The Circassians in Romania ( Circassian: Урымыныем ис Адыгэхэр, ''Wurımınıyem yis Adıgəxər''; ro, cerchezi or ) were an

ethnic minority The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...

in the territory that constitutes modern

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

. The presence of people with names derived from the

Circassians The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: ''Adıgəxər'') are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia ...

in lands belonging now to Romania was attested since at least the 15th century. For the next few centuries, these records of such people in the Romanian principalities of

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centra ...

and

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

would continue. In 1864, as a result of the

Circassian genocide The Circassian genocide, or Tsitsekun, was the Russian Empire's systematic mass murder, ethnic cleansing, and expulsion of 80–97% of the Circassian population, around 800,000–1,500,000 people, during and after the Russo-Circassian War ( ...

, a total of 10,000 Circassians would settle in

Northern Dobruja Northern Dobruja ( ro, Dobrogea de Nord or simply ; bg, Северна Добруджа, ''Severna Dobrudzha'') is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, bordered in the south ...

, where they would remain for about 14 years until their expulsion as agreed in the

Treaty of San Stefano The 1878 Treaty of San Stefano (russian: Сан-Стефанский мир; Peace of San-Stefano, ; Peace treaty of San-Stefano, or ) was a treaty between the Russian and Ottoman empires at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-18 ...

, which gave this region to

. This Dobrujan Circassian community influenced the area, having indirectly funded the construction of buildings still standing today in

Tulcea Tulcea (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 73,707 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city. Names T ...

and having two Romanian villages in Northern Dobruja,

Cerchezu Cerchezu is a commune in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. The commune includes two villages: * Cerchezu (historical name: ''Cerchezchioi'', tr, Çerkezköy, german: Tscherkess), named after the Circassian minority that settled the ...

and

Slava Cercheză Slava Cercheză (russian: Черкезская Слава) is a commune in Tulcea County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. Its name means the Cherkess ( Circassian) Slava, in reference to the Dobrujan Circassian community that used to inhabit the vill ...

, named after them. Today, there are some people in both Romania and the closely related

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnist ...

with the surname Cerchez or similar, which are clearly derived from the Circassians. In 1989, there were about 99 Circassians in Moldova, although the existence of a Circassian minority in Romania had most likely already ended by the time the 20th century had started due to

assimilation Assimilation may refer to: Culture *Cultural assimilation, the process whereby a minority group gradually adapts to the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture and customs **Language shift, also known as language assimilation, the progre ...

History

In Moldavia and Wallachia

Documents from the times of the

Principality of Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

show that names derived from the Circassians were attested as early as in the 15th century. It is in this time when, in 1435, Cerchiaz, a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

of the royal council of Moldavia, was recorded. In 1661, the existence of a

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were s ...

(noble) named Cherchiaz Gheorghe was also recorded. People like this were also attested in the

Principality of Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and sou ...

; documents from the 17th century record Cercheza Maria, wife of a treasurer named Aslan. It is uncertain whether Cercheza was a proper name in itself or if it only referred to the ethnic origin of the person. The concept of the

Circassian beauty Circassian beauty or Adyghe beauty is a stereotype and a belief referring to the Circassian people. A fairly extensive literary history suggests that Circassian women were thought to be unusually beautiful and attractive, spirited, smart and eleg ...

, widely known in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

in the past and according to which Circassian women were of great beauty, also arrived to Romania, with the Romanian poet

Dimitrie Bolintineanu Dimitrie Bolintineanu (; 14 January 1819 (1825 according to some sources), Bolintin-Vale – 20 August 1872, Bucharest) was a Romanian poet, though he wrote in many other styles as well, diplomat, politician, and a participant in the revolut ...

embodying it in his poem ''Esmé''. It is believed that, by the start of the 20th century, the Circassian minority in Romania had already disappeared as a result of

In Dobruja

Following the

committed in 1864 by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

, many

had or were forced to abandon their homeland. Around 200,000 Circassians settled in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, 10,000 of which did in

(specially in the

Babadag Babadag (; tr, Babadağ, "Father Mountain"), formerly known as Babatag, is a town in Tulcea County, Romania, located on a small lake formed by the river Taița, in the densely wooded highlands of Northern Dobruja. One of the several tombs ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

), then part of 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) ...

. There, they would become one of the Muslim peoples of the region together with the local

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

and

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

. In Dobruja, the Circassians were granted privileges by the Ottoman authorities and would frequently enter in conflict with the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

population of the region, specially with the more wealthy German settlers, but also with the Muslims of Dobruja. They would raid villages of the various populations of the region and then give parts of their gains to the Ottoman authorities, which would instead do nothing to stop their attacks. It is believed the Palace of the Pasha (now the Tulcea Art Museum) and the Azizyie Mosque of

were built with funds coming from Circassian raiders. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 would be a key moment in the history of the Dobrujan Circassians. They saw the

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not complete ...

as guilty for the war, as they had revolted against the Ottoman Empire earlier in the

April Uprising of 1876 The April Uprising ( bg, Априлско въстание, Aprilsko vastanie) was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876. The regular Ottoman Army and irregular bashi-bazouk units brutally ...

. Thus, during the conflict, many Circassian fighters massacred Bulgarians and also

Lipovans , flag = Flag of the Lipovans.png , flag_caption = Flag of the Lipovans , image = Evstafiev-lipovane-slava-cherkeza.jpg , caption = Lipovans during a ceremony in front of the Lipovan church in the Romanian village of Slava Cercheză in 200 ...

(ethnic

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

of Dobruja) and

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Or ...

, especially in Tulcea. Because they were perceived as highly problematic, in the

that put an end to the war, a clause was added whereby the Circassians of the newly liberated Balkan lands, including Dobruja, would be expelled. It is believed that the few that remained assimilated into the local population, notably into the Tatar one. Additionally, through this treaty,

gained control of Northern Dobruja. This way, the Dobrujan Circassians (which only stayed 14 years in the region) and the Romanian authorities never had any particular interaction. Today, two villages in Romania,

and

, both in Dobruja, are named after the Circassians.

Legacy

Nowadays, in both Romania and

exists the surname Cerchez or variations of it. These surnames are derived from the Turkish word for the Circassians, . In Moldova, as of 2013, 877 people had the surname Cerchez. In fact, in the

1989 Soviet census The 1989 Soviet census (russian: Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989, lit=1989 All-Union Census), conducted between 12 and 19 January of that year, was the last one that took place in the Soviet Union. The census found ...

, 99 people declared Circassian ethnicity (40 declared themselves as Adyghe, 43 as

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 t ...

and 16 as

Cherkess The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: ''Adıgəxər'') are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia ...

, all of them being Circassian subgroups) in the

Moldavian SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic ( ro, Republica Sovietică Socialistă Moldovenească, Moldovan Cyrillic: ) was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1940 to 1991. The republic was formed on 2 August 1940 ...

(as Moldova was then part of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

References

{{Ethnic groups in Romania Ethnic groups in Romania Muslim communities in Europe

History

In Moldavia and Wallachia

In Dobruja

Legacy

See also

References