The Khazar rulers adopt Judaism
At some point between the mid-8th and the mid-9th century the Khazar khagan and the ruling nobility adopted Judaism — the only case of a steppe empire choosing it as the religion of its rulers.
- Date
- between 740 and 861exact date unknown: an interval is given
- Place
- Atil (Itil)approximate locationtoday: Volga Delta, Astrakhan Oblast, Russia (site not established; Samosdelka is a candidate) · Eastern Europe
- Participants
- Khazar Khaganate, Byzantine Empire
- Threads
- Eastern Europe and Rus’ before the Baptism (1st–10th c.)
- Also known as
- Khazar Judaism; Bulan; Хазарский иудаизм; Булан
The conversion is described, in different versions, by the letter of the Khazar king Joseph to Hasdai ibn Shaprut (the “Khazar Correspondence”, 10th century), the Cambridge (Schechter) document, Arab authors such as al-Masudi, and the Slavonic Life of Constantine (Cyril), who debated with Jews and Muslims at the khagan’s court in 860–861. Joseph’s letter ascribes the decision to King Bulan after a disputation between representatives of three faiths, and a later religious reform to King Obadiah.
The date is disputed. Some historians link the conversion with about 740, when the Khazars reasserted their independence after Marwan’s campaign of 737 had forced the khagan to accept Islam; others with the years around 800 or with 837/838, when coins inscribed “Moses is the messenger of God” were struck; Constantin Zuckerman argued for about 861. How far Judaism spread beyond the ruling elite is also debated: Arab writers describe a multi-faith capital with judges for Jews, Muslims, Christians and pagans.
Connections
Related events
- Rise of the Khazar Khaganatebetween 630 and 650 – c. 670 · Eastern Europe
- Vladimir’s choice of faith986–987 · Eastern EuropeKhazar Jews are among those who offer their faith to Vladimir in the chronicle
Same participants
- Second Council of Nicaea24 September – 23 October 787 · Balkans and Anatoliavia Byzantine Empire
- Construction of Sarkelbetween 833 and 841 · Eastern Europevia Khazar Khaganate
Same place
- Annexation of the Astrakhan Khanate26 August 1556 · Eastern Europe
Adjacent events in the thread
- Founding of Ladoga753 · Eastern Europe
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within a year of this event
Western and Central Europe
- Coronation of Charlemagne25 December 800
- Viking raid on Lindisfarne8 June 793
- Saxon Wars772–804
- Battle of Roncevaux Pass15 August 778
- Siege of Pavia and fall of the Lombard kingdomSeptember 773 – June 774
+ 4 events
Balkans and Anatolia
- Second Council of Nicaea24 September – 23 October 787
- Byzantine Iconoclasmbetween 726 and 730 – 11 March 843
- Rus’ attack on Constantinople18 June – 4 August 860
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Khazars
- Wikipedia (English): Bulan (Khazar)
- Wikipedia (Russian): Распространение иудаизма в Хазарии
- Wikipedia (Russian): Булан
- Dunlop D. M. The History of the Jewish Khazars. — Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1954.
- Zuckerman C. On the Date of the Khazars’ Conversion to Judaism and the Chronology of the Kings of the Rus Oleg and Igor // Revue des études byzantines. — 1995. — Vol. 53. — P. 237–270.