Алмаз Браев – Kazakhs and Jews (страница 6)

And nomads never stand still. They shouldn’t be standing anyway.

If the nomads stop, the warriors will disperse.

Therefore, while all the diverse nomads gathered in a Horde, it was a horde. And when all these people became Khazars, they became the Khazar Khaganate.

If monarchical power develops, it cannot exist without ideology.

That is why, sooner or later, in the Khazar Khaganate, during its peak, there was a need for a new religion.

Monarchical power needs monotheism.

The nomads, out of the habit of deifying the sky, first deified their kagan. The first kagans were strangled during initiation with a shoelace according to ancient shamanistic rules – how long, they say, do you want to rule? Kagan could have ordered for himself for many years – is it difficult to prepare for a trance?

The fact is that many years are many events, and the events could have been tragic. The «son of heaven» was always responsible for the lack of food for cattle, for jute, and hunger. All the murmur, then the curse and the anger of the people would have switched over by the kagan – so, they were killing, and they killed with the words «it was a bad son of Tengri.»

The only ones who were not touched were the military leaders, the Beks.

One of the most influential Beks, Bulan, converted to Judaism at this time. And looking at all this pagan action, he was full of disgust.

Why, in fact, did Judaism begin to spread among the soldiers?

Because the warriors guarded the caravans. The most important source of income of the empire is the control of trade routes and the collection of duties.

In the centuries-old confrontation with Byzantium, the shahs of Sasanian Iran blocked the caravan trade (they pursued a policy of isolation, which is like sanctions. Under the motto, we will block the «Silk Road,» and Byzantium will disintegrate. So, by the middle of the 7th century, the caravan trade had withered away. All cultural countries, from Tang China to the European kingdoms of the early Middle Ages, were in crisis. Everyone was in crisis, but not the nomadic «savages» because savages are never dependent on trade. They depended on nature then and today on mineral resources).

The first to fall from the sanctions was not Byzantium but Sassanid Iran. Arabs, nomadic warriors, and, at that time, already devout Muslims took the Persians almost with their bare hands – the birdman himself was caught in the net.

The Arabs began to control the entire central part of the caravan route. The Arabs had their merchants. Mostly descendants of non-noble Arabs who began to study with Jews. All neophyte traders are distinguished by one trait – laziness. They are lazy and not inquisitive (show-off distinguishes all neophytes if first results are taken, and that’s it, no more want). They don’t travel far, even in the name of profit.

Therefore, the merchants of Rakhdonite (Jews, of course) appeared.

The Jews were «people of the Book.» Muslims recognized all the Jewish prophets. Mohammed the Prophet spoke warmly of the Jews. He lived among Jews. He watched them when I drove his wife’s caravans. Jewish communities have lived in northwestern Arabia among the Arabs since prehistoric times. Therefore, there was nothing hostile to them in the Quran. All early Muslims knew that Jews were stubborn in their delusion and nothing more. It must be said that Jewish merchants were free in the Khazar Khaganate before the adoption of Judaism because many Jews were living in the Khaganate. (All the nomads of the world are still tolerant. They hold all sorts of forums on this topic. President Nazarbayev loved this business very much – to unite the world’s religions. Has anyone ever wondered why?). One faction of Jews escaped from Iran in the 6th century, and they were classified as Mazdakids, religious reformers of Zoroastrianism. (Where there are riots and revolutions, the Jews are always to blame – have you forgotten?) The Byzantine Basileus Heraclius expelled another faction for opening the gates to the besieging Persians. (In case of capture of the city, who will be the first to be robbed?)

Jews hardly practiced proselytism. They reluctantly gave their beautiful daughters to the pagans. But this is a different case. All these Jews, both «Mazdakids» and «Byzantines» were refugees. And not ordinary Khazars wooed them, but outstanding warriors who guarded their caravans. There is no cure for love. To marry a Jewish woman, the Khazars were circumcised… Three generations later, the Khazars had Jewish commanders on their mother’s side (according to Halakha).

This very bek Bulan was a Jew by his mother and great-grandmother, most likely. The entire military elite of the Khazar Turks was ready, in a word, for monarchical power – for dictatorship.

This is where the paradox arises.

The Jews of Modern times do not like (and before) monarchical power in any form because it shows an established hierarchy within which it is difficult for talented foreigners to break through. This caused all the battles for the republican system and all the revolutions in the 19th and 20th centuries. The collapse of empires can be attributed to the struggle for freedom (including the struggle of the Jewish revolutionaries). However, the monarchical power differs from that of other monarchies, especially with Judaism being adopted as the state religion.

Chapter 11

To cancel holidays, to defame heroes

Under the monarchy, no one wanders or steals

Stealing means that some pagan savages are still roaming. Moreover, they are conscious of where they fall into savagery (as always) for the sake of things and objects. Still, they are well dressed, which means they consider themselves cultured people (even believers on certain days and events). But these are hypocrites. There have always been hypocrites. (But not to the same extent as now). The more the so-called civilization is layered on primitive zeref layers, the more ostentation and hypocrisy.

Well, have you built a democracy? – Can I ask all the New Democrats?

What does the democratic fiasco in almost all republics say after the collapse of the USSR?

About anything but democracy.

Outwardly, everything seems to be decent – you can’t find fault. There are a lot of illuminations, call signs, and beautiful facades, and everything is laid out with paving slabs.

People are not like that walking down the street, not like under socialism in general. They are richly and variously dressed now. Rich imported cars dissect the central avenues. Other transport – a little cheaper, they forced all the yards by it – not to pass. Hypermarkets have everything. People are rolling full trolleys to the cash register. There are few smiles. That’s what they have in their heads?

What other values are there besides commodity money?

Why are autocrats ruling everywhere instead of democracy? Who, of course, are presidents today?

There seem to be plenty of lawyers and lawyers, too. It is officially declared that the law comes first but few people turn to lawyers, mostly out of need. They know perfectly well that these are tiny thieves. They, like everyone else, only need customers. It is better to find a relative, an acquaintance in power and solve all the problems. Informal laws – once again – decide here everything.

What am I talking about? What are these parallels for?

First of all, these parallels are necessary to understand why the Khazars failed in the early Middle Ages. It seems that Judaism was adopted – the first religion of monotheism, not even Christianity or Islam, but the Khazar Khaganate collapsed (moreover, the Khazars disappeared as a people). Aren’t we in danger of the same thing? What can we do? The basic ideology is not to be trifled with. Religion (idea) must be appropriate to the circumstances. The people should understand what they believe in or should believe in any case. (Back in 1993, as a student in Alma-Ata (new name is Almaty, immediately after the collapse of the USSR in 1991), taking groceries from the balcony, I was surprised at how quiet it was on the street on November 7. But before, what demonstrations there were! It was worth the new authorities to cancel the proletarian holiday – so significant, so important two years ago, and everything went quiet …).

With democracy comes market relations – everyone knows that.

But market relations can come without democracy, as it turned out. It is enough only to designate democracy – to talk about it, broadcast from all official channels, from the pages of newspapers, to mention in speeches authorized speakers, primarily top officials of the state and those close to power (again relatives, acquaintances, obsequious servants). The rest is a trifle. The main thing is to buy everything, it turns out, and sell everything – fill your pockets with money, make an initial accumulation, and then close this shop; «hello, I’m your aunt.» Autocracy is also coming to our bazaar. Any bazaar should also have order and security. The state, after all, protects you, too, and gives you a guarantee. Will everyone believe it? I doubt. Isn’t that why everyone pushing their trolleys in supermarkets is so gloomy, not smiling? It’s like they live in a colony and depend on new robbers.