The Khazar Correspondence

The Khazar correspondence is the communication between Hasdai ben Ezra ben Yitzhak ibn Shaprut, the unofficial foreign minister of Abd al-Rahman III, Caliph of Córdoba in Spain, and Yosef, king or Kagan of the Khazars, in the 950s CE. Hasdai ibn Shaprut was a doctor, a diplomat and the main person who helped the Jewish renaissance in Spain. This renaissance was also called 'the Golden Age' or 'the Convivencia', an era in which Jews and Umayyads lived together and made Andalusia the centre of a very special civilization. Hasdai, from his youth, knew very well Hebrew, Arabic, Greek and Latin, a language known only to high-ranking Christian clergy. He studied medicine and became the doctor of Abd al-Rahman III, being the first Jew to hold so high a position. With his great knowledge, his way of living, his wisdom and his personality, he won the Caliph's favour and became his faithful adviser. As he remained a Jew and did not wish to convert to Islam, he was not officially called vizier, but he acted as foreign minister, being a good diplomat.

When he heard that there existed an independent Jewish kingdom, very distant and governed by Jews, he wished to enter into correspondence with the head of this kingdom, confirmed by the ambassadors Mar Shaul and Mar Yosef. Hasdai gave them the letter written by Menahem ben Saruq in good Hebrew, in which he says: 'I, Hasdai, son of Yitzhak, son of Ezra, belonging to the Jewish people exiled from Jerusalem, in the land of Sefarad (Spain), a servant of my Lord the King, bow to the ground before you, and prostrate myself towards the house of Your Majesty, from a distant land. I rejoice in your serenity, and I lift my hands to God in Heaven that He may extend your reign in Israel. Blessed be God for His grace to me. Kings of the earth who know the great power of Abd al-Rahman bring him gifts, winning his favour with precious gifts: the King of the Franks, the King of the Gebalim (Croatia?), who are a German people, the King of Constantinople and the others. All the gifts pass through my hands, and I have the duty of making gifts to them in return. (Ibn Shaprut, who knew many languages, received the ambassadors.) May my lips praise God in Heaven, who so far has spread His goodness over me without my deserving it.

'Of the ambassadors of these kings who bring gifts, I always ask whether they know anything about our brothers the Israelites, what remains of the exile (galut), whether they have heard anything about deliverance from slavery, or whether they are living in peace. (Hasdai was anxious to know whether the 10 lost tribes existed anywhere as an independent Jewish state.) At last an emissary (shaliah) who came from Khorasan (a region in Iran) told me there is a kingdom of Jews called Al-Khazar. But I did not believe these words, thinking he was telling me things to win my favour and my kindness, until ambassadors came from Constantinople with gifts and a letter from their king to our king; I asked them about this subject, and they answered me: "It is quite true, and the name of that kingdom is Al-Khazar. It is a fifteen days' voyage by sea from Constantinople; but by land there are many nations between us. The name of the king who reigns now is Yosef. Sometimes ships come to us from his country and bring us fish, hides and all kinds of goods. We collaborate with them and honour them. We have reciprocal relations with embassies and gifts. They are very powerful and maintain many strong armies." When I heard this report, I rejoiced, my hands felt strong and my hopes were confirmed. With this, I bowed down to worship the God of the Heavens. I pray for the health of my Lord the King, for his family and his house. May his throne be established for ever. May his days and those of his son be long in the world of Israel.'

Letter of King Yosef, son of Aaron the king, to Hasdai, son of Yitzhak, son of Ezra. May the Creator keep him at the head of his community. 'I wish to inform you that your very well written letter was brought to me by Yitzhak, son of Eliezer. You made us happy, and we are delighted by your understanding and your wisdom. We shall strengthen the diplomatic relations that existed before between our fathers, and we shall pass this heritage on to our sons. (Yosef believed the Khazars had earlier had diplomatic relations with the Arabs of Spain.) You ask in your letter: "Of what people, of what family, of what tribe are you?" Know that we come from Togarma, son of Japheth. I found in the genealogical book of my ancestors that Togarma had 10 sons. The eldest was called "Ujur" (Uyghur), the second "Tauris", the third "Avar", the fourth "Uauz" (Oghuz), the fifth "Bizal", the sixth "Tarna", the seventh "Khazar", the eighth "Janur", the ninth "Bulgar" and the tenth "Sawir" (Sabir). [These names are the mythical founders of the tribes that once lived in the region of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.] I come from the branch of the seventh son, Khazar.

'I have the testimony that although my fathers were not very numerous, the Holy One, blessed be He, gave them the strength, the power and the energy to win in the wars against many nations more powerful and more populous than they. With the help of God they drove them out and took possession of their lands. Some were put to forced labour and continue to work to this day. The territory where I now live belonged formerly to the Bulgars (along the Volga). Our fathers, the Khazars, came and fought with them. Although the Bulgars were more numerous than the grains of sand on our beaches, they could not defend themselves against the Khazars. So they left the territory and fled as far as the distant river Danube (the river Tuna). From that day the Bulgars have been along the Danube, as far as near Constantinople. After this, many generations passed until a king named "Bulan" came. He was a wise man, respecting and believing in the Creator with all his soul and heart; he drove out of the country the magicians and the idolaters, and took comfort in the shadow of His wings. His fame, in a short time, spread to foreign countries. The king of the Romans and of the Arabs, who heard of him, sent ambassadors (shagririm) with great riches and costly gifts for the king and his counsellors, to convert them to their religions. The King had a Christian priest and a Muslim qadi brought. But he — may his name always be beside the name of God — being a wise man, sent also for a learned Jew (melumad), gathered the sages of the three religions and asked them to explain the arguments (taanot) of each. Each sage began to say that the arguments of the others were lies, so that they could not agree. Seeing this, the king told them to return to their homes and come back after three days.

'On the third day the King told the sages to discuss and decide which of the three religions was the best. They began to quarrel among themselves without reaching a result. Finally the King asked the Christian priest: "What do you think of the religion of the Jews and of the Muslims? Which of them is preferable?" The priest answered: "The religion of the Jews is better than that of the Muslims." Then the King turned to the qadi and asked him whether the religion of the Jews was preferable to that of the Christians. The qadi answered: "The religion of the Jews is preferable." With this the King said: "So you have both accepted that the religion of the Jews is the best. Consequently, trusting in the mercy of God and the power of the Almighty, I choose the religion of Israel, which is the religion of Abraham. If this God in whom I trust and in the shadow of whose wings I take comfort helps me, He can give me without trouble the treasures of gold and silver that you promised me. Now you may return in peace to your homes." From that moment the Almighty helped Bulan, strengthened and comforted him. He was circumcised, he and his servants, his guards and all his people. (Arab sources confirm that the king's family and the nobles became Jews, but not all the people.) Then Bulan had sages brought from Israel to explain the Torah to him and to establish the religious precepts. Since then we have been subject to this religion. May the name of God be blessed and His memory praised for ever. Since the day my ancestors entered this religion, the God of Israel has humbled all their enemies and subdued all the peoples around us, be they Christians, Muslims or pagans. To this day none of them has been able to raise his head against us. [The letter was written around the year 960; 9 years later Yosef lost the war against the Russians.]

'After Bulan, one of his descendants named "King Ovadya" reorganized the kingdom and established Judaism properly and correctly. He built synagogues and yeshivot, had sages brought who were rewarded with gold and silver. (Probably these sages came from Baghdad or Constantinople.) They explained to him the Torah, the Mishnah, the Talmud and the Halakha. The king was a true servant of God. After Ovadya came his son Hezekiah, after him his son Manasseh, after him Hanukkah, Ovadya's brother, then Yitzhak his son, after him his son Zevulun, then his son Moshe, then his son Nisim, then his son Aaron, then his son Menahem, then his son Binyamin, then his son Aaron II, and finally I, Yosef, son of Aaron II the king; I am king, son of a king, descendant of kings. No stranger can ascend the throne of my ancestors. The son follows his father. This was our tradition and the tradition of our ancestors since their existence began. May it be His loving will, He who appoints all kings, that the throne of my kingdom may last for all eternity. You asked me about my country and the extent of my empire. I wish to inform you that I live on the bank of a river whose known name is Itil, or Volga. At the end of the river is the Caspian Sea, or Khazar lake. The source (makor) of the river is in the east, at a distance of four months' journey. Along the river live many tribes in open and fortified cities. Do not forget that I live in the delta of the river Itil, or Volga, and with the help of God I guard the delta of the river and do not let the Russians who come with their ships to the Caspian Sea have contact with the Muslims. Likewise I do not let the enemies of the Muslims who come by land enter as far as Derbent, the gate of the Caucasus above the Caspian Sea. I must make war on them, because if I gave them the smallest opportunity they would destroy the whole region of the Muslims as far as Baghdad.

'You asked me where I live. I tell you that by the grace of God I live along the river where the three capital cities stand. The queen lives in one of them, where I was born. The city is quite important, built in a round shape with a diameter of fifty "fersah" (the distance a person can walk in an hour, 5.5-6 km). (The king lived on an island in the middle of the Volga.) The Jews, the Christians and the Muslims live in the second city. With them there are many slaves of all nations. It is a city almost eight "fersah" long and wide. In the third live my sons, my officials, my servants and my close ones. Also a round city, three "fersah" in diameter. The river passes between the walls. It is my winter residence. After the month of Nisan (April) we leave the city, and each goes to his work in his fields or vineyards. You say in your letter that you wish to meet me. I too would very much like to see your pleasant capacity and the rare beauty of your wisdom. If I were allowed to be with you and contemplate your pleasant capacity, you could be my father and I could be your son. May all my people be governed by your recommendations, and may I lead my country by your discreet counsels.' Source: Wikipedia