Global InformationCircassians information
Адыгэхэр (Adyghe) | |
|---|---|
 Circassian national flag | |
 Map of the Circassian diaspora | |
| Total population | |
| c. 5.3 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Turkey | 2,000,000–3,000,000[1][2][3] |
 Russia
| 751,487[4] |
 Jordan | 250,000[5][3] |
 Syria | 80,000–120,000[3][6][7][8][9] |
 Egypt | 50,000[citation needed] |
 Germany | 40,000[3][10] |
 Libya | 35,000[11] |
 Iraq | 34,000[12] |
 United States | 25,000[12] |
 Saudi Arabia | 23,000[citation needed] |
 Iran | 5,000–50,000[13] |
 Israel | 4,000–5,000[14][15][16] |
 Uzbekistan | 1,257[17] |
 Ukraine | 1,000[18] |
 Poland | 1,000[19][20][21] |
 Netherlands | 500[22] |
 Canada | 400[23] |
 Belarus | 116[24] |
 Turkmenistan | 54[25] |
| Languages | |
| Ubykh, Circassian languages (Adyghe and Kabardian) Arabic, Turkish, Russian (L2) | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Abkhazians, Abazins, Chechens and other North Caucasian people[26][27][28] | |
| Part of a series on the |
| Circassians Адыгэхэр |
|---|
 List of notable Circassians Circassian genocide |
| Circassian diaspora |
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| Circassian tribes |
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Surviving
Destroyed or barely existing
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| Religion |
Religion in Circassia
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| Languages and dialects |
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| History |
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Show |
| Culture |
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The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe (Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: Adygekher) are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in the North Caucasus.[29] As a consequence of the Circassian genocide, which was perpetrated by the Russian Empire during the Russo-Circassian War in the 19th century, most of the Circassian people were exiled from their ancestral homeland and consequently began living in what was then the Ottoman Empire—that is, modern-day Turkey and the rest of the Middle East.[30] In the early 1990s, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization estimated that there are as many as 3.7 million Circassians in diaspora in over 50 countries.[31]
The two Circassian languages—western Adyghe and eastern Kabardian—are natively spoken by the Circassian people.[32] Khabzeism is their ethnic religion, which was historically practiced in Circassia since ancient times, but Sunni Islam became the dominant religion among them around the 17th century, following a long period of Islamization.[33] Circassia has been repeatedly invaded since ancient times; its isolated terrain coupled with the strategic value external societies have placed on the region have greatly shaped the Circassian national identity as a whole.[34]
The Circassian flag consists of a green field charged with 12 gold stars and, in the centre, three crossed black arrows. The stars represent the 12 Circassian tribes: the Abzakh, the Besleney, the Bzhedugh, the Hatuqway, the Kabardians, the Mamkhegh, the Natukhaj, the Shapsugh, the Chemirgoy, the Ubykh, the Yegeruqway and the Zhaney.[35]
Circassians have played major roles in areas where they settled: in Turkey, those of Circassian origin have had massive influence, being instrumental in the Turkish War of Independence[36] and among the elites of Turkey's intelligence agency;[37] in Jordan, they founded the capital city Amman,[38][39] and continue to play a major role in the country; in Syria, they served as the volunteer guards of the Allies upon their entry into the country and still have high positions;[40] in Libya, they serve in high military positions; in Egypt, they were part of the ruling class.[41] They also contributed to cultural literary, intellectual, and political life starting with the reign of Muhammad Ali Pasha in Egypt and continuing to the modern day, especially through the country's largest Circassian clan: the Abaza family.[42][43][44]
In Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union, historical Circassia was divided into the republics of Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, and Krasnodar Krai, and southwestern parts of Stavropol Krai. Accordingly, Circassians have been designated as Adygeans in Adygea, Kabardians in Kabardino-Balkaria, Cherkess in Karachay-Cherkessia, and Shapsug in Krasnodar Krai; all four are essentially the same people. Today, approximately 800,000 Circassians remain in historical Circassia, while 4,500,000 live elsewhere.[45]
- ^ Richmond 2013, p. 130.
- ^ Danver, Steven L. (2015). Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues. Routledge. p. 528. ISBN 978-1317464006. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d Zhemukhov, Sufian (2008). "Circassian World Responses to the New Challenges" (PDF). PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo No. 54: 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- ^ "Natsional'nyy sostav naseleniya" Национальный состав населения [National composition of the population] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "Израйльский сайт ИзРус". Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ^ "Syrian Circassians returning to Russia's Caucasus region". TRTWorld. TRTWorld and agencies. 2015. Archived from the original on 1 June 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
Currently, approximately 80,000 ethnic Circassians live in Syria after their ancestors were forced out of the northern Caucasus by Russians between 1863 and 1867.
- ^ "Syria" Archived 11 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine Library of Congress
- ^ "Независимые английские исследования". Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ^ "single | The Jamestown Foundation". Jamestown. Jamestown.org. 7 May 2013. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
- ^ Lopes, Tiago André Ferreira. "The Offspring of the Arab Spring" (PDF). Strategic Outlook. Observatory for Human Security (OSH). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ "Via Jamestown Foundation". Jamestown. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ^ a b "Adyghe by country". Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ^ "Circassians in Iran". Caucasus Times. 9 February 2018. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ Besleney, Zeynel Abidin (2014). The Circassian Diaspora in Turkey: A Political History. Routledge. p. 96. ISBN 978-1317910046. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ Torstrick, Rebecca L. (2004). Culture and Customs of Israel. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 46. ISBN 978-0313320910. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ Louër, Laurence (2007). To be an Arab in Israel. Columbia University Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-0231140683. Archived from the original on 21 November 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 6 January 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ^ "The distribution of the population by nationality and mother tongue". 2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ^ "Circassian Princes in Poland: The Five Princes, by Marcin Kruszynski". www.circassianworld.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ "Polish-Circassian Relation in 19th Century, by Radosław Żurawski vel Grajewski". www.circassianworld.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ "Polonya'daki Çerkes Prensler: Beş Prens". cherkessia.net. 26 December 2011. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ Zhemukhov, Sufian, Circassian World: Responses to the New Challenges, archived from the original on 12 October 2009
- ^ Hildebrandt, Amber (14 August 2012). "Russia's Sochi Olympics awakens Circassian anger". CBC News. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ "Национальный статистический комитет Республики Беларусь" (PDF) (in Belarusian). Statistics of Belarus. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2013.
- ^ "Итоги всеобщей переписи населения Туркменистана по национальному составу в 1995 году" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 13 March 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ^ Oleg Balanovsky et al., "Parallel Evolution of Genes and Languages in the Caucasus Region," Molecular Biology and Evolution 2011.
- ^ Caciagli et al, 2009. The key role of patrilineal inheritance in the genetic variation of Dagestani highlanders.
- ^ Nasidze et al. "Mitochondrial DNA and Y-Chromosome Variation in the Caucasus", Annals of Human Genetics (2004).
- ^ Minahan, James (2010). One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups. Greenwood Press. p. 12. ISBN 9780313309847.
- ^ "International Circassian Association". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
- ^ Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (1998). Mullen, Christopher A.; Ryan, J. Atticus (eds.). Yearbook 1997. The Hague: Kluwer Law International. pp. 67–69. ISBN 978-90-411-1022-0.
- ^ Hewitt, George (2005). "North West Caucasian". Lingua. 115 (1–2): 17. doi:10.1016/j.lingua.2003.06.003. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ^ "Главная страница проекта 'Арена' : Некоммерческая Исследовательская Служба СРЕДА". Sreda.org. 19 October 2012. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:5was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Gammer, Mos%u030Ce (2004). The Caspian Region: a Re-emerging Region. London: Routledge. p. 67.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Ünal, Muhittin (1996). Kurtuluş Savaşında Çerkeslerin Rolü. Cem Yayınevi. ISBN 9789754065824.
- ^ Çerkeslerin MİT İçindeki Yeri
- ^ Hamed-Troyansky 2017, pp. 608–10.
- ^ Hanania 2018, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Tastekin, Fahim. Syria’s Circassians Caught in Crossfire Archived 26 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Al-Monitor. 2012-11-21.
- ^ Lewis, Martin W. The Circassian Mystique and its Historical Roots Archived 15 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
- ^ Afaf Lutfi Sayyid-Marsot, "Egypt in the reign of Muhammad Ali Pasha", pp. 123–124.
- ^ Yunan Labib Rizk, The making of a king Archived 14 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Al-Ahram Weekly, 762, 29 September – 5 October 2005.
- ^ Goldschmidt, Arthur Jr. (2000). Biographical Dictionary of Modern Egypt. Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-55587-229-8. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
- ^ "Итоги Всероссийской переписи населения 2010 года в отношении демографических и социально-экономических характеристик отдельных национальностей. Приложение 2. Национальный состав населения по субъектам Российской Федерации" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2019.