Page "Karaim language" Paragraph 3

Some scholars say that Karaites in Crimea are descendants of Karaite merchants who migrated to Crimea from the Byzantine Empire ( Schur 1995 ), presumably adopting a Turkic language upon their arrival in Crimea.

In one particular incidence, migration of Karaites from Istanbul to Crimea is documented following a fire in the Jewish quarter of Constantinople ( modern Istanbul ) in 1203 ( Tsoffar 2006 ).

Settlement of merchants in Crimea may have been encouraged in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries by the active trade routes from Crimea to China and Central Asia ( Schur 1995 ).