Circassians between Russians and Turks
Authors:   Национальный педагогический университет имени М.П.Драгоманова, Valentinovich Pilipchuk Yaroslav 
Published: February 2021

This article is devoted to the relationship of the Circassians with the Turkic peoples. The Caucasian-speaking ancestors of the Adyge, Circassians and Kabardians were known to contemporaries under several ethnonyms. Papags and Kasogians were mixed Turkic-Caucasian tribes and served in the Khazar Kaganate. Zikhians occupied the Northern-East Black Sea littotal lands and were ruled by Georgian (Abkhazian) kings and Zikhian archbishops of the Matarcha. The Pechenegs were allies of the Zikhians, and the Oguzes were their opponents. It can be argued about a certain period of dominance of the Zikhians on the Taman Peninsula in the 13th century, but in the 12th century the local Zikhians were supposed to recognize the power of the Byzantine Empire. The relations of the Zikhians with the Qipchaqs were friendly. The infiltration of Turkic elements into the ethnogenesis of the North-West Caucasus tribes contributed to the emergence of the Circassian ethnos. In the Golden Horde the Circassians actively maintained contacts with both the Genoese and the Tatars. Circassians living on the plane were integrated into the administrative system of Ulus Jochi (Golden Horde). Circassians also fought against the Tatars of the Golden Horde and the Great Horde. The first Circassian principalities sources are recorded in the XV century. These were Khetuk, Kremuk, Kopa, Tatarkosia, Kabarda. The first three principalities worked closely with the Genoese and became victims of Turkish aggression in the 70-80-ies of XV century In the XVI century the principalities of Zhaney, Temirgoy, Besleeney, Khatukai took shape. Natukhai, Abadzekhs, Shapsugs were circled Abazins and became part of the Circassian ethnosphere only in the 18th century. Zhaney, Temirgoy, Besleney, Khatukai in the XVI century suffered from the invasions of the Crimean Tatars, therefore, in the middle of the XVI century hoped for an alliance with the Russians and sent embassies to Moscow. The war against the Crimean Tatars was fought mainly by the forces of Kabardians and the Ukrainian condottier D.Vyshnevetsky. With the departure of the D.Vyshnevetsky to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ivan IV virtually ceased to support the Western Circassians, which led to their reversal towards the Crimean Khanate. They took part in the Ottoman-Safavid war of 1578-1590 on the side of the Turks. In the XVII century the Besleney and Temirgoy rebelled against the Crimean Tatars, hoping for an alliance with the Russians, but to no avail. Success in the fight against the Crimean Tatars became possible thanks to several victories of the Kabardians over the troops of Gherays in the XVIII century. Temirgoy, Abadzekhs, Bjedugs, Shapsugs, Besleney, Makhosh, Ubykhs rebelled against Crimean Tatars in this century. With the annexation by the Russians of the Crimean Khanate, the Western Circassians underestimated the anti-Russian position. Key words: Zikhians, Kasogians, Papags, Circassians, Khazar Khaganate, Golden Horde, Crimean Khanate, Ottoman Empire, Russians, Crimean Tatars