FIRKOVICH, ABRAHAM

(1786-1874)

   Palestinian Karaite leader of Polish birth. He engaged in bitter disputes with rabbinic authorities. In 1830 he accom-panied Simhah Bobowich to Palestine, where he collected numerous manuscripts. When in 1839, the governor general of the Crimea addressed a series of questions dealing with Karaite origins to Bobowich, he recommended Firkovich, who initiated archaeological expeditions to the Crimea and the Caucasus to uncover ancient tombstones and manuscripts. Firkovich's travels and discoveries are described in his Avnei Zikkaron.