Hanukkah or Chanukkah ben 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...

 was a Khazar ruler who probably reigned during the mid to late ninth century CE. Hanukkah was the son of Obadiah and succeeded his nephew Menasseh I

Menasseh (Khazar)

Menasseh or Manasseh was the name of two Khazar rulers of the Bulanid dynasty:*Menasseh I, mid to late 9th century CE.*Menasseh II, late 9th century CE....

 to the throne. No contemporary records from his reign survive; however, he is known from 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...

 between Hisdai ibn Shaprut and the Khazar 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...

. As with the other 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...

, it is unclear whether Hanukkah 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...

 or a khagan bek

Khagan Bek

-History:Khazar kingship was divided between the khagan and the Bek or Khagan Bek. Contemporary Arab historians related that the Khagan was purely a spiritual ruler or figurehead with limited powers, while the Bek was responsible for administration and military affairs.In the Khazar Correspondence,...

; however, most modern scholars lean towards the latter possibility.

Hanukkah was succeeded by his son Isaac

Isaac (Khazar)

Isaac ben Hanukkah was a 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...

.

Sources

• Kevin Alan Brook. The Jews of Khazaria. 2nd ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 2006.update
• Douglas M. Dunlop, The History of the Jewish Khazars, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1954.
• Norman Golb
  Norman Golb
  Norman 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 Pritsak
  Omeljan Pritsak
  Omeljan 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.