KIRIM’DAKİ KARAYLAR VE ÇUFUT-KALE
THE KARAITES AND CHUFUT-KALE IN THE CRIMEA

Summary/Abstract: Karâîlik, derived from the word “kara- (K-R-A)” meaning "those who read the holy scripture" in the Aramaic-Ibrânî language, became the name of a Turkish tribe over time. The Karaites are a Turkish tribe belonging to the Karaite sect of Judaism, which accepts only the Torah/Torah. Many studies on the ethnic identity, history, sect and language of the Karaites have been and continue to be conducted by local and foreign researchers. The first of these studies undoubtedly belongs to Haji Seraya Khan Shapshal (1873-1961), the fourth Khazan of the Crimean Karaites. While still a student at the Faculty of Oriental Studies of St. Petersburg University in 1896, Shapshal wrote a 30-page pamphlet/study titled "Karaites and Chufut-Kale in Crimea". In the first part / first 11 pages of this study, which consists of two main parts, the following topics are discussed: “The emergence of the Karaites in Crimea, their origins, their first settlements, the Karaite sect, the differences of the Karaite sect from other Jewish sects, i.e. Rabbanists / Talmudists, Spiritualists, the tribal origin of the Karaites”. In the second part/last 17 pages, “The settlement of Chufut-Kale, the places to see around the castle, the castle walls, the gate, the shrines, the tomb, the underground dungeon, the “kiyiklik”, the house of Benjamin Aga, The occupation and life of the Karaites in Chufut-Kale before the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Empire, the fate of Chufut-Kale since 1783, the list of tsarist officials who visited Chufut-Kale, the old cemetery of the Karaites in the Iyosafat Valley, its restoration, the text of the Khazan's speech to Tsar Alexander III. The text of the speech presented by Hazan to Tsar Alexander III" are discussed in order.

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