Eastern European Karaites
Journal: Liverpool University Press eBooks
Year: 2022

This chapter focuses on Karaites in eastern Europe. The main Karaite centres in eastern Europe were in the Crimean Peninsula; Poland–Lithuania, mostly in the areas which are now part of the Republic of Lithuania; and Volhynia and Galicia, now part of western Ukraine. Where these Karaites came from and when they arrived is unclear; over the centuries they have circulated quite a number of foundation myths that have no historical basis. The majority of the immigrants seem to have come from areas a