Any member of a confederation of Turkic-speaking tribes that established a commercial empire in European Russia in the late 6th century.
A people of the northern Caucasus region, the Khazars allied with the Byzantines against the Persians in the 7th century and warred with the Arabs until the mid-8th century. Their empire extended westward along the Black Sea, and they controlled trade routes and exacted tribute from their neighbors. The ruling class adopted Judaism and maintained close relations with the Byzantine emperors. The Khazar empire began to decline in the 10th century and was crushed by Kiev in 965.