Isaac ben

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each night. ...

was a hypothetical

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish ruler of the

Khazars 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 ...

mentioned in 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 ...

. He probably reigned in the mid to late ninth century CE. Little is known about his reign. As with other

Bulanid The Bulanids were the ruling dynasty of the Khazar Khaganate during the 9th century and 10th century CE. The dynasty is named after Bulan, who may or may not have been its founder. In other sources (see Schechter Letter), the founder of the dyna ...

rulers, it is unclear whether Isaac was

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 ...

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 ...

of the Khazars, although the latter is more likely. He was succeeded by his son

Zebulun Zebulun (; also ''Zebulon'', ''Zabulon'', or ''Zaboules'') was, according to the Books of Genesis and Numbers,Genesis 46:14 the last of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's tenth son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Zebulun. Some ...

. Historical authenticity and accuracy of the only document mentioning his name has been questioned.

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. *

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. Khazar rulers Jewish monarchs 9th-century rulers in Europe 9th-century Jews {{europe-royal-stub