 The Khazar Khaganate was the dominant power in the steppes between the rivers Dnieper and Volga after around 650 . Archaeological finds show that the Khagans controlled a multi @-@ ethnic empire . The " Saltovo @-@ Mayaki culture " , which flourished in the same region around 750 and 900 , had at least seven variants . In the Hungarian chronicles , the legend of the wondrous hind seems to have preserved the memory of the Magyars ' " close symbiosis , intermarriages , and incipient fusion " with various ethnic groups – Alans , Bulgars , and Onogurs – of this large region . 
