Abaza family
| Abaza أباظة |
|
|---|---|
| Country | Egypt |
| Estates | Kafr Abaza, Sharqia |
| Titles | Pasha, Bek or Bey, Hanim |
| Founder | Hassan Pasha Abaza |
| Ethnicity | Egyptian-Circassian, Abazin |
| Prominence in politics, literature, cinema and journalism | |
The Abaza family (Arabic: الأسرة الأباظية), is an Egyptian family that has had an influential role in Egyptian cultural, economic, intellectual and political life since their establishment in Egypt in the late 18th century to modern times.
It is known as "the family of the pashas" for having produced the largest number of nobles under the Muhammad Ali dynasty from the 19th to the mid-20th Century. While no individual Abaza has been the ruler or president of Egypt, some Egyptian media have referred to them as one of the "families that rule the country", and as "Egypt’s oldest parliamentary dynasty".
The Abaza family has also contributed to modern Arabic "literature and art" through the works of journalist and political activist Fekry Pasha Abaza, author Desouky Bek Abaza, poet Aziz Pasha Abaza, novelist Tharwat Abaza, actor Rushdy Abaza, among others.
They are thought to number around 50,000 members, but no official census has ever been conducted of Circassian communities residing in Egypt and thus the number is highly unreliable.
Abkhazia is a region of the Caucasian Black Sea coast, the home of the Abkhazians, an ethnic group related to the Circassian people. The Abkhazians were one of several ethnic groups living in the Russian Empire who left during the ethnic cleansing of Circassians in the mid-19th century. However, some sources indicate that the Abaza family was well established in the Nile Delta by the late 18th century In Egypt, the Abkhazians took — or were given — the last name "Abaza".
A belief among the Abaza family is that they were named after "a beloved grandmother ... or her place of birth". This maternal ancestor is thought to have married the head of the powerful El Ayed family prior to the reign of Muhammad Ali of Egypt. Many elders of the family sat on the Majlis created by Ibrahim Pasha. The monarchy had also endowed the family with villages and lands allowing the Abazas to flourish.
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