The Khazars and their conversion to Judaism

• Letter of King Joseph in response to Hasdai ibn Shaprut's inquiry about Khazaria, ca. 960
• Thomas S. Noonan, "The economy of the Khazar khaganate," in The World of the Khazars. New Perspectives. Selected Papers from the Jerusalem 1999 International Khazar Colloquium Hosted by the Ben Zvi Institute, ed. by Peter B. Golden, Haggai Ben-Shammai and András Róna-Tas (Leiden/Boston, 2007), pp. 207-244 (Pack)
  
• Roman K. Kovalev, "Creating Khazar identity through coins: the special issue dirhams of 837/8," in East Central and Eastern Europe in the Early Middle Ages, ed. by Florin Curta (Ann Arbor, 2005), pp. 220-253 (Pack)
  
• see a number of maps of Khazaria
• see also a brief presentation of Sarkel
• see a few examples of Khazar weapons (including slightly curved sabres)

Volga Bulgars, Pechenegs, Cumans, and Oghuz

• Curta 180-191 and 302-319
• Sergei A. Romashov, "The Pechenegs in Europe in the 9th-10th centuries," Rocznik orientalistyczny 52, no. 1 (1999), 21-35 (Pack)
• István Zimonyi, "The towns of the Volga Bulghars in the sources (10-13th century)," in Srednevekovaia Kazan': vozniknovenie i razvitie. Materialy Mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferencii, Kazan', 1-3 iunia 1999 goda, ed. by F. Sh. Khuzin, K. H. Iskhakov, R. S. Khakimov and M. A. Usmanov (Kazan’, 2000), pp. 134-140 (Pack)
  
• István Zimonyi, "Volga Bulghars and Islam," in Bamberger Zentralasienstudien. Konferenzakten ESCAS IV, Bamberg 8.-12. Oktober 1991, ed. by Ingeborg Baldauf and Michael Friederich (Berlin, 1994), pp. 235-240 (Pack)
  
• see an historical outline of Volga Bulgaria
• see a brief presentation of Bolgar and Bilyar, two major centers of Volga Bulgaria
• see an excerpt from Constantine Porphyrogenitus' On the Administration of the Empire on the Pechenegs