Case Study Circassian Migration FV - EUROCLIO

The Circassian peoples
Circassian people leaving their homeland by boat
and crossing the Black Sea (painting by the
modern Turkish graphic artist, Faruk Kutlu)
Map showing the distribution of Circassian tribes in the 19 th century.
Source: Amijad Jaimoukh, The Circassians: A Handbook
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People have lived in the Caucasus since at least
the 8 th BCE when the Greeks began to explore
the region. A mountain range divides the region
from north to south with the Black Sea to the
west and the Caspian sea to the east. The
Caucasus as a whole is ethnically, culturally and
linguistically diverse. The indigenous peoples
commonly referred to as ‘Circassian’ inhabit the
coastal region and the inland mountain area in
the north-western area of the Caucasus. They
include the Adyghe, Abkhazian, and Ubykh
tribes. They share a common language, culture
and religion but rarely a united political culture.
Due to their location on the Black Sea coast,
including the important ports of Anapa, Sochi
and Tuapse, they were heavily involved in trade
throughout the region.
For over a century, from 1763 to 1864, the
Circassian people fought against Russian
incursions but were gradually conquered in a
series of battles and campaigns, referred to as
the Russian–Caucasian Wars.