In the eyes of the Muscovites both the learned theologian Skharia and the physician Leon were adepts of the "black art," or magicians. The "Judaizing heresy" instilled in them a superstitious fear of the Jews, of whom they only knew by hearsay. As long as such ideas and manners prevailed, the Jews could scarcely expect to be hospitably received in the land of the Muscovites. No wonder then that for a long time the Jews appear there, not in the capacity of permanent residents, but as itinerant merchants, who in a few cases--and with extreme reluctance at that--are accorded the right of temporary sojourn in "holy Russia." FOOTNOTES: [2] [Later on the author differentiates between Tauris and the Crimea, using the former term to designate the northern coast of the Black Sea in general, with the Crimea as a part of it. The modern Russian Government of Tavrida is similarly made up of two sections: the larger northern part consists of the mainland, the smaller southern part is identical with the Crimean Peninsula, connected with the mainland by the Isthmus of Perekop. In antiquity the name Tauri, or Taurians, was restricted to the inhabitants of the mountainous south coast of the Crimea.] [3] The date is that of the "Bosporan era," and corresponds to the year 80-81 of the common era. [4] In the Greek documents of that period Synagogue signifies, not a house of worship, but a religious community. [5] [It is possible that the identification was suggested by the similarity in sound between Bosporus and _bi-Spharad_, the Hebrew for "in Sepharad."] [6] [The Arabic and other medieval authors write the name with a _kh_ (= hard German _ch_), hence the frequent spelling Chazars. In Hebrew sources the word is written with a _k_ (כ), except in a recently discovered document (see Schechter, Jew. Quart. Review, new series, iii. 184), where it is spelled with a _k_ (ק). Besides _Khazar_ and _Kazar_, the name is also found in the form _Kozar_, or _Kuzar_.] [7] According to another version of the same story, quoted by the Arabic geographer al-Bekri (d. 1094), the Bishop who was championing the cause of Christianity said in reply to the King's inquiry: "I believe that Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, is the Word, and that he revealed the mysteries of the great and exalted God." A Jew who lived at the royal court and was present at the disputation interrupted him with the remark: "He [the Bishop] believes in things which are unintelligible to me."