"For in the lands of Gog and Magog who are a Hunnish race and
call themselves Gazari there is one tribe, a very belligerent
one - Alexander enclosed them and they escaped - and all of them
profess the Jewish faith."
- written by Christian Druthmar in 864
"The Khazars and their king are all Jews."
- written by Ahmad Ibn Fadlan circa 921/922
"All of the Khazars are Jews. But they have been Judaized
recently."
- written by Ibn al-Faqih, circa 930
"After those days there arose from the sons of Khazar kagan
Bulan a king, Obadiah by name. He was an upright and just man.
He reorganized the kingdom and established the Jewish religion
properly and correctly. He built synagogues and schools, brought
in many Israelite sages, honored them with silver and gold, and
they explained to him the 24 Books of the Bible, Mishnah,
Talmud, and the order of prayers established by the Khazzans. He
was a man who feared God and loved the law and the
commandments."
- written by Khazar King Joseph in his Reply to Hisdai ibn
Shaprut in 955
"The Khazar king and his vizier travelled to the deserted
mountains on the seashore, and arrived one night at the cave in
which some Jews used to celebrate the Sabbath. They disclosed
their identity to them, embraced their religion, were
circumcized in the cave, and then returned to their country,
eager to learn the Jewish law. They kept their conversion
secret, however, until they found an opportunity of disclosing
the fact gradually to a few of their special friends. When the
number had increased, they made the affair public, and induced
the rest of the Khazars to embrace the Jewish faith. They sent
to various countries for scholars and books, and studied the
Torah. Their chronicles also tell of their prosperity, how they
beat their foes, conquered their lands, secured great treasures,
how their army swelled to hundreds of thousands, how they loved
their faith, and fostered such love for the Holy House that they
erected a Tabernacle in the shape of that built by Moses."
- written by Judah Halevi of Toledo, Spain in "The Book of the
Khazars" in 1140
"You will find the communities of Israel spread abroad... as
far as Dailam and the river Itil where live Khazar peoples who
became proselytes. The Khazar king Joseph sent a letter to
Hisdai ibn-Shaprut and informed him that he and all his people
followed the rabbinical faith. We have seen descendants of the
Khazars in Toledo, Pupils of the Wise, and they have told us
that the remnant of them is of the rabbinical belief."
- written by Abraham ibn Daud of Toledo, Spain in "The Book of
Tradition" in 1161
"Ibn-al-Athir tells how in the days of Harun, the emperor of
Byzantium forced the Jews to emigrate. They came to the Khazar
country, where they found an intelligent but untutored race and
offered them their religion. The inhabitants found it better
than their own and accepted it."
- written by Dimashqi in 1327
