One nation that has always fascinated me is the Khazars. For those who don't know, the Khazars were a Turkic people living in what is now Ukraine and Southern Russia. They were one of the major steppe invaders, following the Huns and Avars and establishing a nomadic empire that lasted centuries. What's really interesting is that between the eighth and ninth centuries the Khazar elites converted to Judaism. Unfortunately, the Jewish nomadic empire was conquered by the Rus, Pechengs and Cumans and their religious impact disappeared into the ever-changing melting pot of steppe cultures.

Now, I'm not interested in a way to get the Khazars to survive. This thread is less for 'how' than it is for 'what'. Specifically, if the Khazars had managed to spread Judaism to their subjects and neighbors, what would the resulting religion look like? Let's assume this Steppe Judaism spreads throughout the western steppe and at least around the norther shore of the Caspian. Some ideas:

Airag: Airag, or Kumis, is fermented mare's milk is one of the most popular drinks among nomadic cultures and their descendants. Unfortunately, horse meat isn't exactly kosher, and thus neither is its milk. Perhaps the milk restriction would be lifted in this version of Judaism. Or alternatively a cultural switch to cow milk could occur.

Wine: There are some Jewish ceremonies that require wine, most of them holidays. Since wine isn't exactly easily produced by nomads, this might need to get retooled. Perhaps Airag could stand in, or more likely wine would be discarded in favor of simple blessings over the bread.

Matzoh: Easy to make, easy to carry. Could be popular?

Warrior Faith: For more warlike peoples, an emphasis on the warrior kings of the Bible might be appropriate. Emphasize the military victories of the ancient Hebrews.

Israel: For a people with only religious connections to Israel, and not much ties to their own lands, it might end up that the importance of Israel as THE promised land might turn into it being A promised land.

Torahs and Arks: With the need to move with the people, Torah arks would need to be detached from synagogues and turned into portable altars.
 
Just spread a dualist hybrid of Yahweh that's adopted by nomads. I mean Elephantine Jews believed in Anat-Yahu for quite some time and Anat was a Semitic war goddess :p
 
Also horse milk will have to completely go away and wine will be straw wines as in the wine made from raisins.

Matzoh wasn't and isn't that important in day to day Jewish culinary food ways tbh
 
Ck2.
Ck2 overload.

I'm playing as the Khazars right now, actually. :p

FLNn9h5.jpg
 
One could have this Steppe Judaism claim some distant connection to the Tribe of Benjamin (with the Steppe kings claiming descent from King Saul), given the latter are portrayed as brave and skilled archers and is referred to as a ravenous Wolf in the Blessing of Jacob, both the Wolf motif and archery being common themes among Turkic-Mongol peoples.

Slightly OT though while the Mongols in OTL were offended by ritual slaughter of animals as practiced by both Muslims and Jews, was it down to their own customs or derived from some form of Jhatka?
 
Whilst I do think there may be potential, I think we would be looking to a POD prior to the Khazars.

As I understand it, the application of Judaism in Khazar territory was from the beginning understood as an ethnic thing with very little desire to make this different. From memory, like many steppe tribes that adopted abrahamic traditions, the Khazar nobles saw themselves as descendants of Abraham through Keturah which was the basis of their "nobility". Likewise, their alliance with nearby states made it desirable from the outset to not spread the faith so as to be desirable to traders of other faiths and therefore reap the economic benefits.
 
Whilst I do think there may be potential, I think we would be looking to a POD prior to the Khazars.

As I understand it, the application of Judaism in Khazar territory was from the beginning understood as an ethnic thing with very little desire to make this different. From memory, like many steppe tribes that adopted abrahamic traditions, the Khazar nobles saw themselves as descendants of Abraham through Keturah which was the basis of their "nobility". Likewise, their alliance with nearby states made it desirable from the outset to not spread the faith so as to be desirable to traders of other faiths and therefore reap the economic benefits.
Fair enough. Any ideas for an earlier PoD?
 
Fair enough. Any ideas for an earlier PoD?

I have another Khazar-related POD: what if, instead of being wiped out by other steppe peoples, they retreated to the region between the Caucasus and the Don and Volga rivers that was their homeland, and became a settled polity allied to Constantinople? A Khazar limes along those rivers would probably save the Empire a lot of trouble, and the Khazars were such a hodge-podge of different faiths and ethnicities that I doubt they would've been forced to become Orthodox - in fact, if (butterfly murder incoming) Islam and Arab expansionism will still become a thing, Constantinople could unleash their Jewish allies on the Arabs to prevent them from taking the Holy Land. :p

1259px-Hazarlar.jpg
 
I have another Khazar-related POD: what if, instead of being wiped out by other steppe peoples, they retreated to the region between the Caucasus and the Don and Volga rivers that was their homeland, and became a settled polity allied to Constantinople? A Khazar limes along those rivers would probably save the Empire a lot of trouble, and the Khazars were such a hodge-podge of different faiths and ethnicities that I doubt they would've been forced to become Orthodox - in fact, if (butterfly murder incoming) Islam and Arab expansionism will still become a thing, Constantinople could unleash their Jewish allies on the Arabs to prevent them from taking the Holy Land. :p

The Khazars were still pagan when the Arabs conquered the Levant though.
 

Paul MacQ

Donor
Why did the Khazars convert to Judaism? What was the strategic reasoning? Or was there some great missionary figure whose charisma converted the Khazars to Judaism?

Not too heavy reading and a reasonably though out write up. First the Myth
THE KUZARI'S REFERENCES TO THE KHAZAR CONVERSION TO JUDAISM
http://www.khazaria.com/kuzari/excerpts.html

It does seem to have been a Political convenience. Mostly the Nobility being Jewish and masses being Muslim and Christian. No head of church being beholden to the Byzantine Emperor. and middle ground between two other main Faiths.

http://www.khazaria.com/



 
Not too heavy reading and a reasonably though out write up. First the Myth
THE KUZARI'S REFERENCES TO THE KHAZAR CONVERSION TO JUDAISM
http://www.khazaria.com/kuzari/excerpts.html

It does seem to have been a Political convenience. Mostly the Nobility being Jewish and masses being Muslim and Christian. No head of church being beholden to the Byzantine Emperor. and middle ground between two other main Faiths.

http://www.khazaria.com/




So a sort of nobility compromise conversion. So no large group of peasants felt marginalized. I see.
 
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