Editing Atil (section)

{{Short description|Capital of Khazaria from 750 CE}}
{{About|the Khazar capital}}

'''Atil''', also '''Itil''', was the capital of the [[Khazar Khaganate]] from the mid-8th century to the late 10th century. It is known historically to have been situated along the [[Silk Road]], on the northern coast of the [[Caspian Sea]], in the [[Volga Delta]] region of modern [[Southern Russia]]. Its precise location has long been unknown.

[[File:Varangian routes.png|thumb|right|300px|Khazaria and [[Eurasian]] trade routes in the 8th–11th centuries. Atil was the commercial hub from which routes extended into [[Central Asia|"Deep Asia"]]. The [[Varangian]] ([[Viking]]) [[Volga trade route|trade route on the Volga]] is shown in red; other routes are in orange. The [[route from the Varangians to the Greeks|Varangian-Greek route]] is in purple.]]

In 2008 a Russian archaeologist claimed to have discovered the remains of Atil in [[Samosdelka]], a village in the Volga Delta approximately 30&nbsp;km southwest of the city of [[Astrakhan]]. This claim has since been disproven.