The Kabardians ( Kabardian: Къэбэрдей адыгэхэр; Adyghe: Къэбэртай адыгэхэр; ) or Kabardinians are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circassian flag. They are also commonly known by the plural terms Kabardin, Kebertei, or Kabarday. Along with the

Besleney The Besleney ( Circassian: Bеслъэней, ; ) are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circassian flag. By character, culture and language, the Besleney are closest to Kabardi ...

tribe, they speak a distinctive dialect of Circassian. Historically the Kabardians lived in

Kabardia The Grand Principality of Great Kabarda, also known as East Circassia or Kabardia (), was a historical country in the North Caucasus corresponding partly to modern-day Kabardino-Balkaria. It existed as a political community from the fifteenth c ...

, a region of the north

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

. In modern times the Kabardians live mostly in the Russian republic of

Kabardino-Balkaria Kabardino-Balkaria (), officially the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 904,200. Its capital is Nalchik. The area contains the highest mountain in ...

, which partly corresponds to the historic region. Despite the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

administrative divisions that placed Circassians under four different designations and political units, namely ''Adygeans'' (Circassians in

Adygea Adygea ( ), officially the Republic of Adygea or the Adygean Republic, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. The republic is a part of the Southern Federal District, and covers an a ...

), ''Cherkessians'' (Circassians in

Karachay-Cherkessia Karachay-Cherkessia (), officially the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus. It is administratively part of the North Caucasian Federal District. As of the 2021 census, Karachay-Cherkessia has a popul ...

), ''Kabardians'' (Circassians in Kabardino-Balkaria), and ''Shapsugs'' (Circassians in

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and is administratively a part of the Southern Federal District. Its administrative center is the t ...

), all four groups are essentially the same people (Circassians). Furthermore, Cherkessians are mostly of the Kabardian and Besleney tribes.

Population

Kabardians are the largest Circassian group in the world in general and form the largest group in Russia, Turkey, Egypt, and other countries. Kabardians numbered around 520,000 in

, Russia, and about 50,000 in

in Russia. In Turkey, where more than 1 million live, they are concentrated on the Uzunyayla plateau of

Kayseri Province The Kayseri Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality in central Turkey. Its area is 16,970 km2, and its population is 1,441,523 (2022). It borders with Sivas, Adana, Niğde, Kahramanmaraş, Yozgat and Nevşehir provinces. T ...

and around central Turkey. However, there are Kabardian villages in

Balıkesir Balıkesir () is a city in the Marmara Region, Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of Balıkesir Province, which is also a Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality. As of 2022, the population of Balıkesir Province ...

Düzce Düzce () is a city in northwestern Turkey, the capital city of Düzce Province, the eighty-first Provinces of Turkey, province in the country. It is the seat of Düzce District.Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from 'old' and 'city') is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 821 315 (Odunpazari + Tebebasi), with a metropolitan population of 921 630. The city is l ...

in northwest Turkey, Çorum,

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 ...

, and

Tokat Tokat is a city of Turkey in the mid-Black Sea region of Anatolia. It is the seat of Tokat Province and Tokat District.

in the Black Sea region, amongst many others. Significant populations of Kabardians also live in

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 ...

, and there are communities in the United States. In Israel and Jordan, respectively, Shapsugs and Abzakhs are the largest groups.

Religion

Religions historically practiced by Kabardians include the native Adyghe Xabze faith,

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. The majority of Kabardians had converted to Islam by the early 19th century. There are also still some adherents to traditional Xabze beliefs, with 1.8% of Kabardians practicing in Kabardino-Balkaria, although most Kabardians are either

Non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoro ...

Sunni Muslims Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

of the

Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

school"Arena: Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in Russia"
Sreda, 2012.2012 Arena Atlas Religion Maps
"Ogonek", № 34 (5243), 27/08/2012. Retrieved 21/04/2017
Archived
Kabardians also constituted one of the earliest Christian communities in Europe, converting in the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries. Kabardians living in Mozdoksky District in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania are Orthodox Christians. Some of the Kabardians living in the southern part of the neighbouring Kursky district of Stavropol Krai are also Orthodox Christians. There are also some

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Kabardians (possibly descended from families who reportedly converted from Orthodoxy during the 13th century). According to the 2012 survey census, of the 240,000 Catholics who lived in Russia, 1.8% were Kabardians.Arena – Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in Russia
Sreda.org2012 Survey Maps
. "Ogonek", № 34 (5243), 27/08/2012. ''Retrieved 24-09-2012''.

Notable Kabardians

* Adil-Giray Atazhukin * Aleguko Shogenukov * Alexander A. Cherkassky * Alexey Cherkassky –

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of 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 ...

during the reign of Empress Elizabeth * Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky – Prince of Kabarda * Alexander N. Bekovich-Cherkassky * Amirkhan Shomakhov * Atazhuko Atazhukin * Armande Kumpal Kabartay Altaï-Magini * Aslanbek Khushtov – Member of the Parliament of Kabardino-Balkarian Republic and athlete who has won a gold medal in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

* Avenir Tchemerzine – Colonel of the Russian imperial army and mathematician before becoming a bibliographer * Bidar Kadın – Imperial consort of

Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

* Boris Cherkassky * Caner Dagli –

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

* Dmitry Cherkassky * Doamna Ecaterina Cercheza – Princess consort of the

Voivode of Moldavia This is a list of monarchs of Moldavia, from the first mention of the medieval polity east of the Carpathian Mountains, Carpathians and until its disestablishment in 1862, when Unification of Moldavia and Wallachia, it united with Wallachia, the ot ...

as the wife of

Vasile Lupu Lupu Coci, known as Vasile Lupu (; 1595 – 1661), was the voivode of Moldavia between 1634 and 1653. He was of Albanian and Greek origin. Lupu had secured the Moldavian throne in 1634 after a series of complicated intrigues and managed to h ...

* Elmirza Bekovich-Cherkassky * Fyodor A. Bekovich-Cherkasski * Fyodor N. Bekovich-Cherkasski * Grigory Cherkassky * Janseid Wuvizhuqo * Idar of Kabardia *

Inal the Great Inal Nekhu (; ; also known as Inal the Great in Georgian sources) was the Supreme Prince (King) of Circassia from 1427 to 1453 who unified all Circassians (then divided into several princedoms) into one state. He led campaigns into several countr ...

– Prince of Kabarda * Ismail Bey Atazhukin * Ivan Amashuk * Ivan B. Cherkassky – Cousin of

Michael I of Russia Michael I (; ) was Tsar of all Russia from 1613 after being elected by the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 until his death in 1645. He was elected by the Zemsky Sobor and was the first tsar of the House of Romanov, which succeeded the Rurikids, House o ...

* Ivan E. Cherkassky * Jacop Cherkassky * Kasbulat Cherkassky * Kasei Atazhukin * Kambulat Cherkassky * Kelemet Cherkassky * Kudenet Cherkassky * Kurgoko Atazhukin * Ladislas du Luart, Comtesse Leïla Hagondokoff – Recipient of the National Order of Merit and National Order of the Legion of Honor (Commander), model for the French high-fashion house

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and headquarte ...

* Ludmilla Monique Tchérina * haseki Mahidevran sultan – Imperial consort of

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

of the Ottoman Empire * Mamstryuk Cherkassky * Maria Temryukovna –

Tsaritsa Tsarina or tsaritsa (also spelled ''csarina'' or ''csaricsa'', ''tzarina'' or ''tzaritza'', or ''czarina'' or ''czaricza''; ; ; ) is the title of a female autocratic ruler (monarch) of Bulgaria, Serbia, and Russia, or the title of a tsar's wife ...

of the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. ...

as the wife of

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow, Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar of all Russia, Tsar and Grand Prince of all R ...

* Michael A. Cherkassky I * Michael A. Cherkassky II * Michael T. Cherkassky * Michael Y. Cherkassky * Mutsal Cherkassky * Nikita Egupov-Cherkassky * Peter Amashukov-Cherkassky * Peter B. Cherkassky * Roslanbek Atazhukin * Rusudan of Circassia – Queen consort of Georgia (Kartli) as the wife of Vakhtang the Lawgiver * Servetseza Kadın – First wife of

Abdulmejid I ʻAbd al-Majīd (ALA-LC romanization of , ), also spelled as Abd ul Majid, Abd ul-Majid, Abd ol Majid, Abd ol-Majid, and Abdolmajid, is a Muslim male given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Maj ...

of the Ottoman Empire * Sholokh Cherkassky * Simon Cherkassky * Sunchalei Cherkassky * Temryuk – Prince of Kabarda * Vasily Amashukov-Cherkassky * Vasily Kardanukovich Cherkassky * Vladimir Cherkassky –

Mayor of Moscow The Mayor of Moscow () is the head and the highest-ranking official of Moscow, who leads the Government of Moscow, the main executive body of the city. Moscow is both a city and separate federal subject, according to the Constitution of ...

(1868–1870) * Yefim Bekovich-Cherkassky *

Yuri Temirkanov Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov (; ; 10 December 1938 – 2 November 2023) was a Soviet and Russian conductor, named a People's Artist of the USSR. Early life Born in 1938 in the North Caucasus city of Nalchik, Temirkanov attended the Saint Petersburg ...

– Music Director and Chief Conductor of the

Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (, ''Symphonic Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia'') is a symphony orchestra based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Their home venue is the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. History The roots of th ...

since 1988 * Zaur Tutov File:Naglaa Fathy.jpg File:Leila Fawzy.jpg File:Hind Rostom.jpg File:Mariam Fakhr Eddine.jpg File:Tharwat Zubaida.jpg File:Türkan Şoray, 2014.jpg File:Farida Queen of Nile.jpg File:Nefise Karatay.jpg File:Leïla Hagondokoff.jpg File:Aleksey Mikhailovich Tcherkassky.PNG File:Arslan Bey Toguz.jpg File:Youssef Zulficar Pasha.png File:Yuri Temirkanov and Vladimir Putin - 14 December 2013 - 1 (crop).jpg File:Armande Altaï 2010.jpg File:Hussein Fahmy.JPG File:Ufa-Mordovia (1).jpg File:Cherkassky v2 p9.gif File:Facial Chronicle - b.23, p. 097.jpg File:Facial Chronicle - b.23, p. 100.jpg File:Maria Temryukovna's ring.jpg

References

{{Authority control Circassian tribes Ethnic groups in Russia History of Kuban Kabardino-Balkaria Karachay-Cherkessia Muslim communities of Russia Adygea Circassians in Turkey Ethnic groups in Jordan

Population

Religion

Notable Kabardians

See also

References