People / group

Crimean Karaites

Also known as Krymkaraylar, Karaims

The Crimean Karaites are a Turkic-speaking community of the Karaite faith, a branch of Judaism that accepts the Hebrew Bible but rejects rabbinic tradition. Long settled in Crimea, they lived especially at Chufut-Kale near Bakhchysarai and in Feodosia and Yevpatoria, speaking the Karaim language. Under Russian rule after 1783 they gained a legal status separate from that of Rabbinic Jews.

Crimean Karaites
Image: Auguste Raffet · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Crimean Karaites. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/crimean-karaites
MLA
“Crimean Karaites.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/crimean-karaites. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Crimean Karaites.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/crimean-karaites.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Crimean Karaites’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/crimean-karaites (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻