Preface
The history of the steppe peoples or, more precisely, that of the state orga-
nization in the steppes is often presented as a string of political entities or
ethnic communities that replace one another in rapid succession. The deeper
and more thorough understanding of the processes there is hindered by one
major obstacle—the lack of enough information and indigenous written
records. In this respect, the Khazar Khaganate (from the seventh to tenth
century) is no exception, quite the opposite. We have at our disposal only
two letters, which can be defined as authentic Khazar documents: that of the
Khazar ruler Joseph and that of a Khazar Jew (the so-called Schechter Letter
or the Cambridge Document), addressed to Hasdai ibn Shaprut (the mid-tenth
century). These letters are not sufficient for creating a satisfactory picture
of the Khazar state. Written during the last period of the khaganate’s exis-
tence, they have been subject to diverse and contradictory interpretations by
modern scholars. At the same time, the Khazar state was of great significance
for the development of Eastern Europe between the eighth and tenth centu-
ries. This region was the meeting and interaction point for various traditions
(state-forming and cultural). This can be seen most clearly in the religious life
(pagans, Christians, Muslims and Jews often lived side by side in Khazaria).
But apart from this (and because of it) Khazaria was a place of interaction for
the cultural and civilizational influences, coming mainly from the South (from
Byzantium and the Arab Caliphate) and from the East (from various steppe
communities and states from Central and Middle Asia).
The Judaization of the Khazar elite was among the reasons behind this spe-
cial interest in the Khazar state, but it was also a cause for the existence of
politically charged studies. Such is the attempt to seek the origins of Eastern
European Jews (and thus of a large part of the population of contemporary
Israel) among the ethnic Khazars.1 The history of the Khazar state is also closely
linked to the issues surrounding the emergence of Kievan Rus’. With regard to
its importance and to the opposition that it spurred among scientific trends
in Russian historiography, the Khazar question is comparable perhaps only to
the Norman one. The legacy of the Russian Slavophiles is supplemented by
Soviet anti-Semitism, which reflects directly on the studies of Khazaria.2 The
popular concept of the Khazar Khaganate nowadays is built largely on this
1 See for instance Koestler 1976.
2 See for instance Shnirelman 2005 and 2007.