Crimean Karaites

Uncommon card · No. 147144

Crimean Karaites or simply Karaites (Crimean Karaim: Кърымкъарайлар, Qrımqaraylar, singular къарай, qaray; Trakai dialect: karajlar, singular karaj; Crimean Tatar: Qaraylar), also known more broadly as Eastern European Karaites, are a traditionally Turkic-speaking Judaic ethnoreligious group native to Crimea. Nowadays, most Karaim in Eastern Europe speak the dominant local language of their respective regions. The Karaite religion, known in Eastern Europe as Karaism, split from mainstream Rabbinical Judaism in the 19th and 20th centuries, though differences date back to the 12th century. They have lived alongside Krymchaks. Most Karaites in the region do not consider themselves to be Jews, associating the ethnonym with Rabbinical Jews alone, but rather consider themselves to be descendants of the Khazars, non-Rabbinical Judeans, or other Turkic peoples. Research into the origins of the Karaites indicates they are of ethnic Jewish origin and are genetically closely related to other Jewish...

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