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Anne Nies Professor Foeller-Pituch English 368-CN 23 May 2011 The Significance of the Three Books in Pavics Dictionary of the Khazars: The Khazar Polemic In the novel Dictionary of the Khazars, Pavic does a wonderful job of showing how each social group writes their own version of history. By doing this Pavic illustrates that readers of a history must be careful to study all sides of an event to determine what truth is revealed in the telling of a history and what truth is hidden. Readers will immediately notice that between the three versions of the polemic each varies greatly in the telling of the event, to the point that one must question even the most minor details. After a close reading of the entry Khazar Polemic in each of the books readers are left questioning not only what actually happened at the polemic, but what it was truly about. Although it can be inferred that the purpose of the polemic was to identify a single religion for the Khazars, how, when, and by whom this was done is not clear. More importantly it is also not clear who the winner of the polemic was, as each of the religious groups claims victory. The first question that may be asked when reading a historical work about a specific event is, when did the event take place? This is where readers of Dictionary of the Khazars will encounter the first discrepancy between the three books. In The Red Book, the Christians clearly state 861 A.D. (Pavic 78). In The Green Book, the Muslims state that the date that the Khazars converted to Islam was in 737 but this date does not correspond with the polemic, whose date is unknown (Pavic 150). Then, in The Yellow Book, the Jews state that the date of

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the polemic is unknown, but that the Khagan converted to Judaism around 731 (Pavic 260). The years appear close enough that a general idea of the period in which the polemic or at least the conversion(s) occurred can be gleaned, but at the same time the ability to speak definitively on the matter has already begun to unravel. Perhaps then, in an attempt to provide the polemic with a more solid time frame in history, it could be asked Who was at the polemic? Again, though, the readers efforts are thwarted. Instead of another case of conflicting information a case of insufficient information is found. Each of the books name only the representative of their religion who was sent, as if the representatives of the other religions were irrelevant. By the information given in each of the books entries for the Khazar polemic we can identify those for each religion, and then cross reference their names for their life span. Doing so we find: the Christians sent Cyril (826/7 - 869 A.D.), the Muslims sent Farabi Ibn Kora (8th and 9th centuries), and the Jews sent Judah Halevi (1705 - 1141) (Pavic 60, 154, 244). Now though, readers are presented with a new issue. Cyril and Kora might have overlapping lives, but most likely either Cyril was too young to be at the polemic when Farabi Ibn Kora was or Farabi Ibn Kora was too old to be at the polemic when Cyril was. Then, even more troubling, readers realize that it is impossible for Judah Halevi to be at the polemic when either Cyril or Farabi Ibn Kora were. Thus the readers efforts for understanding are yet again thwarted. In an effort then to understand the key ideas of the polemic, as they are not clearly stated under the entry for any of the books, readers may turn to grasping at concepts or persons mentioned in all three of the books. What then stands out are dreams and Princess Ateh. When reading the entries about Princess Ateh they will again be met with divergent details, but they

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will also be able to discern that the concept of dreams and the concept of the Princess are intertwined. Realizing this the readers may be seized with the notion that Princess Ateh is the way in which the polemic can be understood, and so they begin to dissect the parts of the entries in which she is mentioned or is speaking. In doing so, it appears that Princess Ateh is integral in the Khagans decision on which religion the Khazars will adopt. In each book, when the Khagan is about to decide on a religion Princess Ateh dissuades him. Thus she becomes the heroine of each of the religions. At this point the readers idea that Princess Ateh is the key to unlocking the mystery of the polemic is solidified, and the question of which of the religions she supported is posed. After careful reading though readers are again disappointed. At no point is it clearly stated that she directly supports any of the religions, rather she only discredits the others. Then the question is: how did the Khagan determine to convert to a religion? According to the Christians, he converted to gain a greek princess as a wife (Pavic 183). The Muslims claim that he converts to Islam because Ibn Kora provided the most satisfactory interpretation to his dream (Pavic 153). Finally the Jews state that the Khagan was always a Jew, just not practicing, and that he began practicing based on a statement made by his wife (Pavic 261). The great divergence in why a religion was chosen causes one to once again question what the polemic was. According to the Christians and the Muslims it was a debate (Pavic 78, 150). According to the Jews it was the interpretation of a dream (Pavic 262). If it was truly a debate then why did the acquisition of a greek princess determine his choice for Christianity? This question does not begin to be answered based on the information provided, so that readers are forced to try another. If it was truly a debate why did the conversion to Islam rest on the

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interpretation of a dream? This question seems as though it could be plausibly explained by who provides the best answer, and since the Jews stated the polemic was about the interpretation of a dream, readers may become hopeful that now they are beginning to reach some truth. But just as quickly as that hope is attained it is again shattered when one realizes that the Jews claim Judaism was chosen based on the statement of the Khagans wife. Ultimately readers are forced to admit that they have few solid facts about the polemic, although they are provided with three accounts of it. Thus positioned they are allowed a few options. First, they can choose to adopt one of the books as the truth while discarding the other two. Second, they can choose to discard all of the books as unreliable, and admit that there is no trustworthy record of the polemic. Third, they can piece together the three books as they see fit to write their own history of the polemic. This decision process puts readers into an awkward position. How are they to know what to choose? How are they to make a decision? Most importantly readers are faced with the question: how have they made this type of decision in the past? Without the three books, Pavic would have been reduced to crude statements to raise the readers attention to the question of how they accept and digest histories. Even more importantly, although he may have raised their attention to that question, it is safely assumed that he would not have been successful in raising their awareness. Instead, by creating the three books, by giving them divergent facts and details, by causing readers to work for truth and understanding, Pavic allows readers to reach the question in their own time. Doing this ensures that the question does not reach readers until they are prepared for it. Once the question is reached many more pour forth and readers are left questioning not the novel but themselves.

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Thus, the three books are integral to Pavics engagement of readers, by acting as a powerful conduit that pulls them along the paths that Pavic wishes for them to travel.

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Works Cited Pavic, Milorad. Dictionary of the Khazars: A Lexicon Novel in 100,000 Words. Trans. Christina Pribicevic-Zoric. New York: Vintage International, 1989.