The Samaritans,known in the Talmud as Kuthim, are an ethnic group of the Levant.
Ethnically, they are descended from a group of Israelite inhabitants that have connections to ancient Samaria from the beginning of the Babylonian Exile up to the beginning of the Common Era. The Samaritans, however, derive their name not from this geographical designation, but rather from the term “keepers [of the law]”.
Religiously, they are the adherents to Samaritanism, a religion based on the Torah.
Samaritans claim that their worship (as opposed to mainstream Judaism) is the true religion of the ancient Israelites, predating the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.