Jiddish related to Gothic? Khazars

Tue Jun 10 20:23:07 UTC 2014

Khazaria and Volga Bulgaria

The Khazars, a semi-nomadic Turkish people closely related to the Bulgarians, established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with Atil as the capital (note 29). Their territory was comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus (Circassia, Dagestan), parts of Georgia, the Crimea, and northeastern Turkey. They played a role in the balance of powers and destiny of the world civilization. After Kubrat’s Great Bulgaria was destroyed by the Khazars in the 600s, some of the Bulgars fled to the west and founded a new Bulgar state (presentday Bulgaria) near the Danubian Plain, under the command of Khan Asparukh. The rest of the Bulgars fled to the north of the Volga River region and founded at the big bend in the Volga in Russia’s heart, where the river Kama flows into the Volga, the Volga Bulgaria kingdom with its capital Bolghar. The Volga Bulgaria’s heyday occurred in the 900s. At that time they adopted Muhammad’s teachings.

The area south of the kingdom of the Volga Bulgars, between the Caspian and Black Seas, accordingly belonged to the Khazars. Khazaria had an on- going entente with Byzantium. The Khazars aided the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (reigned 610–641) by sending an army of 40,000 soldiers in his campaign against the Persians in the Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628. They also served their partner in wars against the Abbasid Caliphate. Sarkel (a Turkish word meaning White Fortress) was built in the 830s by a joint team of Greek and Khazar architects to protect the north-western border of the Khazar state. The chief engineer during the construction of Sarkel was Petronas Kamateros who later became the governor of Cherson.

Khazaria was the first feudal state to be established in Eastern Europe. According to ibn Khordadhbeh the Khazarian Jewish merchants (Radhanites) were responsible for the commerce between southwestern Asia and northern Europe, as well as the connection to the Silk Road. The name ‘Khazar’ is found in numerous languages and seems to be tied to a Turkish verb form meaning ‘wandering’ (Modern Turkish: Gezer). Pax Khazarica is a term used by historians to refer to the period during which Khazaria dominated the Pontic steppe and the Caucasus Mountains.

The Gotlandic Varangians made regular commercial trips to the Khazar capital Atil at the lower Volga and the city of Bolghar in the country of the Volga Bulgars in the region of Kamas’ inflow in the Volga river.
After fighting the Arabs to a standstill in the North Caucasus, Khazars became increasingly interested in replacing their Tengriism with a state religion that would give them equal religious standing with their Abrahamic neighbors. During the 800s, the Khazar royalty and much of the aristocracy converted to a form of Judaism. Yitzhak ha-Sangari is the name of the rabbi who converted the Khazars to Judaism according to Jewish sources.

Khazars were judged according to Tōra (orders of the Khagan; coming from the root Tōr meaning customs; unwritten law of people in Old Turkic) (Modern Turkish: Töre), while the other tribes were judged according to their own laws.
Being a surprisingly tolerant and pluralistic society, even its army incorporated Jews, Christians, Muslims and Pagans at a time when religious warfare was the order of the day around the Mediterranean and in Western Europe. By welcoming educated and worldly Jews from both Christian Europe and the Islamic Middle East, Khazaria rapidly absorbed many of the arts and technologies of civilization.

As a direct result of this cultural infusion, they became one of the very few Asian steppe tribal societies that successfully made the transition from nomad to urbanite. Settling in their newly created towns and cities between the Caspian Sea and the Crimean Peninsula on the Black Sea, they became literate and multi-lingual agriculturalists, manufacturers and international traders.

The Islamic Bulgars in the Volga river bend and Khazaria were the two main cross points for the Arab traderoutes. The main imported good straded in these markets were furs, slaves and weapons. According to ibn Rustah and ibn Haukal, al-Rus’ delivered the first two mentioned in Khazaria and Volga Bulgaria. Ibn Rustah and Gurdesi explain that

the Varangians refused to accept anything else but jingling silver coins for their goods.
Between 965 and 969, Khazar sovereignty was broken by the Kievan Rus’. Sviatoslav I of Kiev defeated them in 965 by conquering the Khazar fortress of Sarkel. Two years later, Sviatoslav conquered Atil.

On 10 Jun 2014, at 21:59, Yair Davidiy britam at netvision.net.il [gothic-l] <gothic-l at yahoogroups.com> wrote:

> At 10:52 AM 6/10/2014, you wrote:
> 
>>   
>> 
>> Hi Dirk,
>> This was not the question.
>> 
>> What language did they speak in Khazaria when they converted to Judaism beginning 800s and became the worlds largest Jewish state.
>> 
>> Alla later Jews in Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Lituania originates from those converted in Khazaria.
>> 
>> It was a mixed country with Turkish, a few slavic languages and a large Gothic speaking group together with Hebrew Rabbis that were imported.
>> 
>> Tore
> 
> Were the Khazars Turkish?
> The Khazars in Central Asia may have spoken a Turkish dialect as did some white "Nordic" peoples, some "Turkish" peoples and some "Mongolians". 
> It is not even certain however what language the Khazars really did speak since all we have are a few "Runes" that appear like a Central Asian Turkish-related dialect and MAY belong to the Khazars. At one stage the Turks did rule for a period over the Khazars and they did dominate the region of Southern Russia. So some influence was to be expected.
>  This does not say much and even this is uncertain. Some of the Khazars  are believed to have spoken a Finnish-type language. Avraham Polak ("Kuzaria", Hebrew) believed their original tongue was a Gothic dialect.  We think they originally spoke Hebrew. 
> The Khazars were reported of in southern Russia long before the Turks were ever heard of.
> A letter from King Joseph of Khazaria relates the Khazars to Togarmah  (son of Gomer son of Noah) who is believed to have been the ancestor of the Turks.
> There are however  several versions of this letter. It has been doctored. The segment relating them to Togarmah appears from its style to be an interpolation. 
> The Ruling House of the Khazars (according to a Persian source) was known as Ansa.
> The ruling house of the Turks was the Asena. It is has been proposed that Ansa and Asina are the same. They may be. We do not know.
> More evidence is required.
> The Ruling House of the Khazars was known as Ansa in Arabic and in another Arabic source as Ayishai. Both these forms Ansa and Ayishai are considered  the equivalent of the Hebrew "Yishai"  i.e. Jesse.  The House of Jesse i.e. the House of David.
> Most contemporary Jewish sources relate the Khazars to Israel. Sources that relate them to Togarmah are mainly later ones and less reliable. Those who knew them at first hand considered them Israelite.
> Abraham Polak believed the Khazars were Goths. 
> Vladimir Pomakov said they were Scythians and Slavs descended from the ancient Cimmerians and Massagetae.
> There is little evidence of Turkish input. All that there was can easily be explained by cultural contact.
> The Khazars themselves said they were of Israelite descent.
> The evidence shows that the Khazars should be believed. 
> 
> 
> 
> 

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