Adygs is the common self-name of the ancestors of modern Adyghes, Kabardians and Circassians. The surrounding peoples also called them Zikhs and Kasogs. The origin and meaning of all these names is a moot point. The ancient Circassians belonged to the Caucasoid race.
The history of the Circassians is endless clashes with hordes of Scythians, Sarmatians, Huns, Bulgars, Alans, Khazars, Magyars, Pechenegs, Polovtsy, Mongol-Tatars, Kalmyks, Nogays, Turks.
In 1792, with the creation of a continuous cordon line along the Kuban River by Russian troops, active development of the western Adyghe lands by Russia began.
At first, the Russians fought, in fact, not with the Circassians, but with the Turks, who at that time owned Adygea. Upon the conclusion of the Peace of Adriopol in 1829, all Turkish possessions in the Caucasus passed to Russia. But the Circassians refused to pass into Russian citizenship and continued to attack Russian settlements.
Only in 1864, Russia took control of the last independent territories of the Adygs - the Kuban and Sochi lands. A small part of the Adyghe nobility by this time had switched to the service of the Russian Empire. But most of the Circassians - over 200 thousand people - wished to move to Turkey.
The Turkish Sultan Abdul-Hamid II settled refugees (Mohajirs) on the deserted border of Syria and in other border areas to fight Bedouin raids.
This tragic page of Russian-Adyghe relations has recently become the subject of historical and political speculation in order to put pressure on Russia. Part of the Adyghe-Circassian diaspora, with the support of certain Western forces, demands to boycott the Olympics in Sochi if Russia does not recognize the resettlement of the Adyghes as an act of genocide. Then, of course, lawsuits for compensation will follow.
Adygea
Today, the bulk of the Adygs live in Turkey (according to various sources, from 3 to 5 million people). In the Russian Federation, the number of Adygs as a whole does not exceed 1 million. There are also considerable diasporas in Syria, Jordan, Israel, the USA, France and other countries. All of them retain the consciousness of their cultural unity.
Adygs in Jordan
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It just so happened that the Circassians and Russians have long been measured by strength. And it all started in ancient times, about which the "Tale of Bygone Years" tells. It is curious that both sides - Russian and Mountaineer - talk about this event in almost the same words.
The chronicler puts it this way. In 1022, the son of St. Vladimir, the Tmutorokan prince Mstislav went on a campaign against the Kasogs - that was how the Russians called the Circassians at that time. When the opponents lined up opposite each other, the Kassogian prince Rededya said to Mstislav: “Why are we ruining our squad? Come out to the duel: if you prevail, then you will take my property, and my wife, and children, and my land. If I win, I'll take what's yours." Mstislav replied: "So be it."
The opponents laid down their weapons and joined in the fight. And Mstislav began to languish, for Rededya was great and strong. But the prayer of the Most Holy Theotokos helped the Russian prince to overcome the enemy: he struck Rededya to the ground, and, taking out a knife, stabbed him. Kasogi submitted to Mstislav.According to the Adyghe legends, Rededya was not a prince, but a mighty hero. Once the Adyghe prince Idar, having gathered a lot of soldiers, went to Tamtarakai (Tmutorokan). The Tamtarakai prince Mstislau led his army towards the Adygs. When the enemies approached, Rededya stepped forward and said to the Russian prince: "In order not to shed blood in vain, overcome me and take everything I have." The opponents took off their weapons and fought for several hours in a row, not yielding to each other. Finally, Rededya fell, and the Tamtarakai prince struck him with a knife.
The death of Rededi is also mourned by the ancient Adyghe funeral song (sagish). True, in it Rededya is defeated not by force, but by deceit:
Grand Duke of the Uruses
When you dropped to the ground
He longed for life
Pulled a knife from his belt
Under your shoulder blade insidiously
Plugged him in and
Your soul, woe, he took out.
According to Russian legend, the two sons of Rededi, who were taken to Tmutorokan, were baptized under the names of Yuri and Roman, and the latter allegedly married the daughter of Mstislav. Later, some boyar families erected themselves to them, for example, the Beleutovs, Sorokoumovs, Glebovs, Simskys and others.
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For a long time Moscow - the capital of the expanding Russian state - attracted the attention of the Adygs. Quite early, the Adyghe-Circassian nobility became part of the Russian ruling elite.
The basis of the Russian-Adyghe rapprochement was a joint struggle against the Crimean Khanate. In 1557, five Circassian princes, accompanied by a large number of soldiers, arrived in Moscow and entered the service of Ivan the Terrible. Thus, 1557 is the year of the beginning of the formation of the Adyghe diaspora in Moscow.
After the mysterious death of the first wife of the formidable king - Empress Anastasia - it turned out that Ivan was inclined to consolidate his alliance with the Circassians by a dynastic marriage. His chosen one was Princess Kuchenei, daughter of Temryuk, the senior prince of Kabarda. In baptism, she received the name Mary. In Moscow, a lot of unflattering things were said about her and they even attributed the idea of the oprichnina to her.
Ring of Maria Temryukovna (Kuchenei)
Amateur historian Vitaly Shtybin talks about the divided Circassian people.
Yuga.ru has already been told about Vitaly Shtybin, a young entrepreneur from Krasnodar, who became so interested in Circassian history that he became a popular blogger and a welcome guest at specialized conferences. This publication - about what is common and what is the difference between the Adyghes, Kabardians and Circassians - opens a series of materials that Vitaly will write specifically for our portal.
If you are sure that Kabardians and Balkars live in Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachays and Circassians live in Karachevo-Cherkessia, and Adyghes live in Adygea, then you will be surprised, but this is not entirely true. Adygs live in all these republics - they are one people, separated by artificial borders. These names are administrative in nature.
Adygs are a self-name, and the surrounding peoples traditionally call them Circassians. In the scientific world, the term Adygs (Circassians) is used to avoid confusion. There is only one main rule - the Adygs are equivalent to the name Circassians. There is a slight difference between the Circassians (Circassians) of Kabardino-Balkaria\Karachay-Cherkessia and Adygea\Krasnodar Territory. It is noticeable in dialects. Kabardian and Circassian dialects are considered eastern dialects of the Adyghe language, Adyghe and Shapsug dialects are considered western. In a conversation, a resident of Cherkessk will not understand everything from the speech of a resident of Yablonovsky. Just as a typical inhabitant of central Russia will not immediately understand the Kuban hut, so it will be difficult for a Kabardian to understand the conversation of the Sochi Shapsugs.
The Kabardians call the Adyghes the grassroots Adygs due to geography, since Kabarda is located on an elevated plateau. It is worth noting that the term "Circassian" at different times applied not only to this people, but also to their neighbors in the Caucasus. It is this version that has been preserved today in Turkey, where the term "Circassian" refers to all immigrants from the North Caucasus.
In the Russian Empire, the Circassians (Circassians) did not have their own republics or autonomies, but with the advent of Soviet power, such an opportunity arose. However, the state did not dare to unite the divided people into one large republic, which could easily become equal in size and political weight to Georgia, Armenia or Azerbaijan.
Three republics were formed in different ways: Kabardino-Balkaria- which included Kabardians from the Circassians. To maintain balance, they were united with the Balkar Turks. Then formed Adyghe autonomy, which included all the remaining sub-ethnic groups of the former Kuban region. The mountainous part of the republic, like the city of Maykop, became part of it only in 1936. Shapsugs in the Lazarevsky district of the city of Sochi received their autonomy from 1922 to 1945, but it was liquidated forever. latest Karachay-Cherkess autonomy received in 1957 by the Adygs-Besleney, close in dialect to the Kabardians. In this case, the authorities also maintained an ethnic balance between them and the Abaza and Karachay Turks (relatives of neighboring Balkars) who inhabited the republic.
But what do the concepts "Shapsug", "Besleney", "Kabardian" and so on mean? Despite the one and a half century history of the Circassians (Circassians) within the Russian state, society has not got rid of the tribal (or scientifically - sub-ethnic) division. Until the end of the Caucasian War in 1864, the Western Circassians (Circassians) lived throughout the Krasnodar Territory and Adygea, south of the Kuban River to the Shakhe River in the Lazarevsky District of Sochi. Eastern Circassians (Circassians) lived in the south of the Stavropol Territory, in the Pyatigorsk region, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, on the flat parts of Chechnya and Ingushetia - between the Terek and Sunzha rivers.
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As a result of the war, some of the sub-ethnic groups were expelled to Turkey - such as the Natukhays and Ubykhs, most of the Shapsugs, Khatukays, and Abadzekhs. Today, the division into tribal societies is not as pronounced as before. The sub-ethnic term "Kabardians" was left to the Circassians (Circassians) of Kabardino-Balkaria. They were the most powerful, numerous and influential Adyghe subethnos in the entire Caucasus. Their own feudal state, the status of trendsetters and control over the routes in Transcaucasia helped them to hold the strongest positions in the politics of the region for a long time.
In the Republic of Adygea, on the contrary, the largest sub-ethnic groups are the Temirgoevs, whose dialect is the official language of the republic, and the Bzhedugs. In this republic, all the names of sub-ethnic groups were replaced by the artificial term "Adyghe". There are no strict borders in the villages of the republics, everyone lives interspersed, so that in Adygea you can meet Kabardians, and in Kabarda - Temirgoevs. 
The easiest way to remember the subethnic groups is in the following order:
- Eastern Circassians (Circassians): Kabardians in Kabardino-Balkaria; Besleneyites in Karachay-Cherkessia;
- Western Circassians (Circassians): Shapsugs in the Lazarevsky district of the city of Sochi; Temirgoys\Khatukays\Bzhedugs\Abadzekhs\Mamkhegs\Jegerukhays\Adamievs\
Mahoshevs\Zhaneevs in the Republic of Adygea.
But what about the Abazins who live in all the same villages, but mainly in the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia? Abazins are a mixed people whose language is close to Abkhazian. Once upon a time they moved from Abkhazia to the plains of the northern slopes of the Caucasus and mixed with the Circassians. Their language is close to Abkhazian, which is related to the Adyghe (Circassian) language. Abkhazians (Abaza) and Circassians (Circassians) are distant relatives, much like Russians and Czechs.
Now, in a conversation with an Adyghe, a Circassian or a Kabardian, you can ask him what tribe (sub-ethnos) he is from, and you will learn a lot of interesting things from the life of the Adyghes (Circassians), and at the same time gain confidence as an expert on the structure of the amazing Adyghe (Circassian) society.
Amateur historian Vitaly Shtybin talks about the divided Circassian people.
Yuga.ru has already been told about Vitaly Shtybin, a young entrepreneur from Krasnodar who became so interested in Circassian history that he became a popular blogger and a welcome guest at specialized conferences. This publication - about what is common and what is the difference between the Adyghes, Kabardians and Circassians - opens a series of materials that Vitaly will write specifically for our portal.
If you are sure that Kabardians and Balkars live in Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachays and Circassians live in Karachevo-Cherkessia, and Adyghes live in Adygea, then you will be surprised, but this is not entirely true. Adygs live in all these republics - they are one people, separated by artificial borders. These names are administrative in nature.
Adygs are a self-name, and the surrounding peoples traditionally call them Circassians. In the scientific world, the term Adygs (Circassians) is used to avoid confusion. There is only one main rule - Adygs are equivalent to the name Circassians. There is a slight difference between the Circassians (Circassians) of Kabardino-Balkaria\Karachay-Cherkessia and Adygea\Krasnodar Territory. It is noticeable in dialects. Kabardian and Circassian dialects are considered eastern dialects of the Adyghe language, Adyghe and Shapsug dialects are considered western. In a conversation, a resident of Cherkessk will not understand everything from the speech of a resident of Yablonovsky. Just as a typical inhabitant of central Russia will not immediately understand the Kuban hut, so it will be difficult for a Kabardian to understand the conversation of the Sochi Shapsugs.
The Kabardians call the Adyghes the grassroots Adygs due to geography, since Kabarda is located on an elevated plateau. It is worth noting that the term "Circassian" at different times applied not only to this people, but also to their neighbors in the Caucasus. It is this version that has been preserved today in Turkey, where the term "Circassian" refers to all immigrants from the North Caucasus.
In the Russian Empire, the Circassians (Circassians) did not have their own republics or autonomies, but with the advent of Soviet power, such an opportunity arose. However, the state did not dare to unite the divided people into one large republic, which could easily become equal in size and political weight to Georgia, Armenia or Azerbaijan.
Three republics were formed in different ways: Kabardino-Balkaria- which included Kabardians from the Circassians. To maintain balance, they were united with the Balkar Turks. Then formed Adyghe autonomy, which included all the remaining sub-ethnic groups of the former Kuban region. The mountainous part of the republic, like the city of Maykop, became part of it only in 1936. Shapsugs in the Lazarevsky district of the city of Sochi received their autonomy from 1922 to 1945, but it was liquidated forever. latest Karachay-Cherkess autonomy received in 1957 by the Adygs-Besleney, close in dialect to the Kabardians. In this case, the authorities also maintained an ethnic balance between them and the Abaza and Karachay Turks (relatives of neighboring Balkars) who inhabited the republic.
But what do the concepts "Shapsug", "Besleney", "Kabardian" and so on mean? Despite the one and a half century history of the Adyghes (Circassians) within the Russian state, the society has not got rid of the tribal (or, scientifically, sub-ethnic) division. Until the end of the Caucasian War in 1864, the Western Circassians (Circassians) lived throughout the Krasnodar Territory and Adygea, south of the Kuban River to the Shakhe River in the Lazarevsky District of Sochi. Eastern Circassians (Circassians) lived in the south of the Stavropol Territory, in the Pyatigorsk region, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, on the flat parts of Chechnya and Ingushetia - between the Terek and Sunzha rivers.
As a result of the war, some of the sub-ethnic groups were expelled to Turkey - such as the Natukhai and Ubykhs, most of the Shapsugs, Khatukai, Abadzekhs. Today, the division into tribal societies is not as pronounced as before. The sub-ethnic term "Kabardians" was left to the Circassians (Circassians) of Kabardino-Balkaria. They were the most powerful, numerous and influential Adyghe subethnos in the entire Caucasus. Their own feudal state, the status of trendsetters and control over the routes in Transcaucasia helped them to hold the strongest positions in the politics of the region for a long time.
In the Republic of Adygea, on the contrary, the largest sub-ethnic groups are the Temirgoevs, whose dialect is the official language of the republic, and the Bzhedugs. In this republic, all the names of sub-ethnic groups were replaced by the artificial term "Adyghe". There are no strict borders in the villages of the republics, everyone lives interspersed, so that in Adygea you can meet Kabardians, and in Kabarda - Temirgoevs.
The easiest way to remember the subethnic groups is in the following order:
— Eastern Circassians (Circassians): Kabardians in Kabardino-Balkaria; Besleneyites in Karachay-Cherkessia;
— Western Circassians (Circassians): Shapsugs in the Lazarevsky district of the city of Sochi; Temirgoys\Khatukays\Bzhedugs\Abadzekhs\Mamkhegs\Jegerukhays\Adamievs\
Mahoshevs\Zhaneevs in the Republic of Adygea.
But what about the Abazins who live in all the same villages, but mainly in the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia? Abazins are a mixed people whose language is close to Abkhazian. Once upon a time they moved from Abkhazia to the plains of the northern slopes of the Caucasus and mixed with the Circassians. Their language is close to Abkhazian, which is related to the Adyghe (Circassian) language. Abkhazians (Abaza) and Circassians (Circassians) are distant relatives, much like Russians and Czechs.
Now, in a conversation with an Adyghe, a Circassian or a Kabardian, you can ask him what tribe (sub-ethnos) he is from, and you will learn a lot of interesting things from the life of the Adyghes (Circassians), and at the same time gain confidence as an expert on the structure of the amazing Adyghe (Circassian) society.
At the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries, the Kabardino Adyghe feudal lords continued to wage internecine struggle, therefore they were looking for support and help outside their possessions. The government of Boris Godunov considered the Western Circassians and Abaza to be Russian subjects. In diplomatic documents, among the “new arrivals” to the Russian state, “Cherkasy land and Abaza” are named. However, during the Time of Troubles, the political ties of the Russian state with the North Caucasian peoples weakened.
With the accession of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the situation changed for the better. Information has been preserved that approximately in 1614-1615, together with other peoples of the North Caucasus, the Western Adygs swore allegiance to the Moscow Tsar.
The government of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676) sought to play the role of a patron in relation to the peoples who voluntarily accepted Russian citizenship. In 1670, for example, it demanded from the Crimean Khan Adil-Girey "Don't fight the Cherkasy land."
Despite the variability of the political sympathies and antipathies of the North Caucasian rulers, the Moscow sovereigns in the second half of the 17th century considered the Kuban Adygs to be their subjects. It is no coincidence that Alexei Mikhailovich, Ivan Alekseevich and Peter I were called kings of the "Kabardian land, Cherkasy and mountain princes."
The historical fate of the peoples of the North Caucasus in the 18th century was significantly influenced by the international situation. The power of Sultan's Turkey, which for a long time aspired to master the Caucasus, was waning. However, now it was becoming an obedient tool in the policy of the Western European powers, primarily France and England, who showed great interest in the Caucasus.
Russia's policy in this region was determined by the need to combat external danger. The Russian Empire was actively advancing here in order to protect its southern borders from the constant raids of the warlike inhabitants of the steppes and foothills of the Caucasus.
Adyghes, or Circassians, were considered subjects of the Crimean Khan. On their territory was the Turkish fortress Kopyl - the residence of the Kuban seraskir (commander-in-chief of Turkish troops in the region). However, the dependence was rather fragile. Individual tribes, such as the Temirgoys, paid tribute to the Crimean rulers with captives and horses. At the same time, they did not agree with the regular nature of such payments and called them gifts. In fact, it was a tribute, shameful and humiliating, exhausting the strength of the people. Every year, 200 girls and 100 boys supplied Adygs to the Crimean khans. In case of refusal to pay tribute, the Crimeans withdrew it by organizing devastating raids. In order to finally conquer the Trans-Kuban peoples, the Turks and Crimean Tatars planted Islam with fire and sword. However, this policy was initially successful only in relation to the feudal nobility. For the most part, the inhabitants of the North-Western Caucasus remained half-pagans, half-Christians.
Under the influence of the bloody, devastating raids of the Turks and Tatars, individual Adyghe tribes in the middle of the 18th century declared their desire to accept Russian citizenship. However, despite the great strategic importance of the Kuban lands, the Russian government refrained from negotiations on the citizenship of the Circassians. It wanted to avoid "a clear violation of friendship with the Ottoman Port."
Numerous Adyghe tribes occupied the territory beyond the Kuban (hence - Trans-Kuban), from the Laba River to the Black Sea, as well as the mountainous part of the Western Caucasus.
The Adygs experienced a period of feudalization of society. This process proceeded at the fastest pace among the Temirgoevs, Zhaneevs, Khatukaevs and Bzhedukhs, who lived on the foothill plains. Here the highest feudal stratum was the princes. Some of them intermarried with the Crimean Khan's house. Possessing power and land, the princes distributed plots of land between the nobles (works) and peasants (tfokotls).
The tribes that lived on the mountain slopes did not have princes. Management was carried out by elected foremen. The Circassians did not yet have a state. This circumstance made it difficult for them to fight against external dangers. In addition, the Circassians, both "princely" and "free Circassians" (Abadzekhs, Shapsugs and Natukhaevs), were weakened by constant internecine wars.
According to contemporaries, all the Adyghe peoples in the second half of the 18th century, if necessary, could put 100 thousand soldiers and even more on the battlefield.
The Crimean Khan did not have the right to recruit warriors from among the Circassians, but when he started the war, he asked the Circassian princes to help people, indicating the number. The satisfaction of such requests entirely depended on the degree of influence and location that the Crimean Khan enjoyed among the Adyghe nobility.
Beys and other noble Circassians had the exclusive right to bear arms. The servants subject to them were armed only if necessary at their expense. As soon as a noble Circassian became a bey, the first thing he did was stock up on a sufficient amount of weapons. Bey gave it to his people for the duration of the hostilities. After their completion, the weapon was returned to the owner without fail.
The Circassian tribes were in constant hostility among themselves. They organized raids to capture slaves. Moreover, everything captured was considered legal booty, and no one demanded its return. But if the attacker had the misfortune of being caught, all the people who were with him became slaves.
From past centuries, the Circassians inherited the tradition of not acquiring solid residential buildings (according to many sources, a house with strong walls was considered an indicator of cowardice and cowardice of the owner). The main cities of Circassia - Taman, Temryuk, Achu, Agdzhi, Sudzhuk and Kapl (Kopyl) - were located on the Crimean-Turkish territory and were built by the Turks. For the most part, these were small fortresses, which largely determined the life of their inhabitants.
Taman at that time was a small town on the eastern shore of the Kerch Strait with a population of about six thousand people. About a hundred shops were located on the market square. The city owned from 18 to 20 merchant ships with a capacity of 500 to 1000 centners.
There was a bathhouse in Taman. Adherents of Islam performed religious rites in twelve mosques. One of the quarters of the town was called "Georgian". Its inhabitants were freed Georgian slaves. The Turkish sultan kept a small garrison in the Taman fortress, consisting of Janissaries, with 50-60 guns. The official who ruled Tamanya was subordinate to the Pasha of Yenikal.
To the northeast of Taman was Temryuk, a fortress built by the Turks in 1519. About two thousand people lived here; the janissary garrison had 70-80 guns. There were two mosques in the fortress. Trading life was not as active as in Taman: the number of trading shops did not exceed fifteen, and ships could enter the poorly equipped port of Temryuk only in calm weather.
In one of the mouths of the Kuban, according to French sources, 22 leagues northeast of Taman, the Turks built Fort Achu. (Lie is an old French unit of distance measurement. Land - 4444.4 m (arc length 1/25 degree of the earth meridian; 4.16 versts). 300 - 400 people lived in Achu, including garrison janissaries. 26 - 30 cannons, the ditches were filled with water.The swampy surroundings of the fort made it absolutely impregnable.
The fort was controlled by a Tatar bey appointed by the khan. To the southeast of Taman, in a convenient bay, there was Fort Sudzhuk. Its garrison consisted of janissaries, on the fortifications there were from 36 to 40 guns. Management was entrusted to the Tatar bey, who was appointed by the Kuban seraskir. Despite the favorable geographical position of the fort, trade did not develop. Everything necessary for the life of the population (about 400 inhabitants) and the garrison was supplied from Taman, with the exception of a small amount of bread purchased in the vicinity.
Twenty leagues from Taman and two leagues from the Kuban River was the city of Kapl (Kopyl), built by the Turks in 1607-1608. It was, as already noted, the residence of the Kuban seraskir, and also served as a storage place. Merchants from Taman, Kafa and other places brought goods here, which were then sold. Circassians and Kuban Nogais brought products of their own production to Kopyl; certain duties were levied from each wagon with goods in favor of the seraskir and the local mirza. Five caravanserais, about 500 shops, many workshops determined the rhythm of life of the city's 4,000 population.
Taman served as the most important transit point in the Sea of Azov. All goods destined for Circassia were stored here, and those that were later exported were loaded. Twelve dye establishments in Taman annually consumed about 500 ok (unit of weight) of indigo (vegetable dye).
The Adyghe population was engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding, in the Trans-Kuban region - gardening, beekeeping, in the forest belt - beekeeping and hunting. The Circassians had no money circulation, barter was widespread.
Goods from Turkey (Constantinople, Smyrna, Philippopolis), Crimea (Bakhchisaray, Kafa), Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt (Cairo), Germany, France were brought to Taman, Kopyl, Temryuk and other trading settlements. The variety of goods was amazing. Expensive silks, women's veils and bathing towels coexisted with simple cloth and chintz fabrics. White and blush were popular with women. Spices and small groceries were also delivered to the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov. Especially great demand was for nuts (primarily nutmeg), olives, French coffee and Russian tobacco.
The most important imports were tin, mercury, lead for rifle bullets and nets, iron in stripes, stirrups from Bakhchisaray and Ak-Mechet (Simferopol), bits, bows, sets of horseshoes with nails, Crimean knives, trimmings of leather for gun cases, fine iron and copper goods, as well as finished gun barrels from Bakhchisaray. From Kafa and Constantinople came a large amount of gunpowder.
During one season, 30-35 thousand braids from Germany were sold here. The inhabitants of the Taman Peninsula were in dire need of firewood and timber. All this was brought to Taman from Sudzhuk. As export goods, the Kuban peoples supplied to the foreign market annually 80-100 thousand centners of wool (approximately equally from the Circassians and Nogais). She went through Taman to Kafa and Constantinople. Coarse woolen fabric was in great demand among Tatars and Turks.
Other export items included honey, wax, rawhide, marten, fox, wolf, bear and sheep skins (over 750,000 pieces a year in total). Most were sheep skins. They were delivered to Taman raw and already here they were subjected to further processing. Craftsmen made various household and military items from them.
Boar tusks were also exported. They were supplied to 200 thousand pairs per year. The Tatars made knives and handles for knives from them. For the same purposes, 200 thousand pairs of bull horns were intended.
A significant part of the Circassian exports were arrows.
From the vicinity of Achu, a huge amount of sturgeon and beluga caviar, as well as dry fish, was supplied to the market. Every year, about three thousand centners of caviar and up to two thousand centners of beluga were sent from here to Kafa and Constantinople. Two to three thousand centners of fish oil were exported from Achu annually. The Nogais ate it, and the Tatars used it to illuminate their dwellings. Slaves occupied a significant place in the exchange of goods. Crimean merchants went to Circassia to acquire slaves in exchange for imported goods. In the Cafe, they resold them to merchants from other countries. The Crimean Khan also bought many slaves every year. And he retained the right to choose. Therefore, when a batch of slaves was brought in, no one could buy them until the khan did this. From
of the slaves brought to the Crimea, the Circassians were in the greatest demand. “The women of this country (Circassia),” Paysonel wrote, “are the most beautiful and captivating of all that can be in the world.
The charm of their figure and the naturalness of grace are delightful. The men are also nearly all tall and well-built." Circassian horses were highly valued in the markets. They were beautiful, strong, fast and hardy. Eight or more slaves were given for a Circassian horse in the Crimea.
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Adygs(or Circassians listen)) is the common name of a single people in Russia and abroad, divided into Kabardians, Circassians, Ubykhs, Adyghes and Shapsugs.
Self-name - Adyghe.
The total number of Adygs in the Russian Federation according to the 2002 census is 712 thousand people, they live on the territory of six subjects: Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, Krasnodar Territory, North Ossetia, Stavropol Territory. In three of them, the Adyghe peoples are one of the "titular" nations, the Circassians in Karachay-Cherkessia, the Adyghes in Adygea, the Kabardians in Kabardino-Balkaria.
Abroad, the largest diaspora of the Circassians is in Turkey, according to some estimates, the Turkish diaspora numbers from 2.5 to 3 million Circassians. The Israeli diaspora of Circassians is 4 thousand people. There are the Syrian diaspora, the Libyan diaspora, the Egyptian diaspora, the Jordanian diaspora of the Circassians, they also live in Europe, the USA and in some other countries of the Middle East, however, the statistics of most of these countries do not give accurate data on their number of Adyghe diasporas. The estimated number of Adygs (Circassians) in Syria is 80 thousand people.
There are some in other CIS countries, in particular, in Kazakhstan.
To date, the Adyghe language has retained two literary dialects, namely Adyghe and Kabardino-Circassian, which are part of the Abkhaz-Adyghe group of the North Caucasian family of languages.
Since the 13th century, all these names have been supplanted by the exoethnonym - Circassians.
Currently, in addition to the common self-name, in relation to the Adyghe sub-ethnic groups, the following names are used:
Zikhs - so called in languages: common Greek and Latin, Circassians are called Tatars and Turks, they call themselves - “ adiga».
Main article: History of the Circassians
Regular Moscow-Adyghe ties began to be established back in the period of Genoese trade in the Northern Black Sea region, which took place in the cities of Matrega (now Taman), Kopa (now Slavyansk-on-Kuban) and Kaffa (modern Feodosia), etc., in which a significant part of the population were Adygs. At the end of the 15th century, along the Don route, caravans of Russian merchants constantly came to these Genoese cities, where Russian merchants made trade deals not only with the Genoese, but with the highlanders of the North Caucasus who lived in these cities.
Moscow expansion to the south could not to develop without the support of ethnic groups that considered the basin of the Black and Azov Seas to be their ethnosphere. These were primarily the Cossacks, Don and Zaporozhye, whose religious and cultural tradition - Orthodoxy - brought them closer to the Russians. This rapprochement was carried out when it was beneficial to the Cossacks, especially since the prospect of plundering the Crimean and Ottoman possessions as allies of Moscow met their ethnocentric goals. On the side of the Russians, part of the Nogais, who swore allegiance to the Moscow state, could come forward. But, of course, first of all, the Russians were interested in supporting the most powerful and strong West Caucasian ethnic group, the Adygs.
During the formation of the Moscow principality, the Crimean Khanate delivered the same troubles to the Russians and Adygs. For example, there was the Crimean campaign against Moscow (1521), as a result of which the Khan's troops burned Moscow and captured more than 100 thousand Russians, for sale into slavery. Khan's troops left Moscow only when Tsar Vasily officially confirmed that he was a tributary of the Khan and would continue to pay tribute.
Russian-Adyghe ties were not interrupted. Moreover, they adopted forms of joint military cooperation. So, in 1552, the Circassians, together with the Russians, Cossacks, Mordovians, and others, took part in the capture of Kazan. The participation of the Circassians in this operation is quite natural, given the tendencies that emerged by the middle of the 16th century among some of the Circassians towards rapprochement with the young Russian ethnos, which was actively expanding its ethnosphere.
Therefore, the arrival in Moscow in November 1552 of the first embassy from some Adyghe sub-ethnic groups it was most appropriate for Ivan the Terrible, whose plans were in the direction of the advance of the Russians along the Volga to its mouth, to the Caspian Sea. Alliance with the most powerful ethnic group S.-Z. K. was needed by Moscow in its struggle with the Crimean Khanate.
In total, three embassies from the northwest visited Moscow in the 1550s. K., in 1552, 1555 and 1557. They consisted of representatives of the western Circassians (Zhaneev, Besleneev, etc.), eastern Circassians (Kabardians) and Abaza, who turned to Ivan IV with a request for patronage. They needed patronage primarily to fight the Crimean Khanate. Delegations from S.-Z. K. met with a favorable reception and secured the patronage of the Russian tsar. From now on, they could count on the military and diplomatic assistance of Moscow, and they themselves were obliged to appear at the service of the Grand Duke-Tsar.
Also under Ivan the Terrible, he had the second Crimean campaign against Moscow (1571), as a result of which the Khan's troops defeated the Russian troops and again burned Moscow and captured more than 60 thousand Russians as prisoners (for sale into slavery).
Main article: Crimean campaign against Moscow (1572)
The third Crimean campaign against Moscow in 1572, with the financial and military support of the Ottoman Empire and the Commonwealth, as a result of the Molodinsky battle, ended with the complete physical destruction of the Tatar-Turkish army and the defeat of the Crimean Khanate http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_at_Molodyakh
In the 70s, despite the unsuccessful Astrakhan expedition, the Crimeans and the Ottomans managed to restore their influence in the region. Russians were forced out of it for more than 100 years. True, they continued to consider the West Caucasian highlanders, Circassians and Abaza, their subjects, but this did not change the essence of the matter. The highlanders had no idea about this, just as the Asian nomads did not suspect in their time that China considers them to be its subjects.
The Russians left the North Caucasus, but entrenched themselves in the Volga region.
List of Circassians (Circassians) - Heroes of the Soviet Union
The official registration of most of the modern Adyghe villages dates back to the 2nd half of the 19th century, that is, after the end of the Caucasian War. To improve the control of the territories, the new authorities were forced to resettle the Circassians, who founded 12 auls in new places, and 5 in the 20s of the XX century.
Adyghe girl
Adyghe culture is a little-studied phenomenon, the result of a long period of time in the life of the people, during which culture has experienced various internal and external influences, including long-term contacts with the Greeks, Genoese and other peoples, long-term feudal civil strife, wars, mahadzhirstvo, social, political and cultural upheaval. The culture, while changing, has basically survived, and still demonstrates its openness to renewal and development. Doctor of Philosophical Sciences S. A. Razdolsky, define it as “a thousand-year-old worldview socially significant experience of the Adyghe ethnic group”, which has its own empirical knowledge about the world around it and transmits this knowledge at the level of interpersonal communication in the form of the most significant values.
moral code, called Adygage, acts as a cultural core or the main value of the Adyghe culture; it includes humanity, reverence, reason, courage, and honor.
Adyghe etiquette occupies a special place in culture as a system of connections (or a channel of information flows), embodied in a symbolic form, through which the Circassians enter into relations with each other, store and transmit the experience of their culture. Moreover, the Circassians developed etiquette forms of behavior that helped to exist in the mountainous and foothill landscape.
Respectfulness has the status of a separate value, it is the borderline value of moral self-consciousness and, as such, it manifests itself as the essence of genuine self-value.
Per 85 years before, in 1711, Abri de la Motre (French agent of the Swedish King Charles XII) visited the Caucasus, Asia and Africa.
According to his official reports (reports), long before his travels, that is, before 1711, in Circassia they had the skills of mass smallpox inoculation.
Abri de la Motre left a detailed description of the procedure for vaccination among the Adygs in the village of Degliad:
The girl was taken to a little boy of three years old, who was ill with this disease and whose pockmarks and pimples were beginning to fester. The old woman performed the operation, as the oldest members of this sex are reputed to be the most intelligent and knowledgeable, and they practice medicine as the oldest of the other sex practice the priesthood. This woman took three needles tied together, with which she, firstly, made a prick under the spoon of a little girl, secondly in the left breast against the heart, thirdly, in the navel, fourthly, in the right palm, fifthly, into the ankle of the left leg, until blood flowed, with which she mixed the pus extracted from the pockmarks of the patient. Then she applied dry leaves of the barn to the pricked and bleeding places, tying two skins of newborn lambs to the drill, after which the mother wrapped her in one of the leather covers that make up, as I said above, the bed of the Circassians, and thus wrapped she took her to yourself. I was told that she was to be kept warm, fed only porridge made from caraway flour, with two thirds of water and one third of sheep's milk, she was not allowed to drink anything but a refreshing decoction made from ox's tongue (Plant), a little licorice and a barn (Plant), three things not uncommon in the country.
About Caucasian surgeons and chiropractors, N. I. Pirogov wrote in 1849:
“Asian doctors in the Caucasus cured absolutely such external injuries (mainly the consequences of gunshot wounds), which, in the opinion of our doctors, required the removal of members (amputation), this is a fact confirmed by many observations; it is known throughout the Caucasus that the removal of limbs, the cutting out of crushed bones, is never undertaken by Asian doctors; of the bloody operations performed by them to treat external injuries, only the cutting of bullets is known.
Professor, doctor of historical sciences, Gadlo A. V., about the history of the Adygs in the 1st millennium AD. e. wrote -
Adyghe blacksmiths in the early Middle Ages, apparently, had not yet broken their ties with the community and had not separated from it, however, within the community they already constituted a separate professional group, ... Blacksmithing during this period was mainly focused on meeting the economic needs of the community ( plowshares, scythes, sickles, axes, knives, overhead chains, skewers, sheep shears, etc.) and its military organization (horse equipment - bits, stirrups, horseshoes, girth buckles; offensive weapons - spears, battle axes, swords, daggers, arrowheads, defensive weapons - helmets, chain mail, shield parts, etc.). What was the raw material base of this production, it is still difficult to determine, but, not excluding the presence of our own smelting of metal from local ores, we will point out two iron ore regions, from where metallurgical raw materials (semi-finished products - kritsy) could also come to Adyghe blacksmiths. This is, firstly, the Kerch Peninsula and, secondly, the upper reaches of the Kuban, Zelenchukov and Urup, where clear traces of ancient raw iron smelting.
“Adyghe jewelers possessed the skills of casting non-ferrous metals, soldering, stamping, making wire, engraving, etc. Unlike blacksmithing, their production did not require bulky equipment and large, hard-to-transport stocks of raw materials. As shown by the burial of a jeweler in a burial ground on the river. Durso, metallurgists-jewelers could use not only ingots obtained from ore, but also scrap metal as raw materials. Together with their tools and raw materials, they freely moved from village to village, more and more detached from their community and turning into migrant artisans.
Blacksmiths are very numerous in the country. They are almost everywhere gunsmiths and silversmiths, and are very skillful in their profession. It is almost incomprehensible how they, with their few and insufficient tools, can make excellent weapons. The gold and silver ornaments, which are admired by European weapon lovers, are made with great patience and labor with meager tools. Gunsmiths are highly respected and well paid, rarely in cash, of course, but almost always in kind. A large number of families are exclusively engaged in the manufacture of gunpowder and receive a significant profit from this. Gunpowder is the most expensive and most necessary commodity, without which no one here can do without. Gunpowder is not particularly good and inferior even to ordinary cannon powder. It is made in a rough and primitive way, therefore, of low quality. There is no shortage of saltpeter, as saltpeter plants grow in great numbers in the country; on the contrary, there is little sulfur, which is mostly obtained from outside (from Turkey).
The materials obtained during the study of the Adyghe settlements and burial grounds of the second half of the 1st millennium characterize the Adyghes as settled farmers who have not lost their coming from Meotian times plow farming skills. The main agricultural crops cultivated by the Circassians were soft wheat, barley, millet, rye, oats, industrial crops - hemp and, possibly, flax. Numerous grain pits - repositories of the early medieval era - cut through the strata of early cultural strata in the settlements of the Kuban region, and large red clay pithoi - vessels intended mainly for storing grain, constitute the main type of ceramic products that existed in the settlements of the Black Sea coast. Almost at all settlements there are fragments of round rotary millstones or whole millstones used for crushing and grinding grain. Fragments of stone stupas-croupers and pestle-pushers were found. Finds of sickles are known (Sopino, Durso), which could be used both for harvesting grain and for mowing fodder grasses for livestock.
Undoubtedly, cattle breeding also played a prominent role in the economy of the Circassians. The Circassians bred cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. The burials of war horses or parts of horse equipment repeatedly found in the burial grounds of this era indicate that horse breeding was the most important branch of their economy. The struggle for herds of cattle, herds of horses and fat lowland pastures is a constant motif of heroic deeds in the Adyghe folklore.
Theophilus Lapinsky, who visited the lands of the Adyghes in 1857, wrote the following in his work “The Mountaineers of the Caucasus and their liberation struggle against the Russians”:
Goats are numerically the most common domestic animal in the country. The milk and meat of the goats, owing to the excellent pastures, are very good; goat meat, which in some countries is considered almost inedible, is tastier here than lamb. The Circassians keep numerous herds of goats, many families have several thousand of them, and it can be considered that there are more than one and a half million of these useful animals in the country. The goat is only under the roof in winter, but even then it is driven out into the forest during the day and finds some food for itself in the snow. Buffaloes and cows are plentiful in the eastern plains of the country, donkeys and mules are found only in the southern mountains. Pigs used to be kept in large numbers, but since the introduction of Mohammedanism, the pig as a pet has disappeared. Of the birds they keep chickens, ducks and geese, especially turkeys are bred a lot, but the Adyg very rarely takes the trouble to take care of poultry, which feeds and breeds at random.
In the 19th century, about the horse breeding of the Circassians (Kabardians, Circassians), Senator Philipson, Grigory Ivanovich reported:
The highlanders of the western half of the Caucasus then had famous horse factories: Sholok, Tram, Yeseni, Loo, Bechkan. The horses did not have all the beauty of pure breeds, but they were extremely hardy, faithful in their legs, they were never forged, because their hooves, according to the Cossacks, were as strong as bone. Some horses, like their riders, had great fame in the mountains. So for example the white horse of the plant Tram was almost as famous among the highlanders as his master Mohammed-Ash-Atadzhukin, a fugitive Kabardian and a famous predator.
Theophilus Lapinsky, who visited the lands of the Adyghes in 1857, wrote the following in his work “The Highlanders of the Caucasus and their liberation struggle against the Russians”:
Previously, there were many herds of horses owned by wealthy residents in the Laba and Malaya Kuban, now there are few families that have more than 12 - 15 horses. But on the other hand, there are few who do not have horses at all. In general, we can assume that on average there are 4 horses per household, which will amount to about 200,000 heads for the whole country. On the plains, the number of horses is twice as large as in the mountains.
The intensive settlement of the indigenous Adyghe territory throughout the second half of the 1st millennium is evidenced by numerous settlements, settlements and burial grounds found both on the coast and in the plain-foothill part of the Trans-Kuban region. The Adygs who lived on the coast, as a rule, settled in unfortified settlements located on elevated plateaus and mountain slopes far from the coast in the upper reaches of rivers and streams flowing into the sea. The trading settlements that arose in the ancient period on the seashore in the early Middle Ages did not lose their significance, and some of them even turned into cities protected by fortresses (for example, Nikopsis at the mouth of the Nechepsuho River near the village of Novo-Mikhailovsky). The Adygs who lived in the Trans-Kuban region, as a rule, settled on elevated capes hanging over the floodplain valley, at the mouths of rivers flowing into the Kuban from the south or at the mouths of their tributaries. Until the beginning of the 8th century fortified settlements prevailed here, consisting of a citadel-fortification fenced with a moat and a settlement adjoining it, sometimes also fenced with a moat from the floor side. Most of these settlements were located on the sites of old Meotian settlements abandoned in the 3rd or 4th century. (for example, near the village of Krasny, near the villages of Gatlukay, Tahtamukay, Novo-Vochepshiy, near the farm. Yastrebovsky, near the village of Krasny, etc.). At the beginning of the 8th century the Kuban Adygs also begin to settle in unfortified open settlements, similar to the settlements of the Adygs of the coast.
Theophilus Lapinsky, in 1857, wrote the following:
The predominant occupation of the Adyghe is agriculture, which gives him and his family a means of subsistence. Agricultural tools are still in a primitive state and, since iron is rare, very expensive. The plow is heavy and clumsy, but this is not only a peculiarity of the Caucasus; I remember seeing equally clumsy agricultural implements in Silesia, which, however, belongs to the German Confederation; six to eight bulls are harnessed to the plow. The harrow is replaced by several bundles of strong thorns, which somehow serve the same purpose. Their axes and hoes are pretty good. On the plains and on the less high mountains, large two-wheeled carts are used to transport hay and grain. In such a cart you will not find a nail or a piece of iron, but nevertheless they hold on for a long time and can carry from eight to ten centners. On the plains, a cart is for every two families, in the mountainous part - for every five families; it is no longer found in the high mountains. In all teams only bulls are used, but not horses.
The modern Adyghe language belongs to the Caucasian languages of the western group of the Abkhaz-Adyghe subgroup, Russian - to the Indo-European languages of the Slavic group of the eastern subgroup. Despite the different language systems, the influence of Russian on Adyghe is manifested in a fairly large amount of borrowed vocabulary.
Main article: Kabardino-Circassian writing
