page_title: Crimean Tatars
section_title: Origin
hierarchical_section_title: Crimean Tatars / History / Origin
caption_attribution_description: Русский: типажи крымских татар
context_page_description: Crimean Tatars, or Crimeans, are a Turkic ethnic group and nation, who are an indigenous people of Crimea. The formation and ethnogenesis of Crimean Tatars occurred during the 13th–17th centuries, from Cumans that appeared in Crimea in the 10th century, with strong contributions from all the peoples who ever inhabited Crimea, including Greeks, Italians, and Goths. International indigenous groups do not dispute their status as an indigenous people and they have been officially recognized as an indigenous people of Ukraine since 2014. Currently the Russian government considers Crimean Tatars to be a "national minority", not an indigenous people of Crimea, and continues to deny that they are a titular people of Crimea; however, before the deportation and exile of Crimean Tatars from Crimea in 1944 and the subsequent dissolution of the Crimean ASSR the Soviet government considered Crimean Tatars to be the indigenous people of the Crimea.
  Crimean Tatars constituted the majority of Crimea's population from the time of ethnogenesis until the mid-19th century, and the largest ethnic population until the end of the 19th century.
context_section_description: The Crimean Tatars were formed as a people in Crimea and are descendants of various peoples who lived in Crimea in different historical eras. The main ethnic groups that inhabited the Crimea at various times and took part in the formation of the Crimean Tatar people — the descendants of Tauri, Scythians and Sarmatians, Alans, Greeks, Goths, Bulgars, Khazars, Pechenegs, Italians, Circassians. The consolidation of this diverse ethnic conglomerate into a single Crimean Tatar people took place over the course of centuries. The connecting elements in this process were the commonality of the territory, the Turkic language and Islamic religion.
  An important role in the formation of the Crimean Tatar people belongs to the Western Kipchaks, known in historiography as Cumans. They became the consolidating ethnic group, which included all other peoples who inhabited the Crimea since ancient times. Kipchaks from the XI-XII century began to settle the Volga, Azov and black sea steppes (which from then until the XVIII century were called Desht-i Kipchak – "Cumanian steppe"). Since the second half of the XI century, they began actively moving to the Crimea. A significant part of the Cumans hid in the mountains of Crimea, fleeing after the defeat of the combined Cumanian-Russian troops from the Mongols and the subsequent defeat of the Cumanian proto-state formations in the Northern black sea region.
  By the end of the XV century, the main prerequisites that led to the formation of an independent Crimean Tatar ethnic group were created: the political dominance of the Crimean Khanate was established in Crimea, the Turkic languages (Cuman-Kipchak on the territory of the khanate) became dominant, and Islam acquired the status of the state religion throughout the Peninsula. By a preponderance acquired the name "Tatars" of Cumanian population of the Crimea, the Islamic religion and Turkic language, the process of consolidating the multi-ethnic conglomerate of the Peninsula began, which has led to the emergence of the Crimean Tatar people. For several centuries, on the basis of Cuman language with a noticeable Oghuz influence, the Crimean Tatar language has developed.
caption: Different types of the Crimean Tatars, showing how many ethnic groups took part in their ethnogenesis
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