In reply to:
tuswm: the Kajar dynasty in Persia (1794-1925)?
Do you mean Kajar or Khazar??? Atomica.com found NO entry for Kajar, but here's what they have to say about the Khazars:
Khazars, ancient Turkic people who appeared in Transcaucasia in the 2d cent. A.D. and subsequently settled in the lower Volga region. They rose to great power; the Khazar empire at its height (8th–10th cent. A.D.) extended from the northern shores of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea as far west as Kiev. The Khazars maintained friendly relations with the Byzantine Empire. Their empire came to an end in 965, when they were defeated by the duke of Kiev. In the 8th cent. the Khazar nobility embraced Judaism and thus are believed by some to be the ancestors of many East European Jews.
On the Chinese languages - some friends who lived in mainland China once told me that Cantonese was the written language and Mandarin the spoken - or was it t'other way 'round?
By the way, here's a question for you all: Have you heard the latest about Red China?
Shoshannah
