of affairs did not last indefinitely. The mili¬
tary control was interrupted, and Khazaria fell, lacking a more
permanent bond of unity. It is part of the paradox that some of
he smaller groups which had been absorbed or threatened by
the Khazar empire have survived till the present time. The
Khazars themselves, once “incomparably more powerful"-’ than
their neighbors are a barely remembered name.
For all this the parallel of national states in east and west
ami Y inS,rUC'ive- The history of France, for ex-

P '.°r Pe”'a' ,s traceable continuously through periods of
expansmn and decline back to a remote annuity. AnSent Gaul
comm, i f l the,r J,’V,'ng rePresentat"'« in important

communities of the present day. It is otherwise with the nomad
empires which, rising with incredible rapidity to a leading place
among the nations, have for a time seemed almost to dominate
the stage of history and then as quicklv passed awav Such
dTitTzt;',he Hu“ “d
enil SW6pt °VCr mU0h 0f the Civilized world
engulfing great states in their vast territories. Yet the tide
eceded and the Mongds came ,0 be of faf ^ ce
to whi r,hef" "a Wh,Ch ,hey h3d °Ver,hrown' or China,

o which they gave a dynasty. The adventure of the Khazars
on a much smaller scale than that of the Mongols. The
num ers o their fighting forces and the areas which they con-
ot nX;e,;er even appr-ima^ - g-t,

Sols or ofte H 'k SpeClaCU,ar- Yet ^ eclipse of the Mon-
fate which o rt u ,hem> Penn'ts US ,0 understand the
nth apparem,y in 10th and
rZit z°z %:i::ho,d's (EJ- »*»*> °* ^

PI°^re- A resume of what had bLn do™ lnfonna,tion “ not easy to
19H Sutras wll^Ty TP 1°
235
Arne (op.cit.), with references to the Russian literature. Poliak (Kha-

zaria, c. 5) discusses some of the finds. Other work which should be of
importance has been done at Bulghar, cf. Smolin, Po razval. drev. Bui-
gara, Kazan 1926 (cited by Minorsky, Hudud, 461, n. 2) and at Suwar.
It is clear that at the latter site valuable results have already been ob¬
tained. Zeki Validi (Ibn-Fadlon, 75 n.) cites A. P. Smirnov for the in¬
formation that a two-storey palace of the 10th century was found and
many coins. These should throw light on the question of Khazar repro¬
duction of Arab coins raised above. There is a short notice in Sovietskaya
Archaeologiya, iv (Moscow 1937). It may be added that there is now a
good deal less than agreement that Verkhni Saltov is a Khazar site (Ver¬
nadsky, Anc. Russ., 157, 241, cf. 269, citing N. Fettich, Die Metallkunst
der landnehmerulen Ungam, Archaeologia Hungarica, 21 (1937) and
A. Zakhanov and V. V. Arendt, Studio Levedica, same series, 16 (1935).
Cf. also Chapter VI, n. 105.
236
THE END OF THE KHAZAR STATE
Having in a previous chapter discussed where the weakness of

Khazaria presumably lay, we have now to attempt to trace the
course of events which led to its disintegration and final dis¬
appearance. In the middle of the 10th century, as we gather
from the accounts of Istakhri (320/932) and Mas’udi (332/
943), as well as from the Khazar Correspondence, the state
was flourishing. If the Cambridge Document is to be relied on,
the Khazars at this period had won notable military successes,
especially against the Byzantines.* Yet evidently a serious threat
to their empire had already developed in the consolidation of
the Russian power. How early the Russian raids down the
Volga began cannot be stated positively.*
At an early period the Russians seem to have been under
Khazar influence, at least culturally.* The Russian Khaqan is
mentioned in Arabic sources,4 but also in the Latin account of
a Byzantine embassy to the Emperor of the West in a.d. 839*
(Chacanus). The title may have been borrowed from the Kha-
* See above. Chapter VI.

2 The passage in Bal'ami (cd. Dorn, 500), according to which the
Russians were dangerous in the Caucasus lands as early as 22/642-643,
has been discussed in Chapter III. There is a parallel notice, as regards
the date for the appearance of the Russians, in the well-known Futuh
al-Sham (attributed to VVaqidi, ob. 207/823, but hardly written till the
time of the Crusades), which mentions that Saqalibah fought on the
Greek side at the battle of the Yarmuk (15/636) under a Russian king
Qanatir (ed. of a.h. 1335, i, 97). This is pure phantasy. For the name,
cf. Qantal in Nizami (Chapter I, n. 61).
8 This matter has recently been discussed in Russia, in connection with
the views of Artamonov, who favors Khazar influence on the Russians
(see The Times, 12.1.1952).
4 Ibn-Rustah, 145, etc. (cf. Marquart, Streifz., 200).
8 Annales Bertiniani, a. 839, Mon. Gem Scr., i, 434 (cited Marquart,
Sir., 202).
END OF THE KHAZAR STATE
zars, as Marquart thought.* Further, the Russian king in ibn-

Fadlan’s time (a.d. 922) had like the Khazar Khaqan a lieu¬
tenant (khaVifah) who led the armies, waged war with enemies
and represented him to his people.1 Zeki Validi does not doubt
that this office among the Russians was derived from the Kha¬
zar system.* It would seem that ibn-Fadlan had heard about the
Russian voevods.®
By the 9th century at all events the Russians were strong
enough to occupy a part of the Khazar territory in the west,
including the city of Kiev (?a.d. 878).10 We begin to hear of
specific Russian expeditions down the Volga. In the time of the
Sayyid Hasan ibn-Zayd, ruler of Tabaristan between 251/864
and 270/884, the Russians reached the Caspian and made an
unsuccessful attack on Abaskun on the eastern shore." In 297/
910 sixteen of their ships appeared at Abaskun, and this time
they wasted and looted the settlement and the surrounding
country, carrying off or killing a number of the Muslims.12
The presence of these ships on Caspian waters is probably to
be explained by the commercial advantages accruing to Kha-
zaria while the Volga route was kept open. As already noticed,
Russian ships passing through the country were liable to a tax
of a tenth on their cargoes. This is stated by ibn-Khurdadhbih,
writing circa a.d. 840, but the traffic is vouched for long after
the Khazars lost their western territory to the Russians." We
shall probably be right in assuming that the ships which raided
Abaskun reached the Caspian with the goodwill of the Khazar
government.
The situation, however, was changing. Shortly after the sec¬
ond of these recorded attacks on Abaskun, the Khazar authori¬
ties were requested to allow a Russian war-fleet to make use
• Zeki Validi (“Die Schwerter der Cermanen," 32) thinks that the
title Khaqan came to the Russians from their earlier association with
the Huns (?).
t Ibn-Fadlan, §93. 8 Ibn-Fadl&n, 253.
•Cf. N. k. Chadwick, Beginnings of Russian History, 115.
10 Cf. Vemadskv, Ancient Russia, 368.
Ibn-Isfandiyai-, 199. «Ibid.
18 Istakhri-ibn-Hawqal, cf- Chapters V and VIII, n. 82.
238
I'tdstr
U Ur lilt Ml/UAK OlAlt
of the Volga water-way.1* The Russians disclosed their inten¬

tion of raiding the Caspian seaboard and offered the Khazars
one half of the booty which they hoped to take, in return for
this concession. Their application was granted.
Gibbon in one place remarks “In the history of the world I
can only perceive two navies on the Caspian.”15 He is thinking
of a Macedonian fleet under the admiral Patrocles, which is
said to have descended the Oxus from central Asia,16 and of
the fleet and army conducted by Peter the Great from the
neighborhood of Moscow to the Caspian coast. The Russian
armament of which we now speak was also a war-fleet on an
extensive scale. It contained 500 ships each manned by 100
men-clearly for those days a powerful striking force. We do
not know why the Khazars allowed the Russians entry to the
heart of their country, when they were strong enough to with¬
hold it, as the sequel indicates. Perhaps their authorities, who
had no special love for the Muslims, were well content by do¬
ing nothing to make a substantial gain at their expense, for of
course the Russian expedition was directed at the Muslim prov¬
inces on the Caspian. In any case the decision of the Khazar
leaders must seem to have set a highly dangerous precedent.
On this occasion (circa 913)17 the Russians raided at a num¬
ber of points along the Caspian shores, and even got as far as
Ardabil in Adharbayjan, three days’ journey inland. An ac¬
count of what happened in the sequel has already been given
in Chapter VII from Mas'udi. Since then, to Mas'udi’s knowl¬
edge, there had been no repetition of any such attempt on the
part of the Russians. But in the year in which he was writing
(332/943) they were again in the Caspian, with results only
less disastrous, it would seem, to themselves and others. The
expedition of 943 was indeed on a great scale. The Russians
14 Mas'udi, see above.

15 Decline and Fall, c. 46, n. 5.
16 There is now doubt as to whether this expedition was ever made.
17 The expedition perhaps took place in 301/913, soon after the ac¬
cession of tne Russian Igor (Minorsky, art. Rus). Mas'udi says
"some time after 300,” while ibn-Isfandiyar, loc.cit., gives the date as
a.h. 298.
239
captured Bardha'ah and held it for a year.18 More than a gen¬

eration afterwards their camp outside the city was still remem¬
bered.19 They suffered on this occasion not at the hands of the
Khazars-whose part in the affair can only be conjectured-
but in consequence of a pestilence, which broke out among
them, leaving them much weakened and unable to resist the
Musafirid, Marzaban ibn-Muhammad, ruler of Adharbayjan,
who drove those who survived to their ships. In what happened
the pious Muslim saw a divine judgment for the miseries they
had brought.20
Apparently another stage in the relations between the
Khazars and the Russians is marked by the Reply of Joseph.
The time came, it would seem, when the authorities in Kha-
zaran-Atil denied a passage down the Volga to these foreign
war-fleets. In the Short Version of the document Joseph says,
as already quoted: “I live at the estuary of the river [Atil],
and do not allow the Russians who come in ships to pass to
[the Arabs] and likewise I do not allow any of their enemies
who come by land to pass to their country. I fight a difficult
war with them. If I allowed them, they would destroy all the
country of the Arabs as far as Baghdad " This is somewhat ex¬
panded in the Long Version, as follows: “Know and understand
that I live at the mouth of the river. By the help of the Al¬
mighty I guard the mouth of the river and do not allow the
Russians who come in ships to come by sea to go against the
Arabs, nor any enemy by land to come to [?Bab al-Abwab].-1
I fight with them. If I allowed them for one hour, they would
destroy all the country of the Arabs as far as Baghdad and the
Ibn-al-Ath3r, vin, 134-135; ibn-Miskawayh n62-67, who gives a
valuable account, evidently from eyewitnesses, of the proceedings of
Russians when they reached Bardhaah.
Hudud al-'Alam, 29, 144. Ibn-al-Faqih mentions that a large num-
ber of villages, mostly ruinous, in the neighborhood of Bardhaah were
said to have been occupied by the 1 msfol- 189a in
Kahle’s typescript translation, cf. Z.D.M.C., B. 88 [1934], 43ff).
20 Yaqut. Buldan, s.v. Rus. , „ _ .
«Litq “to a gate” (sha'ar). Elsewhere in the Reply the expression
Sha'ar Bab al-Abwab is used (Chapter VI, n. 111).
240
country of. . . Towards a.d. 960 we are to understand that

the Khaqan regarded it as essential to keep the Russians from
coming down the Volga to the Caspian.
Evidently these expeditions provided the Russians with stor¬
ies to tell and defeats to avenge. More significantly, they must
now have had a good idea of the nature and strength of the
Khazar defences. The customary traffic apparently yet con¬
tinued down the Volga.” The Khazars for their part may have
decided to close the river to Russian war-fleets after the ex¬
pedition of 332/943. The change of policy indicated had per¬
haps as a consequence the last and greatest of the Russian ex¬
peditions into Khazaria, which took place some twenty years
later.
According to the Russian Chronicle, Sviatoslav, ruler of the
Kievan Russians, in a.d. 965 defeated the Khazars under their
Khan (Khaqan) and took their town of Biela Viezha. Then,
having subdued the Yas and the Kasogs, he returned to Kiev.”
Biela Viezha, “White Tower,"24 is usually identified with Sar¬
kil.” Marquart, however, contended that the Khazar capital,
sometimes called in the earlier Arabic references al-Bayda,
“the White," is here meant.” For an attack on the Khazar
capital indeed it is more natural to think of a fleet than a land
force. Nothing is said in the Chronicle about ships having been
used by Sviatoslav in 965. Yet there is independent evidence
that about this time Khazaran-Atil actually fell to the Rus¬
sians.27 We should of course expect some reference to such an
important matter in the Chronicle. It is difficult to see why the
capture of a Don fortress, assuming Sarkil to have been such,
should be recorded and the other event omitted. Marquart’s
view therefore has considerable initial probability.
About the destruction of Khazaran-Atil there can be no
doubt. Ibn-Hawqal, here supplementing Istakhri, states in more
22 Cf. n. 13. 23 Chronicle, c. 32.

24 Or "White Tent,” cf. Marquart, Streifz., 3.
23 The Creek equivalent of Sarkil “Aspron Hospition" has a similar
meaning, cf. Chapter VII.
” Streifz., 1-3; cf. Chapter III for al-Bayda’. 27 See below.
241
than one place that it was destroyed by the Russians, giving the
date 358/968-969. Speaking of the town of Bulghar on the
Volga he says: “It was well known as a trading center for these
countries [sc. the northern lands]. Then the Russians sacked it
in a.h. 358, utterly destroying Khazaran, Samandar and Atil. -s
Again with reference to the fur trade he remarks: “So it was
till the year 358, because the Russians [i.e., in this year] de¬
stroyed' Bulghar and Khazaran."” A third passage of ibn-
Hawqal indicates the source of his information about the Rus¬
sian attack. ‘There were in Samandar many gardens, and it is
said that it used to contain 40,000 vineyards.” I asked about it
in Jurjan in the year 358 of a man who had recently been there.
He said: There is not an alms for the poor in any vineyard or
garden, if there remains a leaf on the bough. For the Russians
descended upon it, and not a grape nor a raisin remained in
the place. The Muslims used to live there, as well as other cate¬
gories of people of different faiths, including idolaters, but they
emigrated. Owing to the excellence of their land and the rich¬
ness of growth three years will not pass till it becomes again
what it was."” This passage suggested to Barthold that the
date 358/968 properly refers not to Sviatoslav’s raid, but to the
visit of ibn-Hawqal to Jurjan.” Certainly, assuming ibn-Hawqal
to have formed the impression that the devastation of Kha-
zaria had taken place earlier in the same year, we should thus
have an explanation for the discrepancy of the dates.
Zeki Validi attempts to find in the passage express confirma¬
tion that the Russian invasion was in 965, as the Russian
Chronicle has it,” but this involves him in translating the
words of ibn-Hawqal or his informant: "Owing to the excel¬
lence of their land . . . scarcely three years have passed till it
has recovered.” This is quite inadmissible,” and probably
superfluous. Marquart has shown that the Yas and Kasogs men¬
tioned in the Russian Chronicle as defeated by Sviatoslav after
Ed. Kramers, 392.

28 Ed. Kramers, 15.
so Istakhri's figure is 4,000, see Chapter V. s» Ed. Kramers, 393.
ss Ibn-Fadlan, 319, n.
82 E.I., art. Bulghar.
84 Text: fa-lan tamdiya thaldth sintn.
242
the capture of Biela Viezha are in all likelihood the Alans (As)
of the Caucasus and the Kashaks, who also lived in or near the
Caucasus and were perhaps subject to the Khazars.35 We
should thus take it that the Chronicle not only puts Sviatoslav’s
successful Khazar expedition in the right year, a.d. 965, but
also indicates something like the full extent of his operations.30
Incidentally it may be noted that the old theory which connects
the Khazars with the Cossacks,37 if it could be shown that
Cossack=Kasog, would have a certain justification.
Marquart afterwards resiled to the view that Sviatoslav s raid
mentioned in the Chronicle only extended to Sarkil. His later
position was that the devastation of Khazaria spoken of by ibn-
Hawqal actually happened in a.d. 968 but that those respon¬
sible for it were not Kievan Russians subject to Sviatoslav, and
hence it is not mentioned in the Russian Chronicle.3* As to this,
it is of course possible that Sarkil might have been taken from
the Khazars in 965 and their country devastated in 968 by
other enemies, without any record of the major event being in
the Chronicle. But on the whole the other solution commends
itself. The notice in the Chronicle for a.d. 965, as Marquart’s
analysis itself showed, has a wider scope than the neighbor¬
hood of a Don fortress, and appears to record Russian victories
in Khazar territory north of the Caucasus-exactly what we are
to understand from ibn-Hawqal. There was not more than one
wholesale devastation of Khazaria in these years. That the date
which we have assigned to it (965) is correct, in spite of ibn-
Hawqal, is further borne out by another passage in the Arabic
sources.
35 Streifz., 2, 479. Marquart adduces Kashak and Kasakivah (Tanbih,

184); Kasakhia (Con. Por., De Admin. Imp., c. 42); Reply of Joseph,
S. V. B£$a, correct in L. V. Kasa; etc. According to Huddd, §48, Kasak
was in Alania. The form Kasak also occurs; cf. Chapter IV, n. 104. See V.
Minorsky, “Transcaucasica,” J.A., t. 217 (1930), 73-90.
33 The assumption of Cratz (Geschichte, v, 307) that Sviatoslav raided
Khazaria in 965 (Sarkil) and again in 968 (Atil and Samandar) does
not depend on sources. Cf. infra.
37 E.g., Fr. Bodenstedt's Vbiker des Kaukasus, Frankfurt-am-Main 1848,
238fF. Cf. most recently O. Pritsak, Der Islam, B. 30 (1952), 113, in a
review of Cr0nbech, Komonisches Worterbuch.
33 Streifz., 474.
243
Ibn-Miskawayh (d. 421/1030) records in his history that in

354/965 a body of Turks descended on Khazaria, whereupon
the Khazars invoked the help of the people of Khwarizm. They
were at first refused, he says, on the ground that they were
Jews, being told that if they wanted help they must become
Muslims. The Khazars agreed to this, and all adopted Islam
in consequence, with the exception of their king.” The interpre¬
tation of “the people of Khwarizm” here has evoked differences
of opinion. Marquart40 suggested the Arslyah of Khazaria, who
were originally from Khwarizm,41 while Zeki Validi thinks that
the Khwarizmians proper may be meant.43 There is, however,
general agreement now that the “Turks” of this account are the
Russians, and so cautious a writer as Barthold allows that the
great expedition of Sviatoslav is here intended.43 Ibn-Miska-
wayh’s notice has been taken over by ibn-al-Athir (d. 630/
1234), who adds that the king of the Khazars later became a
Muslim.44 We may safely regard it as independent confirmation
for 965 as the year in which the Russians invaded Khazaria.45
a# Ed. Amedroz, n, 209. According to Barthold (E.J., art. Khazar)

the notice comes from Thabit ibn-Sinan. The latter died 365/975 (Brockel-
mann, C.A.L., i, 324).
41 Strictly according to Masudi "from the neighborhood of Khw&rizm,”

see Chapter VII.
42 lbn-Fadldn, 320, cf. xvii. 43 EX, art. Khazar.
44 vm 196. The notice appears also (with the date a h. 254 in error)
in Dimashqi (d. 727/1327), ed. Mehren. 263.
48 Yet another construction has been put forward by Vasihev (Got/w,
120ff), which would save ibn-Hawqal’s date 968 for the destruction of
Khazaran-Atil, etc., while involving an alteration to 963 for Sviatoslav s
raid on Biela Viezha (Sarkil). This is based on the Fragments of the
Gothic Toparch (Chapter VI, n. 144), which afford astronomical evi¬
dence, as Vasiliev claims, following West berg, fixing the date January,
963. According to the construction, the Khazars in 962 had attempted to
restore their former predominance in the Crimea (which had come to an
end owing to the growing power of the Pechenegs, and the support
given them by the Byzantines at the beginning of the 10th century,
Vasiliev, ib. 116), using a large number of horse and foot and devastat¬
ing 10 cities and more than 500 villages in the Crimea (ib. 129). In the
winter of 962 the Gothic toparch started out for Kiev to get help from
Sviatoslav and his Russians, and the date already mentioned. January
963, found him on the return journey (ib. 130). (This alleged visit to
Sviatoslav in Kiev is a particularly venturesome suggestion. It seems to
244
The statement of ibn-Miskawayh must be treated with cau¬

tion, but Barthold does not appear to be justified in dismissing
it as unhistorical. We have seen that a Khazar ruler under stress
of circumstances appears to have made a temporary profession
of Islam.48 It is at least not impossible that something similar
happened when Muslim help was necessary to repel the Rus¬
sian invasion. There are persistent references to the Khazars
as Muslims after this date. Muqaddasi, speaking of their town
of “Khazar,” evidently Khazaran,47 says that at one point the
inhabitants left it and went down to the coast, but that they
have now returned (sc. circa 375/985, when Muqaddasi wrote)
and are no longer Jews but Muslims. It should be observed that
Muqaddasi has heard of the Russian invasion but apparently
does not connect the evacuation of Khazaran with what then
occurred. Though the claims made for him as “one of the great¬
est geographers of all time”48 could hardly be substantiated by
his remarks on Khazaria, in which he is perhaps not very hap¬
pily inspired,4* what Muqaddasi says about this evacuation and
return is to be accepted. It is confirmed and to some extent
amplified by ibn-Hawqal, who is quite unlikely to have been
be pure conjecture.) Sviatoslav marched in consequence against the

Khazars in the following season (963), taking their town of Biela Viczha,
as the Chronicle says, but sub anno 965, and proceeding against the Yas
and Kasogs. Later in the 60’s of the 10th century the Russians "crushed"
the Khazar state (ib. 134).—If a Khazar attack on the Crimea actually
took place in 962, this can hardly be the same event as is described in
the Cambridge Document, which, if genuine, should have been written
earlier.—L. Schmidt Geschichte der deutschen Stamme bis zum Ausgang
der Vdlkerwanderung, Munich 1934, 400 (cited Vasiliev, ib., 129 n.),
thinks that the Khazars destroyed Doros in 962, after which the Toparch
made Mankup his chief city.
48 See above, Chapter IV, etc.
47 Muqaddasi, 361; cf. De Goeje in loco.
48 Barthold, Turkestan (C.M.S.), 11.
4® He speaks of Bulghar “where the nights are short" (cf. I$takhri,
quoted above, Chapter V) as nearer the Caspian than the Khazar capital.
Zeki Validi attempts to defend this (Ibn-Fadlan, 206) as referring to a
new settlement of the Bulgars on the lower Volga after the destruction
of their towns higher up. But Muqaddasi did not have a clear idea of
Khazaran-Atil (cfT Marquart, Streifz., 3), and is probably confused about
the site of Bulghar.
245
his source. Ibn-Hawqal first tells us50 that when the Khazars
of Atil fled from the Russians, while some went to the island
of Siyah Kuh on the eastern shore of the Caspian, others with¬
drew southward to one of the islands off the “Naphtha Coast,”51
where the Russians in 301/913 had maintained themselves very
successfully against the Shirwan Shah of the day.52 After the
Russian attack of 965, the surviving Khazar chiefs appear to
have made contact with a later Shirwan Shah and to have
secured his assistance. For ibn-Hawqal goes on to say:53 “At
present [i.e., presumably towards 367/977] the Bulgars, Burtas
and Khazars have been left nothing bv the Russians except a
few ruins which they had already despoiled. They descended
upon everything and attained in all their neighborhood more
than they dreamed of. I have been informed that many of [the
Khazars] have returned to Atil and Khazaran with the support
of Muhammad ibn-Ahmad al-Azdi, the Shirwan Shah, who
helped them with his army and people. They [i.e., the Khazars]
expect and hope to enter a pact with them [? the Russians]54
and be under their authority in a part of the continent which
they will appoint for them.” That the help of the Shirwan Shah
involved the acceptance of Islam is not impossible, if the af¬
fairs of the Khazars were as bad as they seem to have been.
Muqaddasi further reports that he has heard that Ma’mun
raided the Khazars from Gurganj (Jurjaniyah) and having con¬
quered them, summoned them to Islam55—yet another reference
to the Khazars as Muslims with Khwarizm as the reputed
source and possibly at about the same time. For Barthold, who
indeed again denies that the notice is historical,58 refers it not
to the 9th century Caliph Ma’mun, but to Ma’mun ibn-Muham-
mad, ruler first of Gurganj (Jurjaniyah) and then of all

81 Called by ibn-Hawqal "the island of Bab al-Abwab,” cf. Marquart,
Str. 2, n. 1.
52 Cf. above. Chapter VII. 83 Ed. Kramers, 397.
84 This is clearly understood by the other text (De Goeje, 286), i.e., the
remark about the Shirwan Shah is taken as parenthetic.
88 E.I.t art. Khazar.
246
Khwarizm after a.d. 995.5T A connection of Khwarizm with

Khazar history at this period is elsewhere attested by Muqad-
dasi, who remarks that the Khazar towns are frequently oc¬
cupied by the ruler of Gurganj.58
Though the Shirwan Shah Muhammad ibn-Ahmad al-Azdi is
an anomalous figure,59 there is no reason to doubt ibn-Hawqal’s
circumstantial story that the Khazars were brought back by
help from Shirwan. We shall see the Shirwan Shah and the
Khazars again in contact, and the erroneous characterization
of the king of the Khazars in ibn-Isfandiyar as “Shirwan Shah”
is probably not fortuitous.80 The connection with Khwarizm
somewhat later as given by Muqaddasi is also to be retained,
though we are at present uninformed about the circumstances.
Khazar relations with these Muslim states after the Russian
invasion must meantime remain a matter of speculation. It is,
however, evident that after 965 we can no longer speak with
confidence of an independent Jewish state on the Volga. The
picture of Khazaria as represented in the pages of ibn-Rustah
and ibn-Fadlan, of Mas'udi, Istakhri and ibn-Hawqal, varies
considerably, but the main traits-the double kingship, the se¬
clusion of the titular head of the state, the profession of Juda¬
ism-confirmed by other sources, remain the same. Later we
have no such descriptions by Muslim authors and no positive
evidence from elsewhere that the characteristic institutions of
Khazaria were maintained. The Khazar kingdom in its tra¬
ditional form hardly survived the Russian invasion. On the
other hand, it seems unlikely that the profession of Islam be-
67 There is no indication elsewhere of any such exploit on the part of

the Abbasid Caliph Ma’mun. Marquart gets into great difficulty in try¬
ing to find a place for it in Ma’mun’s Caliphate (Str., 3-4). On the other
hand, it is sryprising to find that Muqaddasi can refer to Ma’mun ibn-
Muhammad in 375/985 simply as Ma’mun, as though there was no pos¬
sibility of confusion with anyone else, ten years before he attained the
dignity of Khwarizm Shah (cf. Minorslcy, Hudud, 174).
58 Ed. De Goeje, 371 n.
50 So Barthold, art. Shirwanshah. Cf. Minorsky, Hudud, 406. His
title “Sahib Shirwan Shah” (Ibn Hawqal, ed. De Goeje, 250, 254) is
not necessarily vitium ab auctore commissum (De Goeje). Rather Shirwan
Shah here may be a place-name. Cf. Chapter VII, n. 253.
60 Loc.cit.
247
came general among the Khazars who returned to their coun¬

try, as our sources appear to say, though in their councils new
influences were no doubt now preponderant. These were hardly
Russian. Sviatoslav appears to have left the Khazar country
after his victory there,*1 as Barthold says,62 to join forces with
the Byzantines against the Danube Bulgars.63 Barthold re¬
garded this fact as of great importance for Russian history. If
the Russians had remained on the Volga, they would certainly,
he thinks, have submitted to Muslim culture.
From ibn-Hawqal and Muqaddasi64 it appears that an at¬
tempt was made to rebuild the Khazar capital, but this can¬
not have been permanently successful, in view of the indication
that in the time of Biruni (d. 440/1048) Atil lay in ruins.63
Presumably the town of Saqsin took its place. The probability
is that Saqsin was identical with or at least at no great distance
from Khazaran-Atil, and the name may be the older Sarighshin
revived.66 We cannot be certain that Saqsin was in existence
even in Biruni’s time. He does not mention it.67 Certainly it
was flourishing in the 12th century, when abu-Hamid al-
Andalusi (circa 1150) speaks of it in connection with Khwar-
izm, having Bulghar 40 days above it, and it is mentioned by
61 Ibn-Hawqal says expressly that the Russians left (ed. De Goeje, 14).
82 In his work The Discovery of Asia (1925), in Russian (French
transl. by B. Nikitine, Paris 1947, 195).
83 According to Gibbon (c. 55) Sviatoslav on this campaign was ac¬
companied by Khazars.
8* Cited above.
85 Cf. Zeki Validi, lbn-Fadl&n, 206.
80 So Minorsky, Hudiid, 453, n. 5, citing Westberg. Poliak (“Con¬
version,” §2) attempts to show that Saqsin was in the neighborhood of
modem Stalingrad (Tsaritsyn), and supposes that it was an important
city before a.d. 965 (ib. §1). Yet although it is in itself likely that there
was a Khazar strong point controlling the Don-Volga portage (Khamlij,
according to Vernadsky, Anc. Russia, 215), there is nothing precise in
our sources. Poliak’s ground for thinking that Saqsin existed before 965
is that it is mentioned in Josippon and the Book of Jashar, following
Harkavy’s identification of certain forms in these works with Saqsin (in
Skazanya evreiskikh visatelye o Khazarakh, St. Petersburg 1874, 57, 73,
75), notably Meshecn. But this is evidently very precarious. Meshech=
Saqsin, if a real identity seems to belong to a later period (cf. Chapter
VII, n. 272).
87 Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fodldn, 206.
248
Qazwlni.68 Ahmad al-Tusi speaks of Saqsin as a large town on

the Volga, surpassed by none in Turkestan.69 It figures frequently
in the history of the Mongol invasions,’0 and eventually was
flooded out of existence,’1 perhaps by natural causes. Batu,
grandson of Chingiz Khan, built Saray, properly Saray-i Batu, on
its site.’2 Saqsin may originally have been built and named
by the Khazars. We cannot but regard it as significant that in
none of the passages where it is mentioned (except in Qazwlni,
who is secondary) is it said to be held by them, or to have had
a Jewish population.’3
It has frequently been stated that the Russian invasion en¬
tailed the destruction of the Khazar state. Thus abu-al-Fida*
(a.d. 1273-1331) speaks of “Khazaria and the Khazars, who
were destroyed by the Russians,”74 presumably with reference
Ed. Ferrand, 87, 117. Cf. n. 73. A similar notice in Qazwlni, ed.
Wiistenfeld, n, 402, who gives Saqsin as a “great and populous town of
the Khazars,” occupied by “40 tribes of the Chuzz.”
69 Zeki Validi, lbn-Fadldn, 205. Ahmad Tusi lived in the 12th century.
70Juwayni (i, 31) mentions that the fief of Chuchi, eldest son of
Chingiz Khan, extended from Qayaligh (? near Lake Balkhash, cf.
Minorsky, Hudud, 277) and KhwSrizm to the extremities of Saqsin and
Bulghar. Rashid al-Din (ed. Blochet, 18) says that when Ogoday suc¬
ceeded Chingiz Khan, he sent 30,000 cavalry against the Khw&rizm Shah,
and then despatched Kukotiy and Subotiy Bahadur with a similar force
against Qipchaq, Saqsin, and Bulghar (cf. Juwayni, i, 150). Again, on
the death of Ogoday, Batu Khan ibn-Chuchi refused to come to the Mongol
assembly from his western fief of Saqsin and Bulghar (Juwayni, i, 205).
We may compare also Juwayni, i, 222; "When Qaan fi.e., Ogoday] was
established on his throne, he subdued all the territories near him, the
remnant of Qipchaq, the Alans, As and Russians, as well as Bulghar,
M-k-s and others. The Volga Bulgars had evidently survived to Mongol
times, but scarcely so the Khazars. Minorsky has shown ("Caucasica,
ni, B.S.O.A.S., 1952, xiv/2, 221 ff) that M-k-s is for the Alan capital
in the Caucasus.
290) S° BakiiWi (Brockelmann, n, 213), cited by Westberg (Beit rage,
72 So Wa$saf, cited Zeki Validi, Ibn Fadlan, 204, n. 1, apparently from

Juwayni (i, 222).
78 According to abu-Hamid al-Andalusi (Ferrand, 116) there were in
Saqsin in his time learned Muslims, mosques, markets, and palaces. Pris¬
oners from Saqsin were in the hands of the Turks (Qipchaqs or Chuzz,
cf. Qazwini, n. 68). The date should be circa 545/1150.
74 Ed. Reinaud and De Slane, 203.
249
to the great disaster of 965. In modern times Kunik,» Ho-

worth " and Marquart,™ to mention only a few names, have
said the same thing.™ The evidence which we have already
cited, showing at most that the Khazars who survived returned
to their country, does not conflict with what may be called the
orthodox view that Khazaria ceased to have an independent
existence in 10th century. On the other hand, at least since the
time of Rasmussen,™ some have held that the Khazar state
finally disappeared only in the 13th century as a result of the
Mongol invasions. More recently this has been argued vig¬
orously, notably by Poliak.*0
Before considering the further evidence, one general observa¬
tion may be made. The ultimate source of all statements that
the Russians destroyed Khazaria in the 10th century is no doubt
ibn-Hawqal, whose words on the subject we have already
given. Ibn-Hawqal, however, speaks as positively of the de¬
struction of Bulghar on the middle Volga. It is quite certain
that at the time of the Mongol attacks in the 13th century
Bulghar was a flourishing community. Was the ruin of Kha-
zaria also temporary?91
The Russian Chronicle mentions that in a.d. 986 Khazar Jews
presented themselves before Vladimir, apparently at Kiev, and
invited him to accept their faith. The long account given by
the Chronicle represents Latins, Greeks and Muslims, as well
as the Jews, arguing their respective creeds before the Rus¬
sian ruler.*2 It is regarded by several critics as an interpola-
t» Bakri, ed. Kunik and Rosen, St. Petersburg 1878, 73-74 (cited West-
berg, Ibrahim ibn-Yaqub, 79). Later Kunik adopted the view that
Khazaria continued to exist (cf. Westberg, Betfrage. 29-h
re "The Khazars, were they Ugrians or Turks. 3rd Int. Congress of
Orientalists (1879), n, 138.
7 8 Professor Minorsky has pointed out that the absence of any mention
of the Khazars in connection with the migration of tribes from Mongolia
in the 11th century can indicate that they had ceased to exist as an
important state in the second half of the 10th century (Marvazt, 103).
79 J.A., i, v (1824), 306.
*o "Conversion” and Khazaria, passim.
Cf. Poliak, "Conversion,” §1.
Chronicle, c. 40.
250
tion.83 Yet the presence of Khazar Jews in Kiev at this time is

in itself unobjectionable, and the situation of Vladimir makes
the fact of some kind of religious enquiry before his baptism
at least a possibility. Gratz has argued that the story is au¬
thentic. He makes the Jewish missionaries come to the Russians
from the Crimea, where, according to him, after the attack on
Khazaria in 965 the survivors had been organized under a
Khaqan with Bosporus (Kertch) as capital.84
For these statements Gratz relied on a document which he
quotes, and which mentions the coming in a.m. 4746=a.d. 986
of “the envoys of the prince of the Russians and M-sh-k” from
the city of Kiev to “our lord David, the Khazar prince,” ap¬
parently resident in Tamatarkha (Taman), to make enquiry
about religious matters, in the same year as, according to the
Russian Chronicle, the Khazar Jews came before Vladimir.
The correspondence of these dates is remarkable. It is difficult
to avoid suspecting that this document, which passed through
the hands of Firkovitch, and has, it may be said, quite a mod¬
ern sound, was composed ad hoc** Of the Khaqan David, as
Gratz calls him, and an independent Khazar state in the Crimea
there is no confirmation elsewhere. If, however, our suspicions
are unwarranted, the man referred to as “our lord David” may
have been the Khazar chief (hardly the Khaqan)88 at Tama¬
tarkha, which perhaps passed out of Khazar hands only in a.d.
988, when, according to the Russian Chronicle, Mstislav was

installed there.87
Thereafter Khazaria and the Khazars continue to be men¬
tioned. In a.d. 1016, according to the 11th century Cedrenus,
a good authority, the Greek Emperor sent a force to Khazaria
which in conjunction with the Russians rapidly subdued the
country, having defeated its ruler, Georgius Tzul, in the first
88 Cf. the remarks of Leger, Chronique dite de Nestor, 389.

84 Ceschichte, v, 341-342.
85 Cf. J.E., art. Jacob b. Reuben (Abraham ben-Simha of Kertch, the
alleged author, is a personage invented by Firkovitch). On the other hand,
Gratz says “Jedes Wort dieser Urkunde tragt den Stempel der Echtheit
an sich” (ib. v, 476).
88 Cf. n. 88 below. Chronicle, c. 43; cf. c. 52.
251
encounter.88 It is not surprising to read of a Khazar with the

Christian name Georgius. In earlier times (8th century) there
was a tarkhan George” and Christianity among the Khazars,
as we have seen, is widely attested. The name Tzul is possibly
to be connected with Tzur or Sul, as the pass of Darband was
sometimes called.
The question of where this expedition was directed is of
some importance. According to Gratz, it operated against the
Khazar state in the Crimea whose existence he finds vouched
for in his document already quoted, and destroyed the last
vestige of the Khaqans rule.90 According to others, the com¬
bined attack of Greeks and Russians in 1016 was made against
the coasts of the sea of Azov.91 Kutschera did not doubt that
the Caucasus region is indicated. This is perhaps borne out by
the statement of Cedrenus that after the defeat of Georgius
Tzul, the ruler of “upper Media” was obliged to offer his
submission. Kutschera supposes that the latter, “Sennacherib
according to our text,92 was a Khazar ruling somewhere in the
Caucasus. For a Jew at all events a less likely name is difficult
to imagine." Perhaps on the whole we are justified in thinking
that the expedition of the Greeks and Russians against Kha-
zaria had the Caucasus as its main objective. In Tamatarkha
from a.d. 988, when Mstislav was settled there, the situation
is obscure.94
The Khazars are mentioned in the Russian Chronicle for
a.d. 1023 when Mstislav is said to have marched against his
brother Jaroslav, accompanied by the Khazars95 and Kasogs.96
The Khazars of Tamatarkha may possibly be intended.
*8 Ed. Bonn, n, 464. Grousset (L'empire des steppes, 237) speaks of

Georeios Tzoulos as Khan of Taman. .
Biography of Stephen. Bishop of Sudak, cited Poliak, Conversion,
§2.
Geschichte, v, 342.
91 Cf. Poliak, "Conversion,” §1; Khazaria, 210.
92 Cf. Sanharib ibn-Sawadah al-Sanari (Chapter VII, n. 120), a Chris¬
tian prince ruling in the Caucasus in the 10th century (V. Minorsky,
"Caucasica IV,” B.S.O.A.S., 1953, xv/3, 519, 522 526).
93 For the Talmudic opinion of Sennacherib, cf. Sanhedrin, 94b.
9* Cf. Vasiliev, Goths, 134. 95 Cf. n. 63, above. 99 Chronicle, c. 52.
252
We have also a reference in ibn-al-Athir under 421/1030 to

what he calls "the raid of Fadlun the Kurd against the Kha¬
zars.”97 Barthold identified this personage with Fadl ibn-Mu-
hammad of the Shaddadid dynasty, who ruled at Ganjah,98 now
Elizavetpol in Transcaucasia. According to ibn-al-Athir, after
an attack on the Khazars he was returning to his own country,
when they fell upon him unexpectedly and killed more than
10,000 of his troops. It is added that they recovered the booty
which Fadlun had taken from them and captured the equip¬
ment of the Muslims. This last remark may have importance, as
Poliak notes,98 for it appears to indicate that the Khazars were
unbelievers, quite as in their hey-day. Though Marquart ac¬
cepted the notice as it stands, making it the last appearance of
the Khazars in history,100 Barthold, doubting the reading, sug¬
gested that not the Khazars but Georgians or Abkhazians are
meant. The fact of large numbers being apparently involved
might itself exclude the Khazars of the new dispensation, after
a.d. 965.
Later still, Oleg, grandson of Jaroslav, was in Tamatarkha in
a.d. 1078, according to the Russian Chronicle. Next year he is
said to have been captured by the Khazars and taken by sea to
Constantinople—as if the Greeks were playing off against each
other the two contestants for power—Russians and Khazars—
in Tamatarkha. About the same time his brother Roman was
killed by the Polovtsi. In 1083 Oleg, having arrived from
Greece, took vengeance for his brother on "the Khazars, who
had advised his death and declared against him."101 It is pos¬
sible that the Khazars are here to be understood as directing
the actions of the Polovtsi, as they had controlled so many
foreign groups in earlier times. The two at all events are not
identical. In 1106 a raid of Polovtsi was driven off by certain
Russian chiefs acting with “Ivan the Khazar.”102
97 ix, 142. 98 E.I., art. Khazar. Cf. for Ganjah, infra.
90 “Conversion,” §1 (cf. Khazaria, 218).
100 Cited Barthold, ibid. 101 Chronicle, cc. 70-71.
102 Russian Chronicle, s. anno, cited N. K. Chadwick, Beginnings, 128.
Mrs. Chadwick is surely right in remarking that the combination is
significant. Cf. below, n. 151.
253
Thus Khazaria and the Khazars are mentioned long after

the disaster which befell them in 965. Barthold, who canvasses
the evidence, finds that the Russian texts “refer to the Khazars
as subject to the Russians,” adding that the subjection can
apply only to a part of the Crimean peninsula and the penin¬
sula opposite it.103 In principle this is similar to Klaproth’s view,
who a long time ago supposed that the Khazars lost the Crimea
in the first years of the 11th century and were thereafter con¬
fined to the Caspian and lower Volga.104 Are we to understand,
then, that where there is no specific mention of Russian pre¬
dominance, notably in the central provinces of the old Khazar
empire, they retained their independence? The fact is that
between the Volga and the Caucasus we hear nothing for cer¬
tain about them after the Russian attack of 965, except that
the survivors returned.105 It is evidently hazardous to argue
that since there is no suggestion that the lower Volga was in
Russian hands, the Khazar state did not disappear but con¬
tinued, weakened indeed and reduced in extent, with Saqsin
as capital till finally overthrown by the Mongols.104 All positive
statements to this effect in the sources are-we do not say
conspicuously—lacking.
On the other hand, the continued existence of the Khazars as
late as the 12th century is attested by the evidence of various
sources. Two distinct groups may here be mentioned. The first
of these consists of Hebrew documents from the Cairo Genizah,
which are of exceptional interest as pointing to developments
in Khazar Judaism going considerably beyond anything re¬
corded during the period before a.d. 965, when politically Kha¬
zaria was flourishing. The documents are two in number, of
which the more important was published by Mann107 and in-
Barthold, loc.cit. 104/.A., x, iii (1823), 155.

ios The Jewish traveler Ibrahim ibn-Ya’qub speaks indeed as it the
Khazars were still flourishing in his time (probably 973) as noted by
Kunik (Bakri, ed. Kunik and Rosen, 74, cited Westberg, Ibrahim ibn-
Ya'qub, 79).
xo« So Westberg, Beitrdge, 288-292. .
m R.E.J., 71 (1920), 89-93. I have not seen Manns article in tla-
Tequphah, Vol. xxiv, cited by Poliak, Khazaria, 339.
254
eludes the following passage: "In the days of the ruler whose
name was al-Afdal, the sons of the oppressors of the people of
Israel arose and set themselves to establish prophecy, and they
stumbled in their words. In the mountains which are in the
land of Khazaria there arose a Jew whose name was Solomon
ben-Dugi. The name of his son was Menahem, and with them
was an eloquent man whose name was Ephraim ben-Azariah
of Jerusalem, known as ben-Sahalon [PSahlun].108 They wrote
letters to all the Jews, near and far, in all the lands round about
them. . . . They all said that the time had come in which God
would gather His people Israel from all lands to Jerusalem, the
holy city, and that Solomon ben-Dugi was Elijah and his son
the Messiah.” Poliak109 observes that Mann identified Menahem
ben-Solomon ben-Dugi with Menahem ben-Solomon al-Ruhi
or David El-Roi, the pseudo-Messiah, hero of one of Disraeli’s
novels, who is usually said to have been bom at 'Amadiyah in
Kurdistan and to have perished in an insurrection there about
1160. The name David was explained by Mann as appropriate
to one who claimed to be king of Israel, and El-Roi and al-Ruhi
are according to the same authority blunders for al-Dugi. The
Genizah document says that the beginning of this Messianic
movement was in Khazaria, and Poliak thinks that David El-Roi
was undoubtedly a Khazar Jew, who with his supporters came
to ’Amadiyah en route for Jerusalem. The only available dating
for the document is offered by mention of a Muslim ruler al-
Afdal, in whose days the Messianic movement is said to have
begun. Al-Afdal here was taken by Mann to be the well-known
Fatimid vizier of that name who ruled Egypt 1094-1121. The
comparatively early date presents some difficulty, but undoubt¬
edly Poliak’s suggestion tends to clear the obscurity surround¬
ing the trouble at ’Amadiyah preceding David El-Roi’s death,
by affording light on its possible origin and significance.
The other Genizah document also refers to a Messianic move¬
ment in Khazaria apparently in 1096. The text, first published
108 Poliak’s suggestion, see following n.

*08 Khazaria, 232ff, cf. 15.
255
by Neubauer, is so obscure as to permit of no certain conclu¬

sions. It includes the following: “And all the congregations
were agitated and returned to the Lord with fastings and alms.
And so from the region of Khazaria there went, as they said,
seventeen congregations to the ‘wilderness of the nations,' and
we know not if they met with the tribes or not.”110 Here also a
march to Jerusalem seems to be envisaged. As Poliak notes,
the “wilderness of the nations” is a Biblical phrase,111 describ¬
ing the place where God will make a new covenant with His
people, before bringing them back to the land of Israel. Since
according to this second document adherents of the movement
brought news of it to Byzantium, a connection between Khazar
and Byzantine Judaism is implied. A yet wider range of in¬
fluence, affecting directly the Jewries in central Europe, is
indicated for Khazar Judaism if Poliak’s theory of the “shield
of David” as a new popular Jewish symbol called forth by the
Messianic movement is tenable.112
Poliak is undoubtedly right in calling attention to the evi¬
dence for a Messianic movement in Khazaria during the late
11th and 12th centuries.112 In attempting to account for it (as¬
suming that it was on a considerable scale) we must think of
new troubles descending on the Khazars, and notably, in the
same 11th century, of the appearance of the savage Qipchaks
(Polovtsi).114
In the second place, evidence for the continued existence of
the Khazars is offered by poems written in Persian in the 12th
century. Reference has already been made to the epic of Nizami
(circa 1141-1203) on Alexander the Great, into which he
strangely introduces the Russians and Khazars.115 His older
contemporary Khaqani (circa 1106-1190), on the other hand,
mentions the Russians and Khazars in panegyrics of Akhsatan,
ix (1896-1897), 27.
111 Ezek. 20. 35; cf. Khazaria, 232.
*** Khazaria, 233-234.
118 Landau’s strictures on this head in his review of Poliak's Khazaria
(Qiryath Sepher, xxi (19441, 19ff) seem unduly severe.
114 For the dating, cf. Minorsky, Hudud, 316 (ajj. 1054).
115 See Chapter I, n. 61.
256
a Shirwan Shah of the 12th century, who had defeated them.116

•
Both poets were familiar with local circumstances in the Cau¬

casus region, having spent much of their lives in the service of
the rulers of Ganjah (Elizavetpol) near Baku. Khanykov, who
discussed the poems of Khaqani, found that the Russians took
part in an invasion of Shirwan as allies of the Khazars. He was
unable to date this more definitely than some time between
1135 and 1193.117 Barthold, putting the reference to the Kha¬
zars in Khaqani circa 1175, suspected that the Chuzz or Qipchaq
are meant.116 Yet Khaqani mentions the Qipchaqs distinctly
elsewhere.119 There can be no doubt that Nizami, whose epic
on Alexander (Sikandar-Namah) is generally regarded as his
last work, completed shortly before his death circa 1203, is
thinking of the same circumstances when he there wrote of
Khazars and Russians, and is in effect another contemporary
witness of the existence of the Khazar name at this period.
From Khaqani’s remarks we have probably to think of the in¬
vaders of Shirwan advancing by land through the Caucasus
passes120 with the Russian fleet-72 ships are mentioned,21-in
support. It is significant for this that in one passage he names
the Alans with the Khazars.122 That in later days the local rulers
south of the Caucasus had to deal with invaders from the north
which formerly were the concern of the Caliph’s governors is
1,6 Cf. V. Minorsky, "Khaqani and Andronicus Comnenus,” B.S.O.A.S.,

1945, xi/3, 550-578.
117 “Lettre de M. Khanykov a M. Dom, 8/20 May, 1857,” in Melanges
Asiatiques, m, 120-121.
Il8£./., art. Derbend; cf. ibid., art. Khazar.
1,9 Khanykov, ibid., 117, 121.
120 Or from Darband. Cf. Minorsky, "Khaqani etc.," 557, who follows
the suggestion of Pakhomov that the invasion of Shirwan by the Rus¬
sians and Khazars was initiated by the independent emir of Darband
Bek-Bars ibn-Muzaffar.
121 Khanykov, ibid., 125.
122 Ibid., 127. Another reference is (ibid., 132) “The Russians and
the Khazars flee, for they are mingled in confusion on the sea of the
Khazars thanks to the benefits of that [the victor’sl hand." Cf. Minorsky,
B.SO.A.S. (1930), 905. In the sequel (ibid., 133) "Baku through his
existence exacts tribute from the Khazars, Rayy and Zirihgiran.” The last-
named is probably Zirigaran (Minorsky, Hudiid, 450), in the E. Caucasus.
257
natural in itself. The situation is illustrated by the reported

death of an earlier Shirwan Shah, 'Ali ibn-al-Haytham, and the
incident involving Fadlun the Kurd,123 as well as the invasion
of Shirwan alluded to by Khaqani. It is remarkable that in
these similar cases, all after 965, the Khazars are mentioned
by name.
But for the history of the Volga-Caucasus region in the period
before the Mongol conquest the great fact-almost the only
event indeed which we can speak of as certain-is the appear¬
ance of the Qipchaqs or Cumans (identified with the Polovtsi
of the Russian Chronicle). When they established themselves
in somewhat differently estimated,124 but their mastery of the
steppes came to be complete.125 They, not the Khazars, were
the principal enemy with whom the Mongols had to deal in
this region, as the stories of Sinjar of Khwarizm'20 and Bach¬
man127 show. Whatever may have happened before their ar¬
rival,128 when the obscurity which in general surrounds the
history of the Khazars is at its darkest and meanwhile at least
remains impenetrable, it is hardly to be thought of that any
existing Khazar state survived thereafter for long.
The connection of the rise of the Scljuks with the declining
state of Khazaria, first suggested by Kutschera,125* yields inter¬
esting possibilities and may yet become more apparent. Zeki
Validi130 has drawn attention to a passage from the Kitab
123 For both of these see above.

According to Marquart (Ost.-tiirk. Dialektstudicn, 102, cited Barth¬
old. E./., art. Kip£ak) in the 12th century, cf. Pelliot, "A propos des
Comans,” J.A.t xi, xv (1920), 148-150. This is probably too late, cf. n.
114 supra.
*25 Consonantly with this, in the sources for the Mongol period
Dasht-i Qipchaq, “desert of the Qipchaqs” appears regularly as equiva¬
lent for the older Dasht-i Khazar, "desert of the Khazars."
126 History of Jalal al-Din, ed. Houdas, text 48, transl. 81.
127 Rashid al-Din, ed. Blochet, 44-45, cf. Juwayni, u, 9-11. There is
now an English translation in V. Minorsky, "Caucasica m,” BS.O.A.S.
(1952), xiv/2, 225.
128 To take Qazwini rigorously (cf. n. 68), Saqsin passed at some time
into the hands of the Cnuzz, but no doubt the Qipchaqs were later in
control there as elsewhere.
»2* Chasaren, 104. 130 Ibn-Fadlan, xxvii n.
258
Malik Namah,1” according to which Tuqaq was one of the

commanders of the Khazar Khaqan, and when he died, his
infant son Seljuk was taken and reared at the Khaqan's court.
Later the Khatun took offence at his free behavior towards her
husband and it became necessary for Seljuk to leave.138 Again,
there is a statement in ibn-al-'Adims History of Aleppo that
“the emir Seljuk ibn-Duqaq [Tuqaq] was one of the chiefs of
the Khazar Turks”139 It may well be that the “unknown rea¬
son” mentioned by Barthold140 for the emigration of the Ghuzz
under Seljuk, ffrst to the lower course of the Sayhun (Sir
Darya) and then to the region of Bukhara, was Seljuk's final
rupture with the Khazars.1*1
The sons of Seljuk were called Mika’il, ûnus, Musa, and
Isra’il, while Daud appeared in the next generation (brother o»
Jughrul Beg). It has been thought that the Biblical names of
the early Seljuks indicate that the family was originally Chris¬
tian.142 This does not seem very likely. As far as the names are
concerned, Mika’il and Isra’il or their equivalents are attested
Jewish names in the Middle Ages,143 and when found among
the Muslims, point presumably to an alien origin.'41 But Israil
>37 Called by him Mulk Namah, which I have elsewhere adopted ("Zeki
Validi’s Ibn-Fadlan,Die Welt des Orients, 1949. 310; "Aspects of the

Khazar Problem,” Transactions of the Clasgoiv University Oriental So¬
ciety, xiii (1951). 42). Claude Cahen ("Le Malik-nameh et l’histoire des
origines seljukides," Oriens. u (1949, 32-33, nn.) compares the Shah
Namah and suggests that the work may have been dedicated to Alp
Arslan, for whom as Cahen shows it was composed, when he held the
title of Malik, before becoming Sultan on the death of Tughrul Beg in
455/1063.
>3® Syriac Chronicle ed. Budge, text fol. 69. col. lstransl. 195.
iso Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadlan, 143, also xxvi. Cf. al-Fakhri, cd. Deren-
bourg, 392.
140 Turkestan (G.M.S.), 256.
141 In the articles mentioned in n. 137, I have assumed that the Khazar
king took hostages from the Ghuzz (cf. Zeki Validi, Ibn-Fadlan, 143).
It is clearly not possible to say that Seljuk in ibn-Fadlan’s time was one
of these.
142 Cf. art. Seldjuks.
143 Zunz, “Namen der Juden ” Cesammelte Schriften, Berlin 1875, B. 2,
21, 25.
144 Cahen (op.cit., 42) discusses these Seljuk names and (57) men¬
tions a Turkoman chief called al-Hajj Isra’il. This name is probably to
be connected with Isra’il ibn-Seljuk, or has a similar origin.
260
at all events is not a Christian name. In view of what has al¬

ready been said, the suggestion is that these names are due
to the religious influence among the leading families of the
Ghuzz of the dominant Khazars. The "house of worship” among
the Ghuzz mentioned by Qazwini145 might well have been a
synagogue.
While there is thus ground for connecting the Seljuks with
the Khazars in the 10th century, it is on the other hand almost
certainly an error to suppose that the Seljuks did what the
Russians in 965 seem to have failed to do and were the real
conquerors of the Khazar state. The main Seljuk thrust was
first east into Transoxiana and Persia, and only later westward.
If great victories had been gained against the Khazars, they
would presumably have been followed up, and the develop¬
ment of Seljuk power would have had another setting, west of
the Caspian. That the Seljuks did not move in this direction is
no doubt due to the fact of there being on the Volga a power
strong enough to contain them—surely another indication that
towards the end of the 10th century the Khazar state still
existed. We can thus merely affirm again that the Khazars sur¬
vived the Russian invasion, but are still in the dark as to the
course of events which brought about their final downfall. This,
as already said, appears to have been complete before the
Mongol invasions of the 13th century.
It only remains now to consider the theory that the modern
Jews of eastern Europe, or more particularly those in Poland,
are the descendants of the mediaeval Khazars.,4fl This can be
dealt with very shortly, because there is little evidence which
bears directly upon it, and it unavoidably retains the character
of a mere assumption. It is of course plain that the frequency
with which a blonde, fair-skinned, often blue-eyed type appears
among the east European Jews calls to be accounted for, and
145 Ed. Wiistenfeld, n, 395.

148 Kutschera, Chasaren, 13-17, citing the anthropologist K. Vogt. The
question has deeply interested Poliak. See his Khazaria, Introduction and
especially 255-270. Reference has already been made to Zaj^czkowski’s
view of the Karaites of Poland and the Crimea as representatives of the
ancient Khazars.
261
the most natural explanation (widespread intermarriage with

non-Jewish elements of the population) can only doubtfully be
accepted. The suggestion has seriously been made that the
Jewries of eastern Europe were, if not established, at least re¬
cruited in substantial numbers from Jews from farther east.'"
On the linguistic side, investigations have tended to establish
the absence of western influences in Yiddish,113 though on the
other hand affinities with German dialects of the east and
south-east have been indicated.11” Historically, apart from the
Khazars who went to Hungary (where for a time the Magyars
are credibly said to have been bilingual, speaking the Khazar
language as well as their own)15” other important transfers of
population from the former Khazar lands appear to have oc-
curred,151 especially at the time of the Mongol invasions.'53 In
estimating the probability of the theory we should take into
account the description from more than one source of the Kha¬
zars as themselves fair,1” and, whether these indications are
accurate or not, the undoubted fact that the Khazar empire
included men of various races and physical types, among whom
HTW, E. D. Allen, History of the Georgian People (London 1932),
^JSStfS&lSLEre *** (1934).

H. Smith in Transactions of the Glasgow University Oriental Society,
V’ »« H. Smith, ibid. ,so See Chapter VII.

min the 10th century the Hungarian duke Taksony is to
invited the Khazars to settle in his domains (Vasihev, Goths, 100).
Khazars came to Vladimir Monomach for refuge from the Cumans
(Qipchaq, Polovtsi) and built a town which they caHed B^laV.ezha
near Chernigov (Kutschera, Chasaren, 175). (H this w right, these Kha¬
zars had previously lived at Biela Viezha fSarkd] and were now M
1117] settled at Chernigov. So Brutzkus, Encycl. Jud., art. Chasaren.)
Earlier than this, Jews possibly Khazars (cf. N. K. Chadwick, Beginn ng
129) had been introduced by Svyatopolk into Kiev
i82 On the approach of the Mongol Batu, the Cumans proposed to
Bela, king of Hungary, that they should be allowed to enter liis cwinfiy,
on condition of becoming Christians, and were permitted to do so, it is
said, to the number of 40,000. with their slaves. If these people
joined the Mongols against the Magyars (Raverty, Tabaqat-i NQM,
1167 n.), it remains none the less likely that the Jews of eastern Europe
were at this time considerably reinforced by their coreligionists.
»83 Cf. Chapter I, nn. 34 and 35.
262
no doubt the religion of the rulers made headway. But to speak

of the Jews of eastern Europe as descendants of the Khazars
seems to involve the Ashkenazim in general,154 i.e., by far the
greater part of the Jewish people in the world today, and
would be to go much beyond what our imperfect records allow.
im N. Slouschz (Melanges H. Dcrenbourg, 75) thinks rather of the

sabbatic sects as descendants of the Khazars.
263
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’Abd-Rabbihi, ibn-, 10n., lln. Aftfal, al-, 255
'Abd-al-Rahman I, Umayyad of Afridun, 13
Cordova, 170 Afshin, al-, 189 and n.
•Abd-al-Rahmin III, al-NSjir, Aftasids, 55
Umayyad of Cordova, 126, 140, Agacheri, 7
144, 151, 169 Agapius of Mabbug, see Manbiji,
'Abd-al-Rahmin ibn-'Abdullih al-
Ghafiqi, 87 Agaziri, see Acatziri
'Abd-al-Rahman al-Khawlani, 84, ahk&m, 92, 113
86 ahl baut, 7Gn.
'Abd-al-Rahman ibn-Rabi'ah al- Ahmad ibn-Kuyah (Cuyah), Kha¬
Bihili, Arab general: meets Per¬ zar official, 113n., 206, 232
sian commandant at Darband, Ahmad al-Jusi, 249 and n.
47ff.; succeeds to command on Akatzirs, a people subject to the
Caucasus, 49; advances to Bal- Huns, 7, 20, 33, 115n. Cf. Aq-
anjar, 50ff.; subsequent raids on Khazars
Khazars, 53; invades Khazaria in Akhsatan, Shirwin Shah, 256-257
32/652 and besieges Balanjar, Alan, Alans, 5, lln., 12, 15n., 19,
55; is defeated and killed, 56; 26, 43, 66, 162, 164 and n., 165,
death coincides with end of first 194, 249n., 257. See also Dar-i
Arab-Khazar war, 57 Alan. Cf. As
’Abd-al-Rahman ibn-Zubayr, see Alania, Alan country, 66, 81, 164,
'Abd-al-Rahman al-Khawlani 181, 214, 220. See also Darial,
Abderame, see 'Abd-al-Rahman Magas
ibn-'Abdullah al-Chafiqi Alaric, 115
'Abdullah ibn-Bashtwa, a Khazar, Alexander the Great, 12, 14, 15 and
109, 190 n., 121n. See also dhu-al-
'Abdun, ibn-, poet, 54 Oamayn
Abkhaz, Abkhazians, 23n., 24n., Alfoldi, A., 159n., 208n.
26, 104, 253 'Ali ibn-al-FurSt, vizier, 228n.
Abkhazia, 182, 183. 214n. ’Ali ibn-al-Haytham, Shirwan Shah,
Abo of Tiflis, St., 115, 181ff., 195 211 and n., 258
Abraham, patriarch, 13£F. Almish, 110, 202n.
273
INDEX
Almus, 201n. See also Almush Armenian sources, x, 8ff., 28ff.,

Almush, 198n.; palace of, 199n. 59ff., 179n., 180n., 182, 191n.
See also Almutzes, Olom Armenians, 12, 32, 48, 184
Almutzes, 197, 199n., 202n. See Ame, T. J., 231, 236n.
also Almus, Almush, Olom Arpad, Magyar chief, 197, 203, 204
Alp Ilutver, 59, 151n. Cf. elteber Arqanus, old name of Khazaria,
Altman, V., 150n. 163
Ambazuk, Hun chief, 27 'arridat, 55
Amram, Mar, 137 Arran (Albania), 20, 21, 29, 30,
Amul, error for A til, 9 In., 205n. 48, 59, 60, 210; part of Khazar
Anan ben-David, Karaite, 148n. kingdom, 20n.
Andreas, ambassador to the Kha- ars&d, 93
Arsiyah, 94n., 103, 180n., 206,
zars, 29
Andreyeva, probable site of Bal- 211, 244
anjar, 49n. Artamonov, M., xiii, 49n., 50n.,
J
Ansa, 160n. 81n., 237n.
Anushirwan, Khusraw, 11, 12, 16, Artha. 99, 193n.
21ff., 43, 96n., 228n. Arthinlyah, 99
Aq-Khazars, see Khazars, White As, A?, 180n., 194, 206n.; distinct
Aqrish, Isaac, 128ff. from Alans, 249n.
Aqtan d’Mar Jacob, 168 Asaf, S., 132n.
Arabisms in Khazar Correspond¬ Asena (Achena), 37n., 160n.
ence, 144 and n., 146, 153 Ashkenazim, 263
Arabs: advance to Caucasus, ix, Aspandiat, see Spandiat
46ff.; unable to subdue Kha- Asparukh, 4Iff.
zaria, x, 46ff., 87; attitude to Aspron Hospition, 186, 24In. See
Khazars, 10. 11, 89 “intelligent also Sarkit
but untutored,” 188, 217; wars Assemani, J. S., 181n.
with Khazars, Chapters m and iv Astarabad, 231n.
Astarkhan the Khwarizmian, 180n.
180ff., 184 f
A'rdd al-Siyisah fi Aghrdd al- Astil, episcopal see, 92n. See also
Riy&sah, 16 At il
Aras, river, 44n., 67 Atelkuzu, 196ff.
Araxes, see Aras A'tham al-Kufi, ibn-, 77n., 78n.,
archaeology, 150n., 231, 235n., 180n.; reliability of, 58n., 78n.
236n. athir, 225
Ardabil, 69, 72; defeat of Muslims Athir, ibn-al-, historian, 54 and n.,
at, 69ff., 76, 148, 170; attacked 62n., 63n., 66n., 67n., 69n., 71n.,
by Russians. 239. See also Marj 74n., 75n., 89, 184n., etc.; re¬
Ardabil liability of, 58n., 74; criticism,
Ardashir ibn-Babak. famous strata¬ 56n., 68
gem of, 18ff. aid, itil, 5n.
Atil, I til: forms of the name, 91n.;
Arisu, 94n.
meaning, 5n.; the Volga, 5n..
Armans, 48
Armanus, see Romanus Lecapenus 43n., 91, 95, 96, 102, 113, 127;
Armenia, 9n., 23, 25. 29ff.. 52, 54, Atil (Khazar capital), 50 and n.,
60, 62 and n., 96. 136, 180n., 89, 187n., 205; a small town,
184, 189; occupied by Khazars, 91n.; in two parts, of which Atil
20; Fourth Armenia, 21: parti¬ is strictly the eastern, 91, and n.
tioned by Greeks and Khazars, See also Khazaran-Atil. al-Bayda’
48, cf. 21; Jews from, 157 Attila, 7; obsequies of, 115
274
INDEX
55ff.; second siege, 64ff.; Khazar

Avars, 5, 27, 31; pseudo-, 6, 36,
37n.; Sarir, 85, 95ff.; Khaqanate E emor of, 65ff., 95n.
of the (pseudo-Avars), 6, 37n. jar ibn-Japheth, 13
Awghaz, 164. See Abkhaz Balgitzes, a Khazar, 172
Azhari, al-, 205n. bar and ben, 127n., 133n.
Azov, Sea of, 45, 136, 186; called Bar Hebraeus, 5, 6, 38, 160n., 178,
Sea of the Khazars, 229 180n., 181n., 259
Baranjar, 65ff.
Bab, Bab al-Abwab, lln., 21, 23, Barbier de Mevnard, 190n.
52, 53, 54, 57, 62. 78, 95, 150 Bardanes, 173ff.
and n., 153; Bab al-Jihad, 63; Bardha’ah. 20, 29. 62, 69, 72, 75,
Narin citadel, 63; "Gate of Bab 149, 180, 210; seized by Rus¬
al-Abwab,” 153 and n.; Ta’rikh, sians, 240
21 In.; island of, 246n. See also Barjik, "son of the Khaqan,” 63,
Darband 69, 79n., 161n.
Bab al-LSn, 20n., 21. See also Barsalia, Barsaliyah, Barshaliyah,
Darial 5, 23, 25. 43. 44
Babel, 12 Barselt, 36 and n., 44
Babylonia, 115, 126. See also Iraq Barsh-, tribal name, 44
Bacher, W.t 221 Barsilians (Basilians), 9, 10, 36,
Bachman, 258 41, 43, 44. Cf. Berzilia, Barselt
Baghdad, 158, 181, 188, 218, 240 Barthold, W., 5n., 16, 100n., 105n.,
Bahilah, Arab tribe, 57n., 61 107 and n., 150n., 160n., 180n.,
Bahman Yasht, 22n. 186n., 244 and n., 245. 247n.,
Bailey. H. W., xv, 22n. 248, 253 and n., 254, 260
BaiarwSn, 72, 74 Bashgird, 202n., 218. Cf. Bajghird
Bajghird. 212. See Bashkirs Bashkirs, 98 and n., 102; and
Baina (?), 212 Magyars, 202n.; derivation of
Bak, Bak, Khazar title, 91, 102. name, 40. Cf. Bashgird, Baj¬
105ff.; cf. Y-l-k. See also Beg ghird
Bakri, al-, 90, 230n., 254n. Bashmakov, A., 13, 34n.
Baku, 44. 211 Basilians, see Barsilians
"Balaam." 20 Batbaias, Bulgar chief, 41, 45
balad al-Khazar, 113 B4tu Khan, 249 and n.
Bavda’, al-, Khazar capital on the
Baladhuri, historian, 20 and n., 21.
Volga. 25, 50, 51, 61, 68, 83.
48. 49n„ 56n., 62. 63n., 64. 75n.,
105, 106, 187n., 241 and n.;
83n., 179n.; reliability of, 20,
“king of al-Bayda’ who wears
58n.; criticism, 23n., 43, 51, 57n.
the crown," 61
Bal’ami. historian, 32n., 48, 51 and
Baylaqan, 20, 72, 73, 210
n., 62n., 63n., 64n., 65n., 69n..
Beg, second in rank in the Khazar
71n., 74 and n., 75; reliability state and the inferior king, 21,
of, 58n., 78n. 30. 31, 61, 63, 102, 103, 110,
Balanjar, Khazar town, 13, 21, 28, 113, 123, 145, 149, 154, 159,
38, 49. 50. 51. 53, 61, 70n., 77. 169, 185, 186. 188; a Turkish
80, 82, 187n.; a group name, 6n., title, 106; chief executive power,
23, 24, cf. Baranjar; river of, 49, 232. See also Bak
65; mountains of, 77; identified Bek-Bars ibn-Muzaffar, 257n.
with ruins of Endere (Andrey- Benjamin, Khazar king, 162
eva), 49n.: alleged Khazar Benjamin of Tudela, 220
capital, 50n., 205n.; first siege. Benzing, J., 198n.
275
INDEX
still mentioned in the Mongol

Berylia, 43
Berzilia, 42ff. E riod, 249n., 250
in, 161n., 185
Bey, Turkish title, 106
Biela Viezha, 186, 241, 262n. See Bulkhan, 161n., 185n.
also Sarkil Bulkhk* (Bughkhk ), tribe, 44n.,
Binqishlah, 150n. See also Man- 50n.
qishlagh Bulsh-tsi, 166, 172n.
Birmingham University, 3n. Buqu Khan, Uigur chief, 155n.
Biruni, al-, 44, 248 Burdas, see Burtas
"black” and "white” clans, 7 Burjan, 12. See also Bulgars
Black Sea, 42. 45. 99n., 136, 177. Burtas (Burdas), 15n., 83 and n.,
Also Sea of Nitas, Sea of the 95ff., 98ff., 102. 107, 174n., 225
Creeks and n.; cattle, 224n.
Blake, Robert P., xiiin. Bury, J. B., 19 and n., 42n., 91n.,
Bluch'an, 161n., 185 151n., 161n., 171n., 174n., 175n.,
B-n-j-r, 23, 24 177n., 178n., 187n., 195n., 200ff.
Bodleian Library, Oxford, 120n., Busfurrajan, 21
130n. Busir, Khazar Khaqan, 171 and n.,
Bogos, mountain, 77n. 173 and n.
Bdkhanon, ton, 161 n. Buxtorf, J., xi, 4, 116, 126 and n.,
Borchigin Oayat, 160n. 127PF.. 133
Bosporus, 25, 37, 161n., 164, 173, Byzantine envoys, 135
174 and n., 251. See also Panti- Byzantine knowledge of the 2nd
capacum, Kcrtch Arab-Khazar war, 70n., 77n.
Bowman, J., 152n. Byzantium. 12, 36, 45, 67, 134,
Bretschneidcr, F.., 35n. 172, 256. See also Constanti¬
brick buildings, 92, 186 nople
brocade, 78 and n., 112
Brooks, E. W., 66n., 80n. Caetani, L., 60n.
Brutzkus, J., 113n., 142 and n., Cahen, C., 260n.
161n., 165, 173n. Caliphate. 46
Buda-Pcst, 106 Cairo. 128
Buddhism, 155n., 189n. Cambridge Document. 4, 135, 145,
Budge, E. A. Wallis, 38 147. 255#.. 172n., 237
Bugha, 194 Cambridge University Library,
Buhturi, al-, poet, 61 156n.
Bukhara, 109 Cappadocia, 27
Bukhari, al-, 191n. Carmoly, E., 9n., 168
Bulan, Khazar king, 144, 148 and Caspian Cates, 20, 27, 28, 30. See
n., 155, 158, 161, 167, 185n. also Darband
Bulgaria, 42; Creat, 99; Inner, 100. Caspian Sea, 15, 20n.. 25. 35, 150;
215, 218 Russian fleets on, 238ff. See also
Bulgaris, Bulgarios. 5 Jurian, Sea of
Bulgars, 37ff., 40ff., 58, 91. 98, Cassel, P., 149
215; derivation of name. 40, 42; Caucasus, 5, 9ff., 13. 15, 18ff.,
of Volga, 12, 65, 83. 86. 100, 24ff., 41. 43ff., 55, 58; origin of
109fL, 114, 147, 174n., 245n.; Khazars said to be S. of, 34n.;
survive the Khazars, 222. See implications of Khazar defense
also Burjan of, 87
Bulghar, 91, 95, 98, 99, 187, 236n.; Cavaignac, E., ixn.
sacked by the Russians, 242; Cedrenus. 251
276
INDEX
Chabot, J. B., 68n. 138, 156, 253. See also Byzan¬

Chacanus, 237 tium
Chadwick, Mrs. N. K., 145n., 238n., Constantius, envoy, 19
253n., 262n. Cordova, 126, 136, 138, 156, 169
Chaldaeans, 167 Cosri (Kuzari), Chapter vi passim
Chat-Khazar, 59, 106n. Cossacks, 243
Chavannes, E., 5n., 6n., 7n., 22n., Cowari, 197. See Kabars
24n., 25n., 28n., 29n., 31n., 32n., Crimea, 45. 171 ff., 183, 244n.,
35n., 36n., 37n., 38n., 160n. 25 Iff.
Chazari, 4 Cumans, 258, 262n. See also
Chazirk', 28n. Qipchaqs, Polovtsi
Chelandia, 197 Cyrus, river, see Kur
Chenastan, 32, 35
Chepetukh, 32, 35. See also Yabgu Daghestan, 44
Chcrson, 162, 164ff., 171, 186; at¬ Dahhak-i Tazi, 16ff.
tacked by Justinian II, 173ff. Damascus, 71; men of, 79
Chichak, Khazar princess, 177. See Damiri, al-, 193n.
also Eirene Dan, Jewish tribe on River Sam-
China, 12, 14, 35, 138; Emperor bation, 142
(Khaqan) of. 17, 26n., 32 and Danes, sec Frode
n.; Great Wall. 193n.; Sea, 15n. Danube, river. 41. 42, 196, 199, 218
Chinese. 10, 11. 13, 22; alleged Dar Alan (Dar-i Alin), 153, 164.
Chinese activity in vicinity of See also Darial
Caspian, 32 and n., 35; deriva¬ Dar al-Babunaj, 113; disputed
tion of tudun, 174n. meaning of, 113n.
Chinese sources, xii, 8, 31, 34ff., Daras, see Doros
160n. Darband, town and pass (later
Chingiz Khan, 98n., 160n. Bab al-Abwib), 18, 20, 23, 24,
Chor, 9, 19. Cf. Tzur (Tzour), 26. 27, 29, 32. 43ff., 46ff., 81,
Sul 165, 227; Darband-i Khazarin,
Chorpan Tarkhan, 30 190; Wall of, 24. 192; Bek-Bars,
Chosroes, xi, 126. See Khusraw emir of, 257n. See also §ul, Tzur
Christ Church, Oxford, 130 and n. Darband Ndmah, 32, 63n., 55n.,
Christianity, 59, 89, 90, 92 and n., 187n., efc.
93, 94n., 96, 194ff., 207 Darial (Dariel), pass, 19, 20n., 44,
66ff., 76. 81, 164 and n., 179,
Chu, valley, 31
182, 185; garrisoned by Mas-
Chufut Qala, 222n.
lamah, 68
Chungar, 114n.
Dasht-i Khazar, 258n.
Chuvash, 98n., 186
Dasht-i Qipchaq, 258n.
Chwalynsk, 94n.
Daud, Seljuk, 260
Chwolson, D., 124, 131 and n.
David, Khazar chief, 251
Constantine V, Creek emperor, David ben-Isaac Sangari, 124
177ff. David El-Roi, 255
Constantine VII, Creek emperor, Day lam, 12, 127, 210
ixn., 42, 89, 136, 141n., 142, De Goeje, M. J., 100 and n., 184n.
162, 164, 177n., 178 and n., De Guignes, J., 34
186n., 196ff., 199 Deinard, E., 134
Constantine (Cyril), apostle of the Deny, J., 4
Slavs, 115, 194ff. Dihistanan Sir, 150
Constantinople, 20, 29, 135, 136, Dimashqi, al-, 14, 89
277
INDEX
Fadl, al-, ibn-Sahl, Abbasid vizier,

Dinawari, al-, 14n., 26n.
142, 188 and n.
Diyar Bakr, 71
Fadl, al-, ibn-Yahya, Barmecide,
Dnieper, 87, 142, 220n.
ISOn.
Dniester, 41
Fadlan, ibn-, traveler, 65, 96n.,
Don, river, 5, 41, 87, 92n.. 142,
97n., lOOff.. 106, 108, 1090.,
187; Don-Volga route, 136, 187,
141, 145, 150, 185n.; his account
195, 226, 229, cf. "Khazarian
of Khazaria not firsthand, 109
Way" Fadlun the Kurd, see al-Fadl ibn-
Dorn, B., 43n., 51n., 63n., 69n.,
Muhammad
257n.
Fakhri, al-, 260n.
Doros (Daras), 92n., 94n., 171;
Falashas, 128
captured by the Khazars, 183;
Faqih. ibn-al-, 13, 14. 26n., 57n.,
site of, 183n.
66n., 109n., 138n., 172n., 193n..
Doshdomor, letter of, 129
240n.
double kingship: among the Kha¬
FarghSnah, 57n.; men of, 219
zars, 9n., 20ff., 30ff., 79n., 97 g..
Farmer, H. G., 97n.
104-105. Ill, 119. 149. 159,
Ferrand, C., 218
186. 208; in mediaeval Japan,
Fida, abu-al-, 13, 110n., 249
208n.; at Sparta, 208n.
Fihrist, al-, bibliographical work,
Druthmar, early authority for hha-
zar Judaism, I2in., 221n. 119
Rian Shah. 191
Dubnov, 34n., 156, 162
Firkovitch, A., 123 and n.. 124 and
Duna, 42. See also Danube
n.. 131, 251 and n.
Dunlop, D. M., 76n., 190n.
Rruz, 19, 24
Duqaq, sec Tuqaq
Frachn, C. M., 101, 11 In.
Duval, R., 7n.
Frankl, P. F., 141
Dvornik, F., 194n.
Franks, 46
Frazer, J. C., 97n.
Ebe, 106. See also Aba-shad
Freytag, C., 79
Egypt, 14, 127. 131, 220n.
Frode, Danish king, 115n.
Eircne, Byzantine empress, 1 - In.,
Frye. Richard N., xiiin.
177 and n. See also Chichak
Eldad ha-Dani, 91n., 109, 140g.,
Calatia, 27
168 Canjah. 253, 257
elders: among the Burtas, l«4n.;
Canz, D., 126
among the Khazars, 198 and n. gaols opened to provide troops,
Elias of Nisibls, 66n. 181
Elias, spatharius, 173ff. Gardizi, 8, 43, 98n., 105g., 160n.
Elijah Habboh, 221 Gazan, 4, 121n. Cf. Chazari, Kha¬
clieber (yaltawar), title, 59, 95n., zars
109, 112n., 174n., 233. Cf Gebalim, 136ff.
Khatiriltber Cedaliah, rabbi. 122
Endere, ruins of, 49n. Cf. An- Genizah at Cairo, xn., 128, 156,
dreyeva 169ff., 254
"enemy of Cod,” 74 Geographer of Ravenna, 7
engineers. Creek, 92n., 136 George, a tarkhan, 92n.
Ezekiel, Khazar king, 168 Georgia, 30, 48. 184ff ; princes of,
60, 69. 181. See also Jurzan
Fadl, al-, ibn-Muhammad, Shad- Georgian sources, x, 9 and n., 28,
dadid, 253 30 and n., 181ff., 184ff.
278
INDEX
kami, brother of al-Jarrah ibn-

Georgians, 222, 253
Georgius Monachus, 213n. 'Abdullah, 71
Georgius Tzul, 251 hdkhdm, 114n., 161
Halls Tarkhan, a figment, 180n.
Ghevond, see Levond
Ghuzz (Oguz), 32, 95, 96n., 98, Haloun, G., xii, 34n., 35n.
150, 164, 187 and n., 196, 209 Hamasah, 67n.
and n., 230, 257, 258n., 259ff.; Hamid, abu-, al-Andalusi, 218, 248,
religious beliefs, 207n., 261; 40 ’ 249n.
tribes occupy Saqsin, 249n.; Hamzin, 63, 64 and n., 77; identi¬
Ghuzz hostages, 260n. fied with Qaya Kent, 64n.
Gibb, H. A. R., 12n., 57n. Harith, al-, ibn-'Amr al-Ta i, gen¬
Gibbon, Edward, ix, 28, 34, 37n., eral, 67, 68, 76
178n., 239, 248n. Harkavy, A.. 124, 131, 133. 144n.,
Glasgow University, xv, 130 151n., 189n., 220n., 221n., 248n.
“Clozel” khazare, le, article by H. Harmenopulos, 3
Harun al-Rashid, Abbasid Caliph,
Gregoire, 127n.
Gog and Magog, 13, 114, 121n., 89. 91, 116, 121, 183ff,
182, 192, 193n.; Magog alone, Hasan, al-, ibn-Zayd, ruler of
12, 220; Wall of. 191, 192, 193n. Jabaristan. 238
S 'd, 30. 227 Hasday Crescas, 126
Hasday ibn-Shaprut, 120, 125, 126,
mbocz, Z., 3n., 198n.
C6mez, E. Garcia, 218n. 127,' 130, 132ff., J40, 143. 148,
Gothic toparch, 165 and n., 183n., 156ff., 165, 169; alleged visit to
244n. Khazaria, 154 and n.
Goths of Crimea, 171, 183 Hasdeu, 144. See Hasday ibn-
Granada, 218 Shaprut
grapevines, 95 Ha$in, see Ha$nin
Criitz, H., 126n., 141, 151n., 243n., Hasnin, 63n., 180. See also
Hamzin
251, 252
Greaves, J., 205n. Hassul, ibn-, abu-al-’Ala', 259
Creek sources, ix, x, 5ff., 19ff., 26ff . Hatim ibn-al-Nu’min, 60
28ff., 36ff.t 41ff., 70n.. 77n., Hawqal, ibn-, geographer, 91 n.,
164fF., 165. 171ff., 186, 194. 92n., 97n„ 108. 110n., 186, 218,
196ff., 219, 251ff. 241ff., 246, 248, 250; relation to
Creeks, 5, 10, 11, 14. 26. 27, 29. al-Istakhri, 100 and n., 215, 217,
36. 45, 48, 53. 55. 89. 100. 158. etc.; refers apparently to Hasday
171 ff.. 176, 181. 185. 189, 213ff., ibn-Shapnit, 154 and n.; his
222, 250, 252. See also Byzan¬ visit to Jurj&n, 242
tium, Byzantine Hazar Jarkhan, Khazar chief, 83,
“Green Sea,” 14 191
Gr6goire, H., xi., 27n., 137, 197n., Hebrew patriarchs, 12
Helena, Byzantine empress, 169
201ff., 215
Grigor Mamikonian, 60 Hennig, R., 231n.
Curganj. 150, 246ff. Hephtnalites, 5, 19ff., 24ff., 33
Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon, 107
Hab-baligh (?) fH-b ?-l-’(gh)], Heraclius, Byzantine emperor, 5,
105, 106 28ff., 32, 171
Hafiz-i Abru, 43, 51n. Herat, 15
Hafsiin, ibn-, 113n. Herder, J. G., 116
Hajar, ibn-, traditionist, 49n. Herodotus. 10, 175n.
Hajjaj, al-, ibn-’Abdullah al-Ha- Hilal al-Sabi’, 228. 229
279
INDEX
Hims, men of, 79 Isaac Aqrish, see Aqrish

Hind, province, 12, 179 Isaac bar Nathan, Mar, 136, 156
Hisham ibn-'Abd-al-Malik, Umay- Isaac Sangari, see Sangari
yad Caliph. 66, 68, 71, 74, 80, Isfahan, 218
87 Isfandiyar, ibn-, 238n.
Hisham al-Kalbi, 14, 22 Isha (cj. Abshad), title, 104ff.,
Hitti, Philip K., xv, 75n., 87n. 160n.
Hiung-nu, 31, 36, 160n. See also Ishaq ibn-Ismall ibn-Shu’ayb, gov¬
Huns ernor, 191
Honeyman, A. M., 16n., 137n. Ishaq ibn-Kundaj (Kundajiq) al-
Hormuz, 26, 96n. Khazari, 61 and n., llln., 190
Ho-sa Turks, 35 Isidore of Seville, 151 n.
Houtsma, M. Th., 21, 78, 180n. isinglass, product of Khazaria, 96,
Howorth, H. H.. 94n., 250 228
Hubaysh, ibn-, 56n. Islam, 46ff., 84ff., 86, 87, 92ff., 108,
Hudhayfah ibn-al-Yam4n, Muslim 114, 147, 206ff., 214, 244ff.
general, 54 "island of sheep,” 192
hukkam, 93 Israll, al-Haij, 260n.
Hungarians, 94n., 196. See also Isra*il, son of Seljuk, 260
Magyars Istakhri, al-, geographer, 7, lln.,
Hungary, 218 91ff., 98n., lOOff., 105, 106,
Hunni, 6, 36 110n., 112n., 113n., 160n , 217,
Huns, 4, 7. 8, 19, 27, 33, 115n.; 227, 241; account of Khazaria
Sabir Huns, see Sabirs; White apparently composite, 97n., 102;
Huns, see Hephthalites; of confirms details in Reply of Jo¬
Varach’an, 43, 59 seph, 149
Hurayrah, abu-, 56 Ithil less conect form in Arabic
Husayn, al-, 53 than Atil, 91 n.
hussar, derivation, 3 Ital, see Atil
Huttu, king of the §aqalibah, see itineraries in Khazaria, 49n.
Otto Ivan the Khazar, 253
Hyrcania, 163
Jacob ben-Reuben, Karaite author,
Ibrahim ibn- 'Asim al-*Uqayli, Kha- 221
zar speaker, 72 Jahiz, al-, 14
Ibrahim ibn-Ya’qub, traveler, 230, Japheth, 12ff.
254n. Japheth ibn-'Ali, Karaite author,
Idrisi, al-, geographer, 190n. 221
Igor, Russian chief, 239n. Jarrah, ibn-'Abdullah al-Hakami,
fguraya, 38n.
Arab general, 32n., 49n., 73, 7T,
llek Khans, 17n., 160n. See also
80, 82, 170; appointed governor
Qara-Khanids
of Armenia, 62; occupies Bab,
Ilutver, see Alp Ilutver
63; speech of, 64; captures Bal-
Ilyas, khazar king (?), 168n.
anjar, 65; occupies Wabandar,
image-worship, 151
Indians, 10. 11, 206 66; decides not to advance on
Iraq, 61, 140, 218; Jews of, 189, Samandar, 66; recalled, 67; re¬
219ff. appointed, 68; defeated and
Iron Gate (Tien Shan), 193n. killed at Ardabil, 69ff., 76
Isaac bar Abraham, goes to Kha- "Jarrahi" measure, 62
zaria from Iraq, 221 Jarmi, al-, Muslim ibn-abi-Muslim,
280
INDEX
early writer on the Khazars, Juwayni, al-, 155n.

107if.
Jaroslav, Russian chief, 252, 253 K (= Chester Beatty MS. of al-
Jashar, Book of, 248n. Istakhri in Professor Kahle’s col¬
Jawshygh-r, 38, 111 lation), 91n., 92n., 93n., 94n.,
Jawzi, ibn-al-, 184n. 95n., 96n. See also 225n.
Jayhani, al-, 107ff. Kabad, Hun chief, 27
Jazirah, al-, 71; men of, 79, 181 Kabars, 197ff.; insurrection of, 203
j-dddah, a kind of car, 78n. Kagan, 22, 24, 132, 145, 159. See
Jebu Khaqan, 29ff. also Khaqan
Jehudah ben-Barzillay al-Barsaloni, Kahle, Paul E., xiff., lln., 89n.,
120n., 132ff., 137. 145, 157, 163 91n., 240n.
Jehudah ha-Levi, 115, 116ff.t Kakhetia. see Khakhit
120n., 121 ff., 142n., 154 Kalbi, al-, see Hisham al-Kalbi
Jehudah bar Meir bar Nathan, . Kamkh, fortress, 181
rabbi. 134 Kangars, 203
Jerusalem, 136 kanisah, 113n.
ewish festivals, 146 Karachais, 222n.
ibghu, 30. Cf. Jebu Khaqan, Karaism in Khazaria, 123n., 148n.
Yabgu Karaites, xiv, 123 and n., 124 and
Jidan, 63n. See also Khaydhan n.. 141. 221, 222n., 261n.
Jll, Jilan, 210 Karayts, 98n.
John Cinnamus, 94n. Kdmdmak, 18
John of Ephesus, 5 Kasak, 80 and n.
John of Corz, 137, 144 Kasar, Kasir, 7. Cf. also Khazar
John of Cothia, St., 183 Kasem Beg, 32n., 63n., 73n.
ordanes, 7, 27, 115n. Kashaks, 243. Cf. also Kasik
oseph, Khazar king, 120, 125, 127, Kasogs. 241, 243, 252
132, 141, 146, 149. 156ff.; Kavars, see Kabars
Khaqan or Beg? 145 Kawthar ibn-al-Aswad al-’Anbari,
Joseph, Mar, 136ff. 83
Joseph Hagans, rabbi, 134 Kay Khusraw, 16
Josippon, 162ff., 248n. Kaymaks, 95, 98n.
Jost, I. M.. 144 Kazar, Kazari, 4, 153. Cf. also
Juansher, 184ff. Khazar
Judaism: Khazar, x, 76, 86, Chap¬ Kazarig, 5, 6
ters v and vi, passim (see also Kedar, country, 220n.
under Khazars); Byzantine, 89, Kerbela, 53
125, 157, 169, 256; conversion Kertch, 25, 37; strait of, 172, 209n.
of “Meshech” to, 220 See also Bosporus
ulian, emperor, 18 Keturah, 13ff.
uluf, 9n. Keizer, derivation, 3
Jurashi, al-, alternative nisbah of Khakhit, 85n.
Said ibn-'Amr al-Harashi, 71n. Khalaj, 94n.
Jurjan, 56n., 71, 96, 150, 220; Sea Khaldun, ibn-, historian, 18n., 51,
of (Caspian), 99n., 210 54, 71n., 137n., 184n.; instance
Jurj&niyah, see Gurganj of rationalization, 72n.
Jurzan, 20, 21. See also Georgia khalifah, of Khazar Khaqan, 20,
Justinian 1, Greek emperor, 6 cf. Ill “lieutenant”; of Russian
Justinian II, Greek emperor, 159, king, 238
171ff229 Khalil ibn-Ahmad, grammarian, 11
281
INDEX
Khalisioi, 94n. See also Khwalis ites and Hephthalites, 19ff.; to

Khamlij (Khamlikh), Khazar town, the Sabirs, 27ff.; contacts with
99n., 105, 138, 187n., 226n., the Sassanids, 18ff.; Khazars and
248n. Heraclius, 28ff.
Khamlikh, see Khamlij Rise of the Khazars, 37, 4Iff.;
Khanbaligh (?), 105, 106, 108. make contact with the Greeks,
Cf. Khamlij, Hab-baligh (?) 45, 171; and with the Arabs,
Khanykov, N. V., 257 46ff.; operations of the Arabs
Khaqan, title: among the Huns(?), against, see individual command¬
238n.; among the Avars (pseu¬ ers e.g. Jarrah ibn-'Abdullah,
do-), 6, 37n.; East Turks, 31, Maslamah ibn-'Abd-al-Malik; in¬
160n.; West Turks, 22, 31, 160n.; vasion of Muslim lands, 59ff.,
Tiirgesh, 79n.; Russians, 237; 61ff, 67, 68, 69ff., 103, 180ff.,
cf. also Kh4qan-i Chin, 32; 184; ambassador, 142; prisoners,
among the Khazars the superior 61, 84 and n., 85.
king (Khazar Khaqan), 4, 8, 14, Language, 39, 93ff., 98 and
16. 17, 20ff., 28. 30ff., 37n.. n., 168, 186; spoken in Hungary,
38n., 45. 68, 78, 79n.. 81, 97ff., 197ff.; church service in, 92n.;
101, 102, 104, 109, 110, lllff., Khazar words, 78, 142n., 161
145ff., 159ff., 160n., 171, 183n., and n., 166, 172n., 177n., 186;
185, 186, 191n., 207ff., Khazar script, 119ff.; archives, 142ff.;
Khaqan dominates situation in knowledge of, among the Chi¬
the Crimea, 176; forced to ac¬ nese, 34ff.; earliest authorities
cept Islam, 84ff.; accepts Juda¬ for Khazar Judaism, 121n.; pre-
ism, 86, Chapters v and VI; “land Jcwish religion, 59, 114, 118,
of the Khaqan," 61n.; council of, see also Turkish customs, Turk¬
82; "son of the Khaqan," 63. 67, ish antiauity.
72, 79n., also in Creek, 70n.; Imperfection of Khazar Juda¬
“he came with the head of the ism. 92. 115, 143, 195, 221; re¬
Khaaan,” proverb, 74n., 79n. lation to headquarters of Jewry,
Khatiriltber, 180n. 219ff.; decline of, not due to
Khatun, of the Barsilians, 45; of Judaism, 223; Khazar Corre¬
the Khazars. 110, 188, 208n., spondence, see Letter of Hasday,
260 Reply of Joseph; "Khazar prob¬
Khaydhan, 63, 77, 204; king of, lem," sometimes restricted to
204n. authenticity of Khazar Corre¬
Khazar, Khazars: sea of the Kha¬ spondence, 125.
zars, 209n., 229, see Caspian; Frontier to the East, 149ff.,
river of, 209; mountain of, 15, 150n.; empire in the West, 198,
77n.; “gulf of,” 226n.; Black, 7. 199, 238, cf. also Kiev; Cate of,
11, 96; White, 7, 93n., 94n., 96, at Kiev, 199n.
224, 232; Khazar=nnmad?, 3ff.; Manner of electing a chief, 97
o/u vowel in name, 4; racial and n., 197; merchants, 135,
type, 10ff., 96. 224, 262; Turkish, 215ff., 238ff.; ships. 136, 211
not Finno-Ugrian, 34; one of and n., 228 and n.; coinage,
the great nations of the East, question of, 231 ff., 236n.; build¬
10, 11. 222; semi-nomadic, 92ff, ings, 92 and n., 186; art, influ¬
98, 105, 146 and n.. 148ff., ence of Persian and Byzantine
234 ff.; relation to the West models on, 231; upper class, 89,
Turks, 5ff., 21ff.; relation to the 92, 93, 94n., 97, 104, 224;
Huns, 6ff., 115n.; to the Kidar- women, 109ff., 112, 158, 171ff.,
282
INDEX
177 and n., 178 and n., 179ff., Khoriv, 199n.

188, 208, 220; pages, 113, 189, Khosiarioi, 3n.
219n.; swords, 193; spears, 226, Khouales, episcopal see, 94n. Cf.
covered cars, 78n., 179; Khazars Khwalis
wear long coats and tunics, 230. Khumarawayh, 61n.
Judicial procedure, 93, 206ff., Khurasan, 12ff., 150, 158; "mer¬
215ff.; revenue, 232ff.; Khazar chant-envoys of Khurasan," 135,
economy artificial, 233; survey 138
of, 224ff.; material resources Khurdadhbih, ibn-, lln., 20n., 21,
limited, 11, 224; agriculture, 99n., 108, 138 and n., 190n., 191
224ff., 228; exports, 136. 225ff., Khusraw, 28 (Parwiz). See also
228; manufactures, low level of, Anushirwan
230ff.; staple food, 93; rule un¬ Khuzavmah ibn-Khazim, 184n.
popular, 109, 234. Khwalis, 94n.
A corps d elite at Byzantium, Khwarizm, 35, 150 and n., 180n.,
219; Khabar guardsmen captured 206, 246ff.; Khazar trade w-ith,
by Symeon the Bulgar, 215; 229 and n.
tioops in Muslim army, 181; Khwarizm Shah, 218, 247n.
Khazars at S&marra, 230; Kha¬ Kh-z, see Khazz
zar lands, transfers of popula¬ Kidarites, 19ff.
tion from, 84n., 193fF., 197ff.t Kiev. 99, 142 and n., 198 and n.(
262 and n.; state cosmopolitan, 199n., 226, 241, 250ff.; occupied
223; cultural influence on Rus¬ by the Russians, 238; not men¬
sians, 237ff.; "Khazar-face,” epi¬ tioned in the Reply of Joseph,
thet applied to Photius, 194;
king assaulted by Seljuk, 259; “King of the North,” 4, 29ff., 45,
Khazars powerful for a time, 182
235; parallel of Mongol state in¬ Kirgiz, 8. 14. 95
structive, 223, 235; modem com¬ Kitdb al-Qasd w-al-Amam, 212n.
munity at Chufut Qala, 222n. Kitdb al-Riyad tv-al-Hadd'iq, 132n.
Khazarin, 15n., 91n., 92n., 163. Kitdb Tafdil al-Atrdk, 259
216, 217 and n. Klaproth. H. J., 34n., 254
Khazarftn-Atil, Khazar capital, 108; Kmosko, M., 60n., 61n., 64n., 79n.,
distinction of, 91n.; a double 101, 102. 103 and n., 104
town like Buda-Pest, 106: de¬ K-nd-r Khaq4n, 111
stroyed by the Russians, 241ff., kdhtn, 114n.
248. See also A til, Khazarin Kokovtsov, P., xiii. 125, 129n., 130,
Khazaria. 38. 44, 46ff., 49n., 51, 131 and n., 132n., 134n., 137n.,
61. 68ff., 84, 103ff., 107ff., 110, 141n., 146, 149n., 156. 162 and
138ff., 156, 189, 191; first Mus¬ n., 163, 166, 220n.
lim advance into, 50; Yiddish Kolkh, 37n.
tale of,\120n.; situation given in Kosa=Khazars, 34
Letter of Hasday, 134 Ko-sa, Uigur tribe, 35ff.
“Khazarian Way," 136, 195n. K'o-sa=Khazars, 35
Khazaroi, Khazareis, 4. See also Kotragus, Bulgar, 41
Khazars Kotzagers, 6, 37
Khazirs, 9, 43 Kounkhas, Kidarite, 19
Khazr patgos, 191n. Kowalski, T., 230n.
Khazz (Kh-z), 113 and n., 232 Kramers, J. H., 100, 154n.
Khilat, 71
Krymsky, A., 172n.
Khoalitai (Khliatai, Kholiatai),94n. Kuban, river, 41
283
INDEX
Kubrat, Bulgar chief, 41 Liuntis, 203

Livre Timonnier, 207n.
Kufah, al-, 52ff., 56, 79
Lombards, 212n.
Kufans, 52, 54ff.
Kulakovsky, J., 92n., 94n. Ludh'aniyah, 209
Kumayt, poet, 67n.
Ma'aseh ha-Shem, 120n.
Kundaj ( Kundajiq), ibn-, see Ishaq
ibn-Kundaj "Macedon,” 158
Kunik, E., 250 and n., 254n. Magas, Alan capital, 164n.
Kur, river, 9, 27, 30, 62, 184 Magians, 189
Kutschera, H. von, 9n., 252, 258, Magog, see Cog and Magog
Magyars, 3, 187, 196ff., 212n.,
261n.
Kuturgermat (Koutourgermat-ou), 213n.; in alliance with the Kha¬
202n. zars, 198ff.; relation to Bulgars,
Kuun, Geza, 101 202n.; in Caucasus, 200, 201,
Kuzari, plural Kuzarim (Khazar, 203. See Hungarians
Mahdi, al-, Abbasid Caliph, 181;
Khazars), 4
Kuzari (Cosri), Chapter vi passim tests furs for heat, 225n.
Mahmud al-Kashghari, 27
Lakz (Lesgians), 85 and n., 181 majdniq, 55
Lammens, H., 76n. Makhach Qala, identified with
"Land of Darkness," 14 Targhu, 64n.
"Land of the North," 4, 182 Malik Namah, 260
Landau, M., xivn., 129 and n., mamzir, "bastard." applied to Kha¬
132n„ 133 and n., 134, 137n., zars. 221
143n., 144. 145n., 146ff., 151, Ma'mun, al-, Abbasid Caliph, 142;
153n., 162 and n., 165n., 169 alleged by Marquart to have
lead, trade in, 99, 226 raided the Khazars, 247n.
Ma'mun ibn-Muhammad, Khwar-
Lebedia, 196, 199ff.
Lebedias, voevod, 196ff., 200, 203ff. izm Shah, 246
Lelewel, J., 123n. Manasseh, Jewish tribe in Khazaria,
Leningrad Public Library, 124n., 141, 168
131 Manbij, 71
Leo III, the Isaurian, Creek em¬ Manbiji, al- (Agapius of Mabbug),
peror, 177 181n.
Leo IV, the Khazar, ix, 178ff. Manichaeism, 155n.
Leo, Abkhazian prince, 185 Mankup Qala, 183n.
Letter of Hasday, 131, 133ff., 144, Manqishlagh, 150
145, 149, 150n., 151, 156, 157, Mann. J., 128, 156n.. 157n„ 169,
162, 163, 165, 166ff.t 169; He¬ 170n., 254
brew style different from Reply Man?ur, al-, Abbasid Cabph, 179,
of Joseph, 148, 152ff. 181
Leukon Oikema, 186. See also Sar- Mansur ibn-Jumhur, Umayyad gov¬
kil ernor, 179
Levi, ha-, see Jehudah ha-Levi Manuel Comnenus, 94n.
L6vi-Pro venial, E., 126n., 137n. Maqqari, al-, 137, 143
Levond, 60n., 179n., 180n. mardkib, 228
Leyden University Library, 16 Marj Ardabll, 69
"Lion’s Mouth,” 25 Marj al-Hijarah, 62
Marwan ibn-Muhammad, Umay¬
"Lir” Turkish, 39ff., 186, 198 and
yad general, later Caliph as Mar-
n.
Lithuanians, see Ludh'anlyah wan II, 49n., 58n., 69, 164n.,
284
INDEX
170ff., 177n., 179; distinguishes Mas’ud, ibn-, 55

himself under Maslamah, 78; Masudi, al-, 13, 18ff., 24, 27, 37n.,
left in command at Bab, 80; 43, 48, 49n., 50n., 68, 103, 109,
criticizes Maslamah to the Ca¬ 112n., 113n., 114, 116, 121, 125,
liph, 80; main expedition against 150n., 160n., 167, 187, 214ff.,
the Khazars, 8Iff.; passes Darial, 217, 229 and n., 230n., 244n.;
81; joins Usayd ibn-ZAfir al- main account of the Khazars,
Sulami at Samandar, 82; ad¬ 204ff.; account of the conversion
vances towards the Volga, 83; to Judaism, 89f}.\ view of the
obliges the Khaqan to sue for double kingship, 159,208; knowl¬
terms, 84; the Khaqan professes edge of Byzantine-Khazar his¬
Islam, and Marwan retires, 84ff. tory, 172
Marquart, J., xiii, 6n., 7, 20n., 22n., Maurice, Greek emperor, 5ff.
23n., 24n., 28n., 30n., 31n., 36n., Maurus, general, 176
37n., 38, 39n., 4In., 42n., 43n., Maymadh, locality, 74ff.
44n., 45n., 48. 50n., 51n., 59n., Measeph Niddahim, 131 n., 144n.
61n., 68n,, 90 and n., 91 and n., Menahem ben-Saraq, 133 and n.,
102, 104n., 106n., 107n., 108, 144, 165, 169
119n., 125n., 138 and n., 139, Menahem ben-Solomon, see David
142n., 155n., 160n., 172n.t 180n., El-Roi
182n., 185 and n., 187n., 194n., Menander Protector, 6n., 25n., 27n.,
195n., 196n., 209n., 210n., 212n., 37n.
213n., 215n., 218n., 219n., 222n., merchants: Khazar, 136, 215, 226,
223n., 237n., 238, 241 and n., 228ff.; Muslim, 213ff.; Russian,
243n., 245n., 246n., 247n., 250, 226ff.
258; views on the migration of Merv, 15
the Magyars, 199ff.; on the de¬ Meshech, 12. 13, 220, 248n.
cline of the Khazars, 223 and n.; Meshed text of ibn Fadlan, lOlff.
on the destruction of the Khazar Messianic ideas, 143, 219, 254ff.
state, 241, 243; last appearance Mesopotamia, 136
of the Khazars, according to, 253; Michael III, Creek emperor, 194
conjecture of, that the Khazar Michael Syrus, 5ff., 26, 38, 4In.,
Khaqans were descendants of the 43ff., 68n., 71n.
Asena, 160n. mihtar Balanjar, 65n.
Marwazi, see Sharaf al-Zaman Mikl'il, son of Seljuk, 260
Marwazi Minorsky, V., xii, xv, 14n., 16n.,
Marzaban ibn-Muhammad, Musa- 29n., 36n., 39n., 42n., 43n., 44,
firid, 240 59. 64n., 77, 94n., 95n., 98n.,
Maslamah ibn-'Abd-al-Malik, Arab 104n., 106n., 107n., 108n., 142n.,
general, 58n., 60, 63n.; gover¬ 150n., 160n., 164n., 187n., 196n.,
nor of Armenia and Adharbayj&n, 202n., 203n., 204n., 207n., 209n.,
67; garrisons pass of Darial, 68; 21 In., 236n., 239n., 247n., 248n.,
recalled, 68; reappointed on 256n., 257n., 258n.; opinion on
death of Jarrah ibn-’Abdullah, date at which the Khazars may
71; quarrels with Said ibn-'Amr have lost their importance, 250n.
al-Harashi, 74ff.; advances to Mirkhwand, 26n., 31ff., 225n.
Samandar, 77; retreat from Kha- mishkan, 155
zaria, 77ff.; captures Bab al- Miskawavh, ibn-, 240n., 244
Abwab, 79 Mommsen, Th., 7n.
masons, 8On. Mongols. 11, 223, 235, 249, 254,
Massagetai, 13 258, 261
285
INDEX
173n.; fuller than Theophanes,

Morag, S., xiv and n.
Moravcsik, J., 42n., 202n. 175n.
Nine Climates of Khazaria, 164
Mosaic laws, 94n.
Moses of Chorene, 8, 9 and n.. 28n. nisbah, 190
Nitas, sea of, 209 and n., 212. See
Moses of Khaghankaytuk (Kalan-
also Black Sea
katuk), 28n., 29n., 59n., 182,
Nizami, Persian poet, 15, 256
191n.
Mosul, 52, 189; Khazars approach, N-nd-r, 43
N-ndh-rwayh, 43
71
Noah, 12
"Mountain Jews,” 222n.
Noldeke, Th., 15n., 18, 23n.
Mstislav, 251, 252
Norsemen, 202n., 209n.
Mufaddal, al-, ibn-Salamah, 74n.
Muhammad, prophet, 11, 53, 177n., Norwegians, 13
Notitia Episcopatuum, 92n., 94
191n.
Muhammad ibn-Ahmad al-Azdi, Nuh ibn-al-Sa’ib al-Asadi, 84
Nukardah (PLombards), 212
Shirwan Shah, 246ff.
Nu’man ibn-al-Mundhir, 11
Muhammad ibn-Marwan, L'may-
Nuwayri, al-, 190n. .
yad, 60
Muhammad ibn-Musa al-Khwar¬
Obadiah, Khazar king, 144, 1-48,
izmi, 190 •
Mufmal al-Taw&rtkh to-al-Qisas, 8,
190n.
E 155, 158
, derivation, 6
, 154
Muller, D. H., 73n.
Oleg, Russian chief, 167, 198
Mulk N&mah, see Malik N&mah
Oleg, grandson of Jaroslav, 253
Munajjim, ibn-al-. appeals to the
Olom, Magyar voevod, 198n. See
Khazars, 183n.
also Almush, Almutzes
Munk, S., 124n., 222n., 223n.
Onogundurs, 41ff., 201, 202n. See
Muqaffa', ibn-al-, 8, 10
Muqtadir, al-, Abbasid Caliph, 100, also Bulgars
Onogurs, 36, 37n., 42
147
Orkhon, river, 6n., 36, 98n.
Murad III, Ottoman Sultan, 129
otter-skins, 225n.
Musa ibn-Ka’b, 181n.
Otto I, German emperor, 137
Mustatraf, 67n. Oxus, river, 8n., 14, 95, 150
Mu tadid, Abbasid Caliph, 215. 217
Mu'tamid, Abbasid Caliph, 61n. Panguraya, see Puguraya
Mu'ta$im, Abbasid Caliph, 189 Panticapaeum, 25. See also Bos¬
porus, Kertch
Nahmanides, 122 Papatzes, a Khazar, 172
Najm, al-, ibn-Hashim, comman¬ “Paradise,” 112
dant at B&b al-Abwab, 184 Paret, R., 48n.
Najm, ibn-al-, 183n. Parker, E. H., 35ff., 160n.
"Naphtha Coast,” 246, cf. 210 Pashenk, 63n.
Nargisi, Turkish poet, 67n. Paully, L., 188n.
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, 205n. Payghu, 31, 259. Cf. Yabgu
Negroes, 10 Pech, 123n. Cf. Beg
N£meth, G., 3n., 202n. Pechenegs, 98, 99, 107, 186, 187n.,
Nerse, Georgian prince, 181ff. 197, 199, 212; Khazars raid,
Neubauer, A., 124n., 127n., 141n., every year, 105; Khazars and
Ghuzz in alliance attack, 196
168, 256
Nicephorus, 42n., 43, 171n., 172n., Pehlevi sources, 8, 10, 22n., 23n.
286
N DEX
Peleg, 12 Qamayn, dhu-al- (Alexander the

Pelliot, P., 4, 31n., 35n., 36 Great), Dyke of, 49, 192ff.;
"People of the North,” 4 "mosque of dhu-al-Qarnayn,” 68
Persia, 26, 28ff., 35, 235; Arab Qartha’, al-, Qur an reader, 58
conquest, 10; kings of, 21, 24 Qaytaq, see Khavdhan
Persians, 5, 10, 25; hold the Cau¬ Qazar, 4, 163
casus, 19, 27, 30, 47ff.; expe¬ Qazaria, 159, 163
dition to Alexander’s Dyke, 49, Qazwini, al-, 190n., 249 and n., 261
192ff. qiblah, 108
Petahiah, rabbi, 220 Qipchaqs, 62n., 249n., 256. See
Peuke, island, 42n. also Cumans, Polovtsi
P-g, 123. Cf. Beg Qirqisani al-, 132n.
Phanagoria, 172 and n., 174. See <?ol Mebasser, 128£f., 133ff.
also Tamatarkha Qoy-su, river, 49n.
Philippicus (Bardanes), Creek em¬ Qubid, Sassanid, 20ff.
peror, 176 qubbah of gold, 98
Photius, described as "Khazar-face” Qudamah, geographer, 23, 25, 43,
by Michael III, 194 150
piut, heads Letter of Hasday, 133, quddt, 206. Cf. hukkdm
145, 153, 165ff. Qun Khan (?), 19
Poliak, A. N., xiii, xiv, 14, 92n., Qur an, 54, 56
132n., 133n., 137ff., 145n.t 14Sn., Qur’an readers, 56, 70
149, 150 and n., 153ff., 157n., Qutaybah ibn-Muslim, 57n.
161 and n., 169, 187, 188n., Qutaybah, ibn-, 67n., 79n.
248n„ 253, 254n., 255£F.; view
that Khazar state survived till the Rabbinic Judaism, 116, 122-123;
Mongol invasions, 250 among the Khazars, 115, 127,
Polians, 198 144, 148, 170, 217
Polovtsi, 253, 256, 258. See also Radhiniyah, 138 and n., 209n.,
Qipchaqs 230. bee also Rahdiniyah, 138n.
polyandry, 20 Rahdaniyah, see Radhiniyah
pontoon bridge on Volga, 83 Ras Jarkhan, 180
Poppe, N., 39n. Rasmussen, J. L., 115
Princeton University, xv Risonvi, 3n.
Priscus, 7, 8, 19fF., '24, 27, 36 Rat, C., 67n.
Pritsak, O., xiv, 3n., 42n., 106n., Raverty, H. G., 98n., 262n.
171n., 172n., 186n., 208n., 243n. Rayy, 54
Procopius, 19n., 26ff., 55 Reginald of Prum, 196
Pruth, river, 200 Rehatsek, E., 26n.
Puguraya, 38 Reiske, J. J.t 3n., 177n.
Pyrenees, 46, 87 "religion of Abraham,'* 148n.
S balah, 20, 64, 75

tlqala. 21
religious toleration, 223 and n.
Reply of Joseph, 42ff., 76, 91, 94n.,
98n., 125, 132, 133, 139, 144ff.t
Qanfttir, Russian king, 237n. 186n., 195, 208n., 240; Long
Qandaqah, queen, 14 and Short Version of, 130ff.,
Qantal, Russian king, 15n., 237n. 139ff., 146ff.; grandiloquent tone
Qara-Balgasun, 155n. of, 147; different Hebrew style
Qara-Khanids, 16, 17n., 39n., from Letter of Hasday, 148,
171n., 208n. See also Rek Khans 151ff.■
Qara-Khazars, see Black Khazars rice, a staple Khazar food, 93
287
INDEX
Ritter, H., 101nM 102n. St. Andrews University, xiv, 16n.

Roman, brother of Oleg, 253 Saj, ibn-abi-al-, 211
Romans, 19, 21; Roman officer, 8 Sakhsin, see Saqsin
Romanus Lecapenus, 89, 162, solar, 107
166ff., 169, 213 Sallam the Interpreter, 190ff.
Rome, 9, 218 Sallam a Jewish name, 193n.
Rosenthal, Franz, lOn. Salman al-Farisi, 56
Rosenthal, H., 223n. Salman ibn-Rabi'ah al-Bahili, Arab
Ross, Alan S. C., 3n. general, 49, 50n., 52ff., 56, 57n.,
Roth, Cecil, xiii 108, 205n.
“Royal Scyths,” 10 Samandar, Khazar town, 6, 28, 37,
Ru’ayn, dhu, 61 49n., 50n., 64n., 65£f., 95ff., 102,
Rub&s, river, 62ff. 187n., 205; Khazar capital, 50n.,
Rum, 35, 120 205 and n.; Maslamah retreats
Rum-Rus, 120 from, 77; reached by Marwan,
Rus, 15n., 189, 205, 207. 210. See 82; identified with Qizlar on the
also Russians Terek, 95n., 205n.; a fertile
Russian Chronicle, 149, 172n., 198, province, 228; destroyed by the
24lfiF., 250ff. Russians, 242
Russians, 15. 48, 91, 93. 99, 145, Sam'ani, al-, 190n.
257n.; anachronistic references, Samarqandi, al-, 16ff.
15, 48, 237n.; growth of the Samarra, Khazars at, 230
Russian power, 48, 187 and n.; Sambation, legendary river, 130,
Russian merchants, 99n., 226; 142
occupy Kiev, 238; reach the Samkarsh, 172n. See also Tamat-
Caspian, 238ff.; leave the Khazar arkha
country, 248 Samoylovitch, A., 39n.
Rustah, ibn-, encyclopaedist, 103, Samur, river, 84n.
104ff., 114, 160n., 174n., 187n., Sanariyah, 194. Cf. Sanharib ibn-
190n., 199, 219n.; characteristics Sawadah al-Sanari
of his account of Khazaria, 105ff., Sangara, see Sangarus
107£f. Sangari, David ben-Isaac, 124
Sangari, Isaac, 121 ff.
Sa'adiah Caon, 132n., 220ff. Sangarith, 123
Sabalan, mountain, 69 Sangarus, 125
Sabarti-asphali, 202ff. Sanharib ibn-Saw’adah al-Sanari,
sabbatic sects, 263n. 252n.
Sabir, 27 ‘ Salmutzes, see Almutzes
Sabirs, 26ff., 36ff., 55 Saqalibah, 13, 14, 114, 136n., 207;
sables, 225 river of, 99n.; Zeki Validi on,
Sabriel, 158ff., 167ff.
205n.; language of, spoken by
Sad, ibn-, 14
the Khazars, 230. See also Saq-
safinch, 228
lab, Slavs, Volga Bulgars
Sahak, archbishop, 59
Saqlab, 136ff.
sdhib Balanjar, 65n.
sahib al-Khazqi. 26 Saqsin, 106, 218, 22On., 248ff.,
“Sahib Shirwan Shah,” 247n. 254; in sources for the Mongol
Said ibn-'Amr al-Harashi, Arab period, 249n.
general, 71£F., 80 Saragurs, 19, 28, 36fF. See also
Said al-Maghribi, ibn-, 11, 110 Sari Uigurs
Said ibn-Salm, governor, 183fF. Saray (Saray-i Batu), 249
18
INDEX
Sarighshin, 105ff., 108, 248. Cf. Shem Tob ben-Isaac Shaprut, 126
Saqsin Shem Tob ibn-Shem Tob, 122ff.
Sarir, 85, 950., 102. Cf. Avars “shield of David," 256
Sarkil, 92n., 108, 136, 164, I860., Shiruyah, 18
194, 199, 209n., 241n.; site of, Shirwan, 20n., 211, 247, 257ff.
% 186n. Shirwan Shah, 86, 246ff., 257ff.
Sarkissian, A. O., 9n. Shogun, Japanese title, 208n.
Sarmatia, 42 Shorsunu, 166. See Cherson
Sarselt, 44 Simeon, Jewish tribe in Khazaria,
Sassanids, 12, 54 141, 168
Saul, Mar, 136ff. Simeon, see Symeon
Savirk*, 28n. Cf. Sabirs Simocatta, see Theophylact Simo-
Sawardiyah, 202ff • catta
Saxo Grammaticus, 112n., 115n. Simon Akiba Baer ben-Joseph,
Saxones, 137 120n. *
Schacht, J., 189 Sinastan, 57n.
Schechter, S., 156, 158ff., 166, 169, Sind, 12
208n. Sin jar of Khw&rizm, 258
Schultze, K., 181ff. Sinjibu, 24ff., 31ff., 35
Scythia, 5, 7 Sinor, D., 27n.
Scythians, 175n. Siproni, A., 166n.
sea-wall built against the Khazars, Sisajan, 20n., 21
228 Siyih Kuh, 150n., 246
Sebeos, Armenian writer, 32 Siyiwardiyah, see Sawardivah
Seir, mountain, 166ff. slave-trade,- 98, 227
Seliga, S., xiv Slavs, 112n.; ruler of the, 194. See
Scljuk ibn-Tuqaq, assaults a king also ^lawiyah, $aq4libah
of the Khazars, 259 Slawiyah, 99
Seljuks, 31ff., 258£f. Slouschz, N., 34n., 123n., 188n.,
Sepher ha-lttim, 132, 145 199n.
Serah, Khazar Jewess, 158 S-l-yfan, title, 204n.
Sereth, river, 199ff. Smith, H.. 262n.
Severians, 198 Soghdians, 14
Shabiran, river, 84n. Solomon ben-Dugi, 255
Shad, 29ff., 106n. Cf. Chat- sources, bibliographical note on. 58
Khazar Spain, 137ff., 142, 144, 166, 169,
Shado Turks, 35ff. 189, 212, 220n.
Shahan-Shah, 26 Spandiat, deity, 59
Shahrbaraz, 47ff. Stackelberg, von, 32n.
Shahriyar, 48. Cf. Shahrbaraz Stalingrad, 248n.
Shakka, see Shakki Steinschneider, M., 144
Shakld, 66, 69 Stephen of Sudak, 92n.
shaman, shamanism, 59, 118, 155 Storey, C. A., 74
and n. Strack, H. J., 124
Shamkur, 190n., 194, 202 stylistic differences in Khazar Cor¬
Shaqiq ibn-Salamah, 53 respondence, 152ff. •
Shapur (Sapor), Sassanid, 18 sufun, 228ff.
Sharaf al-Zaman Marwazi, 105 $ul, 18ff., 23ff., 165; a nation
Sharkil, 186n. See Sarkil called, 23. Cf. Darband, Caspian
Shath, see Shad Gates, Tzur
“Shaz" Turkish, 39ff., 186 and n. Sulayman ibn-Rabi‘ah al-Bahih',
289
INDEX
205. See also Salman ibn-Rabl'ah T ang dynasty, 35

al-Bahili Tang-shu, 35 and n.
Sulayman I, Ottoman Sultan, 129 Taraz (Talas), 31; battle of, 35
Sulayman ibn-Hisham, Umayyad, Targhu, 64; identified with Mak-
hach Qala, 64n.
78
Sura, Jewish academy at, 220n. Tarikh-i Fakhr al-Din Mubarak
Suraqah ibn-’Amr, Arab general, Shah, 120
tarkh&n, title, 72 and n., 179, 180n.,
476.
suttee, 206 191, cf. 172n.
Suwar, 99, 187n.; excavations at, Tarkhan Khaqan, 192n.
Tarkhan, king of the Khazars,
236n.
Sviatoslav, Russian ruler, 199, 241, 190ff.
242, 243, 244 and n., 248; ac¬ Tarkhan Rai, 180n. Cf. Ras Tark¬
companied by Khazars, 248n. han
Symeon, Bulgar king, 203, 215 Tarniakh, tribe, 6
Symeon Magister, Greek author, Ta-shih (Abbasids), 35n.
Tashkent, 31
194n.
synchronism of Arab operations on Tayy, Arab tribe, 67
Pyrenees and Caucasus, 87 Teicher, 1. L., 126n.
Syria, 62. 71. 218 Tengri Khan, deity, 59
Syrians, 53, 54 , 69, 181 Terbel, Bulgar king, 172
Thibit al-Nahrani, 78. Cf. Thubayt
Szinnyei, J., 202n.
al-Nahrani
Theodora, Khazar princess, 17IS.,
tabaqah, 97
Tabari, al-, lln., 12, 13n., 14ff., 177n.
18n., 19, 22, 23n., 24, 26n , 47n., Theophanes. historian, 5, 27, 28n.,
48, 49ff., 51 and n., 52 and n., 30ff.. 41ff.. 171n., 172n., 173n.,
54 and n., 55 and n., 56n., 57n., 175n.; reports incidents of the
2nd Arab-Khazar war, 70n., 77n.,
60 and n., 61n., 62 and n., 65n..
66n., 67n., 68n., 69n.. 70n., 71n.. 78n.
73n., 75n., 76n., 78n., 79n., 80n., Theophilus, Greek emperor, 186
Theophylact, chamberlain, 173
81n., 179n., 180n. 183n., 184n..
Theophylact Simocatta, historian,
189n., 192; Turkish •‘Tabari,*'
5, 6, 36n., 37n.
32n., 73n.
Tabarist4n, 96, 150n., 210, 238 Thrace, 213n.
Thubayt al-Nahrani, Arab general,
Tabarsarfin, 21
defeated by the Khazars, 62
tabernacle, 76. 98n., 118, 148
Tafragh, king of the Khazars. 160n. Tibbon, ibn-, 116
Tiberius III, Creek emperor, 172ff.
Taghribardi, ibn-, 60n., 81n., 83n.
Tdj al-'Arus, 13 Tibet, 12
Tiflis, 5, 28ff., 68, 104, 191, 194
Takin ibn-'Abdullah al-Khazari,
Til, river, 5
190
Tirul, locality, 158, 165
Talmud, 148, 220. 252n.
Tmutorokan, Tmutorakan, 172. See
Talut, 66
Taman, see Tamatarkha also Tamatarkha
Tamatarkha, 149, 162, 166, l/2n., Togan, see Zeki Validi Togan
Togarmah, Togarmian, 12, 122,
209n., 229, 251, 252. See also
Phanagoria, Tumatarkha 135
Tamghaj ibn-Bughra, Ilek Khan, Togarmim, 220
Toghuzghuz, 39. Cf. Ghuzz
160n.
Tola, river, 6n.
Tamm am, abu-, poet, 189
290
+&> -
NDEX
Toledo, 120, 127 Shan, 39; Orkhon, 98n., 192. Cf.

Tolstov, S., 150n. Onogurs, Saragurs, Utigurs
Tong che-hou (Tong Yabgu), 31 ’Umar I, Caliph, 48ff.
Torah, 148, 220 'Umar II, ibn-'Abd-al-'Aziz, Umay-
Tours, battle of, ix, 46, 87 and n. yad Caliph, 60
Transoxiana, 16 'Umar ibn-Hafsun, Spanish chief,
Trullan Synod, 177 113n.
Tsaritsyn, 248n. Umavyads, 58n., 78, 87; Spanish,
Tsymla, river, 186n. 140
Tu Huan, 35 Cpas ibn-Madar, 85
T’u-kiieh, 97n., 160n. See also Ural, river, 196
Turks Urals, mountain range, 8, 82
tudun, tide, 95n., 151n., 174 and Urdmaniyun, al-, 209n. Cf. Norse¬
n.; derivation, 174n.; Khazar men, Vikings
tudun removed to Byzantium, Urgeschichte of the Turks, 8, 22n.
175; in Doros, 183 'Urltanous, 163
Tughrul Beg, 259 Uroeisakh, 19n.
Usayd ibn-Zafir al-Sulami, abu-
m i3
Tulis, 104 Yazid, general, 81
T'ung-tien, 35 Usrushunah, 189
Tuqaq, 32, 259ff. 'Uthmin, Caliph, 52, 54ff.
Tiirgesh, 12n., 79n.
Tuncestan, 51n. Valarsh, Armenian king, 9
Turkish antiquity, 114ff., 160n., Van, lake. 72
161, 175n. Var, 6, 36
Turkish customs, 92, 97 and n., Varach'-, tribe, 44
115, 175 and n. Varach'an, 43ff., 50n., 59, 117,
Turkish religion, 104. See alto 119. See also Warathan
shaman, Tengri Khan Varchonites, 6, 37ff. Cf. Var
Turks, 8. 10, 11, 12, 13. 14, 15n., Vasiliev, A. A., 92n., 94n., 174n.,
16. 22n., 23ny 25, 26, 30, 34. 182n., 183n., 184n.. 187n., 244n.,
35n., 37, 43. 62n., 95. 96, 97, 252n., 262n.
104, 213, 224; East, 37, 160n.; Vasilievsky, V. C., 183n.
West, 4ff., 12, 21fF., 24£F., 27, 31, Venasep Surhap, 9
33, 36, 37, 56n., 72n.; Chuzz, Verkhni Saltov; 235n., 236n.
32, 96n., 210; Khazar, 56n., 132, Vemadskv, C., 102 and n., 136n.,
160n., 260 and n.; Magyars, 196; 145n., 171n., 179n., 180n., 186n.,
Russians, 244; Kok, 160n. See 187n., 189, 195n., 196n., 197n.,
also Tu-kvieh, Togarmah 198n., 199n., 238n., 248n.; on
Tumatarkha, episcopal see, 94n. the Magyars, 201ff.
See also Tamatarkha Viatichians, 198ff.
Turul, 201n. Vikings, 189. See also Norsemen
tzitzakion, 177n. Vitebsk, stone mould from, 231
Tzur (Tzour), 19n., 29, 165. See Vladimir, Russian ruler, 250
also $ul, Darband voevod*. 196, 238
Volga, river, 6n., 15, 37, 41, 44,
Uigurs, 5. 6, 14, 34ff., 42, 155n., 45, 50ff.; 57, 69, 89, 102, 114,
160n.; in Byzantine sources, 5ff.. 149, 196; Khazar capital on, 89,
36ff.; Sari Uigurs, 36n.; On 108, 110, 136. See also Atil,
Uigurs, 36n.; Ko-sa, 35ff.; Tien Khazaran-Atil
291
INDEX
Volga Bulgars, see Bulgars, Saqa- reliability of, 58n.; Khazar

bbah double kingship according to,
20ff., 37n.
VVabandar, 43, 66, 214 Yaqut, lln., 23, 93n.; account of
Walandar, 213ff.; identified with the Khazars, lOOff.; relation to
Adrianople by H. Cregoire, 215 al-I$takhri, 100, 101 and n., 102
Walandariyah, 214 and n.; incomprehensibility of a
Walid, al-, I, Umayyad Caliph, 60 passage in, 11 In.
VValid ibn-'Uqbah, governor, 52ff. Yarmolinsky, A., xiii
Walker, C. T. Harley, 14n. Yas, 241ff. Cf. As
War( a )san, 44, 117, 119, 121. 165; Yazdagird, 54ff.
mountain of, 119 and n. Cf. Yazid II, ibn-'Abd-al-Malik, Umay¬
Warathan yad Caliph, 62, 66
Warathan: North (Varach'an), 44, Yazid ibn-Mazyad, 183n., 184 and
59, 78n., 119; South, 44n., 69, n.
72. 74 Yazid ibn-al-Muhallab, 67
Warshan, river, 119n. Cf. War(a)- Yazid ibn-Usayd al-Sulami, 179,
181, 183n., 184, 202n.
Wathiq, al-, Abbasid Caliph. 190ff. Yazid, abu, see Usayd ibn-Zafir al-
Waw conversive absent from Long Sulami
Version of Reply of Joseph, 152; Yazid, see Y-z-?-d ?-lash
inference from this, 153n. Yenissei, river, 8
wax, commodity in Khazaria, 93, Yiddish: legend of R. Judah and a
96, 225 Khazar king, 120n.; absence of
W-b-nd-r, see Wabandar Western affinities in, 262
Wei, first, dynasty, 36 Y-l-k, Khazar title according to
Wei, later, 8, 36 Yaqut, 100
Weil, C., 184n. Yuroeipakh, 19
Weir, C. J. Mullo, xv Y-z-?-d ?-lish, Khazar title( ?).
Wellhausen, J., 7In. 20fF.
W#n-hsi£n t'ung-k'ao, 34ff.
Westberg, F., 151n., 161n., 165n., Zabender, 6, 37. Cf. Samandar
200, 244n., 249n., 254n. Zacharias, Khazar king, 168n.,
Whiston, W. and C-, 9n. 195n.
W-l-nd-r. See Walandar Zacharias Rheter, 7, 26, 42n.
W-n-nd-r, 23n., 43, 66, 214. See Zahr al-Adab, 142n.
also W-n-nt-r Zaj^czkowski, A., xiii, 3n., 39n.,
W-n-nt-r, 143, 144, 214; defeated 42n., 106, 11 In., 161n., 171n.,
by the Khazars, 42; old name 173n., 182n., 186n., 194n., 195,
of Bulgars, 43 222n.
Wright, E. M., 189n. Zambaur, E. von, 231
Wtistenfeld, F., lOOn. zawariq, 228
W-z-r, Hephthalite, 24 Zeki VaJidi Togan, A., xiii, 3n., 7,
8, 13, 14, 15n., 20n., 27n., 31n.,
Yabgu (Yabghu), title, 30ff., 259 37ff. nn., 43n., 44n., 48, 49n.,
Yafi'i, al-, 184n. 50n., 63n., 64n., 66n., 77n.,
yaltawar, see elteber 81ff. nn., 94n., 95n., 100n., 101,
Yaltkaya, S., 259n. 106 and n., llln., 113n., 114n.,
Ya'qubi, al-, 12, 61n., 68n., 74 and 115n., 154n., 160n., 175n., 180n.,
n., 76n., 78n., 179n., 180n., 187ff. nn.. 193n., 214n., 242,
181n., 183n., 184n., 191n., 230; 249n., 258
292
N D EX
Zemah David, 126ff. Zonaras, Creek author, 178

Zeuss, J. K., 6n., 7 Zoroastrianism, 189n.
Zichs, 26 Zoroastrians, 189
Zichy, Count E., 193n. Zotenberg, 51n., 63n.
Ziebcl, 28, 30ff. Zuhayr ibn-al-Qayn, 53
Zirdkin-Khursan, 59 Zunz, L., 168, 260n.
Zirihgiran, 257n.
293

The History of The Jewish Khazars

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THE HISTORY

SCHOCKEN BOOKS • NEW YORK

Copyright © 1954. by Princeton University Press

Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 67-26985

I I,is edition published by arrangement with Princeton University Press

Manufactured in the United States of America

Place of the Khazars in history - Relations with By¬

CHAPTER I. THE EMERGENCE OF THE KHAZARS

Derivation of the name - Relation of the Khazars to

CHAPTER II. A THEORY OF THE UIGUR ORIGIN

CHAPTER III. THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE KHAZAR

Khazar conquest of the Bulgars in the 7th century a.d.

CHAPTER IV. THE SECOND ARAB-KHAZAR WAR

Armenian accounts — Khazar successes against the

CHAPTER V. THE KHAZAR CONVERSION TO JUDAISM:

Account of the conversion in al-Mas'udi, al-Dimashqi,

CHAPTER VI. THE KHAZAR CONVERSION TO JUDAISM:

The Kuzari of Jehudah ha-Levi —Ibn Shem Tob —

CHAPTER VII. TWO HUNDRED YEARS OF KHAZAR

CHAPTER VIII. CAUSES OF THE DECLINE OF THE

CHAPTER DC. THE END OF THE KHAZAR STATE 237

Bibliography and abbreviations 265

Readers of Gibbon are familiar with the name of Leo the

1 Constantine Poiphyrogenitus, De CaerimonUs Aulae Byzantinae, ed.

hardly less acute. It is clear that the victorious Muslims were

•C. xiii (London 1912).

The bibliography has increased to very considerable propor¬

Cairo has contributed to this as to other historical questions. See Paul E.

Spanish geographer ibn-Sald, which I also owe to Professor

from what is said here, J. Marquart’s Osteuropaische und

10 Cf. the review of M. Landau in Qtryath Sepher, xxi (1944), 19-24,

Finally, I should like to thank Professor H. W. Bailey of

If the commonly accepted derivation of one or two familiar

11.c., as a military term. Dr. Alan S. C. Ross of Birmingham Univer¬

worthy that in Hebrew also the name is commonly written with

4 Nomt turcs, 207-224 (special article on Khazar).

• Ed. Bonn, 485. T Ed. Chabot, 381, col. 1, line 9.

The Khazars, however, are nowhere represented simply as

” The Later Wei is meant (Zeki Validi's dates).

in the twenty years between a.d. 197 and 217.28 According to

ing in themselves, these accounts, in view of their imprecision

” Ibn-'Abd-Rabbihi, al-'lad al-Fand, ed. of a.h. 1331, n, 210. The

Black Khazars are mentioned, described as being dusky like

84 See Istakhri’s account of the Khazars in Chapter V, infra.

»»Ibn-al-Balkhi, Fdn Ndmah (C M S ). 97

44 H. A. R. Gibb, Arab Conquests in Central Asia, London 1923, 83ff.

«Ibn-Fadtan, 196ff. " Ibid., 244, n. 8.

ibn-Sa'd and al-Tabari by Poliak.59 The tradition also appears

absurd, such as that from Wahb ibn-al-Munabbih, to the effect

•• Cited Zeld Valid!, Ibn-FadLto, 294.

problem and on the Khazars in general by the third group of

evidently an Arab (al-Dahhak is the typical Bedouin marauder

••Turkestan (C.M.S.), l8-

of the old Iranian cycle of legend) and, having paid respectful

tion: “Why has prosperity turned its back on you [»£. *e

’■Had the Qaia-Khinids (Bek Khans) a special interest in the

the Arab prince. Further, he is well-informed and affable and

sources have little or nothing to say about them till consider¬

sians, they met at the Caspian Gates (Darband) the Persian