The Ideology Of The Ninth And Tenth Centuries 63
We owe to Al-Yaqubi one of the accounts about a Khazar king with the title
of tarkhan. In 758–759, Ras Tarkhan, who was king (malik) of the Khazars,
invaded Armenia. The Armenian historian Levond (the second half of the
eighth century) provides a similar account, although according to it the inva-
sion took place in 764 and the title in question is given as “Raj Tarkhan”, a mili-
tary commander and a descendant of Hatirlitber (probably the title elteber).
Al-Tabari mentions the same attack (of 764–765), led by “As Tarkhan” who
was a Khwarezmian.197 Despite the year differences, the accounts are most
likely referring to the same person or to a person, bearing the same title. Only
Al-Yaqubi notes that he was a Khazar king.
According to most interpretations, which are based on the first half of the
title (Ras-As), the As Tarkhan was the tarkhan of the Ases-Alans or of the
Larisiyah—“al-Arsiyah” (the mercenaries of the Khazar king during the tenth
century who stemmed from Khwarezm), in accordance with the account of
Al-Tabari. The first version is rejected by A. Novosel’tsev,198 and the second
one—by M. Artamonov.199 However, M. Artamonov’s argument that the
Larisiyah were Muslims and thus could not wage war against coreligionists
refers to the tenth century and the situation in the eighth century could have
been different. Assuming that the king-tarkhan in Khazaria was a predeces-
sor of the bek, the connection between the As Tarkhan of Al-Tabari and the
Larisiyah of the bek is hardly accidental.
Although the theories of S. Tolstov on this topic are too far-reaching, the
assumption that Khwarezm and Khazaria had close relations already by
the late seventh and the early eighth centuries should not be cast aside.
Khwarezm was first conquered by the Arabs in 712, but it fell completely only
by the mid-eighth century. In relation to these events, S. Tolstov presumes that
a migration of Khwarezmians to Khazaria took place. They brought with them
the system of the dual kingship, identical to the Khazar one. In Khwarezm, the
title of the secular ruler was baghpur. He led his countrymen westward and
became the forefather of the subsequent beks.200 This hypothesis has no foun-
dation in the sources and M. Artamonov rejects it completely.201
197 Dunlop 1967, 180; Artamonov 1962, 244–245; Golden 1980, 151; Novosel’tsev 1990, 119;
Bubenok and Radivilov 2004, 12–14.
198 Novosel’tsev 1990, 119.
199 Artamonov 1962, 246.
200 Tolstov 1946, 94–102 and 1948b, 223–226.
201 Artamonov 1962, 283–285. According to Vainberg 1990, 259, the Khazar Larisiyah
(Arsiyah) are related to the population of the Kerder culture (after the eighth century) in