Hanukkah or Chanukkah ben

Obadiah Obadiah (; he, עֹבַדְיָה – ''ʿŌḇaḏyā'' or – ''ʿŌḇaḏyāhū''; "servant of Yah", or "Slave of Yah HVH) is a biblical prophet. The authorship of the Book of Obadiah is traditionally attributed to the prophet ...

was a hypothetical

Khazar The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...

ruler who probably reigned during the mid to late ninth century CE. Hanukkah was the son of Obadiah and succeeded his nephew

Manasseh I Menasseh ben Hezekiah was a hypothetical Turkic ruler of the Khazars mentioned in the Khazar Correspondence. He probably reigned in the mid to late ninth century CE. He was the son of Hezekiah, the son of Obadiah. Little is known about his reign. ...

to the throne. No contemporary records from his reign survive; however, he is known from the

Khazar Correspondence The Khazar Correspondence is a set of documents, which are alleged to date from the 950s or 960s, and to be letters between Hasdai ibn Shaprut, foreign secretary to the Caliph of Cordoba, and Joseph Khagan of the Khazars. The Correspondence is ...

between

Hisdai ibn Shaprut Hasdai (Abu Yusuf ben Yitzhak ben Ezra) ibn Shaprut ( he, חסדאי אבן שפרוט; ar, حسداي بن شبروط, Abu Yussuf ibn Shaprut) born about 915 at Jaén, Spain; died about 970 at Córdoba, Andalusia, was a Jewish scholar, phy ...

and the Khazar king

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

. As with the other Bulanids, it is unclear whether Hanukkah was a

khagan Khagan or Qaghan (Mongolian:; or ''Khagan''; otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣 ), or , tr, Kağan or ; ug, قاغان, Qaghan, Mongolian Script: ; or ; fa, خاقان ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan ...

or a

khagan bek ''Khagan Bek'' is the title used by the bek (generalissimo) of the Khazars. History Khazar kingship was divided between the Khagan and the Bek or Khagan Bek. Contemporary Arab historians related that the Khagan was purely a spiritual ruler or figu ...

; however, most modern scholars lean towards the latter possibility. Historical authenticity and accuracy of the only document mentioning his name has been questioned. Hanukkah was succeeded by his son

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...

References

Sources

Kevin Alan Brook Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...

. ''The Jews of Khazaria.'' 2nd ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 2006.update *

Douglas M. Dunlop Douglas Morton Dunlop (1909–1987) was a renowned British oriental studies, orientalist and scholar of Islamic and Eurasian history. Early life and education Born in England, Dunlop studied at Bonn and Oxford under the historian Paul E. Kahle, Pa ...

, ''The History of the Jewish Khazars,'' Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1954. *

Norman Golb Norman Golb (15 January 1928 – 29 December 2020) was the Ludwig Rosenberger Professor in Jewish History and Civilization at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Golb was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, on 15 January 1 ...

and

Omeljan Pritsak Omeljan Yosypovych Pritsak ( uk, Омелян Йосипович Пріцак; 7 April 1919, Luka, Sambir County, West Ukrainian People's Republic – 29 May 2006, Boston) was the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvar ...

, ''Khazarian Hebrew Documents of the Tenth Century.'' Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press, 1982. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanukkah Ben Obadiah Khazar rulers Jewish monarchs 9th-century rulers in Europe 9th-century Jews Jewish royalty