The Ideology Of The Ninth And Tenth Centuries 45
later, the Egyptian scholar Al-Qalqashandi (1355–1418) associated the land of
the Khazars with the son of Japheth, Balanjar.115 M. Magomedov believes that
the city and the land Balanjar with a center in the Terek-Sulak Inferfluve (the
Verkhnii Chiriurt hillfort) are identical to Barsilia and the Barsils. The scholar,
who considers the Barsils a Bulgar tribe, stresses that in Derbent-Name the
old name of Balanjar was Bulkhar (or Balkh). On the other hand, it should
be borne in mind that according to the Byzantine tradition (the Chronicle
of Theophanes), the Khazars originated from Barsilia.116 In this context, the
above-cited account of Al-Kalbi deserves another mention—according to it,
Barsil is the brother of Khazar from the offspring of Abraham.
These accounts suggest that it is possible that the Khazars, like the Persians
and some Turkic peoples, let Biblical genealogy merge with local traditions
and genealogical lines. Thus, according to Rashid Al-Din (1247–1318) the Turkic
tribes stem from the four sons of Dib Bakuy, the son of Abulja Khan, who in
turn was the son of Nuh (Noah). Noah bequeathed to Abulja Khan the lands
to the north, northeast and northwest (i.e. Japheth’s lands). Again according
to the same source, the grandsons of Noah are called Kara Khan, Ur Khan, Kur
Khan and Kuz (Kaz) Khan. Oghuz Khagan (the forefather of the Oghuz) is a
son of Kara Khan.117 According to Al-Tabari, Turk is the son of Japheth and an
anonymous work from the twelfth century (Short Tales and Stories) mentions
seven sons of Japheth: Chin, Turk, Khazar, Manbal (or Saqlab), Rus, Misk and
Kimari who is the forefather of the Bulgars and the Burtas. Oghuz is the grand-
son of Misk.118 Al-Tabari merges Biblical tradition with the Persian one and so
Afridun (or Fereydun), the first ruler of the Earth (and common primogenitor
of the Turks), becomes equivalent to Noah.119
According to Iranian tradition, Fereydun had three sons—Salm, Tur and
Iraj, and Tur received the lands of China and Turan. The territory of Turan
encompassed the lands between China, the Amu Darya and the Volga.120 The
first mythical ruler of Turan (from the offspring of Tur), as was already stated,
was Afrasiab and his center was Kangha on the Middle Syr Darya. Al-Tabari,
Al-Biruni and Ibn Khaldun all saw Afrasiab as a descendant of the Iranian
115 Kalinina 2005b, 251–252.
116 Magomedov 1994, 54–66 and 1989, 25–31; see also Novosel’tsev 1990, 83–84; see the text
of the Chronicle of Theophanes in Theophanes Confessor. Chronographia, in Duichev,
Cankova-Petkova et al. 1960, 262; see the text of Derbent-Name in Orazaev 1993.
117 Korogly 1976, 21–22.
118 Korogly 1976, 85 and 88.
119 Kalinina 2005b, 252.
120 Korogly 1976, 90–91 and 1983, 80–84; see also Dunlop 1967, 13; Vainberg 1990, 280–281.