Khazars Force Bulgars Into Bulgaria
In 576 AD, a new force invaded from the east - a mixed race grouping calling themselves Khazars, occupied territory on the north western shore of the Caspian Sea in southern Russia.
Originally from Asia Minor (Turkey), the Khazars were the product of the integration process which had taken place in the Middle and Near East over a process of centuries. Made up of Old European, Semitic and Mongolian elements, the Khazars physically closely resembled many other peoples in that region.
The Khazars began to expand their territory westwards, occupying the land east of the Dniester River by 650 AD. In this process they drove the Bulgar Huns from the territory around the Sea of Azov, forcing them on into modern Bulgaria which they ruled for about 150 years and which bears their name to this day.
At this stage then there were three major groupings of Mongols and mixed race Asiatics in eastern Europe - the Bulgar Huns; the Avars; and the Khazars. To this group was added remnants of a Mongoloid people who had originally settled in Finland (and whose descendants to this day form part of the Lapp people in that country) but who were in part driven south by the Indo-European invaders over the centuries.
A bust of a Khazar warrior circa 800 -1000 AD. This is a remarkably accurate statue, with the Asiatic influence being particularly marked with the eye shape and the protruding lower lip.
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