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Revision as of 06:15, 15 January 2002 by RK (talk | contribs) (The Khazar Jewish kingdom)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Kingdom founded by a group of Turkic tribes in the 6th century AD on the southeastern section of today's European Russia near the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus.
The Khazars were a nomad people from central Asia who lived in the area that is today Kazakhistan - a former republic of the Soviet Union. 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.
Interestingly, 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 has become a widespread faith.
In the 10th century the empire began to decline due to the attacks of the Russian and other Turkic tribes and their political significance greatly diminished toward the ends of the 12th century.
Some modern anti-Semites claim that almost all Jews of today are not really descendents of the Israelites at all, but rather that all Jews are descendants of the Khazars alone; historians however reject this claim.
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