Archeology of the Khazar capital, found near the Russian city of Astrakhan

Archaeologists from Russia and Belarus were digging in the land of the long-gone Khazar Khanate when they found a part of a fortress. They thought it was a part of a bigger medieval fortress.

Researchers at the Astrakhan museum, which is in the Volga delta on the northern side of the Caspian Sea, told the press about this on August 21.

The news earlier said that Russian archaeologists will continue their work this summer in a town from the time of the Khazar Khaganate (8th–10th centuries) near Astrakhan. These archaeologists knew that they had been looking for the ruins of the Khazar capital city of Atil in the area for six months. The first one in the last 100 years. Some people think that the rising sea levels caused the Caspian Sea to flood the Khazar city, which was built in the Volga delta.

Archaeologists found a wall 18 meters long and more than 4 meters wide this year, below the first few meters of mud. After digging under the wall, they found more layers that were related to the building process. Some scientists are sure that the city of Astrakhan has two castles. The first is the Astrakhan Kremlin, and the second is an unknown underground fortress.

Scientists are going to keep digging and studying the second fortress’s dimensions. This will help them figure out what happened to the Khazars’ lost city.

Damir Solovyov said, “During the excavations, thousands of items were found in addition to the castle wall. These included animal bones, ceramic pieces, and one-of-a-kind artifacts that prove the Great Silk Road went through this area.”

It is interesting to note that the Khazar Khanate was a state in the Middle Ages; it was first mentioned in writing in the seventh century AD. The Khazars lived on the Lower and Middle Volga, in the Sea of Azov, and in the North Caucasus. They raised cattle and traded goods. The Great Silk Road went through the capital of the Khazars, which was a major international trade hub.

The Jewish religion was accepted by its rulers. As for the people who lived there, they became Muslim and Christian.

Slavic prince Svyatoslav destroyed the Khazar Khanate’s capital, Atil, in the 10th century AD. This was the end of the Khazar Khanate. Some scholars say that some Khazars became Orthodox Cossacks and went to the Caucasus and Crimea.

Source: TASS