Some chapters take longer than expected.
The last but one chapter of Unit IV, Mapping Marvels and Monsters: In the Shadow of the Iron Gate, is devoted to the Khazars. I would like to link the existence of their khaganate to European persistent rumors about the Jewish empire that would eventually liberate their coreligionists from the yoke of the Christian nations.
There are too few facts and too much fiction surrounding the world of the Khazars. Instead of recounting the more or less known myths, I decided to collect data about this mysterious ethnic group and their polity. Much of this info is controversial and one has to approach it with loads of skepticism in case his/her conception would burst in his/her hands.
I am checking the collected data and writing extracts based on it. I still have some work to do. Now and then, I inspect new sources and the scope of written pages is getting larger and larger.
At the next stage, I will compare the new pieces with the old ones and I will choose the best text. I also have to rearrange the material: some info might belong to other chapters.
It is clear that even after editing every chapter I will have to reread the whole book. There are so many corrections and repetitions and even last minute's exploring.
I will also speak about the Rus, a bunch of adventurous Vikings who preyed on tribes of Eastern Europe and managed to launch a state. The collision between this polity and the Khazars led to the disintegration of the Khaganate.
Site of the Khazar fortress at Sarkel (aerial photo from excavations conducted by Mikhail Artamonov in the 1950s).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khazars#/media/File:Sarkel.jpg
No comments:
Post a Comment