Preface ix
authoritative summarizing monographs on the Khazars,5 there is no full clar-
ity in science regarding the ideology, the power structure and the ethnic and
economical processes in the khaganate during the tenth century. These issues
are closely related to the clarification of the reasons for the Khazar Khaganate’s
demise in the second half of the tenth century. The proposed solutions in sci-
ence each have their own grounds and can lead to the impression, that there
are several Khazarias, each one different from the rest.
Throughout all three centuries of its existence, the Khazar Khaganate con-
solidated many peoples and tribes of different origins and cultures. They occu-
pied various areas of the East European Plain (the steppe, forest-steppe and
forest zones), as well as parts of its periphery (the Crimean Peninsula and the
Caucasus). The characteristics of the geographical environment determined
the economic and cultural development of the various tribal communities,
as well as the conditions, under which their relations were formed. In many
places, different ethnic groups were intermixed, but there were also separate
ethnic territories. It is not entirely clear how and to what extent the Khazar
rule was imposed even in the lands, which were undoubtedly subject to the
khaganate until the mid-tenth century. The same applies for the interaction
and ties (cultural and economic) between the various ethnic groups and
regions of Khazaria.
The last period in the history of the Khazar state (from the late ninth to the
mid-tenth century) is regarded by a number of historians as a time of decline
and weakening of the khaganate’s power, which led to its demise after the
Kievan Prince Sviatoslav’s campaigns (in 965). In accordance with their pref-
erences and attitudes, scientists highlight different reasons that determined
the decline of the Khazar state. These include invasions, and in particular the
Pecheneg one from the late ninth century; also changes in the development
of international trade; the Judaization of the Khazar elite, which separated
it from the rest of the khaganate’s population; Khazaria’s economic system,
often described as nomadic, which hindered economic development and the
integration of the various ethnic communities. Wars and rivalry with neigh-
boring large states (Kievan Rus’, Byzantium and the Arab Caliphate) also influ-
enced the development of the Khazar Khaganate. The result of this rivalry was
the spread of Christianity and Islam among the khaganate’s population. The
Khazar elite, however, adopted Judaism as their official religion after the begin-
ning of the ninth century. On the other hand, the majority of the khaganate’s
population retained its pagan beliefs. The combination of Jewish and pagan
5 Dunlop 1967 (originally 1954); Artamonov 1962; Golden 1980; Novosel’tsev 1990; see also the
works of L. Gumilev and S. Pletneva.