Arriving on horseback from Central Asia, they ravaged the Persian Empire in alliance with Byzantium. Then, they settled on the Black Sea and crafted a great power during the early Middle Ages. Finally, they became Jewish – and could be the puzzle to understanding unclear parts of European Judaism.
Meet the Khazars. Turkic masters of Ukraine and the Beyond.
Out of all the successor states of the Göktürks who reigned from the mid-6th to the mid-7th century, the Khazar Empire was indeed the one located most westward: on the frontier between Europe and Asia. Their history can be traced back to the middle of the seventh century, because the creation of Khazar identity is strongly linked to the downfall of the First Turkic Empire. The Göktürks, meaning “Celestial” Turks, created the first transcontinental steppe empire in history after Bumin of the Turkic Ashina tribe defeated his Mongolic overlord, Anagui of the Rouran Empire, and founded the Türük El: the state of the Turk. Bumin died young, and his successors expanded the Turk realm into all four directions, striking against the Koreans, Chinese, Tibetans, Hephthalites, and Persians on several occasions. They even advanced as far as Ukraine in the year 580, where they bordered the Byzantine Empire.
With the help of the Turkic Ogur federation, eastern successors to the empire of the Huns, the Göktürks besieged Pantikapaion on the Crimean peninsula, an important Byzantine trade hub. Over time, however, the Byzantines and Turks forged an alliance against their common enemy in-between, the Sassanian Persian Empire. In the year 627, hostilities between Byzantines and Persians culminated, and the Turks intervened in the conflict. The ruler of the Turks, a certain Tong Yabgu, besieged several cities in Georgia and Armenia, and sent his general Böri Shad to attack the Persians through Azerbaijan. However, Tong was heinously murdered by his own kin and, consequently, all Turkic armies retreated back to Central Asia amidst political chaos.
By 630 AD, the Eastern Göktürk Empire had fallen into Chinese hands, and the Western Empire had also crumbled due to internal conflict between pro-Ashina and anti-Ashina tribes. Tong Yabgu, before his demise, had plans to annex the newly conquered territories on the Caucasus into his Turkic realm as is evidenced by taxation plans. But even after his death, the Turkic peoples did not fully retreat from the area. Indeed, Tong’s war against Persia had laid the foundation of the Khazar state. Because in the subsequent decades, as the Chinese controlled East Asia and political anarchy reigned supreme Central Asia, the Turkic peoples in the West started reorganizing themselves. Slowly but steadily, a new Turkic state was formed in the Ponto-Caspian steppe. This is where the Khazars officially appear.
The consolidation in the mid-7th century was certainly a complex process, marked by both continuity with their Göktürk heritage and adaptation to new geopolitical realities. Thankfully, we have several contemporary and, in general, medieval sources for the emergence of the Khazar state in that very time period at hand. For example, Byzantine historian Theophanes the Confessor, writing in the early 9th century, first mentions the Khazars as a distinct political entity around 627 AD, during the Byzantine-Persian wars. He notes their involvement in these conflicts, suggesting that even before their formal state formation, the Khazars were already a significant military force in the region – as did Sebeos, a 7th-century Armenian historian. He also mentioned the Khazars in the context of their alliance with the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius against the Persians and referred to them as "the nation of the Turkaye," indicating their Turkic origins, and describes their swift military movements and formidable fighting skills during the Caucasus campaign.
Another Armenian historian, Movses Kagankatvatsi, was an eyewitness of the Göktürk invasion of the Caucasus. In his "History of the Country of Albania," he describes the events in detail:
“At the arrival of the all-powerful scourge confronting us, the invaders, the Turks, like billowing waves of the sea, crashed against the walls and demolished them to their foundations. In Partaw, seeing the terrible danger from the multitude of hideously ugly, vile, broad-faced, without eyelashes, and with long flowing hair like women, which descended upon them, a great terror seized the inhabitants. They were even more horrified when they saw the accurate and strong Khazar archers, whose arrows rained down upon them like heavy hailstones, and how they Khazars, like ravenous wolves that had lost all shame, fell upon them and mercilessly slaughtered them on the streets and squares of the city. Their eyes had no mercy for neither the beautiful, nor handsome, nor the young men or women; they had no pity, and their hearts did not shrink at the sight of the babies embracing their murdered mothers; to the contrary, they suckled blood from their breasts like milk”
Lastly, the Arab chronicler al-Tabari, meanwhile, wrote his book “History of the Prophets and Kings” in the 9th century but drew on earlier sources. Providing information about the Khazar resistance to Arab expansion, he recorded several battles between the Khazars and the Umayyad Caliphate, highlighting the Khazars' role as a bulwark against Islamic expansion into the Ponto-Caspian region. All of these sources align with the timeframe for the reorganization of Turkic peoples in the West following the disintegration of Turkic unity in Central Asia.
The internal structure of the early Khazar state showed strong similarities to the Göktürk system. The ruling elite retained the title "Khagan," a clear continuation of political traditions. However, as the state evolved, a unique dual kingship developed where the Khagan served as a sacred figurehead while the actual power was exercised by a subordinate ruler, the Bek. Sometimes the Bek was also called "Khagan-Bek," which at first glance appears like a dual title.
This political evolution is hinted at in the accounts of Ibn Fadlan, a 10th-century Arab traveler who visited the Volga region and provided important reports about the lifestyles of the Oghuz in Central Asia and the Volga Bulgars in Northwestern Asia. Although he wrote later, his descriptions of the Khazar governmental structure reflect earlier developments. He noted the reverence accorded to the Khagan and the practical authority wielded by the Bek, providing insight into the sophisticated political system that had developed.
The Great King was recruited from the Khazar house of nobles, and in an initiation ritual, the ruler was nearly strangled until he declared the number of years he wished to reign. Once this reign expired, the ruler would be killed by the nobles. Upon the death of a great ruler, travelers passing near the burial site were required to dismount from their horses and bow in respect before continuing their journey on foot. The final resting place of a particularly venerated Khagan would be completely concealed from public knowledge, similar to the practices of the early rulers of the Mongol Empire like Genghis Khan, whose bearers were killed after Genghis had been laid to rest. Afterwards, hundreds of horsemen rode over the burial ground for so long that the location of the grave could no longer be identified. After these horsemen had accomplished the deed, they too would be killed according to the customs of the ancient Mongols.
The Bek held an interesting position within the Khazar state. As viceroy, upon entering the Khagan's chambers, he would remove his footwear and prostrate himself, touching his forehead to the ground in a gesture of utmost deference. Before addressing the Khagan, the Bek would ignite a piece of aromatic wood, its smoke serving as a purifying agent, while he awaited the Khagan's summons in respectful silence. Smoke and fire were considered purifying agents among the ancient Turkic peoples. However, over the course of two centuries, the Bek gradually rose to power and became the actual ruler within Khazaria.
While the Khazar Khagans took wives and concubines from among their subjects, they were guarded by an elite corps known as the Ursiyya, who came from western Central Asia. The military structure of the Khaganat was elaborate and centralized. At the height of their power, they maintained a standing army of considerable size, with the ability to rapidly expand their forces by calling upon the retinues of their nobles. Further, the Empire's reach was extensive, controlling and collecting tribute from numerous nations and tribes in a region that stretched from the Caucasus to the Urals and from the Aral Sea to the Ukrainian steppes in the 9th century. This vast network of tributaries contributed greatly to the Khazar's wealth and power.
Military leadership was structured under the command of the Khagan Bek, assisted by officers known as tarkhans – the title for “general” in Turkic. Khazar military discipline was notoriously strict, with defeat resulting in severe consequences for returning soldiers, a practice that undoubtedly contributed to their fearsome reputation on the battlefield and perhaps adding to the gruesome account of Movses from earlier.
Over time, the term “Khazar” became a polythonym, a political name, for a variety of peoples indigenous to the greater Caucasus area. The core tribes were Turkic, most likely stemming from Oghuric-speaking tribes as well as from the Alans. The state included up to 28 ethnicities, many of them non-Turkic. Of course, this development occurred due to the expansion of the Khazar state from a chiefdom to an empire of respectable size. Within this semi-nomadic society, there was constant talk about “White” and “Black” Khazars. The 10th-century Muslim geographer al-Iṣṭakhrī claimed that the White Khazars were strikingly handsome with reddish hair, white skin, and blue eyes, while the Black Khazars were swarthy, verging on deep black, easily confused for Indians. This categorization did not regard the literal looks of the people, though. White and Black were common categories within Turkic societies regarding the social standing of parts of the population. Thus, the “white” Khazars were of the upper-class, often nobles and other wealthy individuals. The “black” Khazars constituted of the common people, the farmers and hunters, soldiers and merchants. Besides, the Khazars were often described by early Arab sources as having a white complexion, blue eyes, and reddish hair. A similar description can be found with other Turkic peoples such as the Kyrgyz at the Yenisei river.