mentioned that the Khazars entrenched themselves against the attacks of the Hungarians. History The city served as a bustling commercial center, as it controlled the Volga-Don portage, which was used by the Rus to cross from the Black Sea to the Volga and thence to the Caspian and Baltic. The route was known as the "Khazarian Way". A garrison fortified at Sarkel included Oghuz and Pecheneg mercenaries. Sarkel's fortress and city were captured by Kievan Rus' under prince Sviatoslav I in 965. The city was renamed Belaya Vezha (Slavic for White Tower or White Fortress) and settled by Slavs. It remained Slavic until the 12th century, when the district was taken over by the Kipchaks. Mikhail Artamonov excavated the site in the 1930s. It was the most ambitious excavation of a Khazar site ever undertaken. Among many Khazar and Rus items, Artamonov discovered Byzantine columns used in the construction of Sarkel. The site is now submerged by the Tsimlyansk Reservoir, completed in 1952, so no further excavations may be conducted. See also Semikarakorsk Fortress Samosdelka Notes References Brook, Kevin Alan (2006). The Jews of Khazaria. 2nd ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Dunlop, Douglas M. (1954). The History of the Jewish Khazars. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Dunlop, Douglas Morton (1997). "Sarkel". Encyclopaedia Judaica (CD-ROM Edition Version 1.0). Ed. Cecil Roth. Keter Publishing House. Erdal, Marcel (2007). "The Khazar Language", in Peter B. Golden et al. (eds.). The World of the Khazars. New Perspectives. Brill. pp. 75-108. Golden, Peter B. (2007). "The Conversion of the Khazars to Judaism", in: Peter B. Golden et al. (eds.). The World of the Khazars. New Perspectives. Brill. pp. 123-162. Grousset, René (1970). The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia. (transl. Naomi Walford). New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. Koestler, Arthur (1976). The Thirteenth Tribe Random House. Thunberg, Carl L. (2011). Särkland och dess källmaterial. Göteborgs universitet. CLTS. pp. 20-22. Vernadsky, George. A History of Russia. (online) External links Sarkel on Khazaria.com Khazar towns Forts in Russia Archaeological sites in Russia Defunct towns in Russia Former populated places in Russia Submerged places 833 establishments Saltovo-Mayaki culture Buildings and structures completed in 833