Circassia ( ), also known as Zichia, was a country and a historical region in . It spanned the western coastal portions of the North Caucasus, along the northeastern shore of the Black Sea.Evliya Çelebi, Seyahatnâme, II, 61-70; VII, 265-295 Circassia was conquered by the Russian Empire during the Russo-Circassian War (1763–1864), after which approximately 80–97% of the Circassian people were either exiled or massacred in the Circassian genocide.
In the medieval era, Circassia was nominally ruled by an elected Grand Prince, but individual principalities and tribes were autonomous. In the 18th–19th centuries, a central government began to form. The Circassians also dominated the northern end of the Kuban River, but were eventually pushed back to the south of the Kuban after suffering losses to military raids conducted by the Mongol Empire, the Golden Horde, and the Crimean Khanate. Their reduced borders then stretched from the Taman Peninsula to North Ossetia. The term Circassia is also used as the collective name of various Circassian states that were established within historical Circassian territory, such as Zichia.
Legally and internationally, the Treaty of Belgrade, which was signed between Austria and the Ottoman Empire in 1739, provided for the recognition of the independence of Eastern Circassia. Both the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire recognized it under witness from the other great powers of the time. The Congress of Vienna also stipulated the recognition of the independence of Circassia. In 1837, Circassian leaders sent letters to a number of European states requesting diplomatic recognition. Following this, the United Kingdom recognized Circassia. However, following the outbreak of the Russo-Circassian War, the Russian Empire did not recognize Circassia as an independent nation and instead treated it as Russian land under rebel occupation, despite having no control or ownership over the region. Russian generals often referred to the Circassians as "mountaineers", "bandits", and "mountain scum" rather than by their ethnonym.
The Russian conquest of Circassia created the Circassian diaspora; the overwhelming majority of Circassians today live outside of their ancestral homeland, mostly in Turkey and other parts of the Middle East. Only about 14% of the global Circassian population lives in the modern-day Russian Federation.
Etymology
The words Circassia and Circassian ( ) are exonyms, Latinized from the word Cherkess, which is of debated origin.Douglas Harper, Etymonline states: "1550s, in reference to a people people of the northern Caucasus along the Black Sea, from Circassia, Latinized from Russian Cherkesŭ, which is of unknown origin. Their name for themselves is Adighe. Their language is non-Indo-European. The race was noted for the "fine physical formation of its members, especially its women" [Century Dictionary], who were much sought by neighboring nations as concubines, etc."James Stuart Olson, et al., eds. "Cherkess".An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires. Greenwood Publishing, 1994. p. 150. "The Beslenei (Beslenej) are located between the upper Urup and Khozdya rivers, and along the Middle Laba River, in the western reaches of the North Caucasus." One view is that its root stems from Turkic languages, and that the term means "head choppers" or "warrior killers" accounting for the successful battle practices of the Circassians.Yamisha, Jonty. The Circassians: An Introduction There are those who argue that the term comes from Mongolian Jerkes, meaning "one who blocks a path". Some believe it comes from , the Ancient Greek name of a tribe that lived in the Caucasus. According to another view, its origin is Persian.
In languages spoken geographically close to the Caucasus, the native people originally had other names for the Circassia, but with Russian influence, the name has been settled as Cherkessia/Circassia. It is the same or similar in many world languages that cite these languages.
Circassians themselves don't use the term "Circassia", and refer to their country as () or ().
Another historical name for the country was Zichia (or Zyx; the tribe living there was called Zygii), who was described by the ancient Greek intellectual Strabo as a nation to the north of Colchis.Strabo, Geographica 11.2
Geography
Circassia was located north of Western Asia, near the northeastern Black Sea coast. Before the Russian conquest of the Caucasus (1763–1864), it covered the entire fertile plateau and the steppe of the northwestern region of the Caucasus, with an estimated population of 1 million.
Circassia's historical great range extended from the Taman Peninsula in the west, to the town of Mozdok in today's North Ossetia–Alania in the east. Historically, Circassia covered the southern half of today's Krasnodar Krai, the Republic of Adygea, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, and parts of North Ossetia–Alania and Stavropol Krai, bounded by the Kuban River on the north which separated it from the Russian Empire. In the Middle Ages, Circassia also included part of the Crimean Peninsula.
On the Black Sea coast, the climate is warm and humid, while being moderate in the lowlands and cooler in the highlands. Most of Circassia is frost free for more than half the year. There are steppe meadows in the plains, beech and oak forests in the foothills, and pine forests and alpine meadows in the mountains.
Sochi is considered by many Circassians as their traditional capital city.Home thoughts from abroad: Circassians mourn the past—and organise for the future. The Economist. 2012-05-26. According to Circassians, the 2014 Winter Olympic village is built in an area of mass graves of Circassians after their defeat by the Russians Empire in 1864.Spelen zijn op massagraven. Nederlandse Omroep Stichting 2014-02-03
Statehood and politics
Institute of the Grand Prince of Circassia Between 1427 and 1453, Inal the Great conquered all Circassian principalities and declared himself the Grand Prince of Circassia. Following his death, Circassia was divided again.
The influential principalities of Circassia regularly met to elect a Grand Prince (Пщышхо) among them, with the only condition being that the prince can trace descent from Inal the Great. The existence of such an institute is confirmed by foreign sources. In the eyes of foreign observers, the Grand Prince was considered the king of the Circassians. However, the individual tribes were greatly autonomous and the title was mostly symbolic. In 1237, the Dominican monks Richard and Julian, as part of the Hungarian embassy, visited Circassia and the main city of the country, Matrega, located on the Taman Peninsula. In Matrega, the embassy received a good reception from the Grand Prince.De facto Ungariae Magnae a fretre Riccardo invento tempori domini Gregorii Noni. // Исторический архив. 1940. Т. 3. С. 96.)
In the 14th and 15th centuries Italian documents concerning the relationship between the consul of Kafa and Circassia clearly indicate the absolutely special status of the ruler of Circassia. This status allowed the senior prince of Circassia to correspond with the Pope. The letter of Pope John XXII, addressed to the Grand Prince of Zichia (Circassia) Verzacht, dates back to 1333, in which the Roman pontiff thanked the ruler for his diligence in introducing the Catholic faith among his subjects. Verzacht's power status was so high that following his example some other Circassian princes adopted Catholicism.Atti della Societa Ligure di storia patria. T. VII, f. 2. 737; Колли Л. Кафа в период владения ею банком св. Георгия (1454-1475) // Известия Таврической Ученой Архивной комиссии. No. 47. Симферополь, 1912. С. 86.)
Confederation Circassia traditionally consisted of more than a dozen principalities. Some of these principalities were divided into large feudal estates, characterized by the stability of political status. Within these territories there were numerous feudal possessions of princes (pshi). The Circassian state was a federal state consisting of four levels of government: Village council (чылэ хасэ, made up of village elders and nobles), district council (made up of representatives from 7 neighboring village councils), regional council (шъолъыр хасэ, made up from neighboring district councils), people's council (лъэпкъ зэфэс, where every council had a representative). A central government emerged during the mid to late 1800s. Prior to that, the institute of grand prince was mostly symbolic.
In 1807, Qalebatuqo Hatuqay Shupago self-proclaimed himself as the leader of the Circassian confederation, and divided Circassia into 12 major regions.Berkok, İsmail. Tarihte KafkasyaKAFFED, Çerkes Özgürlük MeclisiThese regions were Shapsugo-Natukhaj, Abdzakh, Chemguy, Barakay, Bzhedug, Kabardo-Besleney, Hatuqway, Makhosh, Bashilbey, Taberda, Abkhazia and Ubykh. In 1827, Ismail Berzeg officially declared the military confederation of the Circassian tribes and by 1839 united a significant part of Circassia under his control.D, S. Kronolojik Savaş Tarihi In 1839, the Circassians declared Bighuqal (Anapa) as their new capital and Hawduqo Mansur was declared the new leader of the Circassian Confederation. He kept this title until his death.Хункаров, Д. Урыс-Адыгэ зауэA.Ü. Arşivi, XII.V, Çerkez tarihi liderleri In 1848, Muhammad Amin was the leader of Circassia.Казиев Ш.М. Имам Шамиль / Изд. 2-е испр. — М.: Молодая гвардия, 2003. — 378 с.AKAK, Vol. X, p.590, document No. 544, Vorontsov to Chernyshev (secret), 8 November 1847, No. 117Карлгоф Н. Магомет-Амин II // Кавказский календарь на 1861 год. — Тф.: Тип. Гл. управ. намес. кавказского, 1860. — С. 77—102 (отд. 4). After learning that a warriorly scholar has arrived, thousands of families moved to the Abzakh region to accept his rule.NA, F.O. 195/443, “Report of Mehmed Emin...”, 15 August 1854 Seferbiy Zaneqo assumed power after Amin's departure, but died the next year.
In June 1860, at a congress of representatives of Circassians, a parliament was formed as the highest legislative body of Circassia. Being a political resistance council and the legislature of Circassia,Фадеев А.В. Указ. соч.Фадеев А.В. Убыхи в освободительном движении на Западном Кавказе //Исторический сборник. – М.; Л., 1935. – No. 4.Блиев М.М., Дегоев В.В. Кавказская война. – М., 1994. the parliament was established in the capital of Sochi () on June 13, 1860 and Qerandiqo Berzeg was elected as the head of the parliament and the nation.Ruslan, Yemij (August 2011). Soçi Meclisi ve Çar II. Aleksandr ile Buluşma.
External relations Legally and internationally, the Treaty of Belgrade 1739 provided for the recognition of the independence of Eastern Circassia (Kabarda), where both the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire recognized it, and the great powers at the time witnessed the treaty. The Congress of Vienna held in the period between 1814 and 1815 also stipulated the recognition of the independence of Circassia. In 1837, Circassian leaders sent letters to European countries requesting legal recognition. Following this, the United Kingdom recognized Circassia. However, during the Russian-Circassian War, the Russian Empire did not recognize Circassia as an independent region, and treated it as Russian land under rebel occupation, despite having no control or ownership over the region. Russian generals referred to the Circassians not by their ethnic name, but as "mountaineers", "bandits", and "mountain scum".