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Circassia (sɜrˈkæʃə ), also known as Zichia, was a country and a historical region in the North Caucasus along the northeast shore of the Black Sea. It was conquered and occupied by Russia during the Russian-Circassian War (1763–1864), after which 90% of the Circassian people were either exiled from the region or massacred in the Circassian genocide. In the Medieval Era, Circassia was nominally ruled by the elected Grand Prince, however, individual principalities and tribes were highly autonomous. In the 18th-19th centuries, a central government began to form. The Circassians also dominated the north of the Kuban river in the early medieval and ancient times, but with the raids of the Mongol Empire, Golden Horde and the Crimean Khanate, they were withdrawn south of the Kuban, and their reduced borders stretched from the Taman Peninsula to North Ossetia. During the Medieval Era, Circassian lords subjugated and vassalized the neighboring Karachay-Balkars and Ossetians. The term Circassia is also used as the collective name of Circassian states established on Circassian territory, such as Zichia. Legally and internationally, the Treaty of Belgrade of 1739 between Austria and Turkey provided for the recognition of the independence of Eastern Circassia (Kabarda). Both the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire recognized it, and the great powers at the time witnessed the treaty. The Congress of Vienna held in the period between 1814 and 1815 also stipulated the recognition of the independence of Circassia. In 1837, Circassian leaders sent letters to European countries requesting legal recognition. Following this, the United Kingdom recognized Circassia. However, during the Russian-Circassian War, the Russian Empire did not recognize Circassia as an independent region, and treated it as Russian land under rebel occupation, despite having no control or ownership over the region. Russian generals referred to the Circassians not by their ethnic name, but as "mountaineers", "bandits", and "mountain scum".

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Circassians

Circassians, also called Cherkess or Adyghe (Adyghe and Adygekher), are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia in the North Caucasus. As a consequence of the Circassian genocide perpetrated by the Russian Empire in the 19th century during the Russo-Circassian War, most Circassians were exiled from their homeland in Circassia to modern-day Turkey and the rest of the Middle East, where most of them are today.

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