Bulan (Khazar)
Encyclopedia
Bulan was a Khazar king
who led the conversion of the Khazars to Judaism
. His name means "elk
" 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-700s and the mid-800s. Nor is it settled whether Bulan was the Bek
or the Khagan of the Khazars.
D. M. Dunlop was certain that Bulan was a Khagan
; however, more recent works, such as The Jews of Khazaria by Kevin Brook, assume that he was the Bek due to references to him leading military campaigns. Khazar tradition held that before his own conversion, Bulan was religiously unaffiliated. In his quest to discover which of the three Abrahamic religions
would shape his own religious beliefs, he invited representatives from each to explain their fundamental tenets. In the end, he chose Judaism.
In the Khazar Correspondence
, King Joseph
traces his lineage back to Bulan. He refers to the reforming Khazar ruler Obadiah
as being one of "the sons of the sons of Bulan". While Brook assumes this makes Obadiah Bulan's grandson, the Hebrew phrase is less definitive and may allude to a more remote descent. The royal descendants of Bulan are referred to by Khazar researchers as Bulanids
, though their self-designation is unknown.
The name Sabriel is given in the Schechter Letter
(roughly contemporaneous with King Joseph's letter) for the Khazar king who led the conversion to Judaism. The Schechter Letter also gives Sabriel at least a partial Jewish/Israelite
ancestry. Sabriel is described as having waged successful campaigns in the Caucasus
and Iranian Azerbaijan, possibly as part of the Khazar-Arab wars.
His wife, Serakh
, is described as a Jew and as encouraging him to study and adopt Judaism. The Schechter Letter is silent on the issue of whether Sabriel was in fact Bulan; in fact, the name Bulan does not appear in that document.
Khazar scholars sometimes refer to the king who led the Khazar conversion to Judaism as "Bulan Sabriel", though it is conceivable that they may have been different people. In The History of the Jewish Khazars, for instance, D. M. Dunlop examined (and ultimately rejected) the theory of other scholars that Sabriel in fact referred to Obadiah
.
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
who led the conversion of the Khazars to Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. His name means "elk
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
" 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-700s and the mid-800s. Nor is it settled whether Bulan was the Bek
Bek
Bek or BEK may refer to:*Bek, an alternative spelling of Bey, master*Khagan Bek, the title of the king of the Khazars*Bek Ohmsford, a character in the Shannara series of books*Bruce Eric Kaplan, a cartoonist for The New Yorker...
or the Khagan of the Khazars.
D. M. Dunlop was certain that Bulan was a Khagan
Khagan
Khagan or qagan , alternatively spelled kagan, khaghan, qaghan, or chagan, is a title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate...
; however, more recent works, such as The Jews of Khazaria by Kevin Brook, assume that he was the Bek due to references to him leading military campaigns. Khazar tradition held that before his own conversion, Bulan was religiously unaffiliated. In his quest to discover which of the three Abrahamic religions
Abrahamic religions
Abrahamic religions are the monotheistic faiths emphasizing and tracing their common origin to Abraham or recognizing a spiritual tradition identified with him...
would shape his own religious beliefs, he invited representatives from each to explain their fundamental tenets. In the end, he chose Judaism.
In the Khazar Correspondence
Khazar Correspondence
The Khazar Correspondence was an exchange of letters in the 950s or 960s between Hasdai ibn Shaprut, foreign secretary to the Caliph of Cordoba, and Joseph, Khagan of the Khazars. It is one of the few documents known to have been authored by a Khazar, and one of the very few primary sources on...
, King Joseph
Joseph (Khazar)
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 was the daughter of the king of the Alans.Whether Joseph was the Khagan or the Bek of the...
traces his lineage back to Bulan. He refers to the reforming Khazar ruler Obadiah
Obadiah (Khazar)
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...
as being one of "the sons of the sons of Bulan". While Brook assumes this makes Obadiah Bulan's grandson, the Hebrew phrase is less definitive and may allude to a more remote descent. The royal descendants of Bulan are referred to by Khazar researchers as Bulanids
Bulanids
The Bulanids were the ruling dynasty of the Khazar Khaganate during the 9th century and 10th century CE.The dynasty is named after Bulan, who may or may not have been its founder. In other sources , the founder of the dynasty is named Sabriel.Whether the Bulanid rulers were Beks or Khagans is a...
, though their self-designation is unknown.
The name Sabriel is given in the Schechter Letter
Schechter Letter
The "Schechter Letter" was discovered in the Cairo Geniza by Solomon Schechter.-The Letter:The Schechter Letter is a communique from an unnamed Khazar author to an unidentified Jewish dignitary...
(roughly contemporaneous with King Joseph's letter) for the Khazar king who led the conversion to Judaism. The Schechter Letter also gives Sabriel at least a partial Jewish/Israelite
Israelite
According to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
ancestry. Sabriel is described as having waged successful campaigns in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
and Iranian Azerbaijan, possibly as part of the Khazar-Arab wars.
His wife, Serakh
Serach (Khazar)
In the Schechter Letter, Serakh is the wife of the Khazar ruler Sabriel. A Jew, she encourages her husband and other Khazars to convert to Judaism and establish it as the official religion of Khazaria....
, is described as a Jew and as encouraging him to study and adopt Judaism. The Schechter Letter is silent on the issue of whether Sabriel was in fact Bulan; in fact, the name Bulan does not appear in that document.
Khazar scholars sometimes refer to the king who led the Khazar conversion to Judaism as "Bulan Sabriel", though it is conceivable that they may have been different people. In The History of the Jewish Khazars, for instance, D. M. Dunlop examined (and ultimately rejected) the theory of other scholars that Sabriel in fact referred to Obadiah
Obadiah (Khazar)
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...
.
Sources
- Kevin Alan Brook. The Jews of Khazaria. 2nd ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 2006.
- Douglas M. Dunlop, The History of the Jewish Khazars, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1954.
- Norman GolbNorman GolbNorman Golb is the Ludwig Rosenberger Professor in Jewish History and Civilization at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. He earned his PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 1954. He joined the faculty of the Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati in 1958 before settling at the...
and Omeljan PritsakOmeljan PritsakOmeljan Pritsak was the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvard University and the founder and first director of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.-Career:Pritsak began his academic career at the University of Lvov in interwar Poland where he...
, Khazarian Hebrew Documents of the Tenth Century. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press, 1982.