Khazars

“ Justinian meanwhile had escaped from Cherson and married Theodora, sister of Busirus, khan of the Khazars. Compelled, however, by the intrigues of Tiberius, to quit his new home, he fled to Terbelis, king of the Bulgarians. With an army of 15,000 horsemen Justinian suddenly pounced upon Constantinople, slew his rivals Leontius and Tiberius, with thousands of their partisans, and once more ascended the throne in 704. ”

“ Nevertheless, though overpowered in the end, the Khazars had protected the plains of Europe from the Mahommedans, and made the Caucasus the limit of their conquests.
In the interval between the decline of the Mahommedan empire and the rise of Russia the Khazars reached the zenith of their power. The merchants of Byzantium, Armenia and Bagdad met in the markets of Itil (whither since the raids of the Mahommedans the capital had been transferred from Semender) , and traded for the wax, furs, leather and honey that came down the Volga. ”

“ The alliance resulted in the downfall of their common enemy, the Khazars, who, for several centuries, had been struggling with the Byzantines on the shores of the Black Sea, and at the same time had held in subjection the tribes of the Slavs. In consequence of the defeat of the Khazars, a part of the Jewish-Khazarian center in Tauris was transferred to the Principality of Kiev. ”

“ A few years later the Slavonian tribes, who had in the meantime been united under the leadership of Russian princes, not only threw off the yoke of the Khazars, whose vassals they were, but also succeeded in invading and finally destroying their center at the mouth of the Volga. Prince Svyatoslav of Kiev devastated the Khazar territories on the Ityl, and, penetrating to the heart of the country, dislodged the Khazars from the Caspian region (966-969) . ”

“ Constantine about 860 had been sent by the emperor Michael III. to the Khazars, a Tatar people living north-east of the Black Sea, in response to their request for a Christian teacher, but had not remained long among them; after his return to within the limits of the empire, his brother and he worked among the Bulgarians of Thrace and Moesia, baptizing their king Bogoris in 861. ”

“ The alliance with Byzantium was revived. Simultaneously, and no doubt in concert, with the Byzantine campaign against Persia (589) , the Khazars had reappeared in Armenia, though it was not till 625 that they appear as Khazars in the Byzantine annals. They are then described as “Turks from the East,” a powerful nation which held the coasts of the Caspian and the Euxine, and took tribute of the Viatitsh, the Severians and the Polyane. ”

“ There remain two Finnish peoples still to be spoken of, who, mentioned by Nestor, have at present disappeared, but who were far more remarkable than any of the preceding. These are the Khazars, who, although mingled with Turkish elements, were essentially Finnish. Remarkable for their aptitude for civilization, they had formed in the 9th century a vast empire, which embraced the regions of the Lower Dnieper, the Don, and the Lower Volga, round the Sea of Azof and the Caspian ”

“ Throughout the 6th century Khazaria was the mere highway for the wild hordes to whom the Huns had opened the passage into Europe, and the Khazars took refuge (like the Venetians from Attila) amongst the seventy mouths of the Volga. The pressure of the Turks in Asia precipitated the Avars upon the West. The conquering Turks followed in their footsteps (560–580) . They beat down all opposition, wrested even Bosporus in the Crimea from the empire, and by the annihilation of the Ephthalites completed the ruin of the White Race of the plains from the Oxus to the Don. ”

“ During the 4th century however, the growing power of Persia culminated in the annexation of eastern Armenia. The Khazars, endangered by so powerful a neighbour, passed from under Persian influence into that remote alliance with Byzantium which thenceforth characterized their policy, and they aided Julian in his invasion of Persia (363) . Simultaneously with the approach of Persia to the Caucasus the terrible empire of the Huns sprang up among the Ugrians of the northern steppes. ”

“ So important was this traffic held at Constantinople that, when the portage to the Don was endangered by the irruption of a fresh horde of Turks (the Petchenegs) , the emperor Theophilus himself despatched the materials and the workmen to build for the Khazars a fortress impregnable to their forays (834) . Famous as the one stone structure is in that stoneless region, the post became known far and wide amongst the hordes of the steppe as Sar-kel or the White Abode. Merchants from every nation found protection and good faith in the Khazar cities. ”

“ The fame of the swords made by the Russian Slavs extended to Arabia. Nestor relates that the Khazars imposed a tribute of swords on the Polians. When the latter brought the arms to the Khazars, they were afraid, and said to their princes, “Our swords have only one edge—these have two. We tremble lest one day this people should levy a tribute on us and other tribes.”
Agriculture was the favorite occupation of the Slavs. Nearly all their deities are of an agricultural character. The favorite heroes of their epic cycle, Mikoula and Ilia, were the sons of laborers. ”

“ Aware of his unpopularity, the surrounding tribes and peoples commenced a series of aggressions, plundered the frontier provinces, defeated the detachments sent against them under commanders who were disaffected, and everywhere brought the empire into the greatest danger. The Arabs crossed the Euphrates and spread themselves over Mesopotamia; the Khazars invaded Armenia and Azerbijan; rumor said that the Greek emperor had taken the field and was advancing on the side of Syria, at the head of 80,000 men ”

“ It is a fifteen days' journey by sea from Constantinople, but by land many nations intervene between us; the name of the king now reigning is Joseph; ships sometimes come from their country to ours bringing fish, skins, and wares of every kind [The Khazars, great traders, got their wares from the Russians to the north.] The men are our confederates and are honored by us; there is communication between us by embassies and mutual gifts; they are very powerful; they maintain numerous armies with which they occasionally engage in expeditions. ”

“ This book bases itself on the historical fact that the Crimean Kingdom of the Khazars adopted Judaism, and the Hebrew poet-philosopher describes what he conceives to be the steps by which the Khazar king satisfied himself as to the claims of Judaism. Like many other medieval Jewish authors, Judah Halevi was a physician. His real fame depends on his liturgical hymns, which are the finest written in Hebrew since the Psalter, and are extensively used in the Septardic rite. A striking feature of his thought was his devotion to Jerusalem. ”

“ Conversion of the Khazars to Judaism. See KHAZARS. JEWS: 8th Century. Origin of the Karaites. See KARAISM. JEWS: 8-15th Centuries. Toleration by Moors and Christians in Spain, followed by merciless persecution and expulsion. Treatment in Portugal. "Under the Moorish government in Spain the lot of this persecuted, tormented people was more tolerable than in any Christian country. ... Under the Christian kings of the 12th and 13th centuries, they rose to still greater influence as financial advisers and treasurers, astronomers and physicians; in Toledo alone they numbered 12,000. ... ”

“ Vladimir declined the honor, alleging the claims of Oleg and is brothers to the throne of Kief. During these negotiations, a sedition broke out in the city, and the Jews, whom Sviatopolk had made the instruments of his fiscal exactions, were pillaged. Monomachus was forced to yield to the prayers of the citizens. During his reign (1113–1125) he obtained great successes against the Polovtsi, the Patzinaks, the Torques, the Tcherkesses, and other nomads. He gave an asylum to the remains of the Khazars, who built on the Oster, not far from Tchernigof, the town of Belovega. ”

“ Shneor Zalman, I 382
[Pg 387] degeneration of, I 382 f
extermination of, advocated by Kalmansohn, I 385
criticised by Pestel, Russian revolutionary, I 411
attacked by Maskilim, II 210;
see Tzaddik and Hasidism
Tzarmis, Slav tribe, subject to Khazars, I 26
Uganda (British East Africa) , offered as Jewish settlement to Zionists, III 84 f
Ukase, term explained, I 249 ”

“ Khorassan is the north-eastern province of Persia, bounded on the east by Afghanistan, on the south by the Great Salt Desert, on the west by the other dominions of the Shah, and on the north by the recently acquired Russian province of Transcaspia. Its capital is Meshed, the sacred city of the votaries of the Sheite sect of the Mussulman religion, and till within very recent days no Christian was admitted within its sacred walls. Pilgrims flock to it from all quarters of Persia, and the pious dead are carried thither for burial in coffins slung upon the backs of mules. ”

“ The kings had to oppose the Russians, who had become more powerful since the immigration of the Waragi, and who had always coveted the fruitful country of the Chazars. They found it necessary to keep a standing army so as to be able to attack the enemy at a moment's notice. In the tenth century there were 12,000 regular soldiers, partly cavalry, provided with helmets and coats of mail, and partly infantry armed only with spears. The decaying Byzantine empire was forced to respect the kingdom of the Chazars as a great power, and to recognize the Jewish ruler as "the noble and illustrious king." ”

“ Khizr or Khwaja Khizr is the name of a saint or prophet, of great notoriety among the Muhammadans. The legends respecting his origin and life are as numerous as they are absurd and contradictory. Some say he was grand Vizir to Solomon, others to Alexander the Great. They all agree, however, that he discovered the water of immortality, and that in consequence of having drunk thereof, he still lives and wanders about on the earth.
[226] Kasra is the title of the King of Persia, hence the Greek forms Cyrus and Chosroes, and most probably the more modern forms Caesar, Kaisar, and Czar. ”

“ Khozar belonged to the Turcomans, a heathen people; and it is reported that, somewhere about the middle of the eighth century, Bular, its king, a pious and thoughtful prince, received a revelation through a dream,—or, according to another version, through the instruction of an angel,—which showed the hollowness of the religion he professed. Thereupon he began to make inquiry after a purer faith: and having conversed with learned men professing Christianity, Islamism, and Judaism, he made his election in favour of the last-named creed. ”

“ I had long wished to visit the banks of the Khabour. This river, the Chaboras of the Greek geographers, and the Habor, or Chebar, of the Samaritan captivity [103] , rises in the north of Mesopotamia, and flowing to the west of the Sinjar hill, falls into the Euphrates near the site of the ancient city of Carchemish [104] or Circesium, still known to the Bedouins by the name of Carkeseea. As it winds through the midst of the desert, and its rich pastures are the resort of wandering tribes of Arabs, it is always difficult of access to the traveller. ”

“ A new Turkish power was founded by the khans of Khiva, who are known as the Khwarizm-shahs. They were originally vassals of the Seljuks, with the title of tasdar or ewer-bearer, but became independent and conquered Khorasan and Irak. They had, however, to contend with yet another new arrival from the east, the Kara-Kitais. These also were probably Turks, and were pushed westwards from China by the Kins. They conquered Kashgar, Khotan, Yarkand and later Transoxiana, pushing the Ghuzz tribes before them into Persia and Afghanistan. ”

“ His love grew, and he thought of the poets of Teheran and he called her Mer-el-Nissar, the sun amongst women; but still he could hear the voice of Khizr saying to him at dawn: "Khassoum ibn Taib, seek, seek on, and thou shalt find." But Khassoum was deaf to the voice of Khizr, the mighty spirit.
One night Mer-el-Nissar said to him: "Khassoum, thy heart is marked with chastity and piety; thine is the strength of body and the clearness of mind. Thine eyes glow with the intense light of those blessed ones who are rich in wisdom. ”

“ He was the lord of Sejestan, and extended his domination over Zabulistan and Kabul; but the circle of his actions comprehends a great part of Asia between the Indus, the Indian and the Caspian seas.
[292] Khizar is confounded by many with the prophet Elias, who is supposed to dwell in the Terrestrial Paradise, in the enjoyment of immortality. According to Eastern traditions, Khizr was the companion, vizir or general of the ancient monarch, named Zu-al-Kurnain, or “the Two-horned;” a title which was also assumed by Alexander the Great. ”

“ Khorassan, the largest province of Persia; is on the Afghan border, mountainous, and fertile only in the N. among the valleys of the Elburz range; grain, tobacco, and medicinal plants are grown; gold and silver, turquoises, and other gems found. The capital is Meshed (50) , a sacred Moslem city, with carpet, jewellery, and silk manufactures.
Khyber Pass, a narrow defile 33 m. long, in one place only 10 ft. wide, through not lofty but precipitous mountains; lies to the NW. of Peshawur, and is the chief route between the Punjab and Afghanistan ”