Abaza country in north cacuasus locator map

The Abazin, Abazinians or Abaza ( Abaza and Abkhaz: Абаза; Circassian: Абазэхэр; ; ; ) are an

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

of the Northwest Caucasus, closely related to the Abkhaz and Circassian peoples. Today, as a result of atrocities committed by

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

during the Circassian genocide, they live mostly in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and in Karachay-Cherkessia and Stavropol Krai in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

region of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The Tapanta ( :ru:Тапанта), a branch of the Abaza, lived between the Besleney and Kabardian princedoms on the upper Kuban. Abaza people historically speak the

Abaza language Abaza is the name of an ethnic group closely related to the Circassians, the Abazins, their language, the Abaza language, an Egyptian noble family of the same origin, the Abaza family, Abaza Family, and a surname. The Abazin people's "self-design ...

, a Northwest Caucasian language most closely related to Abkhaz, and more distantly related to the Ubykh and Circassian languages. There are two dialects of Abaza spoken in Karachay-Cherkessia: ''Ashkharua'' and ''Tapanta''. The culture and traditions of the Abazin are similar to those of the Circassians. On many old maps Abazin territory is marked as part of Circassia (Adygea). According to the 2010 Russian census, there were 43,341 Abazins in Russia.

Diaspora

An Abazin diaspora exists in

and in Middle Eastern countries such as

and

, most of which are descendants of muhajirs from the Caucasian War with the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. There is a significant Abazin presence in Turkey. An estimated 150,000 Abaza live in the provinces of Eskişehir,

Samsun Samsun is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and a major Black Sea port. The urban area recorded a population of 738,692 in 2022. The city is the capital of Samsun Province which has a population of ...

, Yozgat,

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

Kayseri Kayseri () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...

, and Sakarya, as well as İzmit and İstanbul. Most of them belong to Ashkharua clan that fought against the Tsarist army and emigrated to Turkey after losing the battle of Kbaada ( Krasnaya Polyana in today's

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

), whereas the Tapanta clan fought with the Russian forces. A prominent example in Egypt is the Abaza family, a large Egyptian Abazin clan.

Culture

Historically, the Abazin engaged in animal herding and some farming. The Abazins are dominantly Sunni Muslims. The Abazins first encountered Islam during their migrations to the Abazinia region via contact with the Nogais and other Muslim people. The Abazins adopted Islam via the influence of Muslim merchants and missionaries from the 16th to 19th centuries.

References

{{authority control Russian Muslims Ethnic groups in Russia Ethnic groups in Turkey Ethnic groups in Lebanon Ethnic groups in Syria Ethnic groups in Jordan Ethnic groups in Egypt Karachay-Cherkessia Stavropol Krai Indigenous peoples of Russia Muslim communities of Russia Peoples of the Caucasus Muslim communities of the Caucasus

Diaspora

Culture

See also

References