# Abkhazians

The Abkhazians or Abkhazes are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea. A large Abkhaz diaspora population resides in Turkey, the origins of which lie in the Caucasian War in the late 19th century. Many Abkhaz also live in other parts of the former Soviet Union, particularly in Russia and Ukraine.

## Ethnology

The Abkhaz language belongs to the isolate Northwest Caucasian language family, also known as Abkhaz–Adyghe or North Pontic family, which groups the dialectic continuum spoken by the Abaza–Abkhaz (Abazgi) and Adyghe ("Circassians" in English). Abkhazians are closely ethnically related to Circassians. Classical sources speak of several tribes dwelling in the region, but their exact identity and location remain controversial due to Abkhaz–Georgian historiographical conflict.

### Subgroups

There are also three subgroups of the Abkhaz people. The Bzyb (Бзыԥ, Bzyph) reside in the Bzyb River region, and speak their own dialect. The Abzhui (Абжьыуа, Abzhwa) live in the Kodori River region, and also speak their own dialect, which the Abkhaz literary language is based upon. Finally, there are the Samurzakan who reside in the southeast of Abkhazia.

## History

At the prehistorical times Abkhazia among with West Caucasus was the part of Dolmen culture. Which is considered proto abkhaz-circassian, because it's only matches in territories that were under abkhazian and circassian controle in 17-18 centuries and modern days, their spiritual traditions and mythology. Meanwhile Dolmen culture is absolutely alien to other people of Caucasus, their territories, languages and cultures.
Some scholars deem the ancient Heniochi tribe the progenitors of the Abkhaz. This warlike people came into contact with Ancient Greeks through the colonies of Dioskourias and Pitiuntas. In the Roman period, the Abasgoi are mentioned as inhabiting the region. These Abasgoi (Abkhaz) were described by Procopius as warlike, worshippers of three deities, under the suzerainty of the Kingdom of Lazica. The view of most historians is that the Apsilae and Abasgoi are ancestors by ethnicity, language and the culture for the modren Abkhaz–Abaza people. While the Georgian view coming from the historian Pavle Ingorokva which is considered falsification by most historians, is that those were "proto-Kartvelians or Georgians". The Russian conquest of Abkhazia from the 1810s to the 1860s was accompanied by a massive expulsion of Muslim Abkhaz to the Ottoman Empire and the introduction of a strong Russification policy. As a result, the Abkhaz diaspora is currently estimated to measure at least twice the number of Abkhaz that reside in Abkhazia. The largest part of the diaspora now lives in Turkey, with estimates ranging from 100,000 to 500,000, with smaller groups in Syria (5,000 – 10,000) and Jordan. In recent years, some of these have emigrated to the West, principally to Germany (5,000), Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Austria and the United States (mainly to New Jersey).
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Abkhazia was a part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, but was conquered by the Red Army in 1921 and eventually entered the Soviet Union as a Soviet Socialist Republic associated with the Georgian SSR. The status of Abkhazia was downgraded in 1931 when it became an Autonomous SSR within the Georgian SSR. Under Joseph Stalin, a forcible collectivization was introduced and the native communist elite purged. The influx of Armenians, Russians and Georgians into the growing agricultural and tourism sectors was also encouraged, and Abkhaz schools were briefly closed. By 1989, the number of Abkhaz was about 93,000 (18% of the population of the autonomous republic), while the Georgian population numbered 240,000 (45%). The number of Armenians (15% of the entire population) and Russians (14%) grew substantially as well.
The 1992–1993 War in Abkhazia followed by the ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia left the Abkhaz an ethnic plurality of ca. 45%, with Russians, Armenians, Georgians, Greeks, and Jews comprising most of the remainder of the population of Abkhazia. The 2003 census established the total number of Abkhaz in Abkhazia at 94,606. However, the exact demographic figures for the region are disputed and alternative figures are available. The de facto Abkhaz president Sergey Bagapsh suggested, in 2005, that less than 70,000 ethnic Abkhaz lived in Abkhazia.
At the time of the 2011 Census, 122,175 Abkhaz were living in Abkhazia. They were 50.8% of the total population of the republic.
In the course of the Syrian uprising, a number of Abkhaz living in Syria immigrated to Abkhazia. By mid-April 2013, approximately 200 Syrians of Abkhaz descent had arrived in Abkhazia. A further 150 were due to arrive by the end of April. The Abkhazian leadership has stated that it would continue the repatriation of Abkhaz living abroad. As of August 2013, 531 Abkhaz had arrived from Syria according to the Abkhazian government.

## Economy

The typical economy is strong on the breeding of cattle, beekeeping, viticulture, and agriculture.

## Religion

The Abkhaz people are principally divided into Abkhazian Orthodox Christian (the Abkhazian Orthodox Church is not recognized by any of the world Orthodox churches, but the territory is recognized as the Eparchy of Bichvinta and Tskhum-Abkhazia of the Georgian Orthodox Church) and Sunni Muslim (Hanafi) communities, (prevalent in Abkhazia and Turkey respectively) but the indigenous non-Abrahamic beliefs have always been strong. Although Christianity made its first appearance in the realm of their Circassian neighbours in the first century AD (according to tradition, via the travels and preaching of the Saint Andrew), and became the dominant religion of Circassians in the 3rd to 4th centuries, Christianity became the dominant religion of Abkhazians in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian I, and continued to be followed under the kings of Georgia in the High Middle Ages. The Ottomans introduced Islam in the 16th century and the region became largely Muslim gradually until the 1860s.

## Diaspora

Many Muslim Circassians, Abkhaz and Chechens migrated to the Ottoman Empire following revolts against Russian rule. It is believed that the Abkhaz community in Turkey is larger than that of Abkhazia itself. Some 250 Abkhaz-Abaza villages are estimated throughout Turkey. According to Andrew Dalby, Abkhazian-speakers might number more than 100,000 in Turkey, however, the 1963 census only recorded 4,700 native speakers and 8,000 secondary speakers. Of the 15,000 ethnic Abkhaz in Turkey, only 4,000 speak the language, the rest having assimilated into Turkish society. As of 2006, it is estimated that 600,000 to 1,500,000 Abkhazians by descent live in Turkey. In Egypt, the largest Circassian clan in the country, the Abaza family, originated from Abkhazia and is "deeply rooted in Egyptian society... [and] in the history of the country". It also contributed to Egyptian and Arabic cultural literary, intellectual, and political life starting with the reign of Muhammad Ali Pasha in Egypt and continuing to the modern day.

## Genetics

The people closest genetically to the Abkhazians are the Abazins and Circassians. There are also similarities between some Western Georgian ethnic groups.

## Gallery

* Pitsunda Cathedral, seat of Abkhazian Orthodox Church
* Abkhazs in the mid-19th century

## Notable people
### Literature

* Alexey Gogua (born 1932), writer
* Dmitry Gulia (1874–1960), Abkhazian Soviet writer and poet
* Fazil Iskander (1929–2016), writer
* Bagrat Shinkuba (1917–2004), writer, poet
* Aziz Pasha Abaza (1898 – 1973) poet
* Fekry Pasha Abaza (1895 – 1979) a journalist, writer and democratic political activist
* Tharwat Abaza (1927 – 2002) novelist and journalist

### Politics

* Aslan Bzhania (born 1963), Abkhaz politician
* Alexander Ankvab (born 1952), Abkhaz politician
* Anzor Kudba (born 1939), member of Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia
* Gennadi Gagulia (1948–2018), Abkhazian politician
* Hayreddin Pasha (1820–1890), Ottoman politician
* Mirab Kishmaria (born 1961), Abkhaz politician and army general
* Nestor Lakoba (1893–1936), Abkhaz communist leader
* Rauf Orbay (1881–1964), Turkish politician
* Raul Khajimba (born 1958), Abkhazian politician
* Rauf Orbay (1881–1964), Turkish naval officer and diplomat
* Shaaban Abash (1890–1943), rider in the Circassian cavalry regiment of the Caucasian native division during WWI
* Sergei Bagapsh (1949–2011), President of Abkhazia
* Vladimir Arshba (1959–2018), Abkhaz soldier and politician
* Vladislav Ardzinba (1945–2010), first de facto president of Abkhazia
* Abaza family a diaspora family that produced a large number of politicians

### Other

* Mikhail, Prince of Abkhazia (died 1866)
* Hala Gorani, American journalist
* Rushdy Abaza one of the most celebrated actors in the Arabic language