Irbis (Khazar)

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Irbis (fl. around 650–652) is cited by some Russian sources as the founder of the Khazar Khaganate. The Khazars trace their origins to the Ashina Turkic clan, which also founded the Onok Khaganate and the Turkic Khaganate in Central Asia. Scholar Peter Golden notes that Chinese and Arabic records about the Khazars are very similar, strengthening this connection, and suggests that the Khazar ruler may have been Irbis Seguy, who reportedly lost power or was killed around 651.