Editing Circassians (section)

==History==
===Origins===
Genetically, the Adyghe have shared ancestry partially with neighboring [[peoples of the Caucasus]], with some influence from other regions.<ref name="Li2008">{{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Jun |first2=Devin M. |last2=Absher |first3=Hua |last3=Tang |first4=Audrey M. |last4=Southwick |first5=Amanda M. |last5=Casto |first6=Sohini |last6=Ramachandran |first7=Howard M. |last7=Cann |first8=Gregory S. |last8=Barsh |first9=Marcus |last9=Feldman |first10=Luigi L. |last10=Cavalli-Sforza |first11=Richard M. |last11=Myers |title=Worldwide Human Relationships Inferred from Genome-Wide Patterns of Variation |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=319 |pages=1100–1104 |year=2008 |doi=10.1126/science.1153717 |pmid=18292342 |issue=5866 |bibcode=2008Sci...319.1100L |s2cid=53541133}}</ref> The most prevalent [[Single-nucleotide polymorphism|SNP]] [[haplotype]] among all Circassian tribes is [[Haplogroup G2|G2]]-YY1215 (43%); others are [[Haplogroup R1a|R1a]]-M198* (13%), G2-YY9632 (9%), and [[Haplogroup J-M172|J2-M172*]] (7%), sharing a single common ancestor 3,000 years ago, with the largest demographic growth between 2,000 and 1,500 years ago. Prevalence of the G2-YY1215 haplogroup is higher in the Western Caucasus and decreases to the east, while G2-YY9632 has the opposite tendency. R1a-M198* is shared with [[Balkars]], [[Karachays]] and [[Kuban]] [[Cossacks]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Бакаев |first=Дмитрий |script-title=ru:Поиск генетической памяти в современном Y-хромосомном генофонде адыгейцев {{!}} Генофонд РФ |title=Poisk geneticheskoy pamyati v sovremennom Y-khromosomnom genofonde adygeytsev |trans-title=Search for genetic memory in the modern Y-chromosomal gene pool of the Adyghe people {{!}} Gene pool of the Russian Federation |url=http://xn--c1acc6aafa1c.xn--p1ai/?page_id=35934 |access-date=9 May 2023 |language=ru-RU |archive-date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517013842/http://xn--c1acc6aafa1c.xn--p1ai/?page_id=35934 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Circassian language]], also known as Cherkess, is in the [[Northwest Caucasian languages|Northwest Caucasian language family]]. Archaeological findings, mainly of [[Dolmens of North Caucasus|dolmens in the northwest Caucasus region]], indicate a [[megalithic]] culture.<ref name="c.ssianmuseum.co.il">{{cite web |url=http://www.circassianmuseum.co.il/history.php |script-title=he:המרכז למורשת הצ'רקסית בכפר קמא |language=he |trans-title=The Circassian Heritage Center in Kfar Kama |publisher=circassianmuseum.co.il |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130107212236/http://www.circassianmuseum.co.il/history.php |archive-date=7 January 2013}}</ref>

The ancestors of present-day Circassians are known as the [[Sindica|Sinti]]-[[Maeotians|Maeotian]] tribes.<ref name=":23">General İsmail Berkok, Tarihte Kafkasya,İstanbul,1958, s.135-136.</ref><ref name=":33">Turabi Saltık, Sindika Krallığı, Jineps, Ocak 2007, s.5.</ref><ref name=":42">Tamara V.Polovinkina,Çerkesya, Gönül Yaram, Ankara,2007, s.21-45.</ref> Archaeological research shows that these tribes were the indigenous people of the Caucasus.<ref name=":04">Генрих Ананенко,Сыд фэдагъа Синдикэр?,Адыгэ макъ gazetesi,07.01.1992.</ref><ref name=":12">V.Diakov-S.Kovalev,İlkçağ Tarihi, Ankara,1987, s.345-355,506-514.</ref> Some researchers have claimed there may be links between Circassians and Indo-European-speaking communities,<ref>{{cite book |last=Serbes |first=Nahit |title=Yaşayan Efsane Xabze |language=tr |trans-title=Living Legend Khabze |publisher=Phoenix Yayınları |year=2012 |isbn=9786055738884}}</ref> and some have argued that there are connections between Circassians and [[Hattic language|Hatti]], who are from ancient Anatolian peoples,<ref>{{cite web |date=2003 |title=Hititlerle Çerkezler Arasında Dil Benzerliği |language=tr |trans-title=Linguistic Similarity Between Hittites and Circassians |url=http://bianet.org/bianet/kultur/27528-hititlerle-cerkezler-arasinda-dil-benzerligi |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181208170317/http://bianet.org/bianet/kultur/27528-hititlerle-cerkezler-arasinda-dil-benzerligi |archive-date=8 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Çurey |first=Ali |title=Hatti-Hititler ve Çerkesler |language=tr |trans-title=Hatti-Hittites and Circassians |year=2011 |publisher=Chiviyazıları Yayınevi |isbn=9786055708399}}</ref><ref>Prof.Dr. ĞIŞ Nuh (yazan), HAPİ Cevdet Yıldız (çeviren). [https://web.archive.org/web/20130420005356/http://www.nartajans.net/site/haberler_4710_adigece_nin_temel_sorunlari.html Adigece'nin temel sorunları-1]. Адыгэ макъ,12/13 Şubat 2009</ref> but these theories are not widely accepted. According to genetic tests performed on Circassians, their closest relatives are [[Ingush people|Ingush]], [[Chechens]], [[Georgians]] and [[Abkhazians]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

====Pseudoscientific claims====
[[Turkish nationalism|Turkish nationalist]] groups and proponents of modern-day [[Pan-Turkism]] have claimed that the Circassians are of Turkic origin, but no scientific evidence supports this claim and it has been strongly denied by ethnic Circassians,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ulusal Toplu Katalog – Tarama|url=http://www.toplukatalog.gov.tr/index.php?cwid=2&keyword=Vatan%C4%B1ndan+uzaklara+%C3%87erkesler&tokat_search_field=2&order=0|access-date=2 November 2020|website=toplukatalog.gov.tr|archive-date=7 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207084749/http://www.toplukatalog.gov.tr/index.php?cwid=2&keyword=Vatan%C4%B1ndan+uzaklara+%C3%87erkesler&tokat_search_field=2&order=0|url-status=live}}</ref> impartial research,<ref name=":52">{{cite web|date=2018|title=Çerkesler Türk mü?|url=http://www.cerkesya.org/icerik/kisa-bilgiler/752-cerkesler-turk-mu|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706180512/http://www.cerkesya.org/icerik/kisa-bilgiler/752-cerkesler-turk-mu|archive-date=6 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Russian Federation – Adygey|url=https://minorityrights.org/minorities/adygey/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002013256/https://minorityrights.org/minorities/adygey/|archive-date=2 October 2015|access-date=20 July 2020|work=Minority Rights}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Russian Federation – Karachay and Cherkess|url=https://minorityrights.org/minorities/karachay-and-cherkess/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002033527/https://minorityrights.org/minorities/karachay-and-cherkess/|archive-date=2 October 2015|access-date=20 July 2020|publisher=Minority Rights}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Russian Federation – Kabards and Balkars|url=https://minorityrights.org/minorities/kabards-and-balkars/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002033341/https://minorityrights.org/minorities/kabards-and-balkars/|archive-date=2 October 2015|access-date=20 July 2020|publisher=Minority Rights}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Circassian|title=Circassian|access-date=20 July 2020|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822211046/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Circassian|archive-date=22 August 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{cite web|date=2006|title=Çerkesler Türk değildir|url=https://www.internethaber.com/cerkesler-turk-degildir-17133h.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127134906/http://www.internethaber.com/cerkesler-turk-degildir-17133h.htm|archive-date=27 January 2019}}</ref> linguists,<ref>{{cite web|title=Circassian: A Most Difficult Language|date=29 June 2014 |url=https://forward.com/culture/200793/circassian-a-most-difficult-language/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302063312/https://forward.com/culture/200793/circassian-a-most-difficult-language/|archive-date=2 March 2016}}</ref> and historians<ref>{{cite web|title=Circassian|url=https://elalliance.org/languages/circassian/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230221125/https://elalliance.org/languages/circassian/|archive-date=30 December 2015}}</ref> around the world. The Circassian language does not share notable similarities to the Turkish language, except for borrowed words. According to various historians, the Circassian origin of the Sind-Meot tribes refutes the claim that the Circassians are of Turkic ethnic origin.<ref name=":52"/>

German racial theorists, after comparing skull shapes, declared that Europeans, North Africans, and Caucasians were of a common race, termed "Caucasian" or later "[[Caucasoid]]". Scientific racism emphasized the so-called "superior beauty" of the Circassian people, referring to them as "how God intended the human race to be",<ref>{{cite web|title=The Circassian Beauty Archive|url=http://chnm.gmu.edu/lostmuseum/searchlm.php?function=find&exhibit=star&browse=star|access-date=28 November 2009|publisher=The Lost Museum|archive-date=11 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311142800/http://chnm.gmu.edu/lostmuseum/searchlm.php?function=find&exhibit=star&browse=star|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Winthrop|first=Jordan|url=https://archive.org/details/whiteoverblackam00jord|title=White over Black|publisher=Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press|year=1968|pages=[https://archive.org/details/whiteoverblackam00jord/page/222 222–3]|url-access=registration}}</ref> leading to the 18th century stereotype of the [[Circassian beauty]].

===Medieval period===
Feudalism began to emerge among Circassians by the 4th century. As a result of Armenian, Greek and [[Byzantine]] influence, Christianity spread throughout the Caucasus between the 3rd and 5th centuries.<ref name="autogenerated22">''The Penny Magazine''. London, Charles Knight, 1838. p. 138.</ref><ref name="Ref_ab2">Minahan, James. ''One Europe, Many Nations: a Historical Dictionary of European National Groups''. Westport, USA, Greenwood, 2000. p. 354.</ref> During that period, Circassians (known at the time as ''Kassogs'')<ref name="Jaimoukha20052">{{cite book|last=Jaimoukha|first=Amjad M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PnjAlei9fe0C&pg=PA32|title=The Chechens: A Handbook|publisher=Psychology Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-415-32328-4|page=32|author-link=Amjad Jaimoukha|access-date=28 June 2017}}</ref> began to accept Christianity as a national religion, but did not abandon all elements of their [[Circassian paganism|indigenous religious beliefs]]. Circassians established many states, but could not achieve political unity. From around 400, wave after wave of outsiders began to invade the lands of the [[Adyghe people]], who were also known as the ''Kasogi'' (or Kassogs) at the time. They were conquered first by the [[Bulgars]] (who originated on the Central Asian [[steppe]]s). Outsiders sometimes confused the Adyghe people with the similarly named [[Utigurs]] (a branch of the Bulgars). After the [[Khazars|Khazar state]] dissolved, the Adyghe people were integrated around the end of the 1st millennium AD into the [[Kingdom of Alania]]. Between the 10th and 13th centuries [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] had influence on the Adyghe Circassian peoples. In the medieval era there was a Circassian kingdom called Zichia ({{Langx|ady|Адзыгъэй}}; {{langx|el|Ζιχία}}) or Zekchia.<ref name="CIR">Колли Л. Кафа в период владения ею банком св. Георгия (1454—1475) // Известия Таврической Ученой Архивной комиссии. № 47. Симферополь, 1912. С. 86</ref>

In 1382, [[Black Sea slave trade|Circassian slaves]] took the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk]] throne, the [[Burji dynasty]] took over and the Mamluks became a Circassian state. The Mongols, who started invading the Caucasus in 1223, destroyed some of the Circassians and most of the Alans. The Circassians lost most of their lands during the ensuing Golden Horde attacks and had to retreat to the back of the Kuban River. In 1395 Circassians fought violent wars against [[Timur|Tamerlane]], and although they won the wars,<ref name=":723">{{cite web|date=2013|title=Prenslerın Prensı İnal Nekhu (Pşilerın Pşisi İnal İnekhu)|url=http://www.cherkessia.net/news_detail.php?id=5729|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229142405/http://www.cherkessia.net/news_detail.php?id=5729|archive-date=29 February 2020|publisher=Kağazej Jıraslen}}</ref> Tamerlane plundered Circassia.<ref name=":63">{{cite web|title=Çerkes tarihinin kronolojisi.|url=http://www.cerkes.net/tarih/cerkes-tarihinin-kronolojisi-t21135.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209085735/http://www.cerkes.net/tarih/cerkes-tarihinin-kronolojisi-t21135.html|archive-date=9 December 2013|access-date=26 February 2020}}</ref>

[[Inal of Circassia|Prince Inal]], who owned land in the Taman peninsula during the 1400s,<ref>Shora Nogma has 1427 (per Richmond, Northwest Caucasus, kindle@610). In a later book (Circassian Genocide kindle @47) Richmond reports the legend that Inal reunited the principalities after they were driven into the mountains by the Mongols. In a footnote (@2271) he says that Inal was a royal title among the Oguz Turks</ref> established an army and declared that his goal was to unite the Circassians<ref>Caucasian Review. Vol. 2. Munich (München), 1956. Pp.; 19; 35.</ref> under a single state. They were divided into many states at that time, but after declaring his own princedom, Inal conquered all of Circassia one by one.<ref>Cole, Jeffrey E. (2011). ''Ethnic Groups of Europe: An Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO, LLC. OCLC 939825134.</ref> Circassian nobles and princes tried to prevent Inal's rise, but Inal and his supporters defeated 30 Circassian lords.<ref name=":44">{{cite web|date=17 May 2020|title=The Legendary Circassian Prince Inal, by Vitaliy Shtybin|url=https://abkhazworld.com/aw/history/1724-the-legendary-circassian-prince-inal-by-vitaliy-shtybin|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524090358/https://abkhazworld.com/aw/history/1724-the-legendary-circassian-prince-inal-by-vitaliy-shtybin|archive-date=24 May 2020|access-date=24 July 2020|work=Vitaliy Shtybin|publisher=Abkhaz World}}</ref> After successfully uniting the Circassians, Inal still wanted to include the closely related Abkhazians. Inal, who won the war in Abkhazia, officially conquered Northern Abkhazia and the Abkhaz people recognized his rule.<ref name=":723"/><ref>Papaskʻiri, Zurab, 1950- (2010). ''Абхазия : история без фальсификации''. Izd-vo Sukhumskogo Gos. Universiteta. {{ISBN|9941016526}}. OCLC 726221839.</ref><ref name=":44"/><ref name="Klaproth, Julius Von 1835">Klaproth, Julius Von, 1783—1835. (2005). Travels in the Caucasus and Georgia performed in the years 1807 and 1808 by command of the Russian government. Elibron Classics</ref><ref>The 200-year Mingrelia-Abkhazian war and the defeat of the Principality of Mingrelia by the Abkhazians of XVII-XVIII cc.</ref> One of the stars on the [[flag of Abkhazia]] represents Inal. He divided his lands between his sons and grandchildren in 1453 and died in 1458. After that, Circassian tribal principalities were established, including [[Chemirgoys|Chemguy]], founded by Temruk; [[Besleney]], founded by Beslan; [[Kabardia]], founded by Qabard; and [[Shapsugs|Shapsug]], founded by Zanoko.

=== Early modern period ===
{{see also|Crimean Khanate#Relationship with Circassians|Battle of Kanzhal|Crimean–Circassian wars}}
[[File:Aleksey Mikhailovich Tcherkassky.PNG|thumb|upright|[[Alexey Cherkassky]] was the [[Chancellor of the Russian Empire]], descended from the sovereign rulers of [[Circassia]]]]

In the 17th century, under the influence of the [[Crimean Tatars]] and of the [[Ottoman Empire]], large numbers of Circassians converted to [[Islam in Russia|Islam]] from Christianity.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/geo/Rekhaniya.html |title=Rekhaniya |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814073557/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_%26_Culture/geo/Rekhaniya.html |archive-date=14 August 2016 |website=[[Jewish Virtual Library]]}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=August 2024}}

In 1708, Circassians paid tribute to the Ottoman sultan in order to prevent [[Crimean–Nogai slave raids in Eastern Europe|Tatar raids]], but the sultan did not fulfill the obligation and the Tatars raided all the way to the center of Circassia, robbing everything they could.<ref name=":1022">{{cite web |script-title=ru:Путешествие господина А. де ла Мотрэ в Европу, Азию и Африку |title=Puteshestviye gospodina A. de la Motre v Yevropu, Aziyu i Afriku |language=ru |trans-title=Journey of Mr. A. de la Motraye to Europe, Asia and Africa |url=http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/XVIII/1700-1720/de_la_Motre_Abri/text1.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129205441/http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/XVIII/1700-1720/de_la_Motre_Abri/text1.htm |archive-date=29 November 2011 |access-date=12 January 2019 |website=vostlit.info}}</ref> For this reason, Kabardian Circassians announced that they would never pay tribute to the Crimean Khan and the Ottoman Sultan again.<ref>{{cite news |first=Amjad M. |last=Jaimoukha |year=2014 |title=Circassian: Customs & Traditions |page=7 |publisher=Centre for Circassian Studies |url=https://www.circassianworld.com/pdf/Circassian_Customs_and_Traditions.pdf |access-date=23 March 2018 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326031131/https://www.circassianworld.com/pdf/Circassian_Customs_and_Traditions.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> The Ottomans sent their army of at least 20,000 men<ref name="Крит2">''Василий Каширин.'' {{cite web |script-title=ru:Ещё одна "Мать Полтавской баталии"? К юбилею Канжальской битвы 1708 года |title=Yeshcho odna "Mat' Poltavskoy batalii"? K yubileyu Kanzhal'skoy bitvy 1708 goda |trans-title=Another "Mother of the Battle of Poltava"? On the anniversary of the Battle of Kanzhal in 1708 |url=http://www.diary.ru/~Makskozak/p91937234.htm|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704093123/http://www.diary.ru/~Makskozak/p91937234.htm |archive-date=4 July 2015 |access-date=12 January 2019 |website=diary.ru |language=ru}}</ref> to Kabardia under the leadership of the Crimean Khan Kaplan-Girey to conquer the Circassians and ordered that he collect the tribute.<ref name="autogenerated12">{{cite web |script-title=ru:Подборка статей к 300-летию Канжальской битвы |title=Podborka statey k 300-letiyu Kanzhal'skoy bitvy |language=ru |trans-title=A selection of articles for the 300th anniversary of the Battle of Kanjal |url=http://www.kabardhorse.ru/history_rus.html|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130417001833/http://www.kabardhorse.ru/history_rus.html |archive-date=17 April 2013 |access-date=20 September 2018 |website=kabardhorse.ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author={{nobr|Рыжов К. В.}} |url=http://slovari.yandex.ru/~%D0%BA%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%B8/%D0%9C%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%85%D0%B8.%20%D0%9C%D1%83%D1%81%D1%83%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9%20%D0%92%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BA%20XV-XX/%D0%93%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B8/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121222060915/http://slovari.yandex.ru/~%D0%BA%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%B8/%D0%9C%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%85%D0%B8.%20%D0%9C%D1%83%D1%81%D1%83%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9%20%D0%92%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BA%20XV-XX/%D0%93%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B8/|url-status=dead |archive-date=22 December 2012 |script-title=ru:Все монархи мира. Мусульманский Восток. XV-XX вв. |title=Vse monarkhi mira. Musul'manskiy Vostok. XV-XX vv. |language=ru |trans-title=All the Monarchs of the World. Muslim East. XV-XX centuries. |publisher=«Вече» |year=2004 |isbn=5-9533-0384-X |location=М. |page=544}}</ref> The Ottomans expected an easy victory against the Kabardinians, but the Circassians won<ref name="auto1">{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Khodarkovsky |year=1999 |title=Of Christianity, Enlightenment, and Colonialism: Russia in the North Caucasus, 1550–1800 |page=412 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |url=http://intersci.ss.uci.edu/wiki/eBooks/Articles/Russian%20Caucasus%201550-1800%20Khodarkovshy.pdf}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> because of the strategy set up by [[Jabagh Qazanoqo|Kazaniko Jabagh]] during the battle of [[Battle of Kanzhal|Kanzhal]].<ref name=":1022"/><ref>{{cite web |script-title=ru:Описание Черкесии|title=Opisaniye Cherkesii |language=ru |trans-title=Description of Circassia |url=http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/XVIII/1720-1740/Xaverio_Glavani/text.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071229094957/http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/XVIII/1720-1740/Xaverio_Glavani/text.htm |archive-date=29 December 2007 |access-date=12 January 2019 |website=vostlit.info}}. 1724 год.</ref><ref>{{cite web |script-title=ru:"Записки" Гербера Иоганна Густава |title="Zapiski" Gerbera Ioganna Gustava |language=ru |trans-title="Notes" by Johann Gustav Gerber |url=http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/XVIII/1720-1740/Gerber_Johann_Gustav/text1.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130327135600/http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/XVIII/1720-1740/Gerber_Johann_Gustav/text1.htm |archive-date=27 March 2013 |access-date=12 January 2019 |website=vostlit.info}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |script-title=ru:Энгельберт Кемпфер |title=Engelʹbert Kempfer |language=ru |trans-title=Engelbert Kempfer |url=http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/XVII/1680-1700/Kaempfer_Engelbert/text1.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129204459/http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/XVII/1680-1700/Kaempfer_Engelbert/text1.htm |archive-date=29 November 2011 |access-date=12 January 2019 |website=vostlit.info}}</ref><ref name="Крит3">''Василий Каширин.'' {{cite web |script-title=ru:Ещё одна "Мать Полтавской баталии"? К юбилею Канжальской битвы 1708 года |title=Yeshcho odna "Mat' Poltavskoy batalii"? K yubileyu Kanzhal'skoy bitvy 1708 goda |trans-title=Another "Mother of the Battle of Poltava"? On the anniversary of the Battle of Kanzhal in 1708 |url=http://www.diary.ru/~Makskozak/p91937234.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922035344/http://www.diary.ru/~Makskozak/p91937234.htm |archive-date=22 September 2018 |access-date=12 January 2019 |website=diary.ru |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Cw |date=15 October 2009 |title=Circassian World News Blog: Documentary: ''Kanzhal Battle'' |url=http://circassianworld.blogspot.com/2009/10/documentary-kanzhal-battle.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101019130729/http://circassianworld.blogspot.com/2009/10/documentary-kanzhal-battle.html |archive-date=19 October 2010 |access-date=18 September 2020 |work=Circassian World News Blog}}</ref>

The Crimean army was [[Battle of Kanzhal|destroyed on 17 September 1708]]. The Crimean Khan [[Qaplan I Giray]] barely managed to save his life,<ref name="auto1"/><ref name=":1022"/> and was humiliated, all the way to his shoes taken, leaving his brother, son, field tools, tents and personal belongings.<ref name=":1022"/> In 2013, the Institute of Russian History of the [[Russian Academy of Sciences]] recognized that the Battle of Kinzhal Mountain with the paramount importance in the national history of Circassians, Balkarians and Ossetians.<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=ru:РАН о Канжальской битве: "В отношении ее достоверности нет никаких сомнений" » |title=RAN o Kanzhal'skoy bitve: "V otnoshenii yeye dostovernosti net nikakikh somneniy" » |language=ru |trans-title=RAS on the Battle of Kanjal: "There is no doubt about its authenticity" » |url=http://www.natpressru.info/index.php?newsid=3126 |access-date=8 May 2017 |publisher=natpressru.info |archive-date=2 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202050352/http://www.natpressru.info/index.php?newsid=3126 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Circassian Genocide===
{{Main|Circassian genocide}}
{{see also|Russo-Circassian War}}
In 1714, [[Peter the Great|Peter I]] established a plan to occupy the Caucasus. Although he was unable to implement this plan, he laid the political and ideological foundation for the occupation to take place. [[Catherine the Great|Catherine II]] started putting this plan into action. The Russian army was deployed on the banks of the [[Terek (river)|Terek River]].<ref name=":32">Weismann, ''Ein Blick auf die Circassianer''</ref>{{full citation needed|date=August 2024}}
[[File:Resettlement of Circassians Into Ottoman Empire.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|A map of the expulsion of Circassians to the Ottoman Empire. The light-green area denotes the final borders of Circassians, who had already been pushed southwards prior to their expulsion to the Ottoman Empire. In the late 18th century, Circassians lost their northern territories, which do not appear in green on this map.]]

The Russian military tried to impose authority by building a series of forts, but these forts in turn became the new targets of raids and indeed sometimes the highlanders actually captured and held the forts.{{sfn|King|2008|p=47}} Under Yermolov, the Russian military began using a strategy of disproportionate retribution for [[Raid (military)|raid]]s. Russian troops retaliated by destroying villages where resistance fighters were thought to hide, as well as employing assassinations, kidnappings, and the execution of whole families.{{sfn|King|2008|pp=47–49|ps= Quote on p48: "This, in turn, demanded...above all the stomach to carry the war to the highlanders themselves, including putting aside any scruples about destroying, forests, and any other place where raiding parties might seek refuge... Targeted assassinations, kidnappings, the killing of entire families, and the disproportionate use of force became central to Russian operations..."}} Because the resistance was relying on sympathetic villages for food, the Russian military also systematically destroyed crops and livestock and killed Circassian civilians.{{sfn|King|2008|p=74}}<ref name="Ahmed1612">{{harvnb|Ahmed|2013|p=161}}.</ref> Circassians responded by creating a tribal federation encompassing all tribes of the area.<ref name="Ahmed1612"/> In 1840 [[Karl Friedrich Neumann]] estimated the Circassian casualties at around one and a half million.<ref name="Ref_q">Neumann 1840</ref> Some sources state that hundreds of thousands of others died during the exodus.<ref name="Shenfield 1999">{{harvnb|Shenfield|1999}}</ref> Several historians use the phrase "Circassian massacres"<ref name="Ref_r">{{harvnb|Levene|2005|p=299}}</ref> for the consequences of Russian actions in the region.<ref name="Ref_s">{{harvnb|Levene|2005|p=302}}</ref><blockquote>In a series of sweeping military campaigns lasting from 1860 to 1864... the northwest Caucasus and the Black Sea coast were virtually emptied of Muslim villagers. Columns of the displaced were marched either to the Kuban [River] plains or toward the coast for transport to the Ottoman Empire... One after another, entire Circassian tribal groups were dispersed, resettled, or killed en masse.<ref name="King 2008: 94–96">{{harvnb|King|2008|pp=94–96}}</ref></blockquote> Circassians established an assembly called "Great Freedom Assembly" in the capital city of Shashe (Sochi) on 25 June 1861. Haji Qerandiqo Berzedj was appointed as the head of the assembly. This assembly asked for help from Europe,{{sfn|Richmond|2013|p=72}} arguing that they would be forced into exile soon. However, before the result was achieved, Russian General Kolyobakin invaded Sochi and destroyed the parliament<ref>Esadze. ''Pokorenie''. Page 352</ref> and no country opposed this.{{sfn|Richmond|2013|p=72}}

In May 1864, a final battle took place between the Circassian army of 20,000 Circassian horsemen and a fully equipped Russian army of 100,000 men.<ref>Неизвестные войны России. Взятие Кбааде и завершение Кавказской войны в 1864 г.</ref> Circassian warriors attacked the Russian army and tried to break through the line, but most were shot down by Russian artillery and infantry.<ref>Minsterls, 2015</ref> The remaining fighters continued to fight as guerillas and were soon defeated. All 20,000 Circassian horsemen died in the war. The war ended officially on 21 May 1864. The place where this war took place is known today as Krasnaya Polyana.<ref name="Circassiancenter3">{{cite web |title=Tarihsel mücadele sürecinde çerkesler |language=tr |trans-title=Circassians in the historical struggle process |url=http://www.circassiancenter.com/cc-turkiye/tarih/098_tarihsel_mucadele_surecinde_cerkesler.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091222140114/http://www.circassiancenter.com/cc-turkiye/tarih/098_tarihsel_mucadele_surecinde_cerkesler.htm |archive-date=22 December 2009 |access-date=20 February 2020}}</ref> "Krasnaya Polyana" means red meadow. It takes its name from the Circassian blood flowing from the hill into the river.

The proposal to deport the Circassians was ratified by the Russian government, and a flood of refugee movements began as Russian troops advanced in their final campaign.{{sfn|Rosser-Owen|2007|p=16}} Circassians prepared to resist and hold their last stand against Russian military advances and troops.<ref name="Shenfield151">{{harvnb|Shenfield|1999|p=151}}.</ref> With the refusal to surrender, Circassian civilians were targeted one by one by the Russian military with thousands massacred and the Russians started to raid and burn Circassian villages,<ref name="Ahmed1612"/> destroy the fields to make it impossible to return, cut trees down and drive the people towards the Black Sea coast.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gazetesi |first=Jıneps |date=2 September 2013 |title=Velyaminov, Zass ve insan kafası biriktirme hobisi |trans-title=Velyaminov, Zass and the hobby of collecting human heads |url=https://jinepsgazetesi.com/2013/09/velyaminov-zass-ve-insan-kafasi-biriktirme-hobisi/|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013212354/https://jinepsgazetesi.com/2013/09/velyaminov-zass-ve-insan-kafasi-biriktirme-hobisi/ |archive-date=13 October 2020 |access-date=26 September 2020 |website=Jıneps Gazetesi |language=tr}}</ref>

Although it is not known exactly how many people are affected, researchers have suggested that at least 75%, 90%,<ref name="Reuters2">{{cite news |date=22 May 2009 |title=145th Anniversary of the Circassian Genocide and the Sochi Olympics Issue |work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS104971+22-May-2009+PRN20090522 |url-status=dead |access-date=28 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702174523/https://www.reuters.com/article/2009/05/22/idUS104971%2B22-May-2009%2BPRN20090522 |archive-date=2 July 2012}}</ref><ref name="Ellen Barry2">{{cite news |last=Barry |first=Ellen |date=20 May 2011 |title=Georgia Says Russia Committed Genocide in 19th Century |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/21/world/europe/21georgia.html |url-status=dead |access-date=11 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314221518/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/21/world/europe/21georgia.html |archive-date=14 March 2017}}</ref> 94%,<ref name="Sarah A.S. Isla Rosser-Owen 1867 Page 162">{{harvnb|Rosser-Owen|2007|p=16}}: "... with one estimate showing that the indigenous population of the entire north-western Caucasus was reduced by a massive 94 per cent". Text of citation: "The estimates of Russian historian Narochnitskii, in Richmond, ch. 4, p. 5. Stephen Shenfield notes a similar rate of reduction with less than 10 per cent of the Circassians (including the Abkhazians) remaining. (Stephen Shenfield, "The Circassians: A Forgotten Genocide?", in The Massacre in History, p. 154.)"</ref> or 95–97%{{sfn|Richmond|2013|p=132 |ps=: "If we assume that Berzhe's middle figure of 50,000 was close to the number who survived to settle in the lowlands, then between 95 percent and 97 percent of all Circassians were killed outright, died during Evdokimov's campaign, or were deported."}} of the ethnic Circassian population are affected. Considering these rates, calculations including those taking into account the Russian government's own archival figures, have estimated a loss 600,000–1,500,000. [[Ivan Drozdov]], a Russian officer who witnessed the scene at Qbaada in May 1864 as the other Russians were celebrating their victory remarked:{{Blockquote|On the road, our eyes were met with a staggering image: corpses of women, children, elderly persons, torn to pieces and half-eaten by dogs; deportees emaciated by hunger and disease, almost too weak to move their legs, collapsing from exhaustion and becoming prey to dogs while still alive.||Drozdov, Ivan. "Posledniaia Bor’ba s Gortsami na Zapadnom Kavkaze". Pages 456–457.|}}

The Ottoman Empire regarded the Adyghe warriors as courageous and well-experienced. It encouraged them to settle in various near-border settlements of the Ottoman Empire in order to strengthen the empire's borders.

According to [[Walter Richmond]],
<blockquote>
Circassia was a small independent nation on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea. For no reason other than ethnic hatred, over the course of hundreds of raids the Russians drove the Circassians from their homeland and deported them to the Ottoman Empire. At least 600,000 people lost their lives to massacre, starvation, and the elements while hundreds of thousands more were forced to leave their homeland. By 1864, three-fourths of the population was annihilated, and the Circassians had become one of the first stateless peoples in modern history.{{sfn|Richmond|2013|p=back cover}}
</blockquote>

As of 2020, [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] was the only country to classify the events as genocide, while Russia actively denies the Circassian genocide, and classifies the events as a simple migration of "undeveloped barbaric peoples".{{Citation needed|reason=Quote with no reference.|date=February 2025}}

===Post-exile period===
As early as 1859, the Russian government had sought potential avenues for expelling the native Circassian population, and found a solution in the Ottoman Empire. Despite their numerous historical and ongoing disputes, the two empires negotiated on the impending migrations and resettlements. The Russians promised a gradual process that would see the Ottomans ultimately receive fewer than 100,000 Circassians.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Karpat |first=Kemal H. |title=Ottoman Population 1830-1914: Demographic and Social Characteristics |publisher=[[University of Wisconsin Press]] |year=1985 |location=Madison |pages=68}}</ref> The Circassians would first be moved, or coerced to move, to the Circassian Black Sea coast, from which Ottoman boats would take them to designated ports in Anatolia.<ref name=":0" /> The recently formed Ottoman ''Muhacirin Komisyonu'', or Emigrant Commission, would coordinate both the retrieval and resettlement of the Circassians throughout the Ottoman Empire.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Cuthel |first=David Cameron |date=2005 |title=The Muhacirin Komisyonu: An Agent in the Transformation of Ottoman Anatolia 1860-1866 |type=PhD |publisher=[[Columbia University]] |pages=1–5}}</ref> The process of expulsion had already begun even before the end of the Russo-Circassian war; the first Circassians had begun to arrive in small numbers as early as 1859, mainly consisting of wealthier aristocrats.

Even prior to the end of the Russo-Circassian War, expelled Circassians had begun to crowd the Circassian coast in far greater numbers than the Ottomans had anticipated, easily reaching tens of thousands at a time.{{sfn|Richmond|2013|pp=86–87}} Conditions on the beaches were dismal, as those waiting for Ottoman-chartered ships contended with insufficient supplies of food and shelter, occasional raids from Russian soldiers, and outbreaks of typhus and smallpox that were only exacerbated by the cramped and unsanitary conditions.{{sfn|Richmond|2013|pp=86–87}} By 1864, hundreds of thousands of Circassians had either already entered the Ottoman Empire or still languished on the Circassian coast awaiting transit, even as far greater numbers arrived following the Russo-Circassian War's conclusion.<ref name=":0" /> What was intended to be an orderly, gradual expulsion quickly eroded over the following months, as the Ottomans overcrowded boats and neglected previously enforced safety regulations. Numerous boats sank, unable to safely accommodate these larger loads, while the overcrowded conditions helped disease spread even further among both the Circassian migrants and the Ottoman crews.<ref>{{Cite book |last=King |first=Charles |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195177756.001.0001 |title=The Ghost of Freedom |date=20 March 2008 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-517775-6 |location=Oxford |pages=96 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195177756.001.0001 |access-date=21 June 2021 |archive-date=2 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402135913/https://academic.oup.com/book/36062 |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Circassian children.jpg|thumb|Circassian children from [[Maykop]], [[Adygea]], with the [[Circassian flag]], 2014]]
Upon their arrival, the Emigrant Commission attempted to relocate most of the new arrivals as quickly as possible to alleviate the strain on Ottoman port cities, and began to settle the Circassians throughout the Ottoman Empire. The exiled Circassians were resettled in the Empire's remaining Balkan territories, in Ottoman Syria and Transjordan, and Anatolia, while a smaller number were resettled into the Empire's major cities.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Cuthel |first=David Cameron |date=2005 |title=The Muhacirin Komisyonu: An Agent in the Transformation of Ottoman Anatolia 1860-1866 |type=PhD |publisher=[[Columbia University]] |pages=165–170}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hanioğlu |first=M. Şükrü |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/664584065 |title=A brief history of the late Ottoman empire |date=2010 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=978-0-691-14617-1 |location=Princeton |pages=78–79 |oclc=664584065 |access-date=21 June 2021 |archive-date=2 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402125909/https://search.worldcat.org/title/664584065 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 1922, the Soviet government created an [[Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union|autonomous oblast]] which was the predecessor of the [[Karachay-Cherkess Republic]].

The actions of the Russian military in acquiring Circassian land through expulsion and massacres<ref name="Ref_p">Shenfield, Stephen D., 1999. ''The Circassians: a forgotten genocide?''. In Levene, Mark and Penny Roberts, eds., {{clarify|date= May 2013}} ''The Massacre in History''. Oxford and New York, [[Berghahn Books]]. Series: War and Genocide; 1. 149–62.</ref> have given rise to a movement among descendants of the expelled ethnicities for international recognition of the perpetration of genocide.<ref name="UNPO 2006.">UNPO 2006.</ref> 
On 20 May 2011 the [[Georgian parliament]] voted in a 95 to 0 declaration that Russia had committed genocide when it engaged in massacres against Circassians in the 19th century.<ref>{{cite news |first=Ellen |last=Barry |title=Georgia Says Russia Committed Genocide in 19th Century |newspaper=The New York Times |date=20 May 2011 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/21/world/europe/21georgia.html?scp=1&sq=circassians&st=cse |access-date=26 February 2017 |archive-date=2 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202003237/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/21/world/europe/21georgia.html?scp=1&sq=circassians&st=cse |url-status=live}}</ref>