“KHAZARS”. An Overview. Israelite Tribes in Exile
"KHAZARS". An Overview. Israelite Tribes in Exile The Khazars An OverviewIsraelite Tribes in Exile by Yair Davidiy Note: For an outline of somewhat more up-to-date information concerning the Khazars, see our article: "Chapter Outlines: The Khazars. Tribe 13 Contents: Introduction The Khazars and Anti-Semites The Khazars and Karaites Crimean Tombstones and the Lost Ten Tribes Biblical Attitude toward Converts in General Khazar History The Khazars Convert To Judaism The Khazars conquer Hungary, Poland, and Austria The Khazars and the Vikings The Physical Appearance of the Khazars The Khazars and Israel Havila east of the Caspian , the Anglo-Saxons, and Frisians The Khazars and Scandinavia KHAZARS AND FINNS The Ruling House of Khazaria Descended from King David! The Israelite Origins of the Khazars The Book:"The KHAZARS. Tribe 13" Research, Recognition, Reconciliation Contribute Publications Brit-Am Discussion Group Contents by Subject Site Map Contents in Alphabetical Order This Site New Book: "The Khazars. Tribe 13" Introduction To Hear a Talk based on the Text below: http://britam.org/Broadcasts/newBAMBI/khazar.mp3 (ca. 40 minutes) The Khazars were a powerful people who once ruled over portions of Russia and Eastern Europe. They (or at least many of their leaders), converted to Judaism and were eventually defeated and disappeared. Their descendants were either assimilated amongst the Jews or became Sabbath-keeping and other “divergent” Christians, many (if not most), of whom, migrated to the west and to North America. Other descendants of the Khazars may be scattered throughout the former area of the U.S.S.R. and in different parts of Europe. A knowledge of the Khazars is useful for several reasons. Evidence exists that the Khazars were descended from the Lost Tribes of Israel. There is also proof that they were related to peoples in Western Europe. It follows that evidence connecting the ancestors of some West European groups to Israel is strengthened when cognizance is taken of the Israelite ancestry of their Khazar brothers. The Khazars and Anti-Semites Another reason for studying the Khazars is that anti-Semites, and some Assimilationist Jews, claim that the present-day "Ashkenazi" (European) Jewish people came from the Khazars, who they assume were non-Israelite. Anti-Semites use this notion of the Khazars to allege that the Jews are impostors and not true descendants of Israel. Some “Identity” groups also make this allegation. So do the Arabs and other anti-Semites. In the past some Assimilationist Jews used the Khazar idea to claim that since their ancestors were not in Judah at a certain time therefore they were not culpable for whatever the Jews may or may not have done to the Christian Messiah. The background for some of these ideas also concerns the Karaites of Russia. Map taken from Koestler, "The Thirteenth Tribe" The Khazars and Karaites The Khazars ruled over many peoples some of whom were also influenced by Hebraising tendencies. In Judaism at that time there were two main streams. There were Rabbinical Jews who parallel the Orthodox Jews of today and who believed in the Bible and in its interpretation according to Oral Tradition. The Oral tradition is justified by the Bible (Deuteronomy ch.17) that commands us (on pain of death) to obey the Sages when in doubt. The Orthodox in their decision were homogeneous (and still are), and consistent in their basic beliefs and practices. They usually managed to reach a consensus regarding the practical application of Biblical injunctions. Another group were the Karaites who claimed to believe only in Scripture. The Karaites, however, were actually eclectic and widely divergent amongst themselves in their interpretation of Scripture. The Karaite movement in the modern sense may have begun in the region of present-day Iraq but its roots can be traced back to the Samaritans and to the Sadducees and to other sects of former times. Amongst the numerous groups subject to the Khazars were Tartars and Turkish elements and some of these accepted the Karaite form of religion. [IT SHOULD HOWEVER BE REMEMBERED THAT THE JEWISH KHAZARS WERE THEMSELVES ADHERENTS OF THE RABBINICAL FORM.] The Karaites of Russia freely intermarried with the Tartars and spoke a Tartar dialect. Groups of Karaites were found in Lithuania, Southern Russia, the Crimea, and at one stage even in Germany. Under the Czars the Jews were persecuted and the Karaites naturally wished to be exempt from anti-Jewish discrimination. They, therefore, claimed to be descended from the Lost Ten Tribes or from the Khazars. At all events as not related to the Judaeans and as such could not be held responsible for the crucifixion. Crimean Tombstones and theLost Ten Tribes In the Crimea of Southern Russia certain tombstones, etc., were fabricated by a wealthy Karaite scholar named Abraham Firkovitch (1786-1874). These tombstones bear the names of people stating that they are descended from Tribes of Israel exiled by Assyria. Firkovitch claimed that this was evidence that the Karaites in the Crimea had been there before the Jew and were not related to them. Several leading authorities were misled by this evidence and there were those who perhaps wanted to be misled in order to help the Karaites out of their predicament. By agreeing that the Karaites were descended from the Lost Ten Tribes, or from the Khazars, they were helping the Karaites claim that they were not related to the Jews and therefore should not be persecuted as Jews. It worked. The Karaites were exempted by Russian authorities from restrictive measures taken against Jews. [Some sections of the Lost Ten Tribes really had once been in the Crimea and in other areas of southern and eastern Russia. Not all the evidence produced by Firkovitch was necessarily false. The case is still under consideration.] Karaite figures, both under the Russians and under Hitler, strove to prove that they were not racially of Jewish, or Israelite, origin. Some of them were actively anti-Semitic. TO BE CONSIDERED AN ISRAELITE OF WHATEVER TYPE CAN BE DANGEROUS!! In some accounts of the Khazars it is assumed that the Karaites descend from them. This assumption is mistaken and misleading. Biblical Attitude TowardConverts in General Regarding conversion or simply the genuine acceptance of membership in the Israelite community, Scripture has already spoken, “Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:20). “One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD (Numbers 15:15). “And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn amongst you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel (Ezekiel 47:22). Map taken from Davidiy, "The Khazars. Tribe 13" Map designed by Estelle Schutte Khazar History Traditional Jewish and Armenian sources as well as a linguistic study (Baschmakoff, Paris 1937), based on place-names indicated that the Khazars could be connected to Adiabene and its area in the region of Northern Mesopotamia, i.e. to an area to which part of the Lost Ten Tribes had been exiled in 730-720 BCE. Arab chroniclers record the Khazars as having been east of the Caspian Sea in the time of Alexander the Great (Dunlop). They also were said to have invaded Armenia in ca.197-217 CE and to have been subjected by the Armenians (Moses of Chorene). The Khazars assisted the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate in 363 CE and managed to conquer Armenia with their ships dominating the Caspian Sea. The Caspian Sea was formerly known as “The Khazar Sea”. The Khazars were also known as “Gazari” and as “Akatzyri” and “Agathyrsoi”. In the past under the name Agathyrsoi they had been variously reported of in Thrace (south-east Europe), in the Pontus (north-east Turkey), in Poland, and towards the far north-eastern edge of the Baltic Sea shore. Servius on Virgil and Scottish sources said that the Picts of Scotland were descended from a portion of the Agathyrsoi who crossed the sea and conquered North Scotland. One branch of the Khazars were known as Sabirs. A group of “Sabarium” together with “Carnutum” had served in Gaul as Roman mercenaries. These have been ascribed both Anglo-Saxon and Central Asian origins (Altheim, GDH vol.1, p.209 ff, vol.4 p.108 ff). They used the runic “Ing” letter as their emblem. This sign is usually associated with the Angles and is of Scandinavian origin. Map taken from Davidiy, "The Khazars. Tribe 13" Map designed by Estelle Schutte In the period 350-450 CE, the Huns from the area of Mongolia advanced westward conquering other peoples and forcing them to join their forces or flee before them. The Huns swept into Europe. The Anglo-Saxon and related invasions of Britain in the 450s are connected with the Huns aggression. Attila the Hun in ca. 434 CE made the Akartziri (Khazars) his tributaries and appointed his first-born son, Ellac, as king over them. The Akatziri (Khazars), fought as Hun auxiliaries alongside the Black Huns and Alans in Gaul. Upon Attila’s death they returned to the Caucasus area. Central Asian and Scythian history can be confusing since there were many different groups, each of which often had several names. The names of one group were sometimes interchanged with that of another due to conquest or assimilation or one group taking over the former territory or status of the other. Another portion of the Khazars were the White Ugrians whom the Chinese described as tall, white-skinned, and green-eyed (McGovern p.472). The White Ugrians had been in that part of Scythia once ascribed to the “Hugie” who were in effect the Franks who later settled in France. The White Ugrians ruled over a mixed Turkish and Mongolian group known as the “Black” Ugrians. Another people once confederated with the Khazars were the White Huns who were also known as “Nephtali” and descended from the Naphtali Tribe of Israel. With the break-up of the Hun Empire remnants of the Huns in the east were absorbed by the “Turkish(?)” Juan-juan who became known as the Avars. The name “Avar” or “Abar” had originally been one of the names of the Naphtalite Huns but somehow it became applicable to the Juan-juan who ruled over them. As stated, a people in East Scythia known as the Juan-juan had once dominated the Khazars, White Ugrians, and Naphtalite Huns who revolted. In the course of this revolt most of the Naphtalites moved westward eventually reaching Scandinavia and settling in Norway. In the meanwhile the Khazars and White Ugrians defeated the Juan-juan (“Avars”) killing most of them. The remaining Avars were accepted as leaders by the Black Ugrians who previously had been “White Ugrian” vassals. The Black Ugrians henceforth took the name “Avar” upon themselves and migrated to Central Europe, where during the period 550-769 CE, they dominated Hungary, parts of Austria, and parts of Germany. Their kingdom was destroyed by the Frankish Emperor Charlemagne. Prior to 582 CE the Bulgars in eastern Scythia had been subject to a branch of the Khazars. They moved to the Volga-Ural region and also to the area of modern Bulgaria. In both places the Khazars were suzerain over them at some stage or other. The Khazars Convert To Judaism The Russian-Jewish scholar, Abraham Harcavy (Vilna, 1867), believed that the Khazars had converted to Judaism in about 620 CE. 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. 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. 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, Spain) wrote a Classical work in defence of Judaism using this Disputation as a framework. The book is called “The Kuzari”. The Khazars conquer Hungary,Poland, and Austria In 862 the Khazars conquered Kiev on the Dneiper River. They may even have been the original founders of Kiev. The Khazars also ruled over the Magyar people who at that time appeared in southern Russia. In about 869 a group of Khazars called "Chabars" rebelled against the main body and led their Magyar subjects westward to Hungary where they settled. The Khazars pursued them and subdued them in their new land. The Magyars of Hungary dominated Hungary up to 955 CE. Austrian tradition related that Austria was once ruled by a line of Jewish kings followed by a line of pagan ones, then came Christianity. The time given for these kings (707 bce -227 ce), actually coincides roughly with the period of Celtic dominance in the area and is discussed in the book “Origin” by Yair Davidiy (2002). The names however of these mythical Jewish kings are non-Hebraic. The first of them is described by the Chronicle as a local convert to Judaism. It has therefore been suggested (by Koestler) that Khazar control over the Magyars was responsible for this legend or at least for certain details of it. We would suggest that the bare structure of the legend has an historical basis and is connected with the Celts while some of the subsidiary details (such as the names, etc) were influenced by direct, or indirect, Khazar influence in the area. The two historical sources may have conflated into one. A Polish legend says that the Khazars conquered Poland and were led by an “Abraham Pey”. Another legend says that Poland was once ruled by a Jewish king called Abraham Pierkovnik (Polak p.187). The two figures, named Abraham “Pey” or “Pierkovnok” are apparently one and the same. A portion of the Agathyrsi (Khazars) were once in Poland and the said legends may be connected with them. 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 Englishmen (E.B. 1955, “Russia”, Vernadsky). Varangians were confederated with the Khazars and may have been the Khazar entity referred to as the Varach’an (Warathan) Huns. The Varangians were variously referred to as “Varegos”, “Barragos”, and “Variag” (Polak p.187, Koestler p.147, Minorsky p.432). Their name may be 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 CE a group of Varangians appeared at the Byzantium court. They called their king “Chakan”. These varangians had orignally come from Sweden and apparently were subjects of the King of Khazaria (ARNE, T. J., Davidiy, "The Khazars. Tribe 13"). The title “Chakan”, or “Cagan”, was originally the Hebrew “COHEN” and means “priest” or “officiate”. [In the Ukraine today the western "h" is still pronounced like a "g"]. 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 a few isolated families who practiced Judaic customs and some of whom converted to Judaism. These individuals had the notion that they were descended from Dan, son of Israel, after whom the Don River was named (Casdoi). This only applies to a few isolated families amongst the Don Cossacks who on the whole have always been anti-Semitic. 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 Attila, and before then (i.e. in the 400s CE), a section of the Alans had gone westward. They settled in areas of Gaul, especially in Brittany, and may have inluenced Norman military tactics (Bachrach). There were also groups of Alans amongst the Allemans in Alsace and in Suebia. In addition, the name “Alan” is found in Scotland both as a personal name 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 of Khazaria himself was married to a daughter of the Alan ruler. Bar Hebraeus 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. The 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 as reported by the Emperor of Byzantium, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, who lived at the time and had contact with the Khazars. The term "Sambat" means "Sabbath" and in Rabbinical Tradition via the form "Sambation" is linked 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 the… truncated (22,779 more characters in archive)