2026, vol. 14, no. 2. Brook K.A.

2026, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 385-402

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22378/2313-6197.2026-14-2.385-402

EDN: https://elibrary.ru/UIDZTV

   GENETIC EVIDENCE FOR LEVANTINE AND MIDDLE
EASTERN ANCESTRY IN CRIMEAN KARAITES

Kevin Alan Brook
Independent Researcher
Danbury, Connecticut, U.S.A.
kbrook@khazaria.com

Abstract. Beginning in March 2005, the author has undertaken a genetic study of the paternal and maternal lineages of the Crimean Karaite population resident in the Crimea and abroad. Purposes of the study include finding out which populations are most related to Crimean Karaites and assessing their ethnic and geographic origins. The data set includes 25 Crimean Karaites who provided a total of 19 Y-chromosomal DNA (paternal) lineages and 14 mitochondrial DNA (maternal) lineages of vetted Crimean Karaite genealogical origin to test. A new high-resolution direct-to-consumer test called the Big Y-700, released by the American company FamilyTreeDNA in January 2019 as the latest iteration of the initial Big Y test that had been launched in November 2013, has revolutionized our understanding of human populations’ paternal lineages including their probable founding dates and their degrees of relatedness to one another. This is the first Karaite study to use high-resolution Y-DNA testing. The upgraded genetic results reported here show that Crimean Karaites are related within significant timeframes to other Karaite Jewish communities as well as to numerous Rabbinical Jewish communities, decisively disproving the hypothesis espoused by the Crimean Karaite gakham Seraya ben Mordekhai Shapshal that the Crimean Karaites are descended from the Turkic Khazars and not related to the Semitic Jews who originated in ancient Israel. Some Crimean Karaite lineages were found to be related to those of non-Jewish and non-Turkic populations from West Asia, the Caucasus, and Europe but none of their lineages originated in Central Asia, North Asia, or East Asia.

Keywords: Jewish communities, Karaites, genetics, Khazar hypothesis, Middle East, Tatars

For citation: Brook K.A. Genetic Evidence for Levantine and Middle Eastern Ancestry in Crimean Karaites. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2026, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 385–402. https://doi.org/10.22378/2313-6197.2026-14-2.385-402

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kevin Alan Brook – Independent Researcher (Danbury, Connecticut, U.S.A.). E-mail: kbrook@khazaria.com

Received  01.12.2025
Revised  17.06.2026
Accepted  18.06.2026