CIRCASSIANS, in the wide sense of the term, is the name given to all the independent tribes of the Caucasus; in a narrower sense, it denotes the tribes who inhabited the western part of the range which is called, in consequence, Circassia. The C. proper, however, occupied only the saw. wing of the Caucasus, with the exclusion of Abasia, or the portion between the Black sea in the w. and the lower bank of the river Kuban in the north. They call themselves Adighe, but the Russians and Turks call them Tcherkesses. On their conquest by Russia in 1864, rather than remain in subjection to that power they chose to emigrate to Turkey, and from 400,000 to 500,000, or nearly the whole nation of 15 tribes, carried this resolution into effect. The greater part of them were distributed over the Turkish possessions in Asia Minor, but others were set tled in the mountainous parts of Bulgaria and on the borders of Servia. In their origi nal country they were a marauding and warlike people, amongst whom it was held more honorable to live by plunder than by peaceful industry. In common with all brigand tribes, the C. cherished the most unrestrained love of independence. Their government was a singular compound of constitutionalism and feudalism. There were five distinct ranks in the nation—viz., chiefs or princes, nobles, common freemen, dependants, and slaves. The class of common freemen made up the great mass of the people; they pos sessed property, and enjoyed the same political rights as the nobles. The fourth class,
the dependants, were the vassals of the princes and nobles, whose lands they cultivated, and whose armies they formed. Yet their lord had no right over their persons; for in sonic cases they and their whole families left him; and they could only be sold as slaves for punishment according to the previous verdict of a national assembly. The fifth class comprised the slaves, or those who had been made captive in war. That the C. have not lost some of the worst traits of their natural character since their settlement in Turkey is shown by their participatiou in the Bulgarian massacres of 1876 and 1877.
The C. princes and nobles are principally Mohammedans. whilst the great mass of the people have a religion which is a kind of mixture of Christianity and paganism, in which the celebration of Easter. the sign of the cross, sacred trees. sacrifice. and proces sions with lights, play an important part. Besides agriculture and the raising of cattle, they possess a few other brunches, of industry. The C. are proverbially handsome; they are also strong, active and temperate, and are characterized by the higher attributes of self-dependence, courage, and prudence. As a nation they made their first historical appearance during the middle ages. They are, however, chiefly known through their long struggles to maintain their independence against the aggression of Russia. See CAUCASUS. For their place in see VARIETY ON MANKIND.