Khazars

   Turkic tribe of the Caucasus (q.v.) who allied themselves with Herakleios (q.v.) to oppose the Persians (q.v.), and who provided subsequent help against the Avars and Arabs (qq.v.). In the ninth century the Khazars received a Christian mission (ca. 860) headed by Constantine the Philosopher (Cyril [q.v.]), by which time their khagan (q.v.) and upper echelons of Khazar society had converted to Judaism. Justinian II (q.v.) took refuge among the Khazars, and Leo VI "the Khazar"' (q.v.) was the son of Constantine V (q.v.) and a Khazar princess. The Khazar state was destroyed by Svjatoslav and Vladimir I (qq.v.) in the 10th century.