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Joseph (Khazar Khagan)

Type Figure Region Khazar Khaganate Time c. 960–969 Also known as Joseph ben Aaron、Yosef ha-Khazar、Joseph Khagan of the Khazars

Joseph ben Aaron was a mid-10th-century ruler of the Khazar Khaganate, famed for his correspondence with the Andalusian Jewish diplomat Hasdai ibn Sh…

Timeline

  1. c. 950–960Atil (Khazar capital) · Khazar KhaganateJoseph was the son of Aaron II, succeeding patrilineally according to Khazar custom. His father had repelled a Byzantine-backed attack; Joseph married a daughter of the Alan king, consolidating the North Caucasian alliance.
  2. c. 955–960Court of the Khazar Khaganate · Khazar KhaganateResponding to Hasdai ibn Shaprut's inquiry, Joseph replied in Hebrew, recounting the royal genealogy since Bulan's conversion around 740, Khazar geography, and advantages over surrounding Christian and Muslim powers, and inviting Jewish scholars to visit.
  3. c. 960–969Volga–Caspian steppe · Khazar KhaganateIn the letters he described allying with Caspian Muslim states against the Rus' and Pechenegs, and clashing from time to time with Byzantium in the Crimea direction. In 965–969 Kievan Grand Prince Sviatoslav captured Samandar and Atil, the Khazar central authority disintegrated, and Joseph's fate is unrecorded.

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