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1711 - 1763: the Russian state gains control of the Cossacks.
1763-1864: Westward expansion, massive peasant colonization and war in the mountains.
By the mid 18th century there were only 1,162 active-duty Cossacks in the north Caucasus. By 1851 there were 86,538.
In 1777 Russia began building a line of forts between Mozdok and Azov. In that year Stavropol and Georgievsk were founded along this line. (Georgievsk was the seat of the Caucasus Governorate from 1802 to 1822.) In the same year the Volga regiment was formed from Volga Cossacks on the eastern part of this line. Each ne...
Far to the west, in 1708, the Nekrasov Cossacks settled on the Kuban. They were refugees from the Bulavin Rebellion and lived in Crimean-Nogai territory. They seem to have gradually broken up and merged with other groups. In 1783, the same year that Georgia became a Russian vassal, Russia annexed the Khanate of Crimea ...
In the center the line was pushed south from the Terek to the Sunzha. Grozny was founded in 1818. In 1824 general Aleksey Yermolov created the Mountain Cossack regiment between the Volga and Mozdok regiments. These new "Cossacks" were created by decree, the government declaring that various Cossacks, state peasants and...
During the Russo-Circassian War (until 1864) in the west and the Murid War (1830-1859) in the east, the line was the northern base for the conquest of the mountains. When the fighting ended the Cossacks were no longer needed for local fighting, but they remained and remain a rather distinct community.
A proper account of peasant settlement north of the line on the Black Sea-Caspian Steppe would require census figures which do not seem to exist.
The Dandarii or Dandaridae were an ancient people dwelling along the Palus Maeotis in antiquity. Strabo describes them as living among the Maeotae, Sindi, Toreatae, Agri, Arrechi, Tarpetes, Obidiaceni, Sittaceni, Dosci, and Aspurgiani, among others. The Dandarii were one of the Maeotae tribes, who lived in the 1st mill...
The Circassians (; ), also known by their endonym Adyghe (Circassian languages: Адыгэхэр, "Adıgəxər" , "Adygi"; ), are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group native to Circassia, most of whom were exiled to Turkey and the Middle East during the Circassian genocide in the aftermath of the Russo-Circassian War. The Circassia...
The term "Circassian" includes the twelve historic Adyghe tribes of Circassia (three democratic and nine aristocratic); Abdzakh, Besleney, Bzhedugh, Hatuqwai, Qabardey, Mamkhegh, Natukhaj, Shapsugh, Chemguy, Ubykh, Yegeruqwai and Zhaney, each star on the Circassian flag representing one tribe.
Historical Circassia has been divided by Soviet and Russian administrations into the modern-day republics of Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia and Krasnodar Krai, as well as southwestern parts of Stavropol Krai and Rostov Oblast. Accordingly, Circassians or Adyghe have also been designated as the followin...
The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization estimated in the early 1990s that there are as many as 3.7 million "ethnic Circassian" diaspora (in over 50 countries) outside the titular Circassian republics (meaning that only one in seven "ethnic Circassians" lives in their homeland), and that, of these 3.7 million...
The Circassians refer to themselves as "Adyghe" (also transliterated as "Adyga", "Adyge", "Adygei", "Adyghe", "Attéghéi"). The name is believed to derive from "atté" "height" to signify a mountaineer or a highlander, and "ghéi" "sea", signifying "a people dwelling and inhabiting a mountainous country near the sea coast...
In languages in the geography close to the Caucasus, the name has been settled as "Cherkes/Circassian". It is the same or similar in many world languages that cite these languages.
In early Russian sources, the Circassians are referred to as "Kasogi", whereas in medieval Arabic sources, "Kasogi" is written as "Jarkas" and "Jahārkas". The spelling "Charkas" may be an abbreviation of Persian "Chahār-kas" ("four people"), denoting four tribes. Though "Jahārkas" was used by Ibn Khaldun (died 1406) an...
With the advent of the Golden Horde in the 13th century, the designation "Cherkess" "came to refer to the Adyghe who remained in the Caucasus". This in turn created terminology "anomalies", and as a result, "Cherkes" became often used alongside other names such as "Adyghe", "Abaza", "Kabardian", and "Abkhaz". In Mediev...
The "Encyclopaedia Islamica" adds: "This is because the Cherkess, the Kabardians and the western Adyghe people share a common language, which is spoken by the north-western Caucasian (Abkhazi) people, and belongs to the family known as Abkhazian-Adyghe". In Persian sources, "Charkas/Cherkes" is used to refer to the "ac...
Despite a common self-designation and a common Russian name, Soviet authorities applied four designations to Circassians remaining in the historic lands of Circassia:
Genetically, the Adyghe have shared ancestry partially with neighboring peoples of the Caucasus, with some influence from the other regions. The Circassian language, also known as Cherkess, is a member of the Northwest Caucasian language family. Archaeological findings, mainly of dolmens in Northwest Caucasus region, i...
The ancestors of present-day Circassians are known as the Sind-Maeot tribes. Findings obtained as a result of archaeological research show that these tribes were the indigenous people of the Caucasus. Some researchers have claimed there may be links between Circassians and Indo-European-speaking communities, and some h...
Some groups of nationalist Turks have claimed that the Circassians are of Turkic origin, but no scientific evidence has been published to support this claim, and has been strongly denied by Circassians, impartial research, linguists and historians around the world. Circassian language is not similar to the Turkish lang...
In 1382, Circassian slaves took the Mamluk throne, the Burji dynasty took over and the Mamluks became a Circassian state. The Mongols, who started invading the Caucasus in 1223, destroyed some of the Circassians and most of the Alans. The Circassians, who lost most of their lands during the ensuing Golden Horde attacks...
In the 17th century, under the influence of the Crimean Tatars and of the Ottoman Empire, large numbers of Circassians converted to Islam from Christianity.
In 1708, Circassians paid tribute to the Ottoman sultan in order to prevent Tatar raids, but the sultan did not fulfill the obligation and the Tatars raided all the way to the center of Circassia, robbing everything they could. For this reason, Kabardian Circassians announced that they would never pay tribute to the Cr...
The Crimean army was destroyed in one night on 17 September 1708. The Crimean Khan Kaplan-Giray barely managed to save his life, and was humiliated, all the way to his shoes taken, leaving his brother, son, field tools, tents and personal belongings. In 2013, the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of S...
In 1714, Peter I established a plan to occupy the Caucasus. Although he was unable to implement this plan, he laid the political and ideological foundation for the occupation to take place. Catherine II started putting this plan into action. The Russian army was deployed on the banks of the Terek River.
Although it is not known exactly how many people are affected, researchers have suggested that at least 75%, 90%, 94%, or 95% -97% of the ethnic Circassian population are affected. Considering these rates, calculations including those taking into account the Russian government's own archival figures, have estimated a l...
The Ottoman Empire regarded the Adyghe warriors as courageous and well-experienced. It encouraged them to settle in various near-border settlements of the Ottoman Empire in order to strengthen the empire's borders.
"Circassia was a small independent nation on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea. For no reason other than ethnic hatred, over the course of hundreds of raids the Russians drove the Circassians from their homeland and deported them to the Ottoman Empire. At least 600,000 people lost their lives to massacre, starvat...
As of 2020, Georgia was the only country to classify the events as genocide, while Russia actively denies the Circassian genocide, and classifies the events as a simple migration of "undeveloped barbaric peoples".
The actions of the Russian military in acquiring Circassian land through expulsion and massacres have given rise to a movement among descendants of the expelled ethnicities for international recognition of the perpetration of genocide.
On 20 May 2011 the Georgian parliament voted in a 95 to 0 declaration that Russia had committed genocide when it engaged in massacres against Circassians in the 19th century.
Adyghe society prior to the Russian invasion was highly stratified. While a few tribes in the mountainous regions of Adygeya were fairly egalitarian, most were broken into strict castes. The highest was the caste of the "princes", followed by a caste of lesser nobility, and then commoners, serfs, and slaves. In the dec...
Circassians mainly speak the Circassian languages, two mutually intelligible languages of the Northwest Caucasian language family, namely Adyghe (West Circassian) and Kabardian (East Adyghe). Adyghe is based on Temirgoy (Chemirgoy) dialect, while Kabardian is based on the dialect of the same name. Circassians also spea...
Linguists divide the Northwest Caucasian languages into three branches, namely Circassian (Adyghe and Kabardian), Ubykh (consisting only of the Ubykh language, which is considered to have diverged from the Circassian languages and is now a dead language), and Abazgi (Abkhaz and Abaza). The Ubykhs lived on the Black Sea...
Although related, Abazgi and Circassian are mutually unintelligible. Abazgi is spoken by Abkhazians and the Abazins. The Abkhazians lived on the coast between the Circassians and the Georgians, were organized as the Principality of Abkhazia and were involved with the Georgians to some degree. The Abazins or Abaza, thei...
Walter Richmond writes that the Circassian languages in Russia are "gravely threatened." He argues that Russian policy of surrounding small Circassian communities with Slavic populations has created conditions where Circassian languages and nationality will disappear. By the 1990s, Russian had become the standard langu...
Ancestors of modern Adyghe people gradually went through following various religions: Ancient Polytheists Beliefs, Christianity, and then Islam.
It is the tradition of the early church that Christianity made its first appearance in Circassia in the first century AD via the travels and preaching of the Apostle Andrew. Subsequently, Christianity spread throughout the Caucasus between the 4th century and the 6th century.
A small Muslim presence in Circassia has existed since the Middle Ages, but widespread Islamization occurred after 1717, when Sultan Murad IV ordered the Crimean Khans to spread Islam among the Circassians, with the Ottomans and Crimeans seeing some success in converting members of the aristocracy who would then ultima...
Significant Christian and pagan presence remained among some tribes such as the Shapsugs and Natukhai with Islamization pressures implemented by those loyal to the Caucasus Emirate. Sufi orders including the Qadiri and Nakshbandi orders gained prominence and played a role in spreading Islam.
Today, a large majority of Circassians are Muslim, with minorities of Habze, atheists and Christians. Atheist Circassians tend to be of the younger generation (20–35 years old), in which they were found to constitute a quarter of Circassians in Kabardino-Balkaria. Among Christians, Catholicism, originally introduced al...
Both Islam and the Habze are identified as national characteristics even by those that do not practice. Today, Islam is a central part of life in many Circassian diaspora communities, such as in Israel, while in the Circassian homeland Soviet rule saw an extensive process of secularization, and there is wide influence ...
In the modern times, it has been reported that they identify primarily as Muslims. There have also been reports of violence and threats against those "reviving" and diffusing the original Circassian pre Islamic faith. The relationship between "habze" and Islam varies between Circassian communities; for some, there is c...
Society was organized by "Adyghe khabze", or Circassian custom. Many of these customs had equivalents throughout the mountains. The seemingly disorganized Circassians resisted the Russians just as effectively as the organized theocracy of Imam Shamil. The aristocracy was called "warq". Some aristocratic families held t...
They were divided into clans of some sort. Below them were three classes approximating serfs or slaves. Of course, these Circassian social terms do not exactly match their European equivalents. Since everything was a matter custom, much depended on time, place, circumstances and personality. The three 'democratic' trib...
Decisions were made by general agreement and there was no formal mechanism to enforce decisions. The democratic tribes, who were perhaps the majority, lived mainly in the mountains where they were relatively protected from the Russians. They seem to have retained their aristocrats, but with diminished powers. In the re...
In addition to the vertical relations of class there were many horizontal relations between unrelated persons. There was a strong tradition of hospitality similar to the Greek "xenia". Many houses would have a "kunakskaya" or guest room. The duty of a host extended even to "abreks" or outlaws. Two men might be sworn br...
The traditional female clothing ( ) was very diverse and highly decorated and mainly depends on the region, class of family, occasions, and tribes. The traditional female costume is composed of a dress ( ), coat ( ), shirt, pant ( ), vest ( ), lamb leather bra ( ), a variety of hats ( ), shoes, and belts ( ).
Holiday dresses are made of expensive fabrics such as silk and velvet. The traditional colors of women's clothing rarely includes blue, green or bright-colored tones, instead mostly white, red, black and brown shades are worn. The Circassian dresses were embroidered with gold and silver threads. These embroideries were...
The traditional male costume ( ) includes a coat with wide sleeves, shirt, pants, a dagger, sword, and a variety of hats and shoes. Traditionally, young men in the warriors’ times wore coat with short sleeves—in order to feel more comfortable in combat. Different colors of clothing for males were strictly used to disti...
A compulsory item in the traditional male costume is a dagger and a sword. The traditional Adyghean sword is called "shashka". It is a special kind of sabre; a very sharp, single-edged, single-handed, and guardless sword. Although the sword is used by most of Russian and Ukrainian Cossacks, the typically Adyghean form ...
The Adyghe cuisine is rich with different dishes. In the summer, the traditional dishes consumed by the Adyghe people are mainly dairy products and vegetable dishes. In the winter and spring the traditional dishes are mainly flour and meat dishes. An example of the latter is known as "ficcin".
Circassian cheese is considered one of the more famous types of cheeses in the North Caucasus.
A popular traditional dish is chicken or turkey with sauce, seasoned with crushed garlic and red pepper. Mutton and beef are served boiled, usually with a seasoning of sour milk with crushed garlic and salt.
Variants of pasta are found. A type of ravioli may be encountered, which is filled with potato or beef.
On holidays the Adyghe people traditionally make "haliva" () (fried triangular pastries with mainly Circassian cheese or potato), from toasted millet or wheat flour in syrup, baked cakes and pies. In the Levant there is a famous Circassian dish which is called Tajen Alsharkaseiah.
The Adyghes have been famous for making carpets ( ) or mats worldwide for thousands of years.
Making carpets was very hard work in which collecting raw materials is restricted to a specific period within the year. The raw materials were dried, and based on the intended colours, different methods of drying were applied. For example, when dried in the shade, its colour changed to a beautiful light gold colour. If...
The carpets were adorned with images of birds, beloved animals (horses), and plants, and the image of the Sun was widely used.
The carpets were used for different reasons due to their characteristic resistance to humidity and cold, and in retaining heat. Also, there was a tradition in Circassian homes to have two carpets hanging in the guest room, one used to hang over rifles ( ) and pistols (), and the other used to hang over musical instrume...
The carpets were used to pray upon, and it was necessary for every Circassian girl to make three carpets before marriage. These carpets would give the grooms an impression as to the success of their brides in their homes after marriage.
From the late Middle Ages, a number of territorial- and political-based Circassian tribes or ethnic entities began to take shape. They had slightly different dialects.
Dialects came to exist after Circassia was divided into tribes after the death of Inal of Kabardia, who united Circassia for the last time before its short reunion during the Russo-Caucasian War. As the logistics between the tribes became harder, each tribe became slightly isolated from one another, thus the people liv...
At the end of the Caucasian War most Circassians were expelled to the Ottoman Empire, and many of the tribes were destroyed and the people evicted from their historical homeland in 1864.
The twelve stars on the Circassian flag symbolize the individual tribes of the Circassians; the nine stars within the arc symbolize the nine aristocratic tribes of Adygea, and the three horizontal stars symbolize the three democratic tribes. The three democratic tribes or tribes were the Natukhai, Shapsug, and Abdzakh....
Adyghe tribes with remnants still in Circassia are: Kabarda (the largest), the Temirgoy and Bzhedug in Adygea, and the Shapsug near Tuapse and to the north of Tuapsiysiy Rayon of Krasnodarskiy Kray. There are also a few Besleney and Natukhai villages, and an Abdzakh village. The majority tribes in diaspora are Kabardia...
Small tribes or large clans that are included in one of the twelve Adyghe tribes:
The Circassian tribes can be grouped and compared in various ways:
Much of Adyghe culture was disrupted after the conquest of their homeland by Russia in 1864. The Circassian people were subjected to ethnic cleansing and mass exile mainly to the Ottoman Empire, and to a lesser extent Qajar Iran and the Balkans. This increased the number of Circassians in the region and even created se...
Turkey has the largest Adyghe population in the world, around half of all Circassians live in Turkey, mainly in the provinces of Samsun and Ordu (in Northern Turkey), Kahramanmaraş (in Southern Turkey), Kayseri (in Central Turkey), Bandırma, and Düzce (in Northwest Turkey), along the shores of the Black Sea; the region...
Circassians had settled n Cyprus during the Memluk period. However these were mainly members of Memluk Army and majority of them left the island during the Venetian period. Even though, Circassians have arrived to the island during the Otttoman Empire from Caucasus by ships and they settled Limasol Circassian Farm (Cer...
In Israel, the Adyghe initially settled in three places—in Kfar Kama, Rehaniya, and in the region of Hadera. Due to a malaria epidemic, the Adyghe eventually abandoned the settlement near Hadera. Though Sunni Muslim, Adyghe within Israel are seen as a loyal minority who serve in the Israeli armed forces.
The Adyghe had a major role in the history of the Kingdom of Jordan. Over the years, various Adyghe have served in distinguished roles in the kingdom of Jordan. Adyghes have served as a prime minister (Sa'id al-Mufti), as ministers (commonly at least one minister should represent the Circassians in each cabinet), as hi...
During the 13th century the Mamluks seized power in Cairo. Some 15th-century Circassian converts to Islam became Mamluks and rose through the ranks of the Mamluk dynasty to high positions, some becoming sultans in Egypt such as Qaitbay, Mamluk Sultan of Egypt (1468–1496). The majority of the leaders of the Burji Mamluk...
Most Circassian communities in Egypt were assimilated into the local population. several thousand Adyghe reside in Egypt; in addition to the descendants of Burji Mamluks of Adyghe origin, there are many who descend from royal Circassian consorts or Ottoman pashas of Circassian origin as well as Circassian muhajirs of t...
Adyghe came to Iraq directly from Circassia. They settled in all parts of Iraq—from north to south—but most of all in Iraq's capital Baghdad. Many Adyghe also settled in Kerkuk, Diyala, Fallujah, and other places. Circassians have played major roles in different periods throughout Iraq's history, and made great contrib...
However, significant communities of Circassians continue to live in particular cities in Iran, like Tabriz and Tehran, and in the northern provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran.
Notable places of traditional Circassian settlement in Iran include Gilan Province, Fars Province, Isfahan, and Tehran (due to contemporary migration). Circassians in Iran are the nation's second largest Caucasus-derived nation after the Georgians.
Significant communities live in Jordan, Syria (see Circassians in Syria), and smaller communities live in Israel (in the villages of Kfar Kama and Rehaniya—see Circassians in Israel). Circassians are also present in Iraq. Baghdad, Sulaymaniyah, and Diyala comprise the country's main cities with Circassians, though less...
Out of 1,010 Circassians living in Ukraine (473 Kabardian Adyghe (Kabardin), 338 Adygean Adyghe, and 190 Cherkessian Adyghe (Cherkess)—after the existing Soviet division of Circassians into three groups), only 181 (17.9%) declared fluency in the native language; 96 (9.5%) declared Ukrainian as their native language, an...
There is a small community of Circassians in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia. A number of Adyghe also settled in Bulgaria in 1864–1865 but most fled after it became separated from the Ottoman Empire in 1878. The small part of the community that settled in Kosovo (the Kosovo Adyghes) moved to the Repu...
There are Circassians in Germany and a small number in the Netherlands.
Numerous Circassians have also immigrated to the United States and settled in Upstate New York, California, and New Jersey. There is also a small Circassian community in Canada.
The 2014 Winter Olympics facilities in Sochi (once the Circassian capital) were built in areas that were claimed to contain mass graves of Circassians who were killed during genocide by Russia in military campaigns lasting from 1860 to 1864.
Adyghe organizations in Russia and the Adyghe diaspora around the world requested that construction at the site stop and that the Olympic Games not be held at the site of the Adyghe genocide, to prevent desecration of Adyghe graves. According to Iyad Youghar, who headed the lobby group International Circassian Council:...
The insurgency in the North Caucasus () was a low-level armed conflict between Russia and militants associated with the Caucasus Emirate and, since June 2015, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) groups, in the North Caucasus. It followed the official end of the decade-long Second Chechen War on 16 April 2009. I...
The insurgency became relatively dormant in its later years. During its peak, the violence was mostly concentrated in the North Caucasus republics of Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria. Occasional incidents happened in surrounding regions, like North Ossetia-Alania, Karachay-Cherkessia, Stavropol Kra...
The insurgency was officially declared over on 19 December 2017 after more than 8 years when FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov announced the final elimination of the terrorist underground in the North Caucasus.
In late 1999, Russia's Premier, Vladimir Putin, ordered military, police and security forces to enter the breakaway region of Chechnya. By early 2000, these forces occupied most of the region. High levels of fighting
continued for several more years and resulted in thousands of Russian and Chechen casualties and hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. In 2005, Chechen rebel leader, Abdul-Halim Sadulayev, decreed the formation of a Caucasus Front against Russia, among Islamic believers in the North Caucasus, in an attempt to wid...
In the period from 2010 to 2014, the number of casualties in the North Caucasus insurgency declined each year, with the overall death toll falling by more than half. Reasons suggested for the decline include the deaths of high-ranking insurgency commanders, the increased targeting by security forces of the support infr...
The insurgency in the North Caucasus is a direct result of the two post-Soviet wars fought between Russia and Chechnya. The First Chechen War was a nationalist struggle, with both secular and Islamist overtones, for independence from Russia and took place between 1994 and 1996. After a vicious struggle between Russian ...
In August 1999, an armed incursion of 1,500 Islamic radicals, led by Chechen warlord, Shamil Basayev, and Arab jihadist, Ibn al-Khattab, in support of a Dagestani separatist movement, combined with a series of apartment bombings in Russia, gave Moscow sufficient reasoning for re-invading Chechnya, thus triggering the S...
The republic remained a major center of violence for many years. According to Russian figures, between April 2009 (when the anti-terrorist operation in Chechnya was officially ended) and April 2010, 97 servicemen were killed in Chechnya; at the same time, government forces killed 189 persons claimed to be militants or ...
Dagestan is the most religious, populous and complex of all the north Caucasian republics. It is double the size of Chechnya and consists of several dozen ethnic groups, most with their own language. The conflict in Dagestan, however, is not between ethnic groups but between Sufism, a syncretic form of Islam which incl...
Dagestan has the highest levels of violence and extremism in the North Caucasus republics. The Russian Interior Ministry stated that of the 399 terrorist crimes committed in the North Caucasus in 2013, 242 were in Dagestan.
By 2017, all subversive and terrorist groups operating in Dagestan were eliminated.
Along with Dagestan, Ingushetia bore the brunt of the violence in the North Caucasus in the Insurgencies early years. The Islamist insurgency in the republic sprang from the wars in neighbouring Chechnya in the 1990s and early 2000s. In June 2004, Ingush and Chechen fighters launched a large-scale attack on Ingushetia'...

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