The “Internal” Ethnic Communities in Khazaria 227
cal and the administrative level. Two rock inscriptions (that of Kana Omurtag
(814–831) and that of Kana Persian (836–852)) highlight the authority of the
Bulgarian rulers over “many Bulgarians”.17 Especially notable is the lack of
enumeration of other peoples in the official documents or monuments of
Danube Bulgaria (with the understandable exception during the reign of Tsar
Simeon). This tradition was maintained until the time of the last ruler of the
First Bulgarian Empire Ivan Vladislav (1015–1018), who was titled “autocrat of
the Bulgarians” in the Bitola Inscription.18
The letter of the Khazar ruler Joseph reveals a significant difference. In
it, he describes himself as king of Togarmah, after which he enumerates ten
more peoples that stem from the Biblical Togarmah (see on pp. 41–47) Joseph
states that he is a descendant of Khazar, one of Togarmah’s sons, but does not
name himself ruler of the Khazars; instead, he recounts the many peoples
that pay him tribute. The lack of such a list in Danube Bulgaria could explain
the significant differences in the state structure of both states. For example,
it can explain why the rulers of Danube Bulgaria never laid claim on the kha-
gan title.19 The khaganate probably stood for a state entity which consisted
of many autonomous political units. This is exactly what Joseph highlights in
his letter, when talking about the peoples and territories under his rule. The
situation in Danube Bulgaria was quite the opposite: there, rulers emphasized
their authority only over the Bulgarians (the “many Bulgarians”). Speaking
in simple terms, Danube Bulgaria was the state of the Bulgarians, while the
Khazar Khaganate was a state of many peoples, which—according to Joseph’s
letter—all stemmed from Togarmah (including the Bulgars, from whom the
banished Unogundurs broke free).
Immediately after naming all the sons of Togarmah, Joseph states that when
his ancestors (the Khazars) were still few in numbers, they waged war against
many peoples that were stronger than them. Some of them were driven out,
while others paid tribute “to this day”. Then Joseph states that the land he
now lives in was formerly ruled by the V-n-n-trs (the Unogundurs). They were
numerous as the sand of the sea, but could not withstand the Khazars and fled
17 See Beshevliev 1992, 142–143 and 216; for various interpretations, see: Nikolov 1997; cf.
Stepanov 1999a, 84.
18 Zaimov and Zaimova 1970, 33. According to Stanilov 2003b, 13–14, the expression (“ruler
of many Bulgarians or of the Bulgarians”) is part of the “ideological concept of autocratic
rule” in Bulgaria.
19 Other explanations of this fact are also possible. On this issue, see Stepanov 2000, 197–
224, 2003a, 2005b, and 2008.