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This book traces the history of the ancient Khazar Empire, a major but almost forgotten power in E.

Thireenth tells a good story, pulling together materials from medieval Muslims and Jewish travelers, scholarly controversy and the mysterious lore of the Khazars. At the time of writing it was too early for the kinds of genetic analysis available today view spoiler [ although how would you establish what a Khazar genetic heritage would look like when themselves very obscure, I don’t know if there are many if any unambiguously Khazar graves hide spoiler ] and archaeological evidence was not utilised in this book.

Among the latter, Darkness At Noon has been translated into thirty-three languages. After World War 11, Mr. Jews migrating from the west, ghettos or no, would have enjoyed greater access to urban-based technologies and know-how than Koestler allows and thus been able to move into a diverse array of occupations.

Sensing opportunity, both appear to have lobbied heavily for the Khazar king to adopt, respectively, Christianity and Islam. He argued that these converts became the ancestors of East European Jews after the end of the Khazar hegemony on the steppe to the North of the Caspian and Black Seas.

I understand the controversy behind this book but if you actually read it how can one level a intelligent critique against the author?

Jan 04, J Bel rated it it was ok Shelves: As Koestler points out, the Khazars were the 3rd World of their day. On a more micro-spatial level, Koestler even notes that some of the earliest synagogue architecture in Eastern Europe evidenced a distinctively Central Asian vernacular. Review of the Thirteenth Tribe: Be the first one to write a review.


In the last chapter I have tried to show that the evidence from anthropology concurs with history in refuting the popular belief in a Jewish race descended from the biblical tribe. He died inin a ‘suicide pact’ with his wife – a tragedy that has aroused some suspicion since, in conspiracy circles. They adopted Islam when forced, repudiating it when safe.

Here, in his treatment of the Khazars, he challenges what I thought I knew about extra-biblical Judaism.

You also get a lot of interesting general history of the area that the Khazars came out of using various sources, in xrthur Ibn Fadlan who is best known for his writings on the Viking Rus that were in that area during the time he was.

View all 3 comments. Depending on school of Judaism, you may become a Jew by proper conversion or by matrilineal and koestlsr descent, which leaves the question of why it would be so important to determine an alternative origin of the Ashkenazi Jews open.

The Thirteenth Tribe by Arthur Koestler


That Khazar Kingdom existed is an established fact. Koestler received the Sonning Prize at the University of Copenhagen for his contributions to European culture. Koestler asserts that the Ashkenazi Jews are descendants of the ancient Khazars, a non-Semitic group of converts to Judaism.

Thirteenth Tribe The Khazar Empire and its Heritage

Koestler gribe all of the relevant sources to beef up his argument. He simply thirteenty not provide the evidence to make such an assertion. Also, Random House, the publisher, advertised it extensively and began some of their ads with the following headline: Read the books below. Writing in ScienceMichael Balter states Koestler’s thesis “clash[es] with several recent studies suggesting that Jewishnessincluding the Ashkenazi version, has deep genetic roots.

Mikhail Artamonov Vasily Bartold D.

The late antiquity and early medieval periods are generally unknown to most people even when considering the geographic areas typically studied in high school i. Search the history of over billion web pages on the Internet. Many of the minor professional positions and small merchant occupations, especially those related to the timber and transportation industries, were filled by Jews. The victorious Muslims were met and held by the forces of the Khazar kingdom Although interesting at the time it was written, subsequent research has disproved the thesis of the book.


Why very smart people are not liked arthue tortured to death. The koeshler for mass conversion of the Khazar people to Judaism and their subsequent mass migration koeshler the Polish Empire and then into the area of the Russian Empire after the Polish partitions of the 18th century lacks anything approaching conclusive evidence.

At about the same time the threat to Europe in the east was hardly less acute The World loestler Khazars: In he joined the Communist Party of Germany but, disillusioned, he resigned atthur it in and in published a devastating anti-Communist novel, Darkness at Noonwhich propelled him to instant international fame. I found it interesting, but then I’m the type that reads scholarly history for fun.


In he was interned in a French detention camp. Mar 21, Susan Bender rated it it was amazing.

The Russians, on the other hand, are more likely culprits and they left behind plenty of evidence. He produces a large body of meticulously detailed research.

The Jews of Poland, Lithuania, and Russia, on the other hand, developed shtetls, networks of small towns and urban conglomerations that were completely unlike anything in the more western parts of the continent. Despite some positive reviews in the press, James A. To ask other readers questions about The Thirteenth Tribeplease sign up. This compact, interesting book