The Jews of Khazaria By Kevin Alan Brook

The Definitive History of the Khazar Kingdom and Its Jewish Conversion

The Jews of Khazaria by Kevin Alan Brook is the most thorough and authoritative account of the Khazar Empire — the powerful Turkic kingdom that flourished between the 7th and 11th centuries and whose ruling class famously converted to Judaism. This book draws on archaeology, linguistics, medieval chronicles, and genetic research to reconstruct one of history's most debated and consequential stories.

For anyone researching the origins of Ashkenazi Jewry, the history of the ancient Near East, or the intersection of religion and empire, this is an essential reference.

What This Book Covers

• The rise and fall of the Khazar Empire across the Caucasus and Central Asia
• The circumstances and significance of the Khazar royal conversion to Judaism
• The religious life of Khazar Jews — practices, texts, and community structure
• Relations between Khazaria and Byzantium, the Islamic Caliphate, and Kievan Rus
• Archaeological evidence from Khazar sites and burial grounds
• The fate of the Khazars after the empire's collapse in the 10th–11th centuries
• The genetic and historical debate over Khazar ancestry and Ashkenazi Jewish origins
• Primary sources including the famous Khazar Correspondence with Hasdai ibn Shaprut

Why This Book Matters

The Khazar conversion to Judaism is one of the most remarkable events in medieval history — a sovereign empire voluntarily adopting a minority religion in a world dominated by Christianity and Islam. Brook's research challenges simplistic narratives about Jewish origins and identity, presenting a nuanced, evidence-based account that has become the standard reference on the subject. Whether you approach this as history, theology, or genealogy, The Jews of Khazaria delivers answers that few other books can.

Who This Book Is For

• Historians of medieval Europe, the Byzantine Empire, and the Islamic world
• Researchers studying Jewish history, identity, and diaspora origins
• Students of the Khazar hypothesis and Ashkenazi ancestry debates
• Readers of Arthur Koestler's The Thirteenth Tribe seeking deeper scholarly grounding
• Anyone interested in the intersection of religion, empire, and ethnicity in the ancient world

About the Author

Kevin Alan Brook is a leading independent researcher on Khazar history and has spent decades compiling primary sources, archaeological findings, and genetic studies on the subject. The Jews of Khazaria is widely regarded as the definitive English-language work on the Khazar Empire.

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