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The view that some or all of the Khazars, a central Asian people, converted to Judaism at some point during the ninth or tenth century is widely accepted. A careful examination of the sources, however, shows that some of them are pseudepigraphic, and the rest are of questionable reliability. Many of the most reliable contemporary texts that mention Khazars say nothing about their conversion, nor is there any archaeological evidence for it. This leads to the conclusion that such a conversion never took place.
Key words: Khazars, conversion, Hasdai ibn Shaprut, historiography
From the middle of the seventh century until sometime in the tenth century, the K hazars ruled an empire that spanned the steppes between the Caspian and Black Seas.1 Not much is known about the culture and society of the Khazars.2 They did not leave literary remains, and the archaeological finds have been mea- ger. It seems that in their time they had an impact on the region; they helped block the northward spread of Islam and played an important role in developing East-West commerce.3 The K hazar Empire was overrun by Sv yatoslav of K iev around the year 969, and little was heard from the Khazars after.4 But though they are mostly forgotten today, a widely held belief that they or their leaders at some point con- verted to Judaism persists.5
The stories about the Jewish Khazars could simply be regarded as fantastic tales or legends. As such, they would certainly not be unique or even exceptional, either in the Jewish or in the general medieval con- text. They would fit in among the stories of the ten lost tribes,6 of Jews living on the far side of the Sambatyon River,7 of Prester John,8 Alexan- der's wall or gate,9 the Red Jews,10 dog-men,11 Solomon's seal,12 Ama- zons,13 Judeisapta,14 and many others-stories that were very popular, often cited and once believed.15 However, reports on the Khazar conver- sion to Judaism are taken seriously to this day. Reports about the Jewish- ness of the Khazars first appeared in Muslim works in the late ninth century. For these Muslim authors, the Jewishness of the Khazars was a curiosity and not an issue requiring serious attention. Reports also ap- peared in two tenth-century...