Bars Bek

Bars Bek (also spelled Barsbek or Parsbek) was a Khazar Khagan Bek who ruled during the 9th century. Information about Bars Bek is primarily derived from the Schechter Letter, a document discovered in the Cairo Genizah.

According to the Schechter Letter, Bars Bek was the Khazar ruler who initiated a religious conversion within Khazaria. The letter describes him as a warrior who, initially successful in battle, suffered military reversals which he attributed to the abandonment of Jewish law within the Khazar kingdom. Consequently, he embarked on a process of religious reform or conversion, possibly to Judaism.

The exact nature and extent of Bars Bek's conversion, and the type of Judaism he may have adopted, are subjects of scholarly debate. Some interpret the Schechter Letter as describing a full conversion to Rabbinic Judaism, while others suggest a conversion to a form of Karaite Judaism or an independent, syncretic Khazar religion drawing inspiration from Judaism.

The identity of Bars Bek with other known Khazar rulers is also debated. Some scholars have attempted to link him to Bulan, the Khazar ruler credited by some sources with initiating the Khazar conversion. However, the chronology and details surrounding the events described in the Schechter Letter remain contested among historians and scholars of Khazar history. The Schechter Letter remains a key, albeit fragmented and challenging, primary source for understanding the Khazar conversion to Judaism.