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Khazaria also known as Khazar khaganate or Khazar khanate was the country of the Khazars, neighboring the Byzantine Empire in the southwest, Kievan Rus' in the northwest, Volga Bulgaria in the north, and Azerbaijan in the southeast. These Turkic people adopted Judaism in the 8th or 9th century, becoming the only Jewish state ever without Abrahamic ascendence, but it is now known that many Jews fleeing persocution in the Byzantine empire sought refuge there and the majority of the Jewish population in Khazaria was not Khazar in an ethnic sense as only the King and his court are actually known to have converted.
As an independent state, Khazaria existed between about 652 and 1016. Its supreme ruler was known by the title khagan. Its last khagan was named Georgius Tzul. Much of Khazaria was covered by steppe land. Khazaria bordered the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The Volga River (known as Itil or Atil) passed through eastern Khazaria.
Major cities of Khazaria included: