ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Khazars

Okay kiddo, so let me explain who the Khazars were.

A long time ago, in a place called Eurasia, there was a group of people called the Khazars. They lived in a place mostly in what is now known as Russia.

The Khazars were special because they didn't follow one of the main religions of the people around them, like Christianity or Islam. Instead, they decided to follow Judaism. This means they believed in one God and followed rules like not eating certain foods and celebrating holidays like Passover.

The Khazars were also good at trading and made a lot of money. They had a big empire and controlled a lot of land. People from different places like China, Persia, and Byzantine would come to trade with them.

But eventually, the Khazar empire started to weaken and they were attacked by other groups. The Khazar people either escaped or were taken over by other groups. Nowadays, there aren't really any people who identify as Khazar anymore.

So that's a little bit about the Khazars. They were a group of people who decided to follow Judaism and were good at trading, but their empire eventually fell apart.