As is often the case, fact is more fascinating (and fantastic) than fiction, so it is with Jewish history. Certainly one of the most significant and truly astounding stories has to do with who the Jews really are and where they come from. And in this regard it's widely accepted as fact that Jews all originated in the Levant, as their holy book states and as contemporary Zionism expounds as justification for occupation of the modern state of Israel and surrounding territories.
This may be true for the Sephardim (meaning Jews from Spain) that make up less than 20% of the total today, and probably arrived in southwestern Europe from the Levant during the Roman Empire. But a growing body of historical and archeological evidence shows this is not the case for the vast majority of Jews alive today, the 80%+ called Ashkenazim. So, although Christians and most Jews alike believe that the Eastern Mediterranean region is the homeland of their genetic ancestors, this egregious error confuses religious documents with a true scientifically-derived origin.
That scientifically-verified origin indicates that, as incredible as it may initially seem, the majority of the Jews in the world today actually originated from a group of Turkic people from Asia living between the Caspian and Black Seas in an Empire known as Khazaria, from about the year 700-1200. Khazaria was a formidable and populous power that dominated regional trade routes and accumulated great wealth. Their conversion to Judaism marked one of the most momentous events of the past two millennia. Hundreds of years later the decline and fall of Khazaria pushed Jews into new settlements in Eastern Europe, creating the basis of today's Jewish population that lives primarily in the United States and Israel.
