Balgitzin ( ''Valgítzin''; died 704), in the account of

Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor (; 759 – 817 or 818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking up the religious life. Theophanes attended the Second C ...

, was the

Khazar The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, an ...

tudun A tudun was a governor resident in a town or other settlement in the ancient Bulgar, Avar or Gokturk empires, particularly those of the Bulgars and the Khazars. The tudun was the personal representative of the imperial government and could ...

of Phanagoria during the sojourn of

Justinian II Justinian II (; ; 668/69 – 4 November 711), nicknamed "the Slit-Nosed" (), was the last Byzantine emperor of the Heraclian dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711. Like his namesake, Justinian I, Justinian II was an ambitio ...

in that town. He was dispatched, along with Papatzys, by

Busir Busir or Bazir ( 688–711) was the Khazar ''khagan'' in the late 7th century and early 8th century. In 704 Justinian II, who had been exiled at Chersonesos for nine years, arrived at Busir's court. Busir, perhaps seeking to use him in his pol ...

Khagan Khagan or Qaghan (Middle Mongol:; or ''Khagan''; ) or zh, c=大汗, p=Dàhán; ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan, Khaqan, Xagahn, Qaghan, Chagan, Қан, or Kha'an is a title of empire, im ...

to kill Justinian in 704, after Busir was bribed by

Tiberius III Tiberius III (), born Apsimar (; ), was Byzantine emperor from 698 to 705. Little is known about his early life, other than that he was a , a mid-level commander, who served in the Cibyrrhaeot Theme. In 696, Tiberius was part of an army sent b ...

. Justinian's Khazar wife Theodora warned him in advance and Justinian escaped by sea, but not before murdering both Papatzys and Balgitzin. Some scholars, notably Peter B. Golden, have speculated that Balgitzin is not a proper name but rather a title, identical with '' Baliqchi''.

Vladimir Minorsky Vladimir Fyodorovich Minorsky (; – 25 March 1966) was a White Russian academic, historian, and scholar of Oriental studies, best known for his contributions to the study of history of Iran and the Iranian peoples such as Persians, Lurs, and ...

proposes that Balgitzin translates as "the fisherman".

References

* Peter B. Golden. ''Khazar Studies: An Historico-Philological Inquiry into the Origins of the Khazars''. Vol. 1. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1980. {{DEFAULTSORT:Balgitzin 7th-century births 704 deaths Khazar people Medieval Crimea