This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Szopen (talk | contribs) at 03:46, 26 February 2002 (Russians - Rusins. In 10th century there were no Russians.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 03:46, 26 February 2002 by Szopen (talk | contribs) (Russians - Rusins. In 10th century there were no Russians.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Khazar kingdom was founded by a group of Turkic tribes in the 6th century C.E. in the southeastern part of today's European Russia and Khazakstan, near the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus.
The Khazars were a nomad people from central Asia. In addition to Kazakhistan, the ancient Khazar kingdom also included territory in what is now eastern Ukraine, southern Russia, and Crimea.
Their first significant appearance in history is their aid to the campaign of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius against the Persians. During the 7th and 8th centuries they fought a series of wars against the Islamic Arab Empire. Although they stopped the Arab expansion into Eastern Europe for some time after these wars, they were forced to withdraw behind the Caucasus, as well. Afterwards they extended their territories from the Caspian Sea in the east to the north of Black Sea in the west.
The Khazar royalty and nobility adopted Judaism, though the majority of the population continued to follow paganism. Around 740 C.E, their king, Bulan, was converted to Judaism. A later king, Obadiah, strengthened Judaism, inviting rabbis into the kingdom and building synagogues. His supreme court consisted of two Jews, two Christians, two Muslims, and a heathen. Religious toleration was maintained for the kingdom's three hundred plus years. By the year 950 Judaism had become a widespread faith.
In the 10th century the empire began to decline due to the attacks of both the Rusins and other Turkic tribes, and their political significance greatly diminished toward the end of the 12th century.
Some modern anti-Semites claim that almost all Jews of today are not really descendants of the Israelites at all, but rather that all Jews are descendants of the Khazars alone; historians, however, reject this claim.
See also: Khazaria.Com