  |
|
|
|
The Circassians, Cherkessians are a people of the Northwest Caucasus region. "Circassians" is a Western term derived from the Turkic Cherkess. The name Circassians has been broadly applied to all peoples of the North Caucasus, and somewhat more restrictively to all the peoples of the Northwest Caucasus (Adyghe, Abkhaz, and the vanished Ubykhs , to the exclusion of the eastern Chechens and the peoples of Dagestan.) Most precisely, the name refers to a group of tribes who inhabited the territory of Circassia, and who call themselves Adyghes. In probably the 8th or 9th. Century A.D., a tribal group of Circassians left the Caucasus region and eventually wound up in what is today's Western Ukriane in the area of what now called Cherkassy. The Circassians first emerged as a coherent entity somewhere around the 10th century A.D., may references to them exist much from much earlier times however. It was this period that have been recognized as a cohesive cultural entity.. They have never been politically united, a fact which reduced their influence in the area & their ability to withstand periodic invasions from groups like the Mongols, Avars, Pechenegs, Huns & Khazars.
Circassians have lived outside the Caucasus region since the Middle Ages. They formed a tradition of joining foreign armies, including those of Persia, Rome, Byzantium, and the Golden Horde. They were particularly well represented in the Mamluks of the Ottoman Empire. In fact, the Burji dynasty which ruled Egypt from 1382 to 1517 was founded by Circassian Mamluks. Much of Circassian culture was disrupted after their conquest by Russia in 1864. This lead to a Circassian Diaspora, mostly to various parts of the Ottoman Empire. Today, significant communities of Circassians live in Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Israel, Libya as well as now in the United States. The small community in Kosovo expatriated to Adygea in 1998. It is this lack of unity and cohesiveness which eventually cost the Circassians their independence. They slowly conquered by Russia in a series of wars & campaigns in the late 18th & early to mid-19th centuries. During this period, the Circassians plight achieved a certain celebrity status in the West, but pledges of assistance were never fulfilled. After the Crimean War, Russia turned her attention to the Caucasus in earnest, starting with the peoples of Chechnya & Dagestan. In 1859, the Russians had finished defeating Imam Shamil in the Eastern Caucasus and thus were ready to turn their attention westward thus finally subjugating the Circassians in 1864.
The copyright of the article Rus: Circassians in Russian Culture is owned by . Permission to republish Rus: Circassians in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
