The Karachays are Turkic speaking people of the North Caucasus, mostly situated in the Russian Karachay–Cherkess Republic.

The Karachays (Къарачайлыла, Qaraçaylıla) are a Turkic speaking people descending from the Alans and native Caucasians; their Turkic language is the same as the Kumyks from Daghestan. The Kipchaks and Cumans came to the area of the Caucasus in 11th century A.D, the state of Alania established in the Middle Ages had its capital in Maghas, which some authors locate in Arkhyz, the mountains currently inhabited by the Karachay (others place it in modern Ingushetia or North Ossetia). In the 14th century, Alania was destroyed by Timur and the decimated population dispersed in the mountains. Timur's intervention to the North Caucasus introduced the local nations to Islam; the name "Karachay" means "Black River".

In 1828 the Russian army invaded the area of the Karachay. On October 20, 1828 was the Battle of Hasaukinskoe, the bloodiest of these battles in which the king's troops (which were under the personal command of General Emanuel), equipped with artillery, managed to win. Emanuel's troops lost and injured 163 people, which exceeded the loss of the Russians in the battle with the 30 thousandth shell-Batal Pasha. Karachaevskij elders had taken steps to prevent the massacres of their villages. The day after the battle, when troops are already Emanuel approached to-Dzhurtu, they went to meet the delegation of elders. As a result of negotiations, an agreement was reached on the inclusion of Karachi in the Russian Empire. After the annexation the internal self-government of Karachi had been left intact: the officials and courts. Proceedings of the neighboring Muslim peoples continued to take place on folk customs and Sharia law. In Karachay even assigned arms, but were taken from Karachai Amanat pledge their loyalty oath.