Circassians in Syria

Circassians in Syria
Сирием ис Адыгэхэр
الشركس في سوريا
The liberation of Damascus from the Axis powers, 1941. Allied forces are escorted by Circassian cavalry volunteers.
Total population
40,000[1]–100,000 (pre-Civil War estimates)[2][3][4][5]
Regions with significant populations
Quneitra Governorate, Damascus, Aleppo area (particularly Khanasir), smaller communities in the areas of Homs and Hama
Languages
Mostly Arabic and Circassian languages
Smaller numbers also speak Abkhaz
Religion
Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
Circassian people
Part of a series on the
Circassians
Адыгэхэр
Arrows in the Circassian flag
List of notable Circassians
Circassian genocide
Circassian diaspora
Circassian tribes

Surviving

Destroyed or barely existing

Religion
Religion in Circassia
Languages and dialects
History
Show
Culture

Circassians in Syria[a] refer to the Circassian diaspora that settled in Syria (then part of the Ottoman Empire) in the 19th century. They moved to Syria after the Circassian genocide following the Russo-Circassian War. While they have become an increasingly assimilated part of Syrian society, they have maintained a distinct identity, having retained their language (in addition to Arabic), their tribal heritage, and some of their other traditional customs.

Prior to the Syrian Civil War, the Circassian population was estimated to be around 100,000.[2][4] Since the decade long conflict began in 2011, the predominantly Sunni Muslim population of ethnic Circassians in Syria has dwindled.

Many of Syria's ethnic Circassians have left the country and have repatriated or are in the process of repatriation to the titular Circassian parts of North Caucasia, in particular Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, as well as to partially recognised Republic of Abkhazia.[6][7][8]

In 2018 Professor John Shoup said that the Circassian population in Syria formed about 1% of the country's total population, making them the sixth largest ethnic group in the country.[9]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kafkas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Gammer64 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Monitor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b A Country Study: Syria: Chapter 2 - The Society and Its Environment: Others Archived 2022-11-20 at the Wayback Machine. Library of Congress. April 1987.
  5. ^ Kanbolat, Hasan.Syrian Circassians have begun to arrive in Turkey Archived March 30, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Today's Zaman. 2012-11-19.
  6. ^ Брук, Джеймс. "Абхазия охотно принимает беженцев из Сирии". ГОЛОС АМЕРИКИ (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2019-12-23. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
  7. ^ "Lidovky (Чехия): Абхазия ― одна из стран, которая радушно принимает беженцев. Им предлагают свободные дома и курсы русского языка". ИноСМИ.Ru (in Russian). 2018-09-05. Archived from the original on 2021-03-08. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
  8. ^ "Репатрианты из Сирии создают в Абхазии рабочие места: EADaily". EADaily (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
  9. ^ Shoup, John A. (2018), "Syria", The History of Syria, ABC-CLIO, p. 6, ISBN 978-1440858352, Syria has several other ethnic groups, the Kurds... they make up an estimated 9 percent...Turkomen comprise around 4-5 percent of the total population. The rest of the ethnic mix of Syria is made of Assyrians (about 4 percent), Armenians (about 2 percent), and Circassians (about 1 percent).


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).