The Tatars in Jewish Sources from the Middle Ages to Modern Times

The world was shaken by the Mongol invasion (1220s), which swept through Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Faced with this, Christians turned to apocalyptic expectation and created narratives about the role the Mongols played in the messianic scenario. The Christian sources later referred to them as ‘Tatars’, or ‘Tartars’, thus associating them with the demons of the mythological Tartarus. The idea of the messianic role of the Tatars is also found among Jews, who regarded them as descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes. Both Jews and Christians shared apocalyptic narratives through mutual influence. As a consequence of direct contacts with the Tatars, their image underwent gradual transformation. The present research aims to trace the evolution of this image in Jewish sources. The evident transformation can be ascribed to the interplay between Jews and Tatars in their everyday life within the Crimean Khanate, as testified by surviving Hebrew chronicles originating from this region. The comments and judgements expressed by the authors of these texts concerning the Tatars, the ethnonyms employed to describe them, and the perspective on their history and social function offer insight into the multifaceted nature of the Tatars’ image, encompassing its cultural, social and psychological dimensions.