In pre-Hellenistic Greco-Roman geography, Colchis was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia.
Circassia was a country and historical region in the North Caucasus along the northeast shore of the Black Sea. It was destroyed and devastated after the Russian-Circassian war (1763–1864) as 90% of the Circassian people were either massacred or exiled from the region in the Circassian genocide.
The Circassians, Cherkess or Adyghe are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and the indigenous people of the North Caucasus. During the Circassian genocide perpetrated by Russia, most Circassians were exiled from their homeland in Circassia to Turkey and the Middle East, where the majority of them live today. The Circassian language is the shared ancestral language of Circassians; and Islam is their historical religion since the 16th century. Circassia has been subject to repeated invasions since ancient times, and its isolated terrain and the strategic value outsiders have placed on the area has helped shape the Circassians' national character.
The Kabardians or Kabardinians are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circassian flag. They are also commonly known by the plural terms Kabardin, Kebertei, or Kabarday. Along with the Besleney tribe, they speak a distinctive dialect of the Adyghe language. Historically the Kabardians lived in Kabardia, a region of the north Caucasus. In modern times the Kabardians live mostly in the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, which partly corresponds to the historic region.
The Getae or Gets were several Thracian-related tribes that once inhabited the regions to either side of the Lower Danube, in what is today northern Bulgaria and southern Romania. Both the singular form Get and plural Getae may be derived from a Greek exonym: the area was the hinterland of Greek colonies on the Black Sea coast, bringing the Getae into contact with the ancient Greeks from an early date. Although it is believed that the Getae were related to their westward neighbours, the Dacians, several scholars, especially in the Romanian historiography, posit that the Getae and the Dacians were the same people.
The Hatuqway were one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circassian flag. They were known for their art of war as a warrior tribe. After the Russo-Circassian War, their presence in the Caucasus was destroyed during the Circassian genocide, and today they exist only in small communities in various diasporas, and their names are not mentioned anymore in Circassian dialectology.
The Shapsug are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circassian flag. Historically, the Shapsug tribe used to make up one of the biggest groups of the Black Sea Adyghe. They inhabited the region between the Dzhubga River and 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 Sittaceni were an ancient people dwelling along the Palus Maeotis in antiquity. Strabo describes them as living among the Maeotae, Sindi, Dandarii, Toreatae, Agri, Arrechi, Tarpetes, Obidiaceni, Dosci, and Aspurgiani, among others. Sittaceni is one of the Maeotae tribes, who lived in the 1st millennium BC on the east and the south-eastern coast of the Azov sea. In the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, they were concluded to have been one of the ancestors to the Circassians. In the 4th–3rd centuries BC many of the Maeotae tribes were included into the Bosporan Kingdom.
The Sindi were an ancient Circassian people in the Taman Peninsula and the adjacent coast of the Pontus Euxinus, in the district called Sindica, which spread between the modern towns of Temryuk and Novorossiysk. Their name is variously written, and Mela calls them Sindones, Lucian, Sindianoi.
The Maeotians were an ancient people dwelling along the Sea of Azov, which was known in antiquity as the "Maeotian marshes" or "Lake Maeotis". They are often considered to be the ancestors of the Circassians.
The Dandarii or Dandaridae were an ancient people dwelling along the Palus Maeotis in antiquity. Strabo describes them as living among the Maeotae, Sindi, Toreatae, Agri, Arrechi, Tarpetes, Obidiaceni, Sittaceni, Dosci, and Aspurgiani, among others. The Dandarii were one of the Maeotae tribes, who lived in the 1st millennium BC on the east and the south-eastern coast of the Azov sea. In the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, they were concluded to have been one of the ancestors to the Circassians. Maeotae were engaged in farming and fishing. In the 4th–3rd centuries BC many of the Maeotae tribes were included into the Bosporan Kingdom.
The Toreatae or Toretae were a tribe of the Maeotae in Asiatic Sarmatia. Strabo describes them as living among the Maeotae, Sindi, Dandarii, Agri, Arrechi, Tarpetes, Obidiaceni, Sittaceni, Dosci, and Aspurgiani, among others.
The Arrechi were an ancient tribe of the Maeotae, on the east coast of the Palus Maeotis. Strabo places them among the Maeotae, Sindi, Dandarii, Toreatae, Agri, Tarpetes, Obidiaceni, Sittaceni, Dosci, and Aspurgiani, among others.
The Obidiaceni were an ancient people dwelling along the Palus Maeotis in antiquity. Strabo describes them as living among the Maeotae, Sindi, Dandarii, Toreatae, Agri, Arrechi, Tarpetes, Sittaceni, Dosci, and Aspurgiani, among others.
The Aspurgiani were an ancient people, a tribe of the Maeotae dwelling along east side of the Strait of Kerch along the Palus Maeotis in antiquity. They seem to be identical with the "Asturicani" of Ptolemy.
Utik was a historic province of the Kingdom of Armenia and a region of Caucasian Albania after the splitting of Armenia in 387 AD by Sassanid Persia. Most of the region is located within present-day Azerbaijan immediately west of the Kura River while a part of it lies within the Tavush province of present-day northeastern Armenia.
The Natukhaj, Natuqwai or Natukhai are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circassian flag. Their areas historically extended along the Black Sea coast from Anapa in the north to Tsemes Bay in the south and from the north side of the mountains to the lower Kuban River.
The Agri were an ancient people dwelling along the Palus Maeotis in antiquity. Strabo describes them as living among the Maeotae, Sindi, Dandarii, Toreatae, Arrechi, Tarpetes, Sittaceni, Dosci, and Aspurgiani, among others.
The Adyghe Xabze or Circassian Xabze is the worldview and moral code of the Circassian people. Tradition dictates that a Circassian must live according to the Xabze. Tenets of Xabze include special respect for elders and women, a policy of not marrying non-Circassians in an attempt to protect the endangered culture from disappearing, and the values of truthfulness, honor and bravery. Xabze is evolving and ever-changing, and is defined by the Circassian community, usually led by a Thamade. Xabze is often associated with Circassian nationalism.
The Chebsin or Tsopsin were a Circassian tribe. They were completely destroyed in the Circassian genocide following the Russo-Circassian War.
