Internal and External Conflicts in Khazaria in the Middle of the Ninth Century: Warriors of al-larisiyya (al-arsiyya) and the Muslims on the Seversky Donets

The paper is devoted to the consideration of the conflict situation that arose in the middle of the IX century inside the Khazaria, when the Khakan was forced to strengthen its power after the uprising of the Kavars by alien detachments of Muslim warriors from Khorezm, unrelated to the court and the local population. The analysis is based on the information of the tenth‑century Arab writer al‑Mas’udi about the mercenary adherents of Islam, the warriors of al‑larisiyah (al‑arsiyah) at the court of the Khazar supreme ruler. New translations of fragments from the work “Golden copies and placers of gems’ by al‑Mas’udi are given. New translations of fragments from the work “Meadows of gold and mines of gems” by al‑Mas’udi are given. Hypotheses about the connection of the name al‑Arsiyah with the name of the Aorsi people as a part of the Alans are considered and the popular opinion about their relationship is questioned. Based on the my new translations, it is concluded that the guards who arrived from Khorezm served only the ruler and lived in the capital Itil, they were not part of the regular army, which consisted of the local population. The question of a possible connection between the Larisians and the adherents of Islam who lived in the middle reaches of the Seversky Donets, where archaeologists have found burials according to the Muslim rite around large villages, has been investigated. The assumption of archaeologist E. E. Kravchenko about the commonality of the Larisians and the inhabitants of the Sidorovsky archaeological complex, in particular, the military contingent, was rejected. The version about the destruction and exodus of the inhabitants of the fortified settlements of the middle course of the Seversky Donets due to the attacks of nomads and conflicts with them was confirmed. Possible variants of tribes that attacked the north‑western borders of Khazaria – Hungarians, Pechenegs, Oguzes, Severians – were considered. The reason for the appearance of adherents of Islam‑immigrants from Khorezm in this region is said to be the country’s disastrous situation after the Arab conquest. The cause was contacts with Volga Bulgaria, which had long been connected by trade routes with Khorezm and was familiar with Islam.