Circassians
Circassian children in traditional costume holding the Circassian flag
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (c. 4–8 million) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Turkey
|
Estimated 1,000,000 – 2,000,000 – 3,000,000 – 5,000,000 to 7,000,000 |
 Russia
|
720,000 (2010 Census)
|
 Jordan
|
65,000 – 180,000 |
 Syria
|
80,000 – 120,000 |
 Germany
|
40,000 |
 Iraq
|
34,000 |
 United States
|
9,000 – 25,000 |
 Saudi Arabia
|
23,000 |
 Egypt
|
12,000 |
 Israel
|
4,000 – 5,000 |
 Serbia
|
2,800 |
 Iran
|
? |
 Uzbekistan
|
1,600 |
 Ukraine
|
1,100 |
 Bulgaria
|
600 (1994 Census) |
 Netherlands
|
500 |
| Languages | |
|
Circassian (West Adyghe, Kabardian Adyghe, extinct Ubykh Adyghe dialects), also Turkish, Russian, English, Arabic, Hebrew, German, Persian |
|
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Muslim Minority Habze, Orthodox Christian and Catholic as well as Abkhazo-Circassian neopaganism |
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Abazgi (Abkhaz, Abazin) | |
720,000 (2010 Census)
The Circassians (Circassian: Адыгэхэр, Adygekher) are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group native to Circassia, many of whom were displaced in the course of the Russian conquest of the Caucasus in the 19th century, especially after the Russian–Circassian War in 1864. In its narrowest sense, the term "Circassian" includes the twelve Adyghe (Circassian: Адыгэ, Adyge) tribes (three democratic and nine aristocratic), i.e. Abzakh, Besleney, Bzhedug, Hatuqwai, Kabardian, Mamkhegh, Natukhai, Shapsug, Temirgoy, Ubykh, Yegeruqwai, and Zhaney, each one represented by a star on the green-and-gold Circassian flag. However, due to Soviet administrative divisions, Circassians were also designated as the following: Adygeans (Adyghe in Adygea), Cherkessians (Adyghe in Karachay-Cherkessia), Kabardians (Adyghe in Kabardino-Balkaria), Shapsugians (Adyghe in Krasnodar Krai) although all the four are essentially the same people residing in different political units.
Most Circassians are Sunni Muslim. The Circassians mainly speak the Circassian language, a Northwest Caucasian language with three main dialects and numerous sub-dialects. Many Circassians also speak Turkish, Russian, English, Arabic, and Hebrew, having been exiled by Russia to lands of the Ottoman Empire, where the majority of them today live. About 800,000 Circassians remain in historical Circassia (modern-day titular Circassian republics of Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia as well as the southern half of Krasnodar Krai and the southwestern part of Stavropol Krai), and others live in the Russian Federation outside these republics and krais. The 2010 Russian Census recorded 718,727 Circassians, of whom 516,826 are Kabardian, 124,835 are Adyghe proper, 73,184 are Cherkess, and 3,882 Shapsug.
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Wikipedia