Circassia, also known as Zichia, was a country and a historical region in Eastern Europe. It spanned the western coastal portions of the North Caucasus, along the northeastern shore of the Black Sea. Circassia was conquered by the Russian Empire during the Russo-Circassian War (1763–1864), after which approximately 99.5–99.8% of the Circassian people were either exiled or massacred in the Circassian genocide.
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.
The Ubykh are an ethnic group of the Circassian nation, represented by one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circassian flag. Along with the Circassian tribes of Natukhai and Shapsug, the Ubykh formed 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 Caucasian War or the Caucasus War was a 19th-century military conflict between the Russian Empire and various peoples of the North Caucasus who resisted subjugation during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. It consisted of a series of military actions waged by the Russian Imperial Army and Cossack settlers against the native inhabitants such as the Adyghe, Abaza-Abkhazians, Ubykhs, Chechens, and Dagestanis as the Tsars sought to expand.
The Shapsug are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes. Historically, the Shapsug tribe comprised one of the largest groups of the Black Sea Adyghe. They inhabited the region between the Dzhubga River and the Shakhe Rivers and high-altitude mountainous areas of the northern slopes of the Caucasus range along the Antkhir, Abin, Afips, Bakan, Ships, and other rivers . In Russia, the remaining Shapsug population mainly live in the Tuapsinsky District (Tuapse) of Krasnodar Krai, Lazarevsky City District of Sochi, and in the Republic of Adygea, which were a small part of historical Circassia.
The Circassian genocide, or Tsitsekun, was the systematic mass killing, ethnic cleansing, and expulsion of between 95% and 97% of the Circassian people during the final stages of the Russian invasion of Circassia in the 19th century. It resulted in the deaths of between 625,000 and 1.5 million and the destruction of Circassia, which was then annexed by the Russian Empire. Those planned for extermination were mainly the Circassians, who are predominantly Muslims, but other Muslim Caucasian peoples were also affected, as part of the Caucasian War. Notable killing methods used by the Imperial Russian Army in Circassia included impalement and tearing open the bellies of pregnant women in order to intimidate the Circassians and devastate their morale. Many Russian generals, such as the ethnically Baltic German Grigory Zass, described the Circassians as "subhuman filth" and a "lowly race" to justify and glorify their wholesale slaughter and their use as human test subjects in unethical scientific experiments. Russian soldiers were also permitted to rape Circassian women.
The Russo-Circassian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Circassia, was the 101-year-long invasion of Circassia by the Russian Empire. The conflict started in 1763 (O.S.) with Russia assuming authority in Circassia, followed by Circassian refusal, and ended with the last army of Circassia defeated on 21 May 1864 (O.S.). It was exhausting and casualty-heavy for both sides. The Russo-Circassian War was the longest war both Russia and Circassia have ever fought and the longest war in the Caucasus region.
The Circassian Day of Mourning is observed by the Circassian diaspora every year on 21 May to commemorate all those who were killed in and displaced by the Circassian genocide, which took place in the final stages of the Russian invasion of Circassia. It is known in Russia as the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Caucasus War, owing to the fact that the Russian government does not recognize the events as a genocide. On 21 May 1864, the Russian general Pavel Grabbe held a military parade in what is now Krasnaya Polyana following his troops' victory in the Battle of Qbaada; it was also on this day that Circassia was annexed by the Russian Empire, which then launched a campaign to empty the region of the native Circassian people.
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.
Circassians in Turkey refers to people born in or residing in Turkey that are of Circassian origin. The Circassians are one of the largest ethnic minorities in Turkey, with a population estimated to be two million, or according to the EU reports, three.
The Circassian Parliament or the Circassian Majlis was the legislature of Circassia officialized in 1861 after a meeting in Sochi attended by leaders of several Circassian provinces. A tribal confederation had existed before the parliament's establishment, but a centralized government was achieved only after it was built.
The Circassian diaspora are ethnic Circassians around the world who were driven from Circassia during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. From 1763 to 1864, the Circassians fought against the Russian Empire in the Russian-Circassian War which ended in a genocide campaign initiated between 1862 and 1864.Large numbers of Circassians were exiled and deported to the Ottoman Empire and nearby regions; others were resettled in Russia far from their homeland. Circassians live in more than fifty countries, besides the Republic of Adygea. Total population estimates differ: according to some sources, some two million Circassians live in Turkey, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq; other sources say between one and four million live in Turkey alone.
Seferbiy Zaneqo, or Sefer Pasha, was a Circassian diplomat and military commander who served as the 5th leader of the Circassian Confederation from 1859 to 1860. He took part in the Russo-Circassian War both in a military and a political capacity. Advocating for the Circassian cause in the west and acting as an emissary of the Ottoman Empire in the region. By the end of his life Zaneqo had emerged as the leader of the Circassian resistance.
Muhammad-Amin Asiyalav or Naib Emin Pasha was a North Caucasian military commander and Islamic preacher of Avar origin who served as the 4th leader of the Circassian Confederation from 1848 to 1859. He was one of the Circassian leaders in the Russo-Circassian War and the third naib of Imam Shamil.
Grigory Khristoforovich von Zass was an Imperial Russian general who commanded Russian cavalry troops in the Napoleonic Wars and Russo-Circassian War, initially gaining prominence for his genocidal actions against the Circassians, whom he reportedly saw as a "lowly race". He was the founder of the city of Armavir, Russia.
The Hakuchey or Hakuch were a Circassian warrior clan who were mostly destroyed in the Circassian genocide and the Russo-Circassian War. The remaining adherents were assimilated into the Shapsug tribe. They used to speak Hakuchi, a sub-dialect of the Shapsug dialect of the western dialect of the Circassian language.
The Circassian Union and Charity Society or Çerkes İttihat ve Teavün Cemiyeti was a Circassian nationalist charitable organization in the Ottoman Empire. It was based on several principles, mainly intellectualism, Circassian nationalism, and belief in Islam.
The siege of Anapa or the storming of Anapa was a siege that took place on July 3, 1791, when the Russian Empire attacked the Turkish-regulated Anapa fort in Circassia as part of the Russo-Turkish War and the Russo-Circassian War.
The Battle of Khosta (1840) was a major engagement in the Russo-Circassian War (1763–1864), fought between the Russian Empire and Circassian tribes near Khosta in the Western Caucasus. Despite being outnumbered, Circassian fighters ambushed a Russian force of approximately 3,000 troops, inflicting around 2,000 casualties. This victory highlighted the effectiveness of Circassian guerrilla tactics and temporarily stalled Russian expansion in the region, boosting local resistance efforts.
House of Berzeg (ਨ) is a Circassian princely house of Ubykhia of Circassia, who controlled the entirety of valley of the Sochi River and entirety of the Mytykhuasua village of Ş̂açə (Sochi) until the end of Russo-Circassian War.
Russia 
Circassia 
