-Caveat Lector-
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Khazars-2
Date: Mon, 04 Oct 1999 00:05:28 +0200
From: yair davidi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The Khazars Convert To Judaism.
According to the Russian-Jewish scholar, Abraham Harcavy (Vilna, 1867)
the
Khazars converted to Judaism in about 620 c.e. Other authorities put
this
event more than a hundred years later. The conversion at first was more
or
less a secret and was confined to the king and his co-ruling associate
prince and to the inner aristocracy. Later most of the Khazars-proper
appear to have converted along with some of the Alans and some of the
other
subject peoples most of whom however remained pagan, christian, or
moslem.
The conversion was also done in stages (Polak).. At first they accepted
a
kind of monotheism with Hebraic-type ceremonies which perhaps in
principle
is paralleled by the modern Noachide movement (?). Later they accepted
full-fledged Rabbinical Orthodoxy. The first Khazar king to accept
Judaism
was named Bulan whose name means "unicorn" or "elk" (Altheim, GDH vol.1
p.239). The unicorn was an emblem known from the Sakae region east of
the
Caspian Sea. It is also a symbol of Menasseh.
The conversion of the Khazars to Judaism was preceded by a Disputation
amongst members of different religions. The Jewish poet and philosopher
Yehuda HaLevi (1074-1141), in Spain, wrote a Classical work in defence
of
Judaism using this Disputation as a framework. The book is called "The
Kuzari".
The Khazars at one stage may have held some type of suzerainty over what
is
now Hungary, Poland, and Austria.
The Khazars and The Vikings.
Around the 700s Viking "Varangians" began to penetrate the interior of
Russia. The Varangians were mainly Swedish though the term (in Russian
Chronicles) could also be used to encompass anybody from Scandinavia as
well as Englishman (E.B. 1955, "Russia", Vernadsky). Varangians were
confederated with the Khazars and were the Khazar entity referred to as
the
Varach'an (Warathan) Huns. The Varangians were variously also referred
to
as "Varegos", "Barragos", and "Variag" (Polak p.187, Koestler p.147,
Minorsky p.432). Their name is derived from the Hebrew "Beriah"
[pronounceable as "Veri-a-g"] which name was given to a son of Asher
(Genesis 46;17), a son of Ephraim (1-Chronicles 7;23), and a son of
Benjamin (1-Chronicles 8;16).
In ca.800 c.e. a group of Varangians appeared at the Byzantium court.
They
called their king "Chakan" which title is considered to have been that
of
the King of Khazaria (Vernadsky, "The Origins of Russia", p.244ff). The
title "Chakan" or "Cagan" was originally the Hebrew "COHEN" and means
"priest" or "officiate".
More information concerning the Khazars comes from a letter sent some
time
between 954-961 to Ibn Hasdai who was the Jewish physician and foreign
minister to the muslim king of Cordoba in Spain. The letter is from a
King
Joseph of Khazaria. There are two versions of this letter but both
contain
important information from early sources. From the letter(s) we learn
that:
King Joseph was the 13th king of Khazaria; Previously, in the time of
the
11th monarch, King Benjamin, all the surrounding kings had been at war
against the Khazars except for the King of the Cossacks and the King of
the Alans.
By "King of the Cossacks" the Don Cossacks are intended. The Don
Cossacks were a mixed people amongst whom in historical times were
families
who practised Judaic customs and some who converted to Judaism. These
individuals had the notion that they were descended from Dan son of
Israel
after whom the Don River was named .
The Alans were a people who had lived to the north of the Caspian Sea
then
moved to the Caucasus area and north of it. Previously in the time of
Attilla and before then (i.e. in the 400s c.e.) a section of the Alans
had
gone westward. They settled in areas of Gaul especially in Brittany and
influenced Norman military tactics (Bachrach). There were also Alans
amongst the Allemans in Alsace and in Suebia. In addition, the name
"Alan"
is found in Scotland both as a personal names and as the name of a Tribe
in
the north. In "The Tribes" the Alans are traced to Elon son of Zebulon.
The letter continues to relate that the Alan monarch marched against
the
enemies of the Khazars and routed them. The King of the Alans had
rendered
assistance since "some of them observed the Torah of the Jews". King
Joseph
himself was married to a daughter of the Alan ruler. Bar Hebraeus had
reported that the Khazars came from the east and settled in "the country
of
the Alans now called Barsalia" meaning an area on the northern shores of
the Black Sea.
The Khazars proper were a small group who obtained a loose uncertain
control over many other nations. The Khazar power was probably always in
frequent fluctuation. The Varangians established themselves in and
around
Kiev where they ruled over the natives. They local inhabitants said that
Kiev had been founded by Ku and two of his brothers. These were
foreigners
(kinsmen of the Khazars) and ruled over the Polanians. The Polonian
natives
of Kiev told the Varangians that originally "there were three
brothers...they built this town and perished. We are sitting [here] and
pay
tribute to their kinsmen the Khazars....." This is interesting since
originally Kiev had been known as Sambat (according to Constantine
Porphyrogenitus) which name links it to the Lost Ten Tribes. The people
of
Asgard (from whom descended many of the Scandinavians) had lived in this
area. The Varangians at first acknowledged Khazar suzerainty and as
mentioned it seems that the Khazar "Huns of Warathan" were Varangian.
The
Varangians were either also known as the Rus or the Rus were another
group
whom the Varangians absorbed and who became identified with them. In ca.
912-913 the Varangian Rus with Khazar connivance attacked muslim and
christian settlements on the shores of the Black sea. On the Varangians
returning from their raids they were attacked by a band of 150,000
non-Khazar muslim and christian subjects of the Khazar king. The
attackers
were acting against the will of the Khazar ruler who tried to stop them
and
sent a message to warn the Varangians against them. The Varangians lost
30,000 men in this encounter which meant the loss of 2/3 of their
forces.
This incident is symptomatic of the Khazars weakening position. Their
kingdom had begun to disintegrate and they were overly dependent on
christian and muslim mercenaries. Their subjects were asserting
themselves.
The Khazars were perhaps too liberally-disposed for that age and
region.
In the meantime amongst the Varangians of Kiev christianity had been
spreading. The Varangians were intermarrying with the Slavs and Slavonic
elements were entering Varangian ranks as equals. Abraham Polak was a
foremost scholar of Khazar history. He wrote an authoritative work (in
Hebrew) about them and considered them essentially an offshoot of the
Goths. According to Polak the Scandinavian element amongst the
Varangians
was basically pro-Khazar whereas the Slavonic one was not. The more
christian and Slavonicised the Varangians became the more distance they
kept from Khazar alliance. Saksin (Atil, the "Saxon" city) one of the
Khazar capitals was attacked by the Varangian-Rus in 962-963 and again
by
the Turks in 965. After these attacks the steppes became dominated by
Turks and Mongolians. Khazaria was never the same after the Rus and
Turkish
attacks but some degree of partial recovery may have been achieved.
Rubruques in the 1200s mentioned a "Civitas Saxorum" (i.e. City of the
Saxons) and is presumed to be referring to the Khazar capital of
Saksin. A
German record says that in 1410 the Prince of Lithuania attacked lands
by
the Caspian Sea, "In the place where, as it is known, live the Red Jews"
.
The expression "Red Jews" is a term employed by medieval Jews and
applied
to the Lost Tribes of Israel with whom the Khazars appear to have been
identified.
The 2nd edition of "The Tribes" is now available.
This work contains information of great interest
that you need to know.
By purchasing the book you will also be assisting
us to further this message.
"The Tribes" costs $30 or its equivalent in other currency.
The price includes postage by airmail. It may be ordered with
a check drawn on your local bank and sent to:
Yair Davidy
POB 595
Jerusalem 91004
Israel
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