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

Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) 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 takin ...

, was the

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 ...

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 fu ...

Phanagoria Phanagoria ( grc, Φαναγόρεια, Phanagóreia; russian: Фанагория, translit=Fanagoriya) was the largest Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the Taman peninsula, spread over two plateaus along the eastern shore of the Cimmerian Bo ...

during the sojourn of

Justinian II Justinian II ( la, Iustinianus; gr, Ἰουστινιανός, Ioustinianós; 668/69 – 4 November 711), nicknamed "the Slit-Nosed" ( la, Rhinotmetus; gr, ὁ Ῥινότμητος, ho Rhinótmētos), was the last Eastern Roman emperor of the H ...

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

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 ...

to kill Justinian in 704, after Busir was bribed by

Tiberius III Tiberius III ( gr, Τιβέριος, Tibérios), born Apsimar ( la, Apsimarus; gr, Αψίμαρος, Apsímaros),), Apsimerus and Absimerus. Many of these are likely typos or transliteration errors. was Byzantine emperor from 698 to 705AD. Lit ...

. Justinian's Khazar wife

Theodora Theodora is a given name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift". Theodora may also refer to: Historical figures known as Theodora Byzantine empresses * Theodora (wife of Justinian I) ( 500 – 548), saint by the Orthodox Church * Theodora ...

warned him in advance and Justinian escaped by sea, but not before murdering both Papatzys and Balgitzin. Some scholars, notably

Peter B. Golden Peter Benjamin Golden (born 1941) is an American historian who is Professor Emeritus of History, Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University. He has written many books and articles on Turkic and Central Asian Studies, such as ''An ...

, have speculated that Balgitzin is not a proper name but rather a title, identical with ''

Baliqchi ''Baliqchi'' (most probably Old Turkic ''balıkçı'') was a supposed military title used by the Khazar Khaganate. The main piece of support for the term's existence is the historiography of Theophanes the Confessor, which mention a governor of Ph ...

''.

Sources

. ''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