The Abzakh ( Circassian: Абдзэх, ''Abdzekh'';

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: абадзехи; also known as Abdzakhs or Abadzekhs) are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold

Circassian flag The Circassian flag (or the Flag of Adygea) is the national flag of the Circassians. It consists of a green field charged with twelve gold stars, nine forming an arc resembling a bow and three horizontal, also charged with three crossed arrows i ...

. Historically, they lived in the mountainous part of the modern Russian republics of

Adygea The Republic of Adygea (; russian: Республика Адыгея, Respublika Adygeya, p=ɐdɨˈɡʲejə; ady, Адыгэ Республик, ''Adıgə Respublik''), also known as the Adyghe Republic, is a republic of Russia. It is situated ...

and

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and administratively a part of t ...

. Major settlements or villages were located in the river valleys

Kurdzhips The Kurdzhips (russian: Курджипс), located in the Caucasus Mountains, is a river in the Apsheronsky District of Krasnodar region, Russia. It is a left tributary of the Belaya near Maykop. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . The r ...

, Psheha, Pshish, and Psekups. However, today the vast majority of them live in

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

in Turkey — about 500,000 people, which are the descendants of those expelled from their homeland as a result of the

Russian–Circassian War The Russo-Circassian War ( ady, Урыс-адыгэ зауэ, translit=Wurıs-adığə zawə; ; 1763–1864; also known as the Russian Invasion of Circassia) was the invasion of Circassia by Russia, starting in July 17, 1763 ( O.S) with the Ru ...

. After

Kabardians The Kabardians ( Highland Adyghe: Къэбэрдей адыгэхэр; Lowland Adyghe: Къэбэртай адыгэхэр; russian: Кабардинцы) or Kabardinians are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of th ...

, the Abzakh are the second-largest Adyghe tribe in Turkey, other diaspora countries, and in the world in general. They are also the second-largest Adyghe tribe in Israel (after

Shapsugs The Shapsug ( ady, шапсыгъ , russian: шапсуги, tr, Şapsığlar, ar, الشابسوغ, he, שפסוגים) (also known as the Shapsugh or Shapsogh) are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes. Historically, the Shapsug tribe ...

), largest in Jordan, and the sixth-largest in Russia. The Abzakhs are not to be confused with the

Abkhazians Abkhazians (russian: Абхазы), or Abkhazs ( ab, Аԥсуаа, Aṕswaа, ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea. A l ...

or the Abaza, yet the naming "abadz'ekh" in Circassian language means "the people who live under the Abazas", but they are different in language.

History

Before the Caucasian War, Abzakhs inhabited the northern slope of the Caucasus mountain range, near the land of the

Shapsug The Shapsug ( ady, шапсыгъ , russian: шапсуги, tr, Şapsığlar, ar, الشابسوغ, he, שפסוגים) (also known as the Shapsugh or Shapsogh) are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes. Historically, the Shapsug tribe ...

tribe. After the Caucasian war, most Abzakhs (and other tribes) were deported to the Ottoman Empire, the remaining Abzakhs were relocated to the present-day steppe

Shovgenovsky District Shovgenovsky District (russian: Шовгеновский район, translit=Šovgenovskij rajon; ady, Шэуджэн къедзыгъо, translit=Ṩəwdjən qyedzığo) is an administrativeLaw #171 and a municipalLaw #272 district (raion), one ...

in Adygea.

Culture

The Abzakh tribe was traditionally divided into nine companies, managed by elected elders. In discussing and resolving important issues elders agreed in a general meeting. The Abzakh tribe engaged in arable farming and horticulture, and kept many animals, especially prized horses. In the mountains, the Abzakh mined copper, iron, lead, and silver. Since the early 19th century, their dominant religion is

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...

Language

The Abzakh people speak a sub-dialect ( ady, Абдзахэбзэ) of the West Adyghe dialect of the Circassian language.Abzakh sub-dialect

Israel

About 1,123 Abzakh people live in the

Rehaniya Rehaniya ( he, רִיחָנִיָּה, ar, الريحانية, ady, Рихьаные ) is a Circassian town in northern Israel. It is one of the only two Circassian towns in Israel, the other being Kfar Kama. Located about 8 km north of ...

, in

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...

( Northern District,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

), where there is an Adyghe museum. In 1958, Abzakhs (and other Adyghe tribes) of Israel were allowed to enter military service, which gave them a number of privileges. In Israel, the Abzakh are the second largest Adyghe tribe, after the

Notable people

* Hulusi Salih Pasha (1885–1939); Ottoman

Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

(1920), admiral, the first Minister of Navy of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

References