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Firkovich
Abraham (Avraham) ben Samuel Firkovich ( Hebrew אברהם בן שמואל - ''Avraham ben Shmuel''; Karayce: Аврагъам Фиркович - ''Avragham Firkovich'') (Sept. 27, 1786–June 7, 1874) was a famous Karaite writer and archaeologist, collector of ancient manuscripts, and a Karaite Hakham. He was born in Lutsk, Volhynia, then lived in Lithuania, and finally settled in Çufut Qale, Crimea, where he also died. Gabriel Firkovich of Troki was his son-in-law. Biography Abraham Firkovich was born in 1787 into a Crimean Karaite farming family in the Lutsk district of Volhynia, then part of the Russian Empire, now Ukraine. In 1818 he was serving the local Crimean Karaite communities as a junior hazzan, or religious leader, and from there he went on to the city of Eupatoria in Crimea. In 1822, he moved to the Karaite community in Gozleve, and he was appointed as hazan, or community leader, in 1825. Together with the Karaite noble Simha Babovich, he sent memora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crimean Karaites
The Crimean Karaites or Krymkaraylar (Crimean Karaim: Кърымкъарайлар, ''Qrımqaraylar'', singular къарай, ''qaray''; Trakai dialect: ''karajlar'', singular ''karaj''; he, קראי מזרח אירופה; crh, Qaraylar; ), also known as ''Karaims'' and ''Qarays'', are an ethnicity of Turkic-speaking adherents of Karaite Judaism in Central and Eastern Europe, especially in the territory of the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Crimea. "Karaim" is a Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish and Lithuanian name for the community. Origins Turkic-speaking Karaite Jews (in the Crimean Tatar language, ''Qaraylar'') have lived in Crimea for centuries. Their origin is a matter of great controversy. Most modern scientists regard them as descendants of Karaite Jews who settled in Crimea and adopted a Kypchak language. Others view them as descendants of Khazar or Cuman, Kipchak converts to Karaite Judaism. Today, many Crimean Karaites reject ethnic Semitic or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Çufut Qale
__NOTOC__ Chufut-Kale ( crh, Çufut Qale, italic=yes ; Russian and Ukrainian: Чуфут-Кале - ''Chufut-Kale''; Karaim: Кала - קלעה - ''Kala'') is a medieval city-fortress in the Crimean Mountains that now lies in ruins. It is a national monument of Crimean Karaites culture just east of Bakhchisaray. Its name is Crimean Tatar and Turkish for "Jewish Fortress" (''çufut/çıfıt'' - Jew, ''qale/kale'' - fortress), while Crimean Karaites refer to it simply as "Fortress", considering the place as historical center for the Crimean Karaite community. In the Middle Ages the fortress was known as ''Qırq Yer'' (Place of Forty) and as Karaites to which sect the greater part of its inhabitants belong, ''Sela' ha-Yehudim'' (Hebrew for 'Rock of the Jews'). Name versions * Чуфут-Кале (Russian transliteration: Chufut Kale) is mentioned in the Soviet scientific literature, as well as in the works of Karaite authors in the Russian language from the second half of the 19th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sima Babovich
Sima ben Salomon Babovich ( Karayce: Сима Бабович - ''Sima Babovich'', ; 1790–1855) was a first Hakham of the Russian Crimean Karaites, one of the early figures in the Crimean Karaites movement. Babovich used his influence with Czarist authorities to obtain an exemption for the Crimean Karaites of Russia from military service, which continued to be compulsory for Rabbinic Jews in Russia. The Karaites of Yevpatoria commemorated this event every year by an annual special prayer in his honor. Babovich and his descendants were prominent leaders in the affairs of the Crimean Karaites. His agitation gained recognition from the Russian government of the Karaites as a separate religious community in 1837. He was a close associate of Avraham Firkovich, who accompanied him on his visit to the Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karaim Language
The Karaim language (Crimean dialect: , Trakai dialect: , traditional Hebrew name , , "language of the nomads") is a Turkic language with Hebrew influences, similarly to Yiddish or Judaeo-Spanish. It is spoken by only a few dozen Crimean Karaites () in Lithuania, Poland, Crimea, and Galicia in Ukraine. The three main dialects are those of Crimea, Trakai-Vilnius and Lutsk- Halych all of which are critically endangered. The Lithuanian dialect of Karaim is spoken mainly in the town of Trakai (also known as ''Troki'') by a small community living there since the 14th century. There is a chance the language will survive in Trakai as a result of official support and because of its appeal to tourists coming to the Trakai Island Castle, where Crimean Karaites are presented as the castle's ancient defenders (Napora, 2018). History Karaims in Crimea and Lithuania The origin of the Karaims living in Crimea is subject to much dispute and inconsistency. Difficulty in reconstructing thei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simchah Pinsker
Simhah Pinsker (March 17, 1801 – October 29, 1864) (Hebrew: שמחה פינסקר) was a Polish-Jewish scholar and archeologist born at Tarnopol, Galicia. He received his early Hebrew education in the cheider and from his father, Shebaḥ ha-Levi, a noted preacher, who instructed him in mathematics and German language also. He was the father of Leon Pinsker. Early years In his youth Pinsker was an enthusiastic admirer of the Ḥasidim, but soon forsook them. He at first engaged in business, but, having no aptitude therefor, was obliged to abandon it. He then went to Odessa, and, owing to his calligraphic skill, became secretary to the rabbi. Here, in conjunction with Isaac Horowitz of Brody and Littenfeld, Pinsker succeeded in establishing a public school for Jewish children, of which he himself served as principal until 1840. Research At that time Abraham Firkovich, a Karaite scholar, brought to Odessa a number of ancient manuscripts, unearthed in the Crimea. Among these was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berdichev
Berdychiv ( uk, Берди́чів, ; pl, Berdyczów; yi, באַרדיטשעװ, Barditshev; russian: Берди́чев, Berdichev) is a historic city in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Berdychiv Raion (district), the city itself is of direct oblast subordinance, and does not belong to the district. It is south of the oblast capital, Zhytomyr. Its population is approximately . History The territory on which the city is located was inhabited as early as the 2nd millennium BC. Bronze Age settlements and the remains of two settlements of the Chernyakhov culture were discovered here. In 1430, Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas (великий князь литовський Вітовт) granted the rights over the area to Kalinik, the procurator (намісник) of Putyvl and Zvenigorod, and it is believed that his servant named Berdich founded a ''khutor'' (remote settlement) there. However the etymology of the na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lutsk
Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Lutsk Raion (district) within the oblast. Lutsk has a population of It is a historical, political, cultural and religious center of Volyn. Etymology Lutsk is an ancient Slavic town, mentioned in the Hypatian Chronicle as Luchesk in the records of 1085. The etymology of the name is unclear. There are three hypotheses: the name may have been derived from the Old Slavic word ''luka'' (an arc or bend in a river), or the name may have originated from ''Luka'' (the chieftain of the ''Dulebs''), an ancient Slavic tribe living in this area. The name may also have been created after ''Luchanii'' (Luchans), an ancient branch of the tribe mentioned above. Its historical name in Ukrainian is "Луцьк". History According to the legend, Luchesk date ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hakham
''Hakham'' (or ''chakam(i), haham(i), hacham(i)''; he, חכם ', "wise") is a term in Judaism, meaning a wise or skillful man; it often refers to someone who is a great Torah scholar. It can also refer to any cultured and learned person: "He who says a wise thing is called a ''hakham'', even if he be not a Jew." Hence in Talmudic-Midrashic literature, wise gentiles are commonly called ' ("wise men of the nations of the world"). In Sephardic usage, ''hakham'' is a synonym for "rabbi". In ancient times ''Hakham'' as an official title is found as early as the first Sanhedrin, after the reconstruction of that body, when the Hadrianic religious persecutions had ceased. In addition to the nasi Simeon ben Gamliel, two other scholars stood at the head of the Sanhedrin, namely Nathan the Babylonian as '' Av Beit Din'' and Rabbi Meir as ''hakham''. Another ''hakham'' mentioned by name was Simon, the son of Judah the Prince, who after the death of his father officiated as ''hakham'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel Joseph Fuenn
Samuel Joseph Fuenn (; 15 October 1818 – 11 January 1891), also known as Rashi Fuenn () and Rashif (), was a Lithuanian Hebrew writer, scholar, printer, and editor. He was a leading figure of the eastern European Haskalah, and an early member of Ḥovevei Zion. Biography Fuenn was born in Vilna, Russian Empire, the son of merchant and Torah scholar Yitsḥak Aizik Fuenn of Grodno. Though he received a traditional religious education until the age of 17, he also acquired an extensive general knowledge of German literature and other secular subjects, and became proficient in Russian, French, Latin, Polish, and English. He afterwards joined Vilna's circle of young '' maskilim''. In 1848 the government appointed him teacher of Hebrew and Jewish history in the newly founded rabbinical school of Vilna. Fuenn filled this position with great distinction till 1856, when he resigned. The government then appointed him superintendent of the Jewish public schools in the district of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halych
Halych ( uk, Га́лич ; ro, Halici; pl, Halicz; russian: Га́лич, Galich; german: Halytsch, ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; yi, העליטש) is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the Principality of Halych, the historic province of Galicia (Halychyna), and the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, of which it was the capital until the early 14th century, when the seat of the local rulers moved to Lviv. Nowadays, Halych is a small town located only on one part of the territory of the former Galician capital, although it has preserved its name. It belongs to Ivano-Frankivsk Raion (district) of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (region). It hosts the administration of Halych urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Halych lies north of the oblast capital, Ivano-Frankivsk. Population: . Name The city's name, though spelled identically in modern East Slavic languages (Галич), is pronounced ''Halych'' in Ukrainian and ''Gali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yevpatoria
Yevpatoria ( uk, Євпаторія, Yevpatoriia; russian: Евпатория, Yevpatoriya; crh, , , gr, Ευπατορία) is a city of regional significance in Western Crimea, north of Kalamita Bay. Yevpatoria serves as the administrative center of Yevpatoria Municipality, one of the districts (''raions'') into which Crimea is divided. It had a population of History Greek settlement The first recorded settlement in the area, called ''Kerkinitis'' (), was built by Greek colonists around 500 BCE. Along with the rest of the Crimea, Kerkinitis formed part of the dominions of King Mithridates VI Eupator ( BCE), from whose nickname, ''Eupator'' "of noble father" the city's modern name derives. Khanate period From roughly the 7th through the 10th centuries, Yevpatoria was a Khazar settlement; its name in Khazar language was probably ''Güzliev'' (literally "beautiful house"). It was later subject to the Cumans (Kipchaks), the Mongols and the Crimean Khanate. Du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Derbent
Derbent (russian: Дербе́нт; lez, Кьвевар, Цал; az, Дәрбәнд, italic=no, Dərbənd; av, Дербенд; fa, دربند), formerly romanized as Derbend, is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea. It is the southernmost city in Russia, and it is the second-most important city of Dagestan. Derbent occupies the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian Steppe to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south; covering an area of , with a population of roughly 120,000 residents. Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia, with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BC, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, and Shirvan kingdoms. In the 19th century, the city passed from Persian into Russia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
