Isaac (Khazar)
Encyclopedia
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 latter is more likely. He was succeeded by his son Zebulun
Hanukkah (Khazar)
Hanukkah or Chanukkah ben Obadiah 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 to the throne. No contemporary records from his reign survive; however, he is known from the Khazar Correspondence...
was a Jewish ruler of the Khazars
Khazars
The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
mentioned 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...
. 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
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 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,...
of the Khazars, although the latter is more likely. He was succeeded by his son Zebulun
Zebulun (Khazar)
Zebulun or Zevulun ben Isaac was a Jewish Turkic ruler of the Khazars mentioned in the Khazar Correspondence. He probably reigned in the late ninth century CE. Little is known about Zebulun's reign. As with other Bulanid rulers, it is unclear whether he was Khagan or Khagan Bek of the Khazars,...
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.