Kozar is a
personal name
A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known ...
with its origins in
Turkic and/or
Slavonic languages.
A
founding myth among the
Khazars
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 ...
, as related in texts such as the ''
Khazar Correspondence
The Khazar Correspondence is a set of documents, which are alleged to date from the 950s or 960s, and to be letters between Hasdai ibn Shaprut, foreign secretary to the Caliph of Cordoba, and Joseph Khagan of the Khazars. The Correspondence is ...
'' and
King Joseph's Reply to
Hasdai ibn Shaprut, held that they were founded by Kozar, a son of the
Biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
figure
Togarmah
Togarmah (Hebrew: ''Tōgarmā'') is a figure in the "table of nations" in Genesis 10, the list of descendants of Noah that represents the peoples known to the ancient Hebrews. Togarmah is among the descendants of Japheth and is thought to repres ...
(or Togarmas). In such texts, the brothers of Kozar are given varying names, including: Bulgar (founder of the
Bulgars
The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...
), Ujur (
Uyghurs
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...
), Tauris (Tauri), Avar (
Avars/Varchonites), Uguz (
Oghuz Turks
The Oghuz or Ghuzz Turks (Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: ٱغُز, ''Oγuz'', ota, اوغوز, Oġuz) were a western Turkic people that spoke the Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages, Turkic language family. In th ...
), Bizal, Tarna, Janur, and Sawir (the
Sabirs). The medieval Jewish
Joseph ben Gorion
''Josippon'' ( ''Sefer Yosipon'') is a chronicle of Jewish history from Adam to the age of Titus. It is named after its supposed author, Josephus Flavius, though it was actually composed in the 10th century in Southern Italy. The Ethiopic ...
lists the sons of Togarmas as: Kozar, Pacinak (the
Pechenegs
The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა ...
), Aliqanosz (the
Alans), Bulgar, Ragbiga (or Ragbina/Ranbona), Turqi (possibly the
Göktürks
The Göktürks, Celestial Turks or Blue Turks ( otk, 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Türük Bodun; ; ) were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples in medieval Inner Asia. The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) and ...
), Buz (the
Oghuz), Zabuk, Ungari (either the
Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...
or the
Oghurs/Onogurs), and Tilmac (or Tilmic/Tirôsz; the Tauri). In the ''
Chronicles of Jerahmeel'', they are listed as: Cuzar (the Khazars), Pasinaq (the Pechenegs), Alan (the Alans), Bulgar (the Bulgars), Kanbinah, Turq, Buz, Zakhukh, Ugar (Hungarians or Oghurs/Onogurs), and Tulmes (or Tirôsz; the Tauri). Another medieval
rabbinic work, the ''
Book of Jasher'', gives the names: Buzar (the Khazars), Parzunac (the Pechenegs), Elicanum (the Alans), Balgar (the Bulgars), Ragbib, Tarki (the Göktürks), Bid (the Oghuz), Zebuc, Ongal (the Hungarians or Oghurs/Onogurs), and Tilmaz (or Tirôsz - the Tauri).
Khazars
Japheth
Turkic mythology
{{Asia-myth-stub