| Circassians (АДЫГЭ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Total population | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2. 9 million (+) est. worldwide (including the Circassian diaspora) |
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| Regions with significant populations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Languages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Circassian, Russian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Religions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sunni Islam | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Related ethnic groups | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abkhaz, or Abaza |
Circassians is a term derived from the ancient names of two groups of Caucasian peoples, "Kir" and "Kas" who were called "Kir-Kas" together. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (Arabic By time it evolved from "Kirkas" to "Kerkas," "Cherkas," "Cherkes," and "Kas" as in "Kafkas. " Turkic nationals who arrived in the lands later spelled it as "Cerkes/Cerkez," "Cherkess," or "Çerkes. " The term is not the self-designation of any people. It has sometimes been applied indiscriminately to all the peoples of the North Caucasus, including the "Adygas," "Ubykhs," and "Abkhazians. The Caucasus ( also referred to as North Caucasus) is a geopolitical region located between Europe Asia & Middle East " Most specifically, the term can apply only to the Adyghe people. The Adyghe or Adygs are a people of the northwest Caucasus region principally inhabiting Adygeya (24 (An old Adyge expression said, "Every Adyge is a Cherkess, but any Cherkess is not an Adyge. ") Today a significant number of "Circassians" live in diaspora, primarily due to the Muhajirism, an exodus of the Muslim population from the Caucasus since 1864, after the successful Circassian exilation. The term Diaspora (in Greek, διασπορά &ndash " a scattering or sowing of seeds " refers any population sharing common ethnic Several Indigenous peoples of the northwest of the Caucasus were forced into Exodus at the end of the Caucasian War by victorious Russia Exodus ( Greek: έξοδος eksodos = "departure" is the second book of the Jewish Torah and of the Christian Old Testament. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion The Caucasus ( also referred to as North Caucasus) is a geopolitical region located between Europe Asia & Middle East Year 1864 ( MDCCCLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year
More commonly it has referred to all the peoples of the northwest Caucasus:[1]
- Adyghe ("Circassians" in the narrowest sense, inhabitants of Circassia, including Kabardin)
- Abkhaz (including Abazins)
- Ubykh (linguistically vanished)
to the exclusion of the eastern Chechens and the peoples of Dagestan. The Adyghe or Adygs are a people of the northwest Caucasus region principally inhabiting Adygeya (24 Circassia, also known as Cherkessia in Russian is a region in Caucasia. Kabarda or Kabard are terms referring to a people of the northern Caucasus more commonly known by the plural term Kabardin (or Kebertei The Abkhazians or Abkhaz ( Abkhaz: Аҧсуа Apswa; Georgian: აფხაზი Aphkhazi) are a Caucasian The Abazins ( Ethnonym: Abaza or Asuwa) are a people who live mostly in Karachay-Cherkessia and Adygeya of Russia. Ubykh people are a group who spoke the Northwest Caucasian Ubykh language, until other local languages displaced it and its last speaker finally died in Chechens ( Chechen: Hохчи / Noxçi) constitute the largest native Ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region The Republic of Dagestan dæɡɪˈstɑːn (IntEng ˈdeɪɡəstæn (AmEng (Респу́блика Дагеста́н Дагъистанлъул ДжумхIурият Daɣistanłul
The term's vagueness stems largely from the fact that the northern Caucasus was a remote and relatively unknown area for Westerners and Turks, who often did not distinguish carefully among similar groups living there.
Contents |
Circassian diaspora
From 1763 to 1864 the Circassians fought against the Russians in the Russian-Circassian War only succumbing to a scorched earth campaign initiated in 1862 under General Yevdokimov. [2][3] Afterwards, large numbers of Circassians fled and were deported to the Ottoman Empire, others were resettled in Russia far from their home territories. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish [4][1]
Middle East
Various communities of Caucasian origin living in the Middle East, notably Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories, and Syria, are known as Circassians, and a suburb of Damascus settled by these people is called Al-charkassiyya. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Damascus ( دمشق,, also commonly known as الشام ash-Shām) is the capital and largest city of Syria. Modern Amman was reborn after Circassians settled there in 1878 along with other important Jordanian towns. Amman (ɑˈmɑːn sometimes spelled Ammann ( Arabic عمان ʿAmmān) is the Capital city of the Hashemite Kingdom
During the French Mandate period in Syria, in the 1930s, some Circassians in the mostly Circassian town of Al-Quneitra tried to convince the French authorities to create a Circassian national home for them in the Golan Heights, but failed in their attempt. The French Mandate of Syria was a League of Nations Mandate created after the First World War and the Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Quneitra (also Al Qunaytirah, Qunaitira, or Kuneitra; القنيطرة is the largely destroyed and abandoned Capital of the Quneitra Borders of Israel The Golan Heights ( الجولان al-Jawlān, הגולן ha-Golan) is a strategic Plateau and mountainous The objective was to group the large numbers of Circassians already living in Turkey and in various Middle Eastern countries just like Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches
In Israel, there are also a few thousand Circassians, living mostly in Kfar Kama (2,000) and Reyhaniye (1,000). For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Kfar Kama (כפר כמא كفر كما Кфар Кама is a town located in the lower Galilee, Israel, with a population of 2900 largely Circassian [5] These two villages were a part of a greater group of Circassian villages around the Golan Heights. Borders of Israel The Golan Heights ( الجولان al-Jawlān, הגולן ha-Golan) is a strategic Plateau and mountainous The Circassians in Israel enjoy, like Druzes, a status aparte. The Druze ( Arabic: درزي derzī or durzī, plural دروز durūz) are a religious community found primarily in Syria, Lebanon Circassian men are mandated for military service, while women are not.
The Balkans
A small minority of Circassians lived since the late 1880's in Kosovo Polje, which was given mention by Noel Malcolm in his seminal work about that province, but they were repatriated to the Republic of Adygea, in Southern Russia in the late 1990's[1]. Year 1880 ( MDCCCLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The Republic of Adygea (Респу́блика Адыге́я adɨ'ɟeja Адыгэ Республик Adyge Respublik) is a federal subject of Russia Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar)
Around 1600, several emigrants from the Caucasus region, of somewhat privileged descent, settled in the then Principality of Moldavia, and became under the name "Cerchez" (pronounced [Cherkez] in Romanian) one of its 72 boyar families. Moldavia (Moldova is a geographic and historical region and former Principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between Eastern Carpathians Romanian or Daco-Romanian ( dated: Rumanian or Roumanian; self designation limba română, ˈlimba roˈmɨnə is a Romance This article refers to the aristocratic title of boyar. For the Boyar caste of India, see Boyar (caste. In time they were assimilated into the general population. However one of the last descendants of this family, Mihail Christodulo Cerchez, was a Romanian national hero in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 (Osman Paşa, "Gazi Osman Pasha" the Turkish commander of the Pleven garrison, who was an Adyge himself, surrendered his sword to him at the end of the siege). The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 had its origins in a rise in nationalism in the Balkans as well as in the Russian goal of recovering territorial losses it had suffered Osman Nuri Paşa also Gazi Osman Pasha ( 1832 - April 5 1900) was an Ottoman Turkish Field marshal and the hero of the The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish Pleven (Плевен; historically known as Plevne in Turkish and Plevna in English) is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria The Siege of Pleven (or Plevna) during the Russo-Turkish War 1877–78, saw a major struggle between the joint army of Romania and Russia One of the main halls of the Cotroceni palace in Bucharest is named "Sala Cerchez" ("Cerchez Hall") in memory of General Cerchez. Cotroceni is a neighbourhood in western Bucharest, Romania located around the Cotroceni hill in Bucharest's Sector 6. Bucharest ( Romanian: Bucureşti) is the Capital city, industrial and commercial centre of Romania.
Notable Circassians
- Inal
- Kyzbech Tuguzhoko
- Yuri Kalmykov
- Yuri Temirkanov
- Sinemis Candemir - actress
- Yasar Dogu - wrestler, 1948 Olympic Gold medalist
- Gazanfer Bilge - wrestler, 1948 Olympic Gold medalist
- Hamit Kaplan - wrestler, 1956 Olympic Gold medalist
- Mahmut Atalay - wrestler, 1968 Olympic Gold medalist
- Yusuf Izzet Met - Famous Turkish soldier officially known as brother-in-arms of Atatürk
- Hadise - Famous Turkish singer in Belgium
- Türkan Şoray - actress
- Bibras Natkho - captain, Israel national olympic soccer team
- Deniz Baykal - Politician
- Çerkes Ethem - Important Turkish Military figure
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Shenfield, Stephen D. (1999) "The Circassians - A Forgotten Genocide?" in Levene, Mark and Roberts, Penny (eds. WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov (Ю́рий Хату́евич Темирка́нов Yaşar Doğu ( 1913 - January 8, 1961) was a legendary Turkish sports wrestler and trainer who won the gold medal in the The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event which was held in London Gazanfer Bilge ( July 23, 1924 &ndash April 20, 2008) was a Turkish sports wrestler who won the gold medal in the The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event which was held in London Hamit Kaplan ( September 20, 1934, Amasya - January 5, 1976, The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne Mahmut Atalay ( March 30, 1934, Çorum - December 4, 2004 Ankara) was a Turkish World The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Mexico City Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (19 May 1881 &ndash 10 November 1938 was an army officer revolutionary Statesman Hadise Açıkgöz, (born October 22, 1985 in Mol, Belgium) uses Hadise as Stage name, is a TMF award winning Türkan Şoray (born 28 June 1945, Istanbul) is a Turkish film actress Bibras Natkho ( ביברס נאתכו, born February 18, 1988) is an Israeli Circassian football player Deniz Baykal (born 20 July 1938 in Antalya, Turkey) is a Turkish politician and long-time leader of the Republican People's Party Çerkes Ethem was a Turkish militia leader of Circassian origin who initially gained fame for fighting against the Allied powers invading Anatolia Circassian beauties were women of the Circassian people of the Caucasus mountain range in Circassia, Northern Caucasus. Cherkes (also Cherkess) are an ethnic group of the northwestern Caucasus region and are a part of the Adyghe nation ) (1999) The Massacre in History Berghahn Books, New York, ISBN 1571819347
- ^ Allen, W. E. D. and Muratoff, Paul (1953) Caucasian Battlefields: History of the Wars on the Turco-Caucasian Border 1828-1921 Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 107-8 OCLC 1102813
- ^ Mufti, Shawkat (1972) Heroes and emperors in Circassian history Librairie du Liban, Beirut, OCLC 628135
- ^ Brooks, Willis (I995) "Russia’s conquest and pacification of the Caucasus: relocation becomes a pogrom on the post-Crimean period" Nationalities Papers 23(4): pp. 675-86
- ^ Circassians in Israel. Circassian World.
References
- Shtendel, Uri , The Circassians in Israel, Am Hasefer Tel Aviv, 1973.
Jaimoukha, Amjad, 'The Circassians: A Handbook', London: Routledge, New York: Routledge & Palgrave, 2001.
External links
- Adyga.org - Popular Circassian Internet Forum
- Circassian World: Historical Publications and Articles
- Circassian's in California, USA
- Adigha Story: Popular Publications and Articles
- Kafkas Vakfi Caucasus Foundation
- Israeli Circassians (Hebrew)
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