The Slave Route: How the Khazars Built an Empire on Captives

Before the Mongol Empire reshaped the Silk Road, the Khazar Khaganate dominated the trade routes between the Black Sea and the Caspian, wielding a unique power: they didn't just tax goods—they taxed human cargo. This episode follows the slave trade that built Khazaria, from the Viking-run 'Route from the Varangians to the Greeks' to the Volga Bulgars and the Abbasid caliphate's insatiable demand for Saqaliba slaves. We explore the archaeological evidence from the fortified city of Sarkel, the diplomatic letters of the Khazar king Joseph, and the shadowy networks that funneled captives from Eastern Europe into the Islamic world. Why did the Khazars convert to Judaism? How did a steppe empire become a slave-trading intermediary between north and south? And what happened when the Rus, under Prince Sviatoslav, finally sacked Atil in 965? This is the story of a trade that funded an empire and shaped the geopolitics of early medieval Eurasia. #Khazars #SlaveTrade #SilkRoad #Saqaliba #Sarkel #Atil #VolgaRoute #KhazarKhaganate #Vikings #Rus #Sviatoslav #Judaism #Abbasid #BlackSea #CaspianSea #MedievalHistory #TradeRoutes #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo