HAZAR KAĞANLIĞINDA HRİSTİYANLIK
CHRISTIANITY IN THE KHAZAR KHAGANATE

Summary/Abstract: The Khazar Khaganate possessed a multi-religious structure that encompassed different beliefs. Although Islamic sources generally focus on Islam and Judaism, it is understood that Judaism did not find a broad base among the people; after Islam, Christianity was the second largest community in the Khazar land. On the other hand, the historical development of Christianity in the Khazar land was long neglected in studies on the religion of the Khazars, due to the fact that Byzantine sources did not present systematic and comprehensive information as Islamic sources did. This study deals with the spread of Christianity in the Khazar territories and among the Khazars, and discusses the decisive role of missionary activities, marriages, wars, and reciprocal migrations in conversion. Following the missionary activities of the early Caucasian kingdoms, the iconoclasm movements that led Byzantium to missionary activities after 775 and the influence of Frankish missionaries on Byzantine policies are also evaluated. The mission of Saint Constantine to Khazaria, the church activities centered in Cherson, trade relations, and reciprocal migrations are seen as important factors in the spread and settlement of Christianity in the Khazar land. In addition, examples of conversion through marriage and interactions that took place through exiles are examined. In conclusion, this article aims to reinterpret Khazar-Byzantine religious interactions, to address the historical development of the Christian faith in the Khazar land.

• Details
• Contents