Chazar Article - 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia

8/11/2019 Chazar Article - 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia

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1906 Jewish Encyclopedia

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4279-chazars

Excerpt on Chazars/Khazars

Table of Contents

Early istory....................................................................................................................................2

Em!race "#daism.............................................................................................................................$

%#ccession o& Kin's.........................................................................................................................$

(nternational )dministration and Commercial *elations................................................................+,he Chazarian etters......................................................................................................................

,he Capital o& Chazaria...................................................................................................................9,rade and Commerce.....................................................................................................................0*elations 1ith yzanti#m.............................................................................................................0

Chazarian ,erritories......................................................................................................................

1ar 1ith 3oths.............................................................................................................................."ewish %ympathies.........................................................................................................................2

1ar 1ith *#ssians.........................................................................................................................2

ecline and 5all o& the Chazars.....................................................................................................$i!lio'raphy..................................................................................................................................4
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4279-chazarshttp://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4279-chazars


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http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4279-chazars

1906 Jewish Encyclopedia

6ote: 5or topics !e'innin' with Ch8 not &o#nd in alpha!etical order8 see #nder .C))*%:

) people o& ,#r;ish ori'in whose li&e and history are interwo


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powerl eno#'h to ena!le the cha'han to send to the yzantine emperor eracli#s an army o&

408000 men8 !y whose aid he conD#ered the ersians >2-27@. ,he Chazars had already

occ#pied the northeastern part o& the lac; %ea re'ion. )ccordin' to the historian BosesKalon;ataci8 the Chazars8 #nder their leader "e!# Cha'han >called ie!el Cha'han !y the

3ree; writers@8 penetrated into ersian territory as early as the second campai'n o& eracli#s8 on

which occasion they deie ersischen 5eldzI'e des Kaisers era;leios8 inyzantinische eitschri&t8 iii. $4@. icephor#s testi&ies that eracli#s repeatedly showed

mar;s o& esteem to his ally8 the cha'han o& the Chazars8 to whom he e


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ini!. p. +?@8 may ha


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Bap %howin' the istri!#tion o& *eli'ions in E#rope in the ,enth Cent#ry8 C.E.8 (ndicatin'Extent o& the Kin'dom o& the Chazars.>)&ter %chrader8 )tlas de 3So'raphie istoriD#e.@

(nternational )dministration and Commercial *elations

,he history o& the ;in'dom o& the Chazars #ndo#!tedly presents one o& the most remar;a!le

&eat#res o& the Biddle )'es. %#rro#nded !y wild8 nomadic peoples8 and themsel3ermany@8 who carried LasdaiNs letter to the ;in'.%aadia8 who had a &air ;nowled'e o& the ;in'dom o& the Chazars8 mentions a certain (saac !en

)!raham who had remoar;a


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Chazars8 whence they crossed the %ea o& the Chazars >Caspian %ea@ and contin#ed their ar;aa!o#t 90@8 relates that the &irst in&ormation a!o#t that

;in'dom was comm#nicated to him !y en*#ssia@8and thence thro#'h #l'ar >pro!a!ly the co#ntry o& the #l'arians on the K#!an@ to its

destination >)tel8 the capital o& Chazaria@. )s the en


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the Chazars8 &rom which8 the &ollowin' is8 in s#!stance8 an extract:

,he Chazarian correspondence was &irst p#!lished in the wor; ]ol-Be!asser o& (saac )\rish>Constantinople8 +77@8 into whose hands these doc#ments came while on a xlix. 0@8 the scepter shall not depart &rom "#dah.

)mon' E#ropean scholars "ohann #xtor&8 the son8 was the &irst to !ecome interested in theChazarlan letters8 which he printed to'ether with the text o& N)\rish in his atin translation o&

C#zari >asel8 0@.

#xtor& !elieMosippon@8 and in his notes to the

M#asin o& ac#to 'i2th cent#ry: see

3eo'raphia %acra8 48 p. 22@. ochartNs aratier8 =oya'e de *. enjamin 5ils de "ona de ,#dela8 ii. 2?+8

)msterdam8 7$4@. ,he anish historio'rapher 5rederic; %#hm8 who in 779 wrote a

7


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remar;a!le wor;8 &or that time8 on the Chazars8 and who co#ld not &ree himsel& &rom the


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istorischer %tIc;e a#s der "Idischen iterat#r8 pp. 2-$8 erlin8 ?40@. )t the same time

%olomon B#n; 'acalled isha8 or !e;8 or

pech@8 was powerless. ,he


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"apan8 while the !e;8 his military core'ent8 correspondedto the sho'#ns o& the latter. Emperor

eracli#s in 2 concl#ded a treaty with the cha'han o& the Chazars8 and Constantine

Copronym#s8 in his description o& the em!assy o& the Chazars >?$4@8 states that it was sent !y the_ha'han and the pech. (!n 5a`lan relates that the ;in' o& the Chazars was called the 'reat

cha'han8 and his dep#ty cha'han-!hoa >!ey8 !e'8 or !e;@. ,he !e; led the army8

administered the a&&airs o& the co#ntry8 and appeared amon' the peopleJ and to him thenei'h!orin' ;in's paid alle'iance. (t will th#s !e seen that the extent o& the powers o& the !e;

Klaproth8 BSmoire s#r les Khazars8 in "o#rnal )siatiD#e. ?2$8

iii.@.

*elations 1ith yzanti#m

)t the yzantine co#rt the cha'han was held in hi'h esteem. (n diplomatic correspondence withhim the seal o& three solidi was #sed8 which mar;ed him as a potentate o& the &irst ran;8 a!o


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'randson o& the ;in' o& the Chazars. 5rom his mother he inherited his mild8 amia!le disposition.

"#stinianNs rira#n8 ie etzten %chic;sale der Krim'othen8 p. 48 %t. eters!#r'8 ?90J

,omasche;8 ie 3othen in ,a#rien8 =ienna8 ??@.

(n the second D#arter o& the ninth cent#ry8 when the Chazars were o&ten annoyed !y the

irr#ptions o& the etchene's8 Emperor ,heophil#s8 &earin' &or the sa&ety o& the yzantine trade

with the nei'h!orin' nations8 despatched his !rother-in-law8 etron Kamateros8 with materialsand wor;men to !#ild &or the Chazars the &ortress %ar;el on the on >?$4@. %ar;el >%ar-;el8 the

white a!odeJ *#ssian8 yelaya =yezha@ ser


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the Crimea to spread Christianity amon' the Chazars >,omasche;8 l. c. p. 2+@. )t this time the

;in'dom o& the Chazars stood at the hei'ht o& its power8 and was constantly at war with the

)ra!ian cali&s andtheir leaders in ersia and the Ca#cas#s. ,he ersian "ews hoped that theChazars mi'ht s#cceed in destroyin' the cali&sN co#ntry >ar;a


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)der!ijan8 and a!o#t three daysN jo#rney &rom the sea. ,he nations on the coast had no means o&

repellin' the *#ssians8 altho#'h they p#t themsel9+@8 the *#ssian prince %wyatoslaw made war #pon the Chazars8 apparently &or the possessiono& ,a#rida and ,aman. ,he *#ssians had already &reed &rom the r#le o& the Chazars a part o& the

lac; #l'ars8 and had esta!lished a separate *#ssian d#chy #nder the name o& ,m#tra;anJ

!#t in the Crimean penins#la the Chazars still had possessions8 and &rom the Ca#casian side the*#ssian ,m#tra;an s#&&ered &rom the irr#ption o& the Kosso'ian and Kar!ardine princes8 who

were tri!#tary to the cha'han o& the Chazars. ,he &ortress o& %ar;el and the city o& )tel were the

chie& o!stacles to *#ssian predatory expeditions on the Caspian %ea. )&ter a hard &i'ht the*#ssians conD#ered the Chazars. %wyatoslaw destroyed %ar;el8 s#!d#ed also the tri!es o& the

Kosso'ians and Mass >)lans@8 and so stren'thened the position o& the *#ssian ,m#tra;an. ,hey

destroyed the city o& #l'ar8 de


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>=os;hod8 ?98 i

Chazar Article - 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia

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