CIRCASSIANS IN HISTORY

Circassians share with the Georgians the distinction of being the oldest continually identifiable ethnic group in the Caucasus. As far back as it is possible to project their history, they seem to have populated the northeastern shore of the Black Sea and the hinterlands extending to the high mountains behind.

Their original territory certainly extended to the Straits of Kerch and possibly into Crimea. Men who spoke languages ancestral to the complex Circassian dialects of modern times probably met the Greek colonists who in the last millennium BC established trading posts along the Black Sea shore, but the Greeks did not penetrate far into the interior.[1] Greek colonies linked Circassians to the Mediterranean world but the Circassians' ancestors were also in contact with a wide range of peoples who moved through the Caucasian foothills and the steppes to the north over the millennia. The great variety of physical types among Circassians is evidence of admixture from many ethnic strains. Nevertheless, the fertile valleys and forested uplands of their homeland provided for such a secure mode of life that Circassian groups seem to have experienced little temptation to migrate elsewhere. Livestock herding and agriculture provided a dependable livelihood. Population increased steadily, leading adventurous young men to seek employment as soldiers far from home.[2] Thus a pattern which has continued to modern times was established. Circassians were deeply attached to their homeland, but at the same time aware of the world beyond and unafraid to embark on foreign adventure. ©www.heku.ru by Paul B. Henze