1 China
a) One of the earliest
agrarian societies, has had a long history of problems with
nomadic tribes of the Eurasian steppes. The Chinese were
experienced in battle with the nomads and eventually drove them
westward.
2 Invasion
b) Unlike the western
agrarians, the Chinese likely knew Nomadic culture, their
migration routes, and how to engage and defeat them in battle
1. Eventually the Chinese
defeated the nomads, and forced them out of the region
2. The nomads relied on their mobility for protection. they
were only part time specialists in fighting, and were no
match for the recourses of agrarian China.
c) As these nomadic tribes,
moved westward, they found agrarian societies who were no match
for them.
* We see these classic (moving target v.s. still target)
episodes which would dominate the conflicts of this era. Nomads
could invade, loot, and destroy villages and then retreat back
into the grasslands. For the agrarian societies to rebel, they
had to go out and find these nomads who could be anywhere,
making offensive military campaigns almost impossible. 2. only
in later centuries do the western agrarians come to understand
nomadic military tactics, and later defeat those not already in
the process of becoming agruarianized.
3 Empire of
the white Huns (350-550)
a) In the year 350 the Huns (the first of the many
nomadic tribes from the grasslands [steppes] of northwest China)
arrive in the region of Transoxania.
1. Transoxania is a
region located south of the Aral sea. It is named after the
river that runs through it, the Oxus river (now called Amu
Darya) Oxus is only a Historic name.
1.1 A Greek colony
existed here in the times B.C. however was thought to be
destroyed by Indians and had no influence on Hun culture
1.2 This is a research frontier, in the history
of Transoxania.
b) As the Huns move toward
the Caspian sea and farther South, they drive the Persians
south, or may have absorbed them (into Hun culture).
The Persians and Huns get involved in many conflicts over the
years, before forming any alliances.
1. In 392 A.D. the Huns
aid the Persians in an attack on Roman Mesopotamia.
c) Over time many other
tribes appear in what is now south Russia. They are believed to
be offspring of the Huns and or other nomadic tribes from the
east. These tribes include the Bulgars, Avars, Uguars, and
Khazars*. see arrows on map ‘pre-history’
d) The greatest leader of the Hun Empire was Attila, His
death in 550 A.D. causes the empire to fall.
4 Western
Turkish [Tirkut] {AKA Turkut*} Kingdom (550-650)
a) Attila’s death creates a power vacuum for
eastern Europe. These various pastoral nomads are longer are
forced to pay tribute to the Huns. This allows for less energy
devoted to doing so. For pastoral societies to pay tribute,
Trade for currency as well as giving up actual livestock must
take place. If tribute isn't given the threat of a Hun army
invasion, accompanied with fellow tribes under the same Hun
tutelage is eminent.
1. The Avars and Uigurs
move westward, the Avars then occupy the northern shores of
the Danube River.
2. The Khazars are contempt with their occupied
region, located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.
2.1 With good reason;
The Khazars frequently raid the region south of them,
Georgia. They would raid cities and collect rich
plunder, for the area wasn’t occupied by either Rome or
Persia.
2.2 The Khazars do not move westward.
b) The various pastoral
(Turkish) tribes soon realize the need to form an alliance, to
defend themselves against the threats offered by Byzantium and
other ‘civilized’ societies.
They form what became known as the Western Turkish Empire, aka
Turkut Kingdom. The leader of this kingdom was called a *Kagan,
the Khazars were to adopt this name and use it in reference to
their rulers.
1. This (Turkish empire)
was really nothing more than a mere continuation of the Hun
empire. The map shows both empires side by side, however;
please note that one preceded the other.
c) During this time (in 627
A.D.) the Roman [or east Roman AKA Byzantium] Empire began to
campaign against Persia. Under the Emperor Heraclius. They
invaded the Persian provinces of eastern Mesopotamia. The
Khazars (still part of the Turkish Empire - not yet fully
independent) sent 40,000 horsemen to the aid of the East Roman
(Byzantium); see on map ‘pre-history’
1. The Kagan (Khazar
Ruler) became impatient with the cautious(slow) pace of the
Romans, and left to invade Tbilisi. The raid on Tables (now
the capital of Georgia[the former soviet republic; not the
southern U.S. state] was unsuccessful, and the Khazars
returned home.
1.1 The Georgians had
suffered Khazar invasions for several years, and got
wise to the situation, they fortified their capital
city> Tbilisi.
d) Rise of Islam (632-633)
under the Arab conquests.
1. A year after Prophet
Muhammad’s death [pabbuh] 632 A.D. ; ten years after the
Hegira (the migration of the Muslim community from Mecca to
Madinah ([then called Yathrib] 622 A.D.) and starting point
of the Islamic [lunar] calendar; the Muslims conquered the
Arabian peninsula, and parts of north Africa and Asia Minor,
as well as Persia (now called Iran).
1.1. The region was
now transformed by three new superpowers; The Byzantine
Empire, The Umayyad Caliphate, and the emerging
Khazarian Empire.
1.2. In 680 A.D. the Grandson of Prophet (Hussayen)
is slaughtered at Karbala. The Party of Prophets son in
law {Ali ibn Abi Talib} is born. The party (Shiat-Ali)
or Shi’ias begin their struggle for independence from
the Umayyad Caliphate. They play a key role in the
political situation involving the Arab-Khazar wars. The
Arabs may have ‘turned back’ in 737 [the Arabs defeated
the Khazars and reached Darband, (Derbant) but decided
not to take over, but rather to leave the area north of
the Caucasus] because of internal problems with the
Caliphate. These ‘problems’ likely involved Shi’ia
uprisings in their city Kufa, now located in Iraq, also
called An-Najaf
1 - Hellenization
/ The Greek influence
a) It is often presumed the
Khazars learned Agriculture from the Greeks living in the area
around the Euxine (Black Sea). The Greeks developed several
colonies in the area during the 700’s. Most of these colonies
were located on the Crimean Peninsula.
1. These include;
Theodosia, Kimmerikon, Nymphaion, Hermonassa, Phanagoria,
Mirmekion, Tyritake, and Pantikapaion.
1.1 These colonies
served as cornerstones for cities like Dores, Kirch, and
Tamatarkha.
b) As agriculture developed
the Khazars were able to develop settlements, Build Castles and
establish a permanent foothold in the region.
2 - Caste
a) Over time the Khazars
developed a stratified social system. Two economic classes
emerge within the culture.
1. The higher class; the
Ak-Khazars and the lower class; the Kara Khazars There are
many different theories pertaining to this aspect of The
Khazar Heritage. Some suggest this Caste was nothing more
than a class system; not strictly divided by birth status.
2. The Ak-Khazars or ‘White Khazars’ were said to be
fair skinned and beautiful like women, with long braided
hair. The Kara-Khazars (according to Arab writers) were
described as ugly and as dark as Indians
3 -
Arab-Khazar wars
a) The Soviet historians have given the Khazars their
place in history as a people who fought Arab invasion and the
Proselytization of Islam. For many years their conversion to
Judaism was ignored by Russian historians.
b) The wars began in 651 and ended in 737 with Arab
victory.
c) The Abbasid Caliphate began to suffer from internal
conflicts, and in 737 A.D., their armies were called back, and a
campaign against eastern Europe never got under way
d) In 730 the Khazars began their destructive campaign on
the Chalphate. The Khazars attacked the city of Ardabil, and got
as far as Mosul. (see map ‘Rise of Khazaria’)
e) The Khazar army was finally pushed back by a fresh
Army while on their way to Dimasq (Damascus).
f) In 732 The future Emperor Constantine V married a
Khazar princess. Their son Leo IV, known as Leo the Khazar ruled
the throne.
4 -
Expansion
a) With the Arab wars of the early 700s behind them,
the Khazars could now direct their attention to the north. They
began several conquests in the Dnieper River valley. The Khazars
extracted tribute from several nations stretching (at one time
or another) to the Aral sea, the Urals and as far west as the
Danube. Eventually they sacked Kiev in 840, extracting rich
tribute from its Slavic population
5 -
Conversion to Judaism
b) Bulan The first Khazar Kagan [King] and his
conversion story. The story first appears in the Kazari
published in 1700s*?
c) many different story lines exist to tell the story.
1. Yehudah ha-Levi (c.
1080-1141).
1.1 an angel appears
to Bulan and tells him "Your way of thinking is pleasing
to God, but not your way of acting."
1.2 Bulan consults a philosopher, and informs him
of his idea; that either the Christian or Muslim
religion is the right way of ‘acting’
1.3 Bulan consults a christen sage and says "I do
not see any logical conclusion here; indeed, logic
rejects most of what you have said.... I cannot accept
these things... My duty is to investigate further."
1.4 He then invited an Islamic mullah [to his
court], questioning him regarding his doctrine and
observance. After talking to the Mullah he said "Indeed,
I see myself compelled to ask the Jews, because they are
the relic of the Children of Israel. For I see that they
constitute in themselves the evidence for the divine law
on earth."
1.5 (after inviting the rabbi) The rabbi replied:
"I believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, who
led the children of Israel out of Egypt with signs and
miracles;
1.6 After this [conversation] the Khazar king
traveled to the caucuses (mountains) and came upon a
cave where Jews had observed the Sabbath. The King was
circumcised. The King only revealed this to his special
friends and when his community of Jews had increased
(several more upper-class Khazars then converted) he
made the affair public
d) Another story involves the
Khazar king inviting three sages to his court. A Christian,
Muslim and Jewish sage were summoned. The Jew was said to
already be at his disposal [Koestler] and only the other 2 were
summoned. The three of them argued and the story goes.......**
e) The other theory is based on a Jewish manuscript that
said the Khazars converted when an Army general became king.
I
do not have a good set of notes ready at this time that I can
show - dealing with the fall of the empire. To truly understand
the downfall, and how and why the events took place, one would
have to understand the complicated political intricacies that
played a part, even before the Vikings showed up on the scene.
The map labeled 'the fall of
Khazaria' (click image right)
should be self explanatory. I used
The Thirteenth Tribe by
Arthur Koestler, and
The Khazaria Info Center hosted
by Kevin Brook to make that map. It will show step by
step the campaign made by the Vikings as they conquered
the scene.
The "Muslim Victory" shown on
the map deals with the Khazar Muslims and their war with
the Vikings (a revenge campaign against the Vikings for
invading the Caspian Sea and pillaging Muslim communities within
land accessible by the Caspian Sea). I wanted to make clear this
battle [which took place in the Volga Delta] was not fought by
the Abbasid Caliphate.
