66 CHAPTER 1
motif can be found in Al-Masudi’s account of the killing of the Khazar khagan
during disaster periods, considered a result of his infirmity (old age).210
In V. Petrukhin’s opinion the theme of the ritual murder of the sacral
king that exists in most traditions refers to the mythological period of the cul-
ture heroes and is thus not a part of the social or ritual practices The scien-
tist doubts the possibility that the Khazar king could follow such a “barbaric”
custom until the tenth century and assumes that the image refers to folkloric
subject matter, incompatible with Judaism.211 According to him, Ibn Fadlan’s
account of the Rus’ diarchy, similar to the Khazar one, is meant for an outside
observer. The information in it does not reflect the reality in Khazaria or in
Kievan Rus’.212
Nevertheless, V. Petrukhin believes that “the dual kingship tradition among
the Khazars alone can be related to the ancient social practices; it could have
been reflected in the mythopoetic motif of the sacral king’s killing that was
conveyed to Al-Masudi by Khazar informators”.213 Comparing the accounts of
Al-Istakhri and Ibn Hawqal regarding the enthronization custom (the ritual
near-strangulation of the would-be ruler) with the same custom practiced by
the Turks, V. Petrukhin associates the Khazar dual kingship with the Turkic
tradition. He also finds similarities with the initiation of the Turkic shamans.
“The shaman, in his role as mediator between the people (or family) and the
celestial spirits and the khagan who incorporated the cosmic connection
between the Earth (the state, the people) and the Sky (the gods, Tengri), were
both connected to another world (as if transported to the outer world at the
time of their initiation-enthronization) [.. .] As a result of this tradition, the
“sacral king” could only be a nominal ruler whose immobility (by his perma-
nent stay at the residence, etc.) ensured the stability of the social and cosmic
order, personified by him”.214
According to M. Artamonov, the “devotion” shown to the Khazar khagans
“was used by the Khazar king as an instrument to subject to his power not
only the common people, but also the other princes in Khazaria and the
neighboring tribes. This forced him to tolerate the descendant of the ancient
210 Petrukhin 1995a, 183–185 and 2000b, 6–8; see also the different possible interpretations of
the scene, depicted on the silver vessel, in: Darkevich 1976, 167–169. V. Darkevich perceives
the depicted scene as a competition between a groom and a bride. This theory does not
seem convincing to Petrukhin 2000b, 6–7; Minaeva 2003b, 49–53; see also Flerova 2001a,
100, a similar image can be found on a clasp from Ordos, dated third century BC (Flerova
2001a, 112); Foniakova 2007, 32–37.
211 Petrukhin 1995a, 186; Petrukhin 2001, 73–74; Petrukhin 2000b, 7–8.
212 Petrukhin 2005, 75–76 and 2001, 73–74.
213 Petrukhin 1995a, 186 and 2000b, 7.
214 Petrukhin 2001, 75–76.