Kabar

The Kabars (Gr. Kabaroi) or Kavars were a Turkic tribal confederation who lived in the vicinity of Poltava in the 9th century. They consisted of three Khazar tribes who rebelled against the Khazar Khaganate some time in the ninth century; the rebellion was notable enough to be included in Constantine Porphyrogenitus's work "De Administrando Imperio". The presence of a Turkic aristocracy among the Magyars would explain the Byzantine protocol by which, in the exchange of ambassadors under Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Magyar rulers were always referred to as "Princes of the Turks". [Rene Grousset, The Empire of the Steppes]

Around 833 the Magyars and other proto-Hungarian tribes were living in Levedia, between the Don and the Dnieper, within the clientele of the great Turkic empire of the Khazars. Toward 850 or 860, driven from Levedia by the Pechenegs, they entered Atelkuzu (Etelköz). The Magyars reached the Danube river basin around 880. [It is not clear whether the name of Hungarians comes from the Turkic word "On-Oghur", or "ten tribes", referring to seven Magyar and three Kabar tribes. The name of the Onoghurs is also a possible source.] . Shortly afterward, the Byzantine emperor Leo VI, being then at war with Simeon, the Bulgarian czar, called the Hungarians to his aid. The Hungarians, led by Arpad, crossed the Danube and put Bulgaria to fire and the sword. But the Bulgarians then appealed to the Pechenegs, now masters of the steppe, who attacked the Hungarians in the rear and forced Árpád and his people to take refuge in the mountains of Transylvania. At that moment, Arnulf, king of Germaina, at war with the Slav ruler Sviatopolk, king of Great Moravia, decided like the Byzantine to appeal to the Hungarians. Árpád came in haste and overcame Sviatopolk, who disappeared in the conflict (895). Great Moravia collapsed, and the Hungarians took up permanent abode in the country which was subseguently named after them (899).

The Kabars joined the proto-Magyar migration from the steppes of the Ukraine to the Danubian Steppes of modern Hungary, assisting the Magyars in conquering Pannonia. Many Kabars settled in the Bihar region of the later Kingdom of Hungary and Transylvania. Some historian believe that the character recorded by Gesta Hungarorum as lord Marot and his grandson Menumorut, dux of Biharia, were of Kabar descentFact|date=February 2007. One of the names on the Kievian Letter is "Kiabar", which may suggest that Kabars settled in Kiev as well. At least some Kabars were Jewish; others may have been Christians, Muslims or shamanists. [Golden, Peter B. "The Conversion of the Khazars to Judaism." "The World of the Khazars: New Perspectives." Brill, 2007. p. 150.]

The Kabars eventually assimilated into the general Magyar population, leaving scattered remains and some cultural and linguistic imprints. Some scholarsFact|date=February 2007 believe that the Székely are their descendants.

See also

* Arpad Dynasty
* Khazars
* Magyars
* Avars
* Bulgars
* Pechenegs
* Turkic peoples

Notes