Circassians in Kosovo
Çerkezët në Kosovë (Albanian)
Косовам ис Адыгэхэр (Adyghe)
The village of Mafekhabl, which was founded by the Kosovo Circassians who returned to the Caucasus
Total population
40,000 (1870)[1]
6,400 (1890)[2]
200 (1998)
Languages
Circassian, Albanian
Religion
Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
Other Circassians
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Circassians
Адыгэхэр
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List of notable Circassians
Circassian genocide
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Circassian tribes

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The Circassians in Kosovo (Adyghe: Косовам ис Адыгэхэр, romanized: Kosovam yis Adıgəxər; Albanian: Çerkezët në Kosovë; Serbian: Черкези на Косову) were a group of the Circassian people who lived in Kosovo beginning in the mid-19th century, when they were exiled during the Circassian genocide to the Ottoman Empire after the Russo-Circassian War. During this time, the Circassians in Kosovo were from three of the twelve Adyghe tribes: the Abzakh, Shapsug and Ubykh.[3] In 1998 they numbered 200.

History

Arrival in Kosovo

After the Circassian genocide following the Russo-Circassian War, large number of Circassians were exiled to the Ottoman Empire, including in Kosovo.[1] Between 1858 and 1862, 6,000 Circassian families settled in Kosovo.[1][4] Other Circassians were settled in Niš and Prokuplje between 1862 and 1863.[1][5] Around 12,000 Circassians were once again sent to Kosovo and Serbia in following months.[1][6] In total, 40,000 Circassians were settled in Kosovo alone.[7]

The Ottoman Empire aimed to make life easier for the newly arrived Circassians, and did not tax them and they were provided with materials to farm with.[1][2] The Circassians were not well received by both Albanians and Serbs.[8] Both Albanians and Serbs considered the Circassians to be wild and primitive Barbarians.[8] People of the Kosovo region as well as some regional governors helped Circassians.[1][9][10] Since there was no mosque in Babimusa, where more than 200 Circassian families were settled, the local administration started to work on the construction of a mosque at the end of 1864.[1][11]

Decrease in population

Majority leaving the region (1877–1878)

The Circassians in Bulgaria fiercely opposed the Bulgarian Revolt in 1876. Kosovo Circassians also joined the Bulgarian Circassians.[1][2] European countries in turn demanded that the Circassians leave the region.[12]

Circassians sided with the Turkish army during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878).[2] After the war, the Circassians were seen as a "Muslim threat" and expelled from Kosovo, Bulgaria and other parts of the Balkans by Russian armies following the end of the Russo-Turkish war. They were not allowed to return,[13][14] so the Ottoman authorities settled them in new other lands such as in modern Jordan (see Circassians in Jordan), where they would have conflict with Bedouin Arabs,[15] and Turkey (see Circassians in Turkey).[16]

Last remnants leaving for Adygea (1998-1999)

When the Kosovo War began, the Circassians in Kosovo emigrated to their ancestral homeland, Republic of Adygea, where they founded a village named Mafekhabl near the republic's capital of Maykop.[17] Muammar Gaddafi sent support and donations to the village. Gaddafi, according to his own words, showed a deep respect for the Circassians and their historical suffering.[18]

Known families

Below is a list of some of the Circassian families who live or have lived in Kosovo.[19]

  • Abadze - (Adyghe: Абадзэ)
  • Gutt - (Adyghe: Гут)
  • Maho - (Adyghe: Махо)
  • Sheudzhen - (Adyghe: Шэуджэн)
  • Tsey - (Adyghe: Цей)
  • Tuguz - (Adyghe: Тыгъужъ)
  • Zheu (Hasani) - (Adyghe: Жьэу)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Urhan, Vahit Cemil. "Kosova'ya Yapılan Çerkes Göçü ve İskânı (1864-1865)". Trakya Üniversitesi, Balkan Araştırma Enstitüsü.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Noel Malcolm, Kosova: Balkanları Anlamak İçin, çev. Özden Arıkan, Sabah Kitapları, İstanbul 1999
  3. ↑ "The Circassians in Kosovo". www.circassianworld.com. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  4. ↑ Jusuf Osmani, Çerkezët në Kosovë, Olymp, Prishtinë 2014, p. 40.
  5. ↑ Jusuf Osmani, Çerkezët në Kosovë, Olymp, Prishtinë 2014, p. 26.
  6. ↑ Takvîm-i Vekâyi, 1 Ağustos 1864, No: 759, s. 1.
  7. ↑ Jusuf Osmani, Çerkezët në Kosovë, Olymp, Prishtinë 2014, p. 21, 26, 40.
  8. 1 2 Devolli, Blendi (30 July 2016). "Viktimat e gjenocidit rus, që gjetën shpëtim edhe në Kosovë: Çerkezët, populli i bukur sykaltër (Foto) - Telegrafi". Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  9. ↑ Turkish archives: BOA, A.}MKT.MHM. 314-100 1281.Ca.15 (16.10.1864).
  10. ↑ Yücel Yiğit, "Kosova Çerkezleri", Geçmişten Günümüze Göç III, ed. Osman Köse, Canik Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, Samsun 2017, s. 2177.
  11. ↑ Turkish archives: BOA, İ..DH.. 534-37022-1 1281.C.05 (05.11.1864); BOA, İ..DH.. 534-37022-2 1281.Ş.16 (14.01.1865); BOA, İ..DH.. 534-37022-3 1281.Ş.29 (28.01.1865); BOA, İ..DH.. 534-37022-4 1281.N.22 (18.02.1865); BOA, İ..DH.. 534-37022-5 1281.L.07 (05.03.1865); BOA, A.}MKT. MHM. 326-86 1281.L.15 (13.03.1865). Babimusa adı bir belgede Babinmusa olarak geçmektedir. BOA, İ..DH.. 534-37022-1 1281.C.05 (05.11.1864).
  12. ↑ İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı,"Tersane Konferansının Mukarreratı Hakkında Şûra Mazbatası", İstanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Tarih Dergisi, VI/9 (1954), s. 125., Dipnot: 2.
  13. ↑ Hacısalihoğlu, Mehmet. Kafkasya'da Rus Kolonizasyonu, Savaş ve Sürgün (PDF). Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi.
  14. ↑ BOA, HR. SYS. 1219/5, lef 28, p. 4
  15. ↑ Walker, A. (September 1894). "The Circassian colonies at Amman and Jerash". The Biblical World. 4 (3): 202–204. doi:10.1086/471510. S2CID 144986180.
  16. ↑ Natho, Kadir I. Circassian History.
  17. ↑ "Европейский суд по правам человека - жалобы - Аул, которого нет". Espch.ru. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  18. ↑ Al- Shishani, Murad Batal. Qaddafi Tries to Secure Loyalty of Circassians of Misrata
  19. ↑ "Где жили косовские адыги до переселения?". 9 July 2021.
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