Karaite Turks (Karaiti/Karaici) are people who in one way or another descend from a Kyrgyz nation of primitive Christians who settled through the Russian Empire and spoke a Tatar language[1] with no trace of Hebrew influence.[2] Though not to be mistaken for Karaite Jews, they frequently are confused with each other. Their Crimean branch (the Karimi) became Karaitizers.
Origins
Karaite Turks were the Kipchak-speaking Huns who comprised the Northern Hordes of the first Turkic Empire. They were subject to missionary activity from the Jewish Christian Parthian Church of Transcaucasian Albania convinced that they comprised some of the lost tribes of Israel. They adopted Alevism when the Arabs conquered the Khazars.
Between 1000 and 1007CE one of their tribes consisting of about 200,000 people were Baptized into the Church of the East by Metropolitan Abdisho of Mari (modern day Turkmenistan). They were conquered by the Mongol-Tatars and were scattered to many lands. Some of were settled in the lands of the Rus' by hostage exchange between Batu Khan and Daniel of Transcarpathian-Galicia.
Etymology
The etymology is explained by their alternative name as tgey also known as "Black Turks".
Khaanates
Modern Karaites
These days Karaites live among a variety of modern day populations and are named differently according to the nation they live among:
- Khereid are Mongolian Karaites
- Kirei are Kyrgyz Karaites
- Kerei are Kazakh Karaites
- Karacay are Muslim karaites
- Kara-Tatars are Russian Karaites
- Karakalpaks are Uzbek Karaites
- Qaraei are Persian Karaites
- Karaylar are European Karaites
- Karaite Jews were Karaites who adopted a form of Qaraite Judaism