Pursuant to their outcome as an independent state, Khazar people started to establish dominion over the other states and tribes within their environs. They raided first over Bulgarians and Slavs and these groups recognised their dominion. Khazar people who started to face confront the Arabians in the century VII fought against the Muslim Arabians for a period over a century. They sometimes won the wars and they sometimes were defeated. While they were fighting with the Arabians in the centuries VII and VIII, the Khazars continued to expand towards the Eastern Europe, the Middle Europe and the Balkans. They established dominion particularly on Russians, Slav tribes and Hungarians and they even helped them to establish their states and organisations. Since the century IX, the Russians that were under their protection and organised by Khazars started to raid and attack to Khazar people as a result of the encouragement and provocation of the Byzantine. As a result of the support of some Turkish tribes that had been the subjects of Khazars before, the Khazar State started to decline. The Khazar State that could not resist to the joint attack of the Russians, Byzantine and Pecenek people in the year of 965 was caused to collapse in this year by means of the Russians and they could not regain power. The Khazar State that could survive so-so until the year of 1030 lost the existence of its state as a result of the attacks of the other Turkish tribes in the surroundings and it was wiped off from the stage of history in this year.

Khazar people who left their place to Kipchak people since the years of 1030 were able to preserve their existence in the region even though they could not survive as a state. The name of Khazar people whose existence was determined in the region in the centuries XII, XIII and XIV disappeared from the region since the century XV. As it can be seen, the existence of Khazars in the region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea is observed in the second century before Christ. Khazar people who maintained their existence without any state organisation until the middle of the century VI after Christ was subjected to the dominion of Gokturk people in the year of 558. The dependence of Khazar people to Gokturk State continued until the year of 620. They started to develop as an independent state since the year of 630 and tried to preserve its existence in the region until the year of 700. The period between the years of 700-850 can be considered as the supreme period of Khazar people. The period between the years of 850-950 can be considered as their decline and the year of 965 can be considered as the year when the state started to collapse. From that date on, the Khazars tried to live in the region within the structure of their state for nearly 70 years but the existence of their state disappeared in 1030s.

Having survived in the region for approximately five centuries, Khazar people had had great social, political and cultural effects not only in this region, but also in various regions of Asia and Europe. Khazar institutions lay the foundation for various state institutions that appeared after Khazar period particularly with Seljuks, Russians and Hungarians. There are Khazar traces observed in the military and administrative system of Seljuks and also the Russian institutions of state. Khazar people were the master teacher of Russians and Hungarians and probably all Europe in respect of the mining and processing of the minerals, weapon industry, the processing of gold and silver as ornaments, the city plans, the building plans and techniques.

The Khazar people had a perfect economic system that can even be taken as a model today. In those periods, Etil was the capital city that was one of the commercial centres of the world. The city of Etil accommodated the merchants from all over the world within its structure as a Market. The state would not intervene in the economy all over the country and it was contented with only the taxes that it collected from the commercial goods. There was a commercial life based on full competition that was managed under the control of private enterprise in the country. In return for the taxes that it collected, the state would provide the road safety in the course of the transportation of the commercial goods and it would take the proper measures in order to settle down all disputes arising from the commercial relations in an equitable and fair manner. Moreover, the State would not carry out any operation that would cause any loss for the free market economy including business administration.

As a result of the investigation of Khazar State in respect of their economy, we can state that there are various qualities that can be adopted from them. As a matter of fact, we have observed that an Institute for Khazar Researches was founded in U.S.A. in order to make researches about Khazar people.

Having survived as a state for five centuries, Khazar people was considered as one of the rare communities that can be taken as a model on the world in respect of their religious life. There was a full freedom of belief in the Khazar State. The Muslims, Christians, Jews and the members of the other religions lived together in peace in the Khazar capital Etil. There was freedom of thought and belief in all over the country. Nobody was forced to convert to another religion and subjected to any pressure due to his beliefs.

Before they came to this region, Khazar people were the believers of the ancient Turkish religion. After their immigration to the coasts of the Caspian Sea, they followed this religious belief for a short period. But when the Khazar State was founded and the Khazar people became a political power on the stage of the history, the members of the three holy religions started their activities to attract the attention of the Khazar people to their religions. While the rulers of the Abbasid State invited them to Islam in that period, the Christian Byzantine emperors wanted to make them Christian and have them on their side. Meanwhile, some of the Hebrew religious leaders that were exiled from Istanbul, the Byzantine Empire came firstly to the Crimea and then to the Khazar country. They came to the palace of Khazars and took shelter in the justice of Khan Hakan. Hakan behaved kindly to these Hebrew religious leaders and got information from these people about their religions. As a result of the propaganda of these Hebrew religious leaders that came to the palace of Khazar, the Khan and his close acquaintances (Hakan Bulan according to the letter of Yusuf) converted to the Hebrew religion. This incident has been recorded in the history as the “Conversion of Khazar people to Hebraism or the Adaptation of Hebraic Identity”. In due course, some of the people adopted the Hebraism. Furthermore, some people from the Turkish tribes such as Kipchaks, Kaliz, etc. who were not from the Khazar tribe converted to the Jewish religion.

to be continued