Letter to the King of the Khazars (Prose Section)

I, Hasday, son of Isaac, may his memory be blessed, son of Ezra, may his memory be blessed, belonging to the exiled Jews of Jerusalem, in Spain, a servant of my lord the King, bow to the earth before him and prostrate myself towards the abode of your Majesty, from a distant land. I rejoice in your tranquility and magnificence and stretch forth my hands to God in heaven that He may prolong your reign in Israel. But who am I? And what is my life that I should dare to indite a letter to my lord the King and to address your Majesty? I rely, however, on the integrity and uprightness of my object. How, indeed, can an idea be expressed in fair words by those who have wandered, after the glory of the kingdom has departed—who have long suffered afflictions and calamities, and see their flags in the land no more? We, indeed, who are of the remnant of the captive Israelites, servants of my lord the King, are dwelling peacefully in the land of our sojourning, for our God has not forsaken us, nor has His shadow departed from us. [ . . . ]

Let it be known, then, to the King, my lord, that the name of our land in which we dwell is called in the sacred tongue Sefarad, but in the language of the Arabs, the indwellers of the land, al-Andalus, and the name of the capital of the kingdom, Córdoba. The length of it is 25,000 cubits, the breadth 10,000. It is situated at the left of the sea, which flows between your country and the great sea and compasses the whole of your land. Between this city and the great sea, beyond which there is no further habitable territory, are nine astronomical degrees; the sun advances one degree on each day, according to the opinions of the astronomers; each degree contains 66 miles and two parts of a mile, each mile consists of 3,000 cubits; so that those nine degrees make 600 miles. From that great sea, the whole distance as far as Constantinople is 3,100 miles; but Córdoba is 80 miles distant from the shore of the sea which flows into your country. I have found in the books of the wise men that the land of Khazar is 60 degrees longitude, making 270 miles. Such is the journey from Córdoba to Constantinople. [ . . . ]

I have been induced to state these facts because of my surprise that we have no account of your kingdom, and I think this is only due to the great distance of your kingdom from the realm of my lord the King. But I recently heard that two men, inhabitants of our land, had arrived at the dwelling-place of my lord the King, one of them called Rabbi Judah son of Meir, son of Nathan, a prudent and learned man, the other Rabbi Joseph Haggaris, also a wise man (happy they, and blessed their lot, whose fortune it was to see the glorious majesty and splendor of my lord the King, as well as the state and condition of his servants and ministers). I thought that it was easy in the sight of God in his great mercy to do a wonder to me too, and to make me, too, worthy of seeing the majesty and royal throne of my lord, and to enjoy his gracious presence. [ . . . ]

I always ask the ambassadors of these monarchs about our brethren, the Israelites, the remnant of the captivity, whether they have heard anything concerning the deliverance of those who have pined in bondage and had found no rest. At length, mercantile emissaries of Khurāsān told me that there is a kingdom of Jews who are called Khazars, and between Constantinople and that country is a sea voyage of fifteen days; by land, many nations dwell between us and them. But I did not believe these words, for I thought that they told me such things to procure my goodwill and my favor. I was, therefore, hesitating and doubtful till the ambassadors from Constantinople came with presents and a letter from their king to our king, whom I interrogated concerning this matter. They answered me, “It is quite true; there is in that place a kingdom al-Kuzari, distant from Constantinople a fifteen days’ journey by sea, but many peoples are scattered through the land; the name of the king now reigning is Joseph.” [ . . . ]

Now therefore, let it please your Majesty, I beseech you, to have regard to the desires of your servant, and to command your scribes who are at hand to send back a reply from your distant land to your servant and to inform me fully concerning the condition of the Israelites, and how they came to dwell there. Our fathers told us that the place in which they originally settled was called Mount Seir, but my lord knows that Mount Seir is far from the place where you dwell; our ancestors say that it was indeed through persecution and by one calamity after another, till at length they became fixed in the place where they dwell. The ancients, moreover, inform us that when a decree of fierce persecution was issued against the Jews on account of their transgressions, and the army of the Chaldeans rose furiously, they hid the Book of the Law and the Holy Scripture in a certain cave. For this reason, they prayed in a cave and taught their sons to pray there morning and evening. At length, however, through distance of time and days, they forgot and lapsed into ignorance as to the meaning of this cave and why they prayed in it, while they still continued to observe the custom of their fathers, ignorant of the reason of it. After a long time, there came a certain Israelite who was desirous of knowing the true meaning of this custom, and he entered the cave. He found it full of books, which he brought out. From that time, they resolved to study the law. This was what our fathers have related to us as it was handed down from ancient times. [ . . . ]

One thing more I ask of my lord, that he would tell me whether there is among you any computation concerning the final redemption which we have been awaiting so many years, as we went from one captivity to another, from one exile to another. How strong is the hope of him who awaits the realization of these events! And oh! How can I hold my peace and be restful in the face of the desolation of the house of our glory, while remembering those who, escaping the sword, have passed through fire and water, so that the remnant is but small. We have been cast down from our glory, so that we have nothing to reply when they say daily unto us, “Every other people has its kingdom, but of yours there is no memorial on the earth.” Hearing, therefore, the fame of my lord the King, as well as the power of his dominions, and the multitude of his forces, we were amazed, we lifted up our head, our spirit revived, and our hands were strengthened, and the kingdom of my lord furnished us with an argument in answer to this taunt. May this report be substantiated, for that would add to our greatness.