Slavic Tribute to Khazaria: New Materials for Interpretation

Abstract

Early Rus’ chronicles include narratives of tribute extracted from Slavic tribes by the Khazar khanate. As long correctly noted in the historical literature, this practice ended with the rise of a geopolitical competitor in the form of Rus’. However, this issue has most often been covered by those specifically researching Rus’ pre-history, and not a more general political and social development of the Slavic communities [sociumy] themselves. In the latter context, the fact and the order of paying tribute to the Khazars is virtually the only—or at least the original and the key—characteristic revealed in the written sources. An examination of the phenomenon of tribute-paying among the Slavs in various regions can add more precision to some overly abstract interpretations of this practice.