JÁZAROS: ORIGIN, LOCATION, POLITICAL, SOCIAL ORGANIZATION - HISTORY - 2025

The Khazars are the first people of Turkish descent who could be considered European. Following the development and mobilization of this human group, it could be concluded that they are the ancestors of today's Jews, although little is known about this history.

The Khazar people settled in the south of what is now Russia, and held back the so-called barbarian forces for several centuries. They built cities like Itil, Samandar, and Sarkel. The Khazars were characterized by being peaceful merchants, but with a strong army.

Origin and history

The Kazars, as they are also known, formed a military and trading people. For a long time that town existed as a retaining wall between two cultures: the Roman Christian and the Muslim.

The Turks are related to the Huns, a warrior civilization that dominated the Asian lands for almost three centuries. According to some documents, the Proto-Turks were the administrative group of that warrior people.

After many battles, the Huns and Turks were driven out by the Chinese Empire. The Turks then advanced further west, into Europe.

Construction of the Sarkel fortress

Under the waters of the Tsimliansk Reservoir, in the lower reaches of the Volga River in Russia, a white stone fortress is still submerged. It was there that this history was developed that has been practically forgotten, although both Jews and Russians were part of it.

This fortress is known as Sarkel or white house. It was built in limestone and brick, and its architecture had a great Byzantine influence: brick replaces stone and sculptures are exchanged for mosaics. The ceilings are vaulted inside with domes outside.

This structure was erected in 830 by the Khazar people, and it is from the use of limestone that it derives its name: sarkel means "white city."

Location

By the middle of the 7th century, the human mass leaving Asia and entering Europe ended up settling in the southern Black Sea.

This space limits to the west with Greece, to the south it borders what is now Syria and Iraq, and Russia is to the north. The Khazars were located just northeast of that territory, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

Social and economic organization

In this designated space, the Khazar people developed a markedly commercial social dynamic. This led to a space of peace and stability necessary for economic exchange.

Thus located both in space and in activity, the Khazar people became a kind of retaining wall between two worlds. There he could stop the Muslim forces that came from the East and the Christian forces located in the West.

So the Khazarian Empire stood between two equally strong military forces. If they wanted to hold their space, they had to become neutral. The rulers embraced the Jewish religion, while the people remained within any of their beliefs, including polytheism.

The Khazars, though merchant and peaceful, had a strong army backed by their economic capabilities. For this reason, some historians speak of the Khazar-Arab wars, which would last more than a century. The Khazarian Empire managed to survive in an orderly fashion until the beginning of the 11th century.

Political organization

The basic characteristic of the Khazars is that they cradled Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, each group with its own administration.

It was a region where trade was intensive, and had two highest governmental figures: the jagán and the beg. Both were powerful figures, but with different religious affiliation.

The region had a double civil and religious structure. The civil was led by the Jagan, the great administrator of the government. The title honored Orguz Kagán, one of the mythical founders of the Turkish people. In the religious part, the authority was called beg.

Adoption of Judaism

The adoption of Judaism as a religion was adherence by strategy; the Khazar population was of Turkish origin and not Semitic. Having been a powerful kingdom economically and militarily, its dispersion could not be thought of as an annihilation.

On the contrary, between the 12th and 13th centuries, the Khazarian ruling classes, with economic capacity and military organization, were deployed throughout Europe. At the end of the Middle Ages they were in Crinea, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania and then they advanced towards the European center.

From Khazars to Ashkenazis

These non-descendants of the tribe of David were settling as a diaspora alien to Semitism. They were known as the Ashkenazíes, a human group that developed particular customs and laws based on the Torat.

Furthermore, the Eskenazíes created their own language, Yiddish, which is a product of the combination of Germanic dialects.

The other Jews are Sephardim. They were those from the Middle East and settled basically in the Iberian Peninsula. They have traditions and customs much closer to the people who escaped from Egyptian slavery under the guidance of Moses. It was the Sephardim who had to convert to Christianity in Inquisitorial Spain.

The Khazars as Ascendants of Today's Jews

It is important to note that it was the Eskenazi group that became strong in the following centuries in Europe. They turned their fortunes and their military power into companies and banks: finance and production of goods.

It was the Eskenazis who established their lineage as synonymous with the Jewish people. They managed to have enough political influence so that, in 1947, the United Nations Organization ruled the existence of the Jewish state.

This territory is located in the Near East, on the shores of the Mediterranean. By mandate of the United Nations Organization, Palestinian lands are divided in two. The following year, Israel declares its independence.

From then on, the newborn state begins to disrespect the border markings, covering more and more territory. Since its declaration, Israel has started a war against neighboring Arab countries, which have never accepted its historical reason there.

The constant of this State for not recognizing the Palestinian people as a nation and exterminating them as a people is a conflict that continues to this day.

References

1. Koestler, Arthur (1976) Khazar Jews. The thirteenth tribe. H.Garetto Editor. Recovered at: taotv.org
2. Ministry of Defense: Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies. Recovered at: scholar.google.es
3. Ortiz, Alicia Dujovne (1999) The ghost of the Khazars. La Nación newspaper. Argentina. Recovered in: lanacion.com.ar
4. Ruiz González, Francisco José. (2012). Caucasian Russia and the Federation's relationship with the South Caucasus. Strategy Notebooks, (156), 181-215.
5. Sanz, Christian (2008) Are there genuine Jews? P. Arieu Theologies Web. Recovered at: lasteologias.wordpress.com
6. Urrutia, Ana (2002) Literary trips: tours of Jazaria and Panonia. Tk Magazine, No. 13-14, pp. 97-104. ASNABI (Association of Librarians of Navarra). Recovered at: asnabi.com