52 CHAPTER 1
The direct link between the Khazar government system and the Turkic
one is also based on the notion that the Khazar khagan dynasty belonged to
the Ashina clan. The sources, including and especially the Khazar ones, do
not contain even an allusion to such a link. An exception is the quite vague
account of the Khazar king, found in Hudud al-ʿAlam: there he is called the
“tarkhan khakan of the descendants (children) of Ansa”.146
Assuming that Ansa could be a version of Ashina, L. Gumilev and M.
Artamonov suggest that one of the khagans of the Western Turkic Khaganate
migrated to Khazaria. There is, however, no evidence to back up such a conclu-
sion. This assumption is based on the entirely hypothetical link between the
Khazars and the Nushibi tribal confederation. According to the two scholars,
the last years of the Turkic Khaganate reflect the tension between Dulu and
Nushibi, with the latter backing the khagans from the Ashina clan, which led to
the Khazars accepting one of them. Because of the similarity of the names, the
Bulgar ruling dynasty of Dulo is viewed as an equivalent to the Dulu confedera-
tion. This is how the conflict between the Bulgars and the Khazars during the
first half of the seventh century is explained. Furthermore, Gostun (identified
with Organa from the Chronicle of John of Nikiu), who is called a vicegerent
in the Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans, is associated with Mokhodo Heu (the
ruler of the westernmost region of the khaganate), who, while participating
in the strifes in the khaganate in 630–631 with the support of Dulu, managed
to kill the khagan Tun-Shehu (Ton Yabghu Khagan, 618–630) himself. After
ascending the throne, Mokhodo Heu was killed. The Bulgar ruler Kubrat was
his nephew.147 Without going into detail, I shall simply note that this theory
is too far-fetched and is not based on information derived from sources. It is
important to emphasize that Dulu and Nushibi are tribal confederations and
not ruling dynasties.
P. Golden also assumes that the Khazar khagan dynasty belonged to the
Ashina clan, but follows a slightly different logic. Since khagan is a title, which
is bestowed by divine grace, only one charismatic family had the right to it.
Therefore, the legitimacy of the title in the different states is part of the genea-
logical link between their respective dynasties and this particular family. The
Turks themselves used this title only for the rulers of China and Tibet. Thus,
the emergence of the khagan title among the Khazars should be evidence
of the presence of a member of the Turkic ruling dynasty Ashina.148 This is
why P. Golden, while agreeing with the controversial interpretation of Ansa,
146 Zakhoder 1962, 189.
147 Artamonov 1962, 161–162 and 170–171; Gumilev 2004a, 225–227 and 266.
148 Golden 1980, 41 and 220; see also Golden 2003, no. 1, 57–58.