Kozars or Khazars. The difficult fate of the Khazars. Excerpt characterizing the Khazars

7. Invasion of the Gauls and the biblical invasion of the Philistines Bridge over the river separating the opponents Duel on the bridge 1) Titus Livy reports that it was the Gauls who attacked the Romans. It talks about the “GALLIC INVASION”, see above. In response to the Gaulish invasion, the Romans gather an army,

It is unlikely that history has prepared for any people a fate similar to the Khazars. Having existed for just over 300 years and disappeared in the 10th century almost without a trace, they continue to arouse genuine interest among specialists and keen history buffs. How did the Khazars come to Judaism, were the Karaites their heirs, where were their cities hidden and where did they disappear to? There are many mysteries today. And then, in the Middle Ages, “dream catchers” and the creators of calendars that calculated time by wars were well known in the most different lands. They conquered entire nations, owned steppes and cities. Foreign chroniclers wrote about them, but for some unknown reason the Khazars themselves did not leave complete lines about themselves.
Leafing through the “Khazar Dictionary”

The Khazar clergy “knew how to read other people’s dreams, live in them as in their own home and, rushing through them, catch in them the prey that was ordered to them - a person, a thing or an animal.” So in the “Khazar Dictionary”, the lexicon novel by Milorad Pavic, the main character of the novel, Avram Brankovich, was once “caught”. There were many reasons to hunt him, but one of them - the most important - boiled down to the fact that he was engaged in a dangerous task - “compiling a Khazar dictionary.”

In Byzantine sources, the dispute about the best faith dates back to 861, when the Bulgarian monk Cyril (the creator of the Slavic alphabet) actually attended a reception with the Khazar Kagan and spoke about faith. But Brankovich was sure that not only Christian missionaries left their testimonies about this event. He hoped that one of the dervishes or Jewish rabbis would know details about the life of the Arab or Jewish participant in the dispute. Brankovich, who lived in the 17th century, was not afraid of the eight centuries that separated him from the subjects of his search.
Possible prototype

Avram Firkovich (1786-1874), who is apparently the prototype of Avram Brankovich, was born and lived in Crimea and never participated in the battles between the Serbs and Turks, which probably ensured his longevity. With Brankovich, the hero of the “Khazar Dictionary”, he is related not only by a consonant surname, but also by a passion for collecting rare books and manuscripts dedicated to Khazaria. Until the end of his days, Avram Firkovich lived in the former and then abandoned capital of the Crimean Karaites, Chufut-Kale. (The Karaites today are a small ethnic group, the indigenous people of Crimea, related to the Turkic ethnic groups.) And when he died in 1874, among the manuscripts he collected around the world, a letter from the Khazar king Joseph to the Cordoba dignitary, the Jew Hasdai ibn, was discovered and published in the same year Shafrut. But this find surprised specialists only partly. Firstly, because Karaite A.S. Firkovich was known for his forgeries, and secondly (even if we consider this letter to be genuine), in fact it turned out to be only a lengthy edition of an already known letter published back in 1577.

What was in this letter and what is its significance?

This message, written in the middle of the 10th century in Hebrew, was the response of the Khazar king Joseph to a request from a Cordoba dignitary about where the Khazar kingdom was located, whether it was really Jewish, how the Jews got into this kingdom, whether the Khazars stopped war on Saturdays. Both editions of the letter - both short and lengthy - contain King Joseph's answers to these questions. In addition to the royal correspondence, there is another fragment of a letter from a response to the same Hasdai ibn Shafrut, but it is not the king who writes to him, but a certain Khazar Jew who is not an official. His name is unknown. This fragment of the letter is called “Cambridge Anonymous” - after the place where the manuscript was stored. The significance of these letters lies in the fact that other sources of Khazar-Jewish origin simply do not exist. The letters listed are all that the Khazars themselves left about themselves.
Real geography

The possessions of Khazaria, which existed from the 7th to the 10th centuries, extended from the Volga delta to the Crimea and the Dnieper. As noted in the primary source - the chronicle of the Byzantine monk Theophanes the Confessor, who wrote in 810-815: “The Khazars, great people... took possession of the entire land right up to the Pontic (Black) Sea.”

Early evidence of the Khazars is in the chronicle "Church History", attributed to Zechariah the Rhetor, completed in 569, and in some other primary sources, but, according to the famous historian and archaeologist Mikhail Illarionovich Artamonov, even in the famous chronicle "History of the Albans" by Moses of Kalankatui there is anachronisms. The historian mentions the Khazars in his work and talks about their invasion of Transcaucasia during the reign of the Persian king Shapur II, that is, he dates them to the 4th century, which, according to the scientist, is not entirely true, since other sources of peoples with this name at this time are not called.

Thus, the first conquests of the Khazars, and therefore their independent appearances in the historical arena, it would be more correct to refer to the first quarter of the 6th century, since from that time many medieval historians and chroniclers speak about the Khazars, including the Arab writer Yaqubi, who lived in the 9th century. Yakubi, referring to early sources, writes about the war between the Khazars and the Persians, about the siege of Derbent by the Persians, but “the Khazars again took possession of everything that the Persians had taken from them, and held it in their hands until the Romans drove them out and installed a king over the four Armenians." This event could not have occurred earlier than 531, since the Persian Shah Kavad, mentioned in the work, no longer reigned that year.

The Khazars during this period were part of the Turkic Khaganate - a gigantic “nomadic empire” stretching across the steppe expanses from China to the Volga. But unlike many Byzantine and Arab writers who classify the Khazars as Turks, they themselves considered themselves related in origin to the Ugrians, Avars, Guzes, Barsils, Bulgars and Savirs. King Joseph also speaks about this in his letter. In terms of language, the Khazars were close to the Bulgars, which is confirmed by the 10th century writer Istakhri: “The language of the Bulgars is similar to the language of the Khazars.” It is noteworthy that it was the Bulgars and Khazars who would be the first to create independent states on the ruins of the Turkic Khaganate, defeated by China.

In 654, the Khazars also had to take care of their southern border, since the Arabs began to lay claim to the Khazar territory, more precisely, to the ancient capital of the Khazars, Belenjer. According to one version, the Arabs won this campaign, converting many Khazar cities to Mohammedanism. According to another, the Belenjers put up powerful resistance, during which 4,000 Muslims died and their leader Abd-ar-Rahman was killed. The Khazars kept the body of the killed man in a special vessel, believing in the custom that with such a trophy they would always win

There are many versions about which nationalities today are the direct descendants of the Khazars. According to one of them, it is believed that modern Eastern European Jews are of Khazar origin, according to another, this origin is attributed to the Crimean and Lithuanian-Ukrainian Karaites who speak the Turkic language. Perhaps, in the languages ​​and culture of many “post-Khazar” peoples, some reflections of the characteristics characteristic of the language and culture of the Kaganate in ancient times were imprinted. But how to identify them? After all, when we talk about this, we are, in fact, talking about a scattering of mirror reflections that can hardly be put together.

The participation of soil scientists in the expedition turned out to be fundamentally important: they examined the entire territory of the delta and came to the conclusion that the places where it could be built Big city, in the Volga delta there are only two or three. But after trial excavations in those places they were excluded, and the site of the supposed ancient city- perhaps Saksin and Itil - only Samosdelka remained. Given the degree of scientific correctness with which scientists express their assumptions, this cannot be asserted. However, discoveries made during last years, lead to the wildest assumptions

To be correct, it would be more correct to say that layers of the 10th and perhaps even 9th centuries were found. But we have not yet dug to the mainland, that is, to the very end. True, we have confirmation by dates - a series of radiocarbon dates and some dates give the 9th century, and this is definitely the Khazar time. In addition, there is a huge amount of brick, so much that an entire city could be built. Where did he come from here? If we take into account that they were building from it during the time of the Golden Horde, then the question arises: how much of it was there? A lot of. This means that there was a city in this place. And in Itil, as we remember, only the kagan and his entourage, including the bek, could build from brick. This begs another question: which Big City, besides Itil, were the Khazars built in the Volga delta? We don't know anything about him. This means that archaeologists are approaching the ruins after all.

For the majority of the Russian population, knowledge about the Khazars is limited to lines from A. S. Pushkin’s poem “The Song of the Prophetic Oleg”, which says: “How the Prophetic Oleg is now going to take revenge on the foolish Khazars...” and yet the “Khazar Khaganate” was considered one one of the first serious external enemies of Ancient Rus'. Contemporaries of the Khazars were the nomadic tribes of the Cumans and Pechenegs, who also raided Rus'.

The meaning of the word Khazars: nomadic ancient Turkic people, formed in the 7-10 centuries.

The formation of the “Khazar Khaganate” supposedly occurred in 650. One of the heirs of the last kagan from the Nushibi group, belonging to the Western Turkic kaganate, found shelter in Khazaria and founded his own kaganate - the Khazar. After the collapse of the Western Khaganate in 958, the "Khazar Khaganate" became the sole heir to the lands in Southeastern Europe. The Khazars, in addition to conquering lands, were actively engaged in cattle breeding and resale of slaves.

The original religion of the “Khazar Kaganate” was paganism, traditional at that time. Subsequently, supporters of Christian, Muslim, Jewish and pagan religions lived there quite peacefully, but not for long. The Khazars converted to Judaism. The adoption of Judaism as the main religion by the Khazars was most likely influenced by the establishment of trade relations.

The “Khazar Kaganate” conquered and subjugated foreign lands, collecting tribute. Among them were some East Slavic tribes: Vyatichi, Radimichi, northerners, glades, burdened with tribute before liberation Ancient Russia. Also, from the middle of the 8th century, Volga Bulgaria was also in the power of the “Khazar Kaganate”.

Ancient Rus' for a long time waged an active struggle against the Khazars. However, the decisive event in this long struggle was the campaign of Prince Svyatoslav in 964 against the “Khazar Kaganate”. The Pechenegs and Guzes became his allies. Having reached the capital of the “Khazar Kaganate” - Itil (Atil), Prince Svyatoslav and his allies crushed the Khazar army led by the Kagan, along the way capturing the second most important Khazar city - Semender and the Sarkel fortress.

After the collapse of the “Khazar Kaganate”, the Russians ruled in the lower reaches of the Volga until the 980s. Residents of the capital of Khazaria and their leader at this time found shelter on the islands of the Caspian Sea. After the Rus left, the Khazar ruler was offered help from Khorezm (a region of Central Asia) and he returned to his native lands. In exchange for help, most of the Khazars had to convert to Islam, and then their king. In 985, Prince Vladimir made a new campaign against the Khazars and imposed tribute on them.

In the middle of the 11th century, the Volga Khazaria finally disintegrated after the invasion of new nomads - the Polovtsians. In 1024, the Khazar people fought on the side of Mstislav - the son of Prince Vladimir, during their battle with their brother Prince Yaroslav. The last news about the Khazars was in 1079 and 1083, during the military operations of Prince Oleg the Prophet, who was subsequently captured by them and given to Byzantium.

Soon, power in the Volga region passed to the Volga Bulgaria, and power in the Caucasus went to Alania. A unified government on these lands was again formed only as part of

July 3, 964 prince of Kyiv Svyatoslav Igorevich defeated the Khazar Kaganate. IN school curriculum Very little is mentioned about this epoch-making event and even practically no attention is paid to both the prince himself and his campaigns and wars. But the military genius of Prince Svyatoslav can be put on a par with such eminent commanders of antiquity as Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great.

The value of this achieved victory should be especially remembered right now - after all, the oligarch Igor Kolomoisky is simply basking in the dream of recreating a new Khazaria and is making a lot of efforts towards this.
A short historical film will tell everyone how it happened, which is dedicated to the victory of Russian weapons and the acquisition of power and independence of the state.

The Khazar Khaganate was crushed by Svyatoslav. The end of Khazaria meant unification into single state, Kievan Rus, most of the East Slavic tribes. During the campaign, the lands of the Bulgars, Burtases, Yases and Kasogs, dependent on the Kaganate, were also crushed. The power of the Khazars was crushed not only in the center of Khazaria, but also on its outskirts. The end of Khazaria meant freedom for Rus' to travel to the Caspian Sea, Khorezm and Transcaucasia. Rus' opened up a free road to the East. Trade ties between Rus' and the East strengthened thanks to the elimination of Khazaria intermediaries. The victory of Prince Svyatoslav also meant the ideological victory of Rus' in the right to choose a special path for its spiritual development.

As many researchers note, the destruction of Khazaria, whose leaders professed Judaism and supported it among the subject and surrounding peoples through the spread of enslavement, slavery, obedience and superiority of the Jews, which was beneficial to their worldview, meant the destruction of the shackles of the most severe spiritual oppression, which could destroy the foundations of a bright, original spiritual life of the Slavs and other peoples of Eastern Europe

Khazar Khaganate, Khazaria (650-969) - medieval state, created by the nomadic people - the Khazars. Separated from the Western Turkic Kaganate. He controlled the territory of the Ciscaucasia, the Lower and Middle Volga regions, modern northwestern Kazakhstan, the Azov region, the eastern part of Crimea, as well as the steppes and forest-steppes of Eastern Europe up to the Dnieper. The center of the state was initially located in the coastal part of modern Dagestan, and later moved to the lower reaches of the Volga. Part of the ruling elite converted to Judaism. For some time, part of the East Slavic tribal unions were politically dependent on the Khazars.

For the majority of Russian people, all knowledge about Khazaria is exhausted by the famous Pushkin lines, according to which the “prophetic Oleg” is going to “take revenge on the foolish Khazars.” In history textbooks, only a few meager words are devoted to the defeat of the Kaganate by Prince Svyatoslav. The victory of Rus' over its powerful southern neighbor is not mentioned in the officially approved list of days military glory. Of course, several of Svyatoslav’s sayings have become textbooks (“I’m going to attack you!”, etc.), but few people associate them with the defeat of the Khazars.

Let's ask ourselves why such epochal events of a thousand years ago are presented today as intermediate facts of the history of the Fatherland that do not deserve the close attention of contemporaries?

But first, let’s trace the outline of events that changed not only the then political map Eurasia, but, without a doubt, the entire further course of world history.
What was the Khazar Kaganate, how did its rulers manage to achieve such an unprecedented position in the medieval world, and why did just one concentrated strike by Russian troops put an end to the dominance of such a powerful ethnic group?

The Khazar power arose in the middle of the 7th century on the ruins of the Turkic Khaganate. Territorially new public education occupied a huge space: the entire Northern Black Sea region, most of the Crimea, the Azov region, North Caucasus, Lower Volga and Caspian Trans-Volga regions. Ethnically, the population of the Kaganate was a conglomerate of Turkic peoples. True, initially the Khazars were Caucasians, but then, around the end of the 6th century, they began to actively mix with the Turkuts (eastern geographers of this period divided the Khazars into two categories: dark-skinned, black-haired and “white, beautiful, perfect in appearance”).

The first bek, Obadiah, created extremely favorable conditions for subsequent Jewish immigration: he built many synagogues and training centers, gathered the “wise men of Israel”, gave them silver and gold, for which they “explained 24 books to him Holy Scripture, Mishnah, Talmud and collections of holiday prayers." 12 Khazar Jewish beks came from Obadiah. Obadiah was glorified as the ruler who "revived the ancient Jewish law." Christianity began to be harshly suppressed in the country.

The favorable geopolitical position of Khazaria, the presence of significant free capital, allowed the Kaganate to exert a powerful influence on the entire world politics. Both the French Carolingians and the Spanish Umayyads found themselves in financial bondage.

What can we say about the lands inhabited by the Slavs! "The Tale of Bygone Years" reports under 884 that the Khazars were paid tribute by the Polyans, Northerners, Vyatichi, and Rodimichs. The Tivertsy and Ulichi, with whom Prince Oleg fought, were vassals. It must be emphasized that, with all its power, the Kaganate was an ear of clay with feet of clay, because the Jewish elite did not perceive Khazaria as their Motherland, did not care at all about the autochthonous majority, and used all financial benefits exclusively to strengthen the position of the Jews throughout the Ecumene. The mercenary army was effective in raiding neighbors and robbing tributaries, but in repelling external aggression it turned out to be practically useless...

Around 940, Bek Pesakh attacked Rus', “went against Helga” (Oleg), approached Kyiv and devastated the country, and then forced Oleg against his will to fight the Byzantines, thus pitting both of his opponents against each other. The forced alliance of the Rus with the Khazars was very costly for the former - in the war with Byzantium, our ancestors lost their entire fleet and 50 thousand soldiers. The imposition of tribute on the Slavic lands was also painful.

Svyatoslav's military activity, with its unprecedented scope, was subordinated to two main directions: Byzantine and Khazar. Characterizing the content of the latter direction, Academician Rybakov writes: “The struggle for freedom and security of trade routes from Rus' to the East was becoming a pan-European matter.”

The campaign against the Kaganate was thought out impeccably. The length of the hike is about 6000 km. It took about three years to implement it. The prince did not dare to conduct an offensive through the Don steppes, controlled by the Khazar cavalry. The Rus cut down and repaired the boats, and in the spring of 965 they descended along the Oka and Volga to the Itil fortress, to the rear of the Khazar regular troops, who were awaiting the enemy between the Don and the Dnieper. Choosing favorable moments, the warriors went ashore, where they replenished their food supplies.
According to a chronicler of the 10th century, Svyatoslav inspired his soldiers with the following speeches: “...Let us be imbued with the courage that our ancestors bequeathed to us, let us remember that the power of the Russians has so far been indestructible, and we will bravely fight for our lives! It is not proper for us to return to our homeland, fleeing escape. We must win and stay alive, or die with glory, having accomplished feats worthy of valiant men!”

The resistance to the Rus was led not by Bek Joseph, who shamefully fled along with his fellow tribesmen, but by the nameless Kagan. It was not difficult to achieve victory over the completely demoralized Turko-Khazars. “And having fought, Svyatoslav overcame the Khazar and took their city,” the chronicler laconically states. After Itil, Semender and Sarkel fell. Luxurious gardens and vineyards were plundered and set on fire, and the inhabitants of the cities fled. The death of the Jewish community of Itil gave freedom to the Khazars and all surrounding peoples. All parties that relied on the support of aggressive Judaism lost their support. In France, the Carolingian dynasty lost its position, ceding hegemony to national princes and feudal lords, the caliph in Baghdad weakened and lost control over his possessions, and the Khazar Jews themselves scattered along the outskirts of their former power.

Now it becomes clear why Svyatoslav’s feat is not promoted as widely as it deserves. Parallels with today suggest themselves. It remains to ask the last, purely rhetorical question: will a new Svyatoslav appear, who will “drive the new Khazars back into their wild steppes”?

A people who once lived in what is now southern Russia. Their origin is unknown with certainty. Konstantin Porphyrogenitus considers them Turks and translates the Khazar name of the city Sarkela - white hotel. Bayer and Lerberg also take them for Turks, but the word Sarkel is translated differently: the first -

White City

, the second is the yellow city. The author of the article published in "Beytr ä ge zur Kenntniss Russlands" (I, 410) recognizes them as Hungarians; Fren attributes them to the Finnish tribe; Klaproth and Budygin consider them Voguls, the Arab writer Ibn el-Efir - Georgians, the geographer Shemeud-din-Dimeshki - Armenians, etc. There is an interesting letter from the Jew Hisdai (see Art. Jews), the treasury of an Arab sovereign in Spain, to the Khozar Kagan and the Kagan’s answer: the Kagan considers X. to be the descendants of Forgoma, from whom the Georgians and Armenians descend. The authenticity of this letter, however, is doubtful. Reliable information about the Khazars begins no earlier than the 2nd century AD, when they occupied lands north of the Caucasus Mountains. Then their struggle with Armenia begins, mostly victorious, and lasts until the 4th century. With the invasion of the Huns, the Khazars disappeared from the eyes of history until the 6th century. At this time they take

large space

Justinian II, who married the sister of the Khazar Kagan, found refuge among the Khazar tribes on the Tauride Peninsula, in the former possessions of the Bulgarians. In 638, Caliph Omar conquered Persia and destroyed neighboring lands.

Kh.'s attempt to counteract the conquest of the Arabs ended unsuccessfully: their capital Selinder was taken; Only the defeat of the Arabs on the banks of the Bolanjira River saved the Khazar country from complete devastation. In the 8th century Kh. waged an 80-year war with the caliphate, but had to (although later they attacked the lands of the caliphate) asked the Arabs for peace in 737, which was given to them under the condition of accepting Islam.

Unsuccessful wars in the south were rewarded to some extent with successes in the north: around 894, the Khazars, in alliance with the Guzes, defeated the Pechenegs and Hungarians living north of the Tauride Peninsula; Even earlier, they subjugated the Dnieper Slavs and took from them “white from the smoke.”

Thus, in the 9th century. their possessions extended from the northern part of the Caucasus to the lands of the northerners and Radimichi, that is, to the banks of the Desna, Seim, Sula and Sozh rivers. In X century. their possessions expanded further, but death was already close. The Russian state grew stronger and brought together the scattered Slavic tribes. Already Oleg collided with the Khazar Khaganate, subjugating some of the Khazar tributaries. In 966 (or 969) Svyatoslav Igorevich moved to Khozaria and won a complete victory in a decisive battle. Khazaria has fallen. The remnant of the Khozar people remained for some time between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains, but then mixed with their neighbors.

There is a legend (see "Acta Sanctorum", II, 12-15), accepted by Bestuzhev-Ryumin, that X. asked Emperor Michael for a preacher and that the latter sent St. Kirill. The Khazars' government and court were very original. Arab writers of the 10th century.

they say that although the main power belonged to the kagan, it was not he who ruled, but his governor, the infantry (running?); Kagan, in all likelihood, had only religious significance. When the new governor came to the Kagan, the latter threw a silk noose around his neck and asked the half-choked “infantry” how many years he thought of ruling. If he did not die by the time appointed by him, then he was killed.

The Kagan lived completely secluded in his palace, with 25 wives and 60 concubines, surrounded by a court of “porphyry-born” and significant guards. He showed himself to people once every 4 months. Access to it was open to the “infantry” and some other dignitaries. After the death of the Kagan, they tried to hide the place of his burial. The Khazar army was numerous and consisted of a permanent detachment and militia. The "infantry" commanded him. For the trial, the Khazars had 9 (according to Ibn-Fotslan) or 7 (according to Gaukal and Massudi) husbands: two were judged according to Jewish law, two - according to Mohammedan law, two - according to the Gospel, one was appointed for the Slavs, Rus and other pagans. Trade in the Khazar Kaganate was transit: they received goods from Rus' and Bulgaria and sent them across the Caspian Sea; expensive goods came to them from Greece, from the southern shores of the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus. Khazeran, one of the parts of Itil, was a storage place for goods. State revenues were made up of travel duties, tithes on goods brought by land and water, and taxes sent in kind. The Khazars did not have their own coins. Vö lker" (trans. Pogodin, "Western Europe", 1823); Evers, "Krit. Vorarbeiten" (translated by Pogodin, "Northern Arch.", 1838); Khvolson, "News about the Khazars, Burtases, Magyars, Slavs and Russians - Ibn-Dasta" (St. Petersburg, 1869); Sum, "Ist.