Jul 9, 2026 · 23 min · 7 segments
This episode is part of the Faith By Reason teaching library — over 100 episodes of in-depth Bible study, Christian apologetics, and systematic theology. 🔗 Full series & premium content…
I'm going to start reading right now.
From the 7th through 10th centuries AD, there existed one of the most influential empires in all of history.
An empire you've likely never heard of, and that's probably by design.
The Khazars were a Turkic and Slavic people whose empire at its heights stretched from western Russia, including Kiev, north towards the Rhine River and modern day Eastern Europe, east to the Caspian Sea and bordered to the south by the Black Sea, Turkey and the southern steppes of the Caucasus Mountains.
For three centuries, the Khazarian Empire terrorized their Russian, Byzantine, European, and Muslim Arab neighbors, not through military force, but through economic exploitation.
The land of the Khazars was strategically located at the nexus of the most important trade routes in the world.
The so-called Silk Road to China, the Western Route to Europe, and trade routes to the Middle East all converged in Khazaria.
there was no way to get imported goods without passing through their lands the khazars took full advantage of this situation by exorbitantly taxing all goods that came through their land and lending money to those who could not pay the tax at high interest rates through these practices the khazars became extremely wealthy and influential They were also known for hoarding wealth, fiercely guarding their family bloodlines, and actively finding new ways to extract money from foreign traders, often through graft and actions which today would be considered racketeering.
Because of this, the Khazars earned the infamous reputation as greedy, tribal, untrustworthy, possessing no honor, dishonest, cheaters, cruel, petty, and godless.
there was actually a saying among the arab states that said the khazars worship many gods but the chief among them is mammon or money after centuries of enduring khazarian economic abuses the surrounding Powers finally had enough, and in a rare show of unity, decided to band together and break the commercial hegemony of the Khazars.
In order to enforce some form of morality on them, the Russian, Arab, and Turkish governments demanded that the Khazarian leadership convert to one of the three Abrahamic religions.
partially out of defiance to their muslim and christian orthodox conquerors but also because the jewish mysticism of kabbalah appealed to them since the kabbalah combines occultic paganism that they were used to with nominal judaism As their empire fell, the Khazarian people began to migrate to other nearby areas, mostly southern and eastern Europe, Russia, and Germany.
But their negative reputation as unscrupulous, materialistic, and untrustworthy miscreants followed them.
them undesirable pariahs.
This is why most people to this day who are considered Jews bear no resemblance to their alleged Middle Eastern ancestors, but are in fact indistinguishable from Eastern European Caucasians.
Despite all this, the ruling Catholic hierarchy of medieval Europe found use for the Ashkenazis.
The Catholic Church was incredibly wealthy and longed to increase that wealth by lending money to businesses and governments at interest.
However, they were prevented from doing so due to biblical laws against usury.
I'm going to start reading right now.
From the 7th through 10th centuries AD, there existed one of the most influential empires in all of history.
An empire you've likely never heard of, and that's probably by design.
The Khazars were a Turkic and Slavic people whose empire at its heights stretched from western Russia, including Kiev, north towards the Rhine River and modern day Eastern Europe, east to the Caspian Sea and bordered to the south by the Black Sea, Turkey and the southern steppes of the Caucasus Mountains.
For three centuries, the Khazarian Empire terrorized their Russian, Byzantine, European, and Muslim Arab neighbors, not through military force, but through economic exploitation.
The land of the Khazars was strategically located at the nexus of the most important trade routes in the world.
The so-called Silk Road to China, the Western Route to Europe, and trade routes to the Middle East all converged in Khazaria.
there was no way to get imported goods without passing through their lands the khazars took full advantage of this situation by exorbitantly taxing all goods that came through their land and lending money to those who could not pay the tax at high interest rates through these practices the khazars became extremely wealthy and influential They were also known for hoarding wealth, fiercely guarding their family bloodlines, and actively finding new ways to extract money from foreign traders, often through graft and actions which today would be considered racketeering.
Because of this, the Khazars earned the infamous reputation as greedy, tribal, untrustworthy, possessing no honor, dishonest, cheaters, cruel, petty, and godless.
there was actually a saying among the arab states that said the khazars worship many gods but the chief among them is mammon or money after centuries of enduring khazarian economic abuses the surrounding Powers finally had enough, and in a rare show of unity, decided to band together and break the commercial hegemony of the Khazars.
In order to enforce some form of morality on them, the Russian, Arab, and Turkish governments demanded that the Khazarian leadership convert to one of the three Abrahamic religions.
partially out of defiance to their muslim and christian orthodox conquerors but also because the jewish mysticism of kabbalah appealed to them since the kabbalah combines occultic paganism that they were used to with nominal judaism As their empire fell, the Khazarian people began to migrate to other nearby areas, mostly southern and eastern Europe, Russia, and Germany.
But their negative reputation as unscrupulous, materialistic, and untrustworthy miscreants followed them.
them undesirable pariahs.
This is why most people to this day who are considered Jews bear no resemblance to their alleged Middle Eastern ancestors, but are in fact indistinguishable from Eastern European Caucasians.
Despite all this, the ruling Catholic hierarchy of medieval Europe found use for the Ashkenazis.
The Catholic Church was incredibly wealthy and longed to increase that wealth by lending money to businesses and governments at interest.
However, they were prevented from doing so due to biblical laws against usury.
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