Acronyms that contain the term Circassians 

Circassians

The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: Adıgəxər) 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, which was 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 the majority of them are concentrated today. The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization estimated in the early 1990s that there are as many as 3.7 million Circassians in diaspora in over 50 countries.The Circassian language is the ancestral language of the Circassian people, and Islam has been the dominant religion among them since the 17th century. Circassia has been subject to repeated invasions since ancient times; its isolated terrain coupled with the strategic value that external societies have placed on the region have shaped the Circassian national identity to a large extent.The Circassian flag is the national flag of the Circassians and consists of a green field charged with twelve gold stars, also charged with three crossed arrows in the center. The twelve stars represent the twelve historical Circassian provinces: the Abzakh, the Besleney, the Bzhedugh, the Hatuqway, the Kabardians, the Mamkhegh, the Natukhaj, the Shapsugh, the Chemirgoy, the Ubykh, the Yegeruqway and the Zhaney.Circassians have played major roles in areas where they settled: in Turkey, those with Circassian origin have had massive influence since their arrival, being instrumental in the Turkish War of Independence and were always among the elites of Turkey's intelligence agency; in Jordan, they founded the capital city, Amman, and continue to play a major role in the country; in Syria, they served as the guards of the Allies against the Nazis and still have high positions; in Libya, they serve in high military positions; in Egypt, they were part of the ruling class, and contributed to business life during the reign of Muhammad Ali Pasha.Historical Circassia has been divided by Soviet and Russian administrations into the modern-day republics of Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia and Krasnodar Krai as well as southwestern parts of Stavropol Krai. Accordingly, Circassians have also been designated as the following: Adygeans in Adygea, Kabardians in Kabardino-Balkaria, Cherkess in Karachay-Cherkessia and Shapsug in Krasnodar Krai, although all four are essentially the same people. Today, approximately 800,000 Circassians remain in historical Circassia while 4,500,000 live elsewhere.

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