Atil, the Khazar capital

From the mid-8th century the capital of the Khazar Khaganate was Atil, where the Volga flows into the Caspian. Arab geographers write that the city lay on both banks of the river: on one side the palaces of the khagan and the bek, on the other the merchants' quarters with mosques, churches and synagogues. Each faith had its own judge.

Atil was the key to the Volga trade route: caravans of furs, honey and slaves from the north paid duty here. After the campaign of Prince Sviatoslav of Kiev in the 960s the city was destroyed and the khaganate declined. Archaeologists are investigating several sites near Astrakhan as possible locations of Atil, but there is no firm answer. The point on the map is approximate.