Joseph ben Aaron was king of the Khazars during the 950s and 960s. Joseph was the son of Aaron II, a Khazar ruler who defeated a Byzantine-inspired war against Khazaria on numerous fronts. Joseph's wife (or probably, one of many wives[citation needed]) was the daughter of the king of the Alans.
Whether Joseph was the Khagan or the Bek of the Khazars is contested among historians. He describes leading Khazar armies which seems to imply the role of the Bek. However, as he does not refer to a co-ruler in his writings, it is possible that by his time the two-king system had been abandoned altogether (see Khazar Kingship).
Joseph's ultimate fate is unknown. As the destruction of the Khazar empire by Sviatoslav I of Kiev occurred soon after his correspondence with Hasdai (in 967 or 969), it is possible that Joseph was ruler during the Khaganate's collapse.
The Khazars were a nomadic Turkic people that, in the late 6th-century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, and Kazakhstan. They created what for its duration was the most powerful polity to emerge from the break-up of the Western Turkic Khaganate. Astride a major artery of commerce between Eastern Europe and Southwestern Asia, Khazaria became one of the foremost trading empires of the early medieval world, commanding the western marches of the Silk Road and playing a key commercial role as a crossroad between China, the Middle East and Kievan Rus'. For some three centuries the Khazars dominated the vast area extending from the Volga-Don steppes to the eastern Crimea and the northern Caucasus.
The Khazar Correspondence is a set of documents, which are alleged to date from the 950s or 960s, and to be letters between Hasdai ibn Shaprut, foreign secretary to the Caliph of Cordoba, and Joseph Khagan of the Khazars. The Correspondence is one of only a few documents attributed to a Khazar author, and potentially one of only a small number of primary sources on Khazar history.
Tmutarakan was a medieval principality of Kievan Rus' and trading town that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus, the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov, between the late 10th and 11th centuries. Its site was the ancient Greek colony of Hermonassa founded in the mid 6th century BCE, by Mytilene (Lesbos), situated on the Taman peninsula, in present-day Krasnodar Krai, Russia, roughly opposite Kerch. The Khazar fortress of Tamantarkhan was built on the site in the 7th century, and became known as Tmutarakan when it came under the control of Kievan Rus'.
Bulan was a Khazar king who led the conversion of the Khazars to Judaism. His name means "elk" or "hart" in Old Turkic. The date of his reign is unknown, as the date of the conversion is hotly disputed, though it is certain that Bulan reigned some time between the mid-8th and the mid-9th centuries. Nor is it settled whether Bulan was the Bek or the Khagan of the Khazars.
The Schechter Letter, also called the Genizah Letter or Cambridge Document, was discovered in the Cairo Geniza by Solomon Schechter in 1912. It is an anonymous Khazar letter discussing several matters including the wars of the early 940s, involving the Byzantine Empire, the Khazar Khaganate, and Kievan Rus'. Scholars have debated its authenticity.
Khagan Bek is the title used by the bek (generalissimo) of the Khazars.
Obadiah was the name of a Khazar ruler of the late eighth or early ninth century. He is described as coming from among "the sons of the sons" of Bulan, but whether this should be taken literally to mean that he was Bulan's grandson, or figuratively to imply a more remote descent, is unclear. King Joseph's Reply claimed that Obadiah strengthened Rabbinic Judaism and Hebrew proficiency in Khazaria by building synagogues and schools and inviting Jewish sages to the country. In Sefer ha-Ittim, Judah ben Barzillai's list of Khazar Jewish kings lacked Obadiah's name, and several scholars have concluded from this that Obadiah was a fictional character. He was succeeded by his son Hezekiah.
A Khazar ruler, mentioned in the Schechter Text and the Khazar Correspondence, Benjamin was the son of the Khazar ruler Menahem and probably reigned in the late ninth and early tenth centuries CE.
A Khazar ruler during the early 10th century CE, Aaron ben Benjamin was the son of the Khazar king Benjamin. Whether Aaron, like the rest of the Bulanids, was a Khagan or a Bek is an unresolved issue.
The Bulanids were the ruling dynasty of the Khazar Khaganate during the 9th century and 10th century CE.
Khan-Tuvan Dyggvi also known as Tuğan Khagan, according to Omeljan Pritsak, was the name of a Khazar Khagan of the 825 AD.
Hanukkah Khagan was a Khazar Khagan who reigned during the mid to late ninth century CE. Hanukkah was the brother of Obadiah and succeeded his great-nephew Manasseh I to the throne. No contemporary records from his reign survive; however, he is known from the Khazar Correspondence between Hisdai ibn Shaprut and the Khazar king Joseph. Historical authenticity and accuracy of the only document mentioning his name has been questioned.
Hezekiah ben Obadiah was a hypothetical ruler of the Khazars, probably in the mid ninth century CE. He was the son of Obadiah, the descendant of Bulan who brought rabbinical scholars to and built yeshivot in Khazaria. Nothing is known about Hezekiah's reign and the historical authenticity and accuracy of the only document mentioning his name has been questioned. As with other Bulanid rulers, it is unclear whether Hezekiah was Khagan or Khagan Bek of the Khazars, although the latter is more likely.
Menasseh ben Hezekiah was a hypothetical Turkic ruler of the Khazars mentioned in the Khazar Correspondence. He probably reigned in the mid to late ninth century CE. He was the son of Hezekiah, the son of Obadiah. Little is known about his reign. Historical authenticity and accuracy of the only document mentioning his name has been questioned. As with other Bulanid rulers, it is unclear whether he was Khagan or Khagan Bek of the Khazars, although the latter is more likely.
Isaac ben Hanukkah was a hypothetical Jewish ruler of the Khazars mentioned in the Khazar Correspondence. He probably reigned in the mid to late ninth century CE. Little is known about his reign. As with other Bulanid rulers, it is unclear whether Isaac was Khagan or Khagan Bek of the Khazars, although the latter is more likely. He was succeeded by his son Zebulun. Historical authenticity and accuracy of the only document mentioning his name has been questioned.
Menasseh ben Zebulun was a hypothetical Jewish ruler of the Khazars mentioned in some extant editions of the Khazar Correspondence. In some versions he is called Moshe or Moses, but this may be a result of the degradation of the text. He probably reigned in the late ninth century CE. Little is known about his reign. As with other Bulanid rulers, it is unclear whether Menasseh was Khagan or Khagan Bek of the Khazars, although the latter is more likely. Historical authenticity and accuracy of the only document mentioning his name has been questioned.
Nisi ben Menasseh or Nisi ben Moses was a Jewish Turkic ruler of the Khazars mentioned in the Khazar Correspondence. He probably reigned in the mid to late 9th century CE. Little is known about his reign. As with other Bulanid rulers, it is unclear whether he was Khagan or Khagan Bek of the Khazars, although the latter is more likely. His son, Aaron ben Nisi, is also mentioned as a Khazar ruler by the same source.
Aaron ben Nisi was a Jewish ruler of the Khazars mentioned in the Khazar Correspondence. He reigned around the year 900 AD. He was the son of Nisi ben Menasseh. Little is known about his life or reign. As with other Bulanid rulers, it is unclear whether Aaron was Khagan or Khagan Bek of the Khazars, although the latter is more likely.
The Caspian expeditions of the Rus' were military raids undertaken by the Rus' between the late 9th century and c. 1041 on the Caspian Sea shores, of what are nowadays Iran, Dagestan, and Azerbaijan. Initially, the Rus' appeared in Serkland in the 9th century travelling as merchants along the Volga trade route, selling furs, honey, and slaves. The first small-scale Viking raids took place in the late 9th and early 10th century. The Rus' undertook the first large-scale expedition in 913; having arrived on 500 ships, they pillaged in the Gorgan region, in the territory of present-day Iran, and more to the west, in Gilan and Mazandaran, taking slaves and goods. On their return, the northern raiders were attacked and defeated by the Khazars in the Volga Delta, and those who escaped were killed by the local tribes in the middle Volga.
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