Khasaria

[takeo]

KHAZARIA.COM NEWS
http://www.khazaria.com
July 10, 2002

Product Announcement
--------------------

"The Kingdom of the Khuzari"
(Memlekhet ha-Kuzarim)
narrated by Ehud Ya'ari

A television crew set out with Ehud Ya'ari on the trail of the Jewish
kingdom of the Khuzari, which disappeared from the world a thousand years
ago. At the heart of the series are three journeys to the remotest parts
of the Caucasus, the Volga Delta, the Crimean Peninsula, and the Steppes
of the Don.

This documentary was originally broadcast on Israeli television during
April 1997 and has been highly sought-after ever since. I'm pleased to
announce that it's finally available on videocassette in an
English-subtitled version.

In part 1, Ya'ari's team visits the Crimea and interviews Krymchaks and
Karaites, who claim to be descendants of the Khazars. They also visit the
Crimean cities of Sudak and Cherson where there are interesting artifacts
related to the Khazars. They also travel to Cambridge University and St.
Petersburg to examine various documents related to the Khazars.

In part 2, we watch the flooding of the Sarkel archaeological site, which
was once home to a Khazar fortress and a trading emporium, and we learn
about the groundbreaking excavations that took place at Sarkel from
archaeologist Mikhail Artamonov's granddaughter and from archaeologist
Svetlana Pletnyova. The team visits the Hermitage Museum, which stores
many Khazar and Jewish artifacts. There are also scenes from Kalmykia,
Astrakhan, Samosdelka, Chistibanka, Rostov, and Cherkessia. The location
of the lost city of Atil is investigated with the archaeologists Yevgenia
Schneidstein, Ryuichi Hirokawa, and Murad Magomedov. You also get to see
Turkic runic letters.

In part 3, Ya'ari mentions the state of Khazar research as of 1997 and
then it's off to Daghestan for colorful scenes from Derbent and Samandar.
We meet some Kumyks, who might be descendants of the Khazars. Magomedov
takes the team to Agach-kale, and this trip is followed by a trip to
Balanjar and by scenes from places where Mountain Jews live. The camera
also captures Khazarian wall drawings. A visit to Kiev provides an
opportunity to explore precious jewelry and other artifacts. This is
followed by a discussion of the Kievan Letter with Norman Golb and Omeljan
Pritsak, and of the Schechter Letter and Russian Chronicles.

Choose from the following 4 editions:

* Hebrew language with English subtitles, on NTSC format type -
Tal-Shahar product code 8988-1 (NTSC is the format used in the United
States, Canada, Japan, and Mexico)

* Hebrew language with English subtitles, on PAL format tape -
Tal-Shahar product code 8988-3

* Hebrew language with no subtitles, on NTSC format tape -
Tal-Shahar product code 8988-2

* Hebrew language with no subtitles, on PAL format tape -
Tal-Shahar product code 8988

[elke]

I've gone to that site before. It's very, very interesting - especially if you like history!

[takeo]

especially if you're a Russian Jew!

[elke]

Originally posted by takeo
especially if you're a Russian Jew!

OK, if you are a Russian Jew who likes history, satisfied?

[danholo]

I've been to www.khazaria.com also, since some neo-nazi fool claimed that 90% of modern Jews are descedants of Khazars.

According to this site, the Khazarian Jews "melded" with the Russian Jews that came from the west. Making almost all descendants of Khazarians also descendants of the ancients.

[Deni al-Amriki]

Originally posted by danholo
I've been to www.khazaria.com also, since some neo-nazi fool claimed that 90% of modern Jews are descedants of Khazars.

According to this site, the Khazarian Jews "melded" with the Russian Jews that came from the west. Making almost all descendants of Khazarians also descendants of the ancients.

This revisionist use of the Khazars is growing in popularity here in the West, especially with that silly book "The 13 Tribes." It is such a weak argument, and only appeals to those who begin from a number of anti-Semitic axioms.

Anyway, since we're on the subject of the Khazars, i have some questions. For years I've been mildly familiar with N. Daniel Korobkin's "the Kuzari," and the debates between Muslims, Jews, Christians, and the King of the Pre-Conversion Khazars.

Anyway, I recently read Ibn Tibon's Hebrew text of the debates, and realized that Korobkin took some real liberties with his translation. In the Hebrew text, the debate between the Muslim and King Bulan was far different from the English version presented by Korobkin. In the Hebrew version, the Muslim doesn't even seem to know the name of his own holy book (always referring to it as "the book of our law"), while the word "Koran" appears all over the Ebglish version.

Now, I'm not sure if this failure of the Muslim to mention the Qur'an by name is due to the author's ignorance of Islam (implying that the debate is a fabrication) or due to the 8th century Muslim working in a totally different paradigm (as would be implied if Cook, Crone, Wansbrough were right about the origins of the Qur'an dating to the late 8th century). However, I assume the former is more likely considering the fact that Ibn Tibon's version was written (or, allegedly, translated) more than four hundred and twenty years after the event took place (Ibn Tibon's "Sefer HaKuzari" came out in 1167 CE, while the Khazar king allegedly accepted the Judasim in 740 CE), leaving a gap wide enough to doubt the historical reliablity of the work.

So, here are my questions... the oldest existing document recording the conversion of the Khazar kingdom was written in Arabic by a Jew named Yehudaa Ha-Levi, under the title "Kitab al-Hujja waal-Dahl fi Nasr al-Din al-Dhalil." Ibn Tibon's work was allegedly translated from this work. Are there any Muslim commentaries on, or criticisms of, this work? I ask because I think it might be possible considering the fact that it deals with an alleged comparison of Jewish and Islamic missionary work. Furthermore, if anyone has read the Arabic text, does the Muslim ever mention Muhammad or the Qur'an? Or is he suspiciously vague?

Was-salaam waRahamtul'uzza wat-Taqbeelaat 'ala sadriha!