Аԥсуаа | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Former Soviet Union | |
![]() | 127,404 (2018 census) [2] |
![]() | 11,366 (2002 census) [3] |
![]() | 3,527 (2008) [4] |
![]() | 1,458 (2001) [5] |
![]() | 22 – 29 (2021) [6] [7] |
Diaspora | |
![]() | 39,000 - 600,000 [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] |
![]() | c. 10,000 [13] |
Languages | |
Abkhaz (native), Russian, Georgian, Turkish | |
Religion | |
Majority Abkhazian Orthodox Christianity (in Abkhazia) or Sunni Islam (in Turkey) with Abkhaz native faith minority | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Abazins, Circassians |
The Abkhazians or Abkhazes [lower-alpha 1] are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea. A large Abkhaz diaspora population resides in Turkey, the origins of which lie in the Caucasian War in the late 19th century. Many Abkhaz also live in other parts of the former Soviet Union, particularly in Russia and Ukraine. [14]
The Abkhaz language belongs to the isolate Northwest Caucasian language family, also known as Abkhaz–Adyghe or North Pontic family, which groups the dialectic continuum spoken by the Abaza–Abkhaz (Abazgi) and Adyghe ("Circassians" in English). [15] Abkhazians are closely ethnically related to Circassians. [16] Classical sources speak of several tribes dwelling in the region, but their exact identity and location remain controversial due to Abkhaz–Georgian historiographical conflict.[ citation needed ]
There are also three subgroups of the Abkhaz people. The Bzyb (Бзыԥ, Bzyph) reside in the Bzyb River region, and speak their own dialect. [17] The Abzhui (Абжьыуа, Abzhwa) live in the Kodori River region, and also speak their own dialect, which the Abkhaz literary language is based upon. [17] Finally, there are the Samurzakan who reside in the southeast of Abkhazia. [17]
Some scholars deem the ancient Heniochi tribe the progenitors of the Abkhaz. [18] This warlike people came into contact with Ancient Greeks through the colonies of Dioskourias and Pitiuntas. [18] In the Roman period, the Abasgoi are mentioned as inhabiting the region. [18] These Abasgoi (Abkhaz) were described by Procopius as warlike, worshippers of three deities, under the suzerainty of the Kingdom of Lazica. [18] The Abkhazian view is that the Apsilae and Abasgoi are ancestors of the Abkhaz–Adyghe group of peoples, while the Georgian view is that those were Colchians (Kartvelians or Georgians). [19]
Lazica was a vassal kingdom of the Byzantine Empire throughout most of its existence. Later the independent Kingdom of Abkhazia was established and the region became a part of the Georgian cultural world. The local nobility, clergy and educated class used Georgian as a language of literacy and culture. From the early 11th to the 15th century, Abkhazia was a part of the all-Georgian monarchy, but then became a separate Principality of Abkhazia only to be conquered by the Ottomans.[ citation needed ]
Towards the end of the 17th century, the region became a theatre of widespread slave trade and piracy. According to a controversial theory developed by Pavle Ingorokva in the 1950s, at that time a number of the Northwest Caucasian pagan Abaza tribes migrated from the north and blended with the local ethnic elements, significantly changing the region's demographic situation. These views were described as ethnocentric and having little historical support. [20] [21]
The Russian conquest of Abkhazia from the 1810s to the 1860s was accompanied by a massive expulsion of Muslim Abkhaz to the Ottoman Empire and the introduction of a strong Russification policy. As a result, the Abkhaz diaspora is currently estimated to measure at least twice the number of Abkhaz that reside in Abkhazia. The largest part of the diaspora now lives in Turkey, with estimates ranging from 100,000 to 500,000, with smaller groups in Syria (5,000 – 10,000) and Jordan. In recent years, some of these have emigrated to the West, principally to Germany (5,000), Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Austria and the United States (mainly to New Jersey). [22]
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Abkhazia was a part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, but was conquered by the Red Army in 1921 and eventually entered the Soviet Union as a Soviet Socialist Republic associated with the Georgian SSR. The status of Abkhazia was downgraded in 1931 when it became an Autonomous SSR within the Georgian SSR. Under Joseph Stalin, a forcible collectivization was introduced and the native communist elite purged. The influx of Armenians, Russians and Georgians into the growing agricultural and tourism sectors was also encouraged, and Abkhaz schools were briefly closed. By 1989, the number of Abkhaz was about 93,000 (18% of the population of the autonomous republic), while the Georgian population numbered 240,000 (45%). The number of Armenians (15% of the entire population) and Russians (14%) grew substantially as well.[ citation needed ]
The 1992–1993 War in Abkhazia followed by the ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia left the Abkhaz an ethnic plurality of ca. 45%, with Russians, Armenians, Georgians, Greeks, and Jews comprising most of the remainder of the population of Abkhazia. The 2003 census established the total number of Abkhaz in Abkhazia at 94,606. [2] However, the exact demographic figures for the region are disputed and alternative figures are available. [23] The de facto Abkhaz president Sergey Bagapsh suggested, in 2005, that less than 70,000 ethnic Abkhaz lived in Abkhazia. [24]
At the time of the 2011 Census, 122,175 Abkhaz were living in Abkhazia. They were 50.8% of the total population of the republic. [25]
In the course of the Syrian uprising, a number of Abkhaz living in Syria immigrated to Abkhazia. [13] By mid-April 2013, approximately 200 Syrians of Abkhaz descent had arrived in Abkhazia. [26] [27] A further 150 were due to arrive by the end of April. [26] The Abkhazian leadership has stated that it would continue the repatriation of Abkhaz living abroad. [27] As of August 2013, 531 Abkhaz had arrived from Syria according to the Abkhazian government. [28]
The typical economy is strong on the breeding of cattle, beekeeping, viticulture, and agriculture. [17]
The Abkhaz people are principally divided into Abkhazian Orthodox Christian (the Abkhazian Orthodox Church is not recognized by any of the world Orthodox churches, but the territory is recognized as the Eparchy of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia of the Georgian Orthodox Church) and Sunni Muslim (Hanafi) communities, [17] (prevalent in Abkhazia and Turkey respectively) but the indigenous non-Abrahamic beliefs have always been strong. [29] Although Christianity made its first appearance in the realm of their Circassian neighbours in the first century AD via the travels and preaching of the Saint Andrew, [30] and became the dominant religion of Circassians in the 3rd to 4th centuries, Christianity became the dominant religion of Abkhazians in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian I, and continued to be followed under the kings of Georgia in the High Middle Ages. The Ottomans introduced Islam in the 16th century and the region became largely Muslim gradually until the 1860s. [31]
Many Muslim Circassians, Abkhaz and Chechens migrated to the Ottoman Empire following revolts against Russian rule. [32] It is believed that the Abkhaz community in Turkey is larger than that of Abkhazia itself. [32] Some 250 Abkhaz-Abaza villages are estimated throughout Turkey. [32] According to Andrew Dalby, Abkhazian-speakers might number more than 100,000 in Turkey, [33] however, the 1963 census only recorded 4,700 native speakers and 8,000 secondary speakers. [34] Of the 15,000 ethnic Abkhaz in Turkey, only 4,000 speak the language, the rest having assimilated into Turkish society. [35] As of 2006, it is estimated that 600,000 to 800,000 Abkhazians by descent live in Turkey. [12]
The people closest genetically to the Abkhazians are the Abazins [36] [37] [38] and Circassians. [39] [40] [41] [42] There are also similarities between some Western Georgian ethnic groups. [43] [44]
The Caucasus or Caucasia, is a transcontinental region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically been considered as a natural barrier between Eastern Europe and West Asia.
The Northwest Caucasian languages, also called West Caucasian, Abkhazo-Adyghean, Abkhazo-Circassian, Circassic, or sometimes Pontic languages, is a family of languages spoken in the northwestern Caucasus region, chiefly in three Russian republics, the disputed territory of Abkhazia, Georgia, and Turkey, with smaller communities scattered throughout the Middle East.
Abkhaz, also known as Abkhazian, is a Northwest Caucasian language most closely related to Abaza. It is spoken mostly by the Abkhaz people. It is one of the official languages of Abkhazia, where around 100,000 people speak it. Furthermore, it is spoken by thousands of members of the Abkhazian diaspora in Turkey, Georgia's autonomous republic of Adjara, Syria, Jordan, and several Western countries. 27 October is the day of the Abkhazian language in Georgia.
The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in the North Caucasus. 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. 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.
The Principality of Abkhazia emerged as a separate feudal entity in the 15th-16th centuries, amid the civil wars in the Kingdom of Georgia that concluded with the dissolution of the unified Georgian monarchy. The principality retained a degree of autonomy under Ottoman and then Russian rule, but was eventually absorbed into the Russian Empire in 1864.
The Ubykh are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, represented by one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circassian flag. Along with the Natukhai and Shapsug tribes, the Ubykh were one of three coastal Circassian tribes to form the Circassian Assembly in 1860. Historically, they spoke a distinct Ubykh language, which never existed in written form and went extinct in 1992 when Tevfik Esenç, the last speaker, died.
The Abkhazia conflict is a territorial dispute over Abkhazia, a region on the eastern coast of the Black Sea in the South Caucasus, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The conflict involves Georgia, the Russian Federation and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Republic of Abkhazia, which is internationally recognised only by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria; Georgia and all other United Nations members consider Abkhazia a sovereign territory of Georgia. However, as of 2023, Georgia lacks de facto control over the territory.
The Abazin, Abazinians or Abaza are an ethnic group of the Northwest Caucasus, closely related to the Abkhaz and Circassian peoples. Now, they live mostly in Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and in Karachay-Cherkessia and Stavropol Krai in the North Caucasus region of Russia. The Tapanta, a branch of the Abaza, lived between the Besleney and Kabardian princedoms on the upper Kuban.
The peoples of the Caucasus, or Caucasians, are a diverse group comprising more than 50 ethnic groups throughout the Caucasus.
Sukhumi is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the capital and largest city of the Republic of Abkhazia, a partially recognised state that most countries consider a part of Georgia. The city has been controlled by Abkhazia since the Abkhazian war in 1992–93. The city, which has an airport, is a port, major rail junction and a holiday resort because of its beaches, sanatoriums, mineral-water spas and semitropical climate. It is also a member of the International Black Sea Club.
The Sadz or Asadzwa, also Jigets, are a subethnic group of the Abkhazians. They are sometimes purported to have originated from the Sanigoi tribe mentioned by the Classic authors. In the 6th century, they formed a tribal principality, which later commingled with the Abasgoi, Apsilae and Missimianoi into the Kingdom of Abkhazia.
The Abzakh are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circassian flag. Historically, they lived in the mountainous part of the modern Russian republics of Adygea and Krasnodar Krai. Major settlements or villages were located in the river valleys Kurdzhips, Psheha, Pshish, and Psekups.
The history of Abkhazia, a region in the South Caucasus, spans more than 5,000 years from its settlement by the lower-paleolithic hunter-gatherers to its present status as a partially recognized state.
The Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia was a short-lived republic within the Caucasus region of the Soviet Union that covered the territory of Abkhazia, and existed from 31 March 1921 to 19 February 1931. Formed in the aftermath of the Red Army invasion of Georgia in 1921, it was independent until 16 December 1921 when it agreed to a treaty that united it with the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. The SSR Abkhazia was similar to an autonomous Soviet republic, though it retained nominal independence from Georgia and was given certain features only full union republics had, like its own military units. Through its status as a "treaty republic" with Georgia, Abkhazia joined the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, which united Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian SSRs into one federal unit when the latter was formed in 1922. The SSR Abkhazia was abolished in 1931 and replaced with the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Georgian SSR.
The demographics of Abkhazia include population density, ethnicity, education level, health, socioeconomic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It covers 8,665 square kilometres (3,346 sq mi) and has a population of around 245,000. Its capital and largest city is Sukhumi.
Relations between Abkhazia and Turkey have not been not officially established. Although Turkey has not recognized Abkhazia's independence and regards it as de jure part of Georgia, the two governments reportedly have secret ties.
Circassian nationalism is the desire among Circassians worldwide to preserve their genes, heritage and culture, save their language from extinction, raise awareness about the Circassian genocide, return to Circassia and establish a completely autonomous or independent Circassian state in its pre-Russian invasion borders.
Viacheslav Chirikba is a linguist and politician from Abkhazia. He was Minister for Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia between 2011 and 2016.
This is an alphabetical list of Abkhazia-related articles.
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