Seth Ward, The Jewish Quarterly Review, January-April 2001
presents the findings of an impressive array of scholarship... the Khazar experience is intrinsic to the narrative of Jewish history.
John D. Klier, Professor of Modern Jewish History, University College, London
The history and fate of the Khazars have exercised a fascination in the thousand years since the collapse of their mighty steppe empire in 970 C.E. The Khazars, whose ruling classes converted to Judaism, disputed with both the Islamic world and the early Russian state for control of the northern shores of the Black Sea. Their reputation was so great, and the legends surrounding them so powerful, that Jews in far-away Spain made efforts to contact them. This book represents a modern effort to unravel the mysteries which still surround the Khazars. It makes skillful use of the vast literature, in many different languages, related to the Khazars. It will be a very helpful guide for the general reader who wishes to discover the truth about this legendary people
Peter B. Golden, Professor of History, Rutgers University
The origins and history of the Khazars, a Turkic people who converted to Judaism sometime in the eighth-ninth century C.E., remains one of the most complex questions in the history of Medieval Eurasia.... The sources for Khazar history are extremely varied, representing all of the major cultural groups and languages of Eurasia (Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, Persian, Turkic, Greek, Latin, Slavic, Georgian, Armenian, and Chinese). Kevin Alan Brook has put together an absorbing account of their history based on this wide array of sources, supplemented by archaeological, ethnographic and linguistic data dealing with Khazar Jewry and their legacy. This is a most useful introduction to this at times enigmatic, but always fascinating people
Book Description
As a major world power, Khazaria enjoyed diplomatic and trade relations with many peoples and nations and changed the course of medieval history in many ways. After their conversion, the Khazars were ruled by a succession of Jewish kings and began to adopt the hallmarks of Jewish civilization, including the Torah and Talmud, the Hebrew script, and the observance of Jewish holidays. A portion of the empire's population adopted Christianity and Islam.
This volume traces the development of the Khazars from their early beginnings as a tribe to the decline and fall of their kingdom. It also examines the many migrations of the Khazar people into Hungary, Ukraine, and other areas of Europe and their subsequent assimilation, providing the most comprehensive treatment of this complex issue to date. The final chapter enumerates the Jewish communities of eastern Europe that sprung up after the fall of Khazaria and proposes that the Jews from the former Russian Empire are descended from a mixture of Khazar Jews, German Jews, Greek Jews, and Slavs.
The Jews of Khazaria draws upon the latest archival, linguistic, and archaeological discoveries. Ashkenazic Jews who wish to explore their distant ancestry in eastern Europe will greatly benefit from reading this book. Additionally, Hungarians, Slavs, Turks, Arabs, and Ossetians will find a wealth of information concerning the historical interactions between their peoples and the Khazars. Students of history who desire a thorough yet easy-to-read account of the Khazar kingdom will gain in their understanding of this important but previously obscure topic.
About the author
Kevin Alan Brook, a resident of Connecticut whose Jewish ancestors immigrated to the United States from Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Poland, is the moderator of the Eastern European Jewish History (EEJH) discussion list on the Internet and maintains a popular website about the Khazars entitled "The Khazaria Info Center." He has been researching and writing about the history of the Khazars since 1993. Mr. Brook received his BS degree in Business Administration from Bryant College in Smithfield, Rhode Island. The Jews of Khazaria is Mr. Brook's first book.
