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The Crimean Karaites were a Jewish ethnic group native to Crimea who followed Karaite Judaism, a branch of Judaism that interprets religious law differently from mainstream Rabbinical Judaism. This group is historically significant because they represent a distinct Jewish community with its own unique cultural, linguistic, and religious traditions that developed separately in the Crimean peninsula for centuries.
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- ~500
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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.
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Crimean JewsCrimean KaraitesEthnic groups divided by international bordersEthnic groups in CrimeaEthnic groups in LithuaniaEthnoreligious groups in EuropeIndigenous peoples of EuropeIndigenous peoples of UkraineJewish ethnic groupsKaraite Judaism in EuropeKhazars"Related ethnic groups" needing confirmation