The Sadz or Asadzwa, also Jigets, are a subethnic group of the Abkhazians. They are sometimes purported to have originated from the Sanigoi tribe mentioned by the Classic authors. In the 6th century, they formed a tribal principality, which later commingled with the Abasgoi, Apsilae and Missimianoi into the

Kingdom of Abkhazia The Kingdom of Abkhazia ( ka, აფხაზთა სამეფო, tr; lit. "Kingdom of the Abkhazians"), also known as Abasgia or Egrisi-Abkhazia, was a medieval feudal state in the Caucasus which was established in the 780s. Through dyn ...

. Until 1864 Sadz lived at the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

coast north to

Gagra Gagra ( ka, გაგრა; Abkhaz and Russian: Гагра) is a town in Abkhazia/Georgia, sprawling for 5 km on the northeast coast of the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. Its subtropical climate made Gagra a popular he ...

until the Khosta River (Khamysh River). They formed the

Sadzyn Lesser Abkhazia ( Georgian: ჯიქეთი, Jiqeti) was the term used to refer to those lands of Abkhazia that were not subject to the direct control of the ruling Shervashidze dynasty. History After the Russian-Circassian War, the bulk ...

area, which consisted of the possessions of Kamysh, Arydba, Amarshan and Gechba clans, under the hegemony of Tsanba clan. The Ubykh princes Oblagua, Chizmaa and Dziash also originated from the Sadz. Some think that in the 12-14th centuries a part of the Sadz have been forced to resettle to the northern mountainside of Caucasus Major under the Ubykh pressure. They formed there

Abazin The Abazin, Abazinians or Abaza ( Abaza and Abkhaz: Абаза; Circassian: Абазэхэр; russian: Абазины; tr, Abazalar; ar, أباظة), are an ethnic group of the Northwest Caucasus, closely related to the Abkhaz and Circassi ...

people. This is only one of the theories explaining the migration from Abkhazia of the ancestors of what is now the Abaza people. After 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 ...

ended in 1864 most of the Sadz were forced to turn

muhajir Muhajir or Mohajir ( ar, مهاجر, '; pl. , ') is an Arabic word meaning ''migrant'' (see immigration and emigration) which is also used in other languages spoken by Muslims, including English. In English, this term and its derivatives may refer ...

, moving to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Some of them settled in Adjara (then under the Ottoman possession). Now the

Sadz dialect Abkhaz ( ; ), sometimes spelled Abxaz and also known as Abkhazian, is a Northwest Caucasian language most closely related to Abaza. It is spoken mostly by the Abkhaz people. It is one of the official languages of Abkhazia, where around 100,0 ...

of the

Abkhaz language Abkhaz ( ; ), sometimes spelled Abxaz and also known as Abkhazian, is a Northwest Caucasian language most closely related to Abaza. It is spoken mostly by the Abkhaz people. It is one of the official languages of Abkhazia, where around 100, ...

is spoken only in

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

. It consists of Akhaltsys and Tswyzhy subdialects. The Sadz, Aibga and

Akhchipsou The Ahchipsou were a Sadz ( Abkhaz-Abazin)Ubykhs
tribe, that lived on

tribes of Abkhazia were the last ethnic groups to have offered the resistance to the Russian advances during the

Caucasus War The Caucasian War (russian: Кавказская война; ''Kavkazskaya vojna'') or Caucasus War was a 19th century military conflict between the Russian Empire and various peoples of the North Caucasus who resisted subjugation during the R ...

. The last tribes conquered by Russians were Ahchypsy and Aibga, who lived in and around of what is now

Krasnaya Polyana Krasnaya Polyana (russian: Кра́сная Поля́на) meaning "Red Meadow" is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia: Modern localities Amur Oblast As of 2012, one rural locality in Amur Oblast bears this name: * Krasnaya Polya ...

References

* Анчабадзе З. В. ''Из истории средневековой Абхазии''. Сухум, 1959. * Анчабадзе П. Д. Абаза. (К этно-культурной истории народов Северо-Западного Кавказа). КЭС, 1984, т. 8. *Анчабадзе Ю. Д., Волкова Н.Г. Этническая история Северного Кавказа XVI-XIX вв. // ''Материалы к серии "Народы и культуры"''. Выпуск XXVIII. «Народы Кавказа». М., 1993. Книга 1. * Волкова Н. Г. ''Этнонимы и племенные названия Северного Кавказа''. М., 1973. * Инал-Ипа Ш. Д. Садзы. // ''Материалы к серии «Народы и культуры»''. Выпуск XXVIII. «Народы Кавказа», М., 1995. Книга 2. * Чирикба, В.А. Расселение абхазов в Турции. Annex to: Инал-Ипа Ш. Д. ''Садзы. // ''Материалы к серии «Народы и культуры»''. Выпуск XXVIII. «Народы Кавказа», М., 1995. Книга 2'', p. 260-277. * Chirikba, V.A. Sadz, an Abkhaz Dialect in Turkey. In:Howard A. Aronson (ed.). ''NSL.8. Linguistic Studies in the Non-Slavic Languages of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic Republics'', Chicago: The University of Chicago, 1996, p. 67-81. * Chirikba, V.A. Distribution of Abkhaz Dialects in Turkey. In: A. Sumru Özsoy (ed.). ''Proceedings of the Conference on Northwest Caucasian Linguistics, 10–12 October 1994. Studia Caucasologica III. Novus forlag - Oslo, Instituttet for Sammenlignende Kulturforskning, 1997,'' p. 63-88. * Chirikba, V.A. ''A Grammar of Sadz Abkhaz'' (Forthcoming). {{DEFAULTSORT:Sadz History of ethnic groups in Russia Ethnic groups in Turkey Abkhaz diaspora Sub-ethnic groups Abkhaz people