However, despite their successes, the Ukrainian Jewish community found itself faced with hardships. Ukraine soon became a center of Jewish life in Poland-Lithuania, and Jews were the largest and most important ethnic minority in Ukraine. Jews were influential in a variety of enterprises, including agricultural, banking, real estate under the arenda system, the collection of customs duties and taxes, and trade (they mainly served as liaisons between Ukraine and the Ottoman Empire). The Jewish presence increased with the absorption of Lithuania by the Polish crown into the Polish-Lithuania Commonwealth in 1569, as Poland’s economic influence afforded Jewish settlers a variety of economic opportunities. Right-bank Ukraine, an area west of the Dnieper River and a former Khazan stronghold, was then subject to Lithuania and saw the arrival of Jews from Western Europe. This was evident in Kyiv, a tributary of the empire, where there was a large Jewish quarter and one of the city’s three gates was called the “Jew’s Gate.” However, there is little evidence to suggest that the Khazar Jewish communities survived after the devastating Mongol invasion of the 13th century. Though the Khazar capital was ransacked around 965, Jews in the empire continued to have a large influence. According to legend, many Khazars eventually converted to Judaism. Under the rule of the Khazar Empire, Jews were able to freely practice their religion, and over time, many Jews integrated into Khazar society. Jewish communities have existed in the territory of Ukraine from the time of Kyivan Rus since late 9th century, when Jewish refugees from Byzantium, Persia, and Mesopotamia, fleeing persecution by Christians, settled along the banks of the River Dnieper in eastern and southern Ukraine.
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