Századok – 2019
2019 / 1. szám - TANULMÁNYOK - Shaul Stampfer: Áttértek-e a kazárok a zsidó vallásra?
ÁTTÉRTEK-E A KAZÁROK A ZSIDÓ VALLÁSRA? 122 DID THE KHAZARS CONVERT TO JUDAISM? by Shaul Stampfer SUMMARY It is widely believed that the Khazars or the Khazar leadership converted to Judaism during the first millennium. However, a careful and critical examination of the sources leads to the conclusion that this belief is not based on fact. The Hebrew sources are apocryphal or forged, while the sources in Arabic are derivative and contradictory. The story of the conversion to Judaism does not appear in Byzantine texts, in major works of Muslim historians and geographers, nor in reliable Hebrew sources. There is no hint of Khazar Jewry in material sources such as burials and graffiti. An ‘imitation’ dirhem with the word ‘Moses‘ was minted in 837–838, but this was not repeated. This does not fit a state policy narrative of Jewish identity. There was no good reason for the Khazars to convert to Judaism, nor is there any indication that there was a significant Jewish community in the Khazar lands. It seems that the identification of Khazars as Jews started as a form of anti-Khazar invective and was transformed by some Jews into a triumphant myth – fascinating, but historically unverifiable.
