The ancestral origins of the Turkic speaking Crimean Karaites have at
times been contentious with several competing theories. This study uses genetic science to help clarify to what extent, if any, these people are related to other Karaite communities and/or to Rabbinical Jews who had ancestors who lived in ancient Israel. The main alternative theory contends that they may descend from the Turkic speaking Khazars who converted to Judaism prior to the documented establishment of any Karaite communities north of the Black Sea.
By and large, the results show that Crimean Karaites are often closely related to other Jews, both Karaite and Rabbinical, but have little affinity with other Turkic speaking peoples or with non-Jewish peoples who inhabit lands that were once part of Khazaria.
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Read the full, original story: The Genetics of Crimean Karaites
