Peoples of the Caucasus in Turkey
Encyclopedia
The terms Peoples of the Caucasus
and Caucasian peoples
indicate two main groups of people in Turkey
:
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
and Caucasian peoples
Caucasian peoples
This article deals with the various ethnic groups inhabiting the Caucasus region. There are more than50 ethnic groups living in the region.-Peoples speaking Caucasian languages:...
indicate two main groups of people in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
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- ImmigrantsMuhajir (Caucasus)Circassians, the indigenous peoples of the Northwest Caucasus were cleansed from their homeland at the end of the Caucasian War by victorious Russia, which by its manner of suppression of the Caucasus directed at the Crimean Tartars and Circassians can be credited with "inventing the strategy of...
from North CaucasusNorth CaucasusThe North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
:- Circassians (including the AbkhazAbkhaz peopleThe Abkhaz or Abkhazians are a Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. A large Abkhazian diaspora population resides in Turkey, the origins of which lie in the emigration from the Caucasus in the late 19th century known as Muhajirism...
, AbazinsAbazinsThe Abazins are a people who live mostly in Karachay-Cherkessia and Adygea of Russia.An Abazin diaspora exists in Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Egypt , and other Islamic countries, most of which are descendants of refugees from the Caucasian War...
, and UbykhUbykh peopleThe Ubykh are a group who spoke the Northwest Caucasian Ubykh language, until other local languages displaced it and its last speaker died in 1992....
): Following the end of Circassian insurgency in 1864 and as an exodusMuhajir (Caucasus)Circassians, the indigenous peoples of the Northwest Caucasus were cleansed from their homeland at the end of the Caucasian War by victorious Russia, which by its manner of suppression of the Caucasus directed at the Crimean Tartars and Circassians can be credited with "inventing the strategy of...
from North Caucasia, Circassian peoples had settled in the territory of Turkey. Circassian population in Turkey is concentrated on two belts of habitation; first one from the province of SamsunSamsun ProvinceSamsun Province is a province of Turkey on the Black Sea coast with a population of 1,252,693 . Its adjacent provinces are Sinop on the northwest, Çorum on the west, Amasya on the south, Tokat on the southeast, and Ordu on the east...
to HatayHatay ProvinceHatay Province is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast. It is bordered by Syria to the south and east and the Turkish provinces of Adana and Osmaniye to the north. The province is part of Çukurova, a geographical, economical and cultural region that covers the provinces of...
, the second from DüzceDüzce ProvinceDüzce Province is a province in northwestern Turkey. It is on the coastline of the Black Sea and is traversed by the main highway between Istanbul and Ankara. The main town is Düzce...
to ÇanakkaleÇanakkale ProvinceÇanakkale Province is a province of Turkey, located in the northwestern part of the country. It takes its name from the town of Çanakkale.Like Istanbul, Çanakkale province has a European and an Asian part. The European part is formed by the Gallipoli peninsula, while the Asian part is largely...
, especially in BalıkesirBalikesir ProvinceBalıkesir Province is a province in midwestern Turkey, having coastlines on both the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean. Its adjacent provinces are Çanakkale to the west, İzmir to the southwest, Manisa to the south, Kütahya to the southeast, and Bursa to the east. The provincial capital is Balıkesir City...
. - DagestaniDagestanThe Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
peoples: They live in villages in the provinces like BalıkesirBalikesir ProvinceBalıkesir Province is a province in midwestern Turkey, having coastlines on both the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean. Its adjacent provinces are Çanakkale to the west, İzmir to the southwest, Manisa to the south, Kütahya to the southeast, and Bursa to the east. The provincial capital is Balıkesir City...
, TokatTokat ProvinceTokat Province is a province in northern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Amasya to the northwest, Yozgat to the southwest, Sivas to the southeast, and Ordu to the northeast...
and also scattered in other parts of the country. Majority among them are LezginsLezginsThe Lezgians are an ethnic group living predominantly in southern Dagestan and northeastern Azerbaijan and who speak the Lezgian language.- Historical concept :While ancient Greek historians, including Herodotus, Strabo, and Pliny the Elder, referred...
, AvarsCaucasian AvarsAvars or Caucasian Avars are a modern people of Caucasus, mainly of Dagestan, in which they are the predominant group. The Caucasian Avar language belongs to the Northeast Caucasian language family ....
are the second significant ethnic group. KumyksKumyksKumyks are a Turkic people occupying the Kumyk plateau in north Dagestan and south Terek, and the lands bordering the Caspian Sea. They comprise 14% of the population of the Russian republic of Dagestan. They speak the Kumyk language...
are also present. - NakhNakh peoplesNakh peoples are a group of historical and modern ethnic groups speaking Nakh languages and sharing certain cultural traits...
peoples: Chechens and IngushIngush peopleThe Ingush are a native ethnic group of the North Caucasus, mostly inhabiting the Russian republic of Ingushetia. They refer to themselves as Ghalghai . The Ingush are predominantly Sunni Muslims and speak the Ingush language...
live in the provinces KahramanmaraşKahramanmaras-Industry:Kahramanmaraş's industry is mainly based on textile and ice cream. Kahramanmaraş is one of the biggest textile industry cities of Turkey. Companies like Kipaş, İskur, Arsan and Bozkurt are one of the richest companies in the city...
, MardinMardin ProvinceMardin Province is a province of Turkey with a population of 744,606. The population was 835,173 in 2000. The capital of the Mardin Province is Mardin...
, SivasSivas ProvinceThe Sivas Province is a province of Turkey. It located at the eastern part of the Central Anatolian region of Turkey; it is the second largest province in Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Yozgat to the west, Kayseri to the southwest, Kahramanmaraş to the south, Malatya to the southeast, Erzincan...
and MuşMus ProvinceMuş Province is a province in eastern Turkey. It is 8,196 km² in area, and has a population of 406,886 . The population was 453,654 in 2000. The provincial capital is the city of Muş...
. - OssetiansOssetians in TurkeyOssetians in Turkey are a national minority. They emigrated from North Ossetia since the second half of the 19th century, end of Caucasian War. Today, the majority of them live in Ankara and Istanbul. There are 24 Ossetian villages in central and eastern Anatolia...
: This ethnic group is found in provinces KarsKars ProvinceKars Province is a province of Turkey, located in the northeastern part of the country. It shares part of its border with the Republic of Armenia.The provinces of Ardahan and Iğdır were until the 1990s part of Kars Province.-History:...
and YozgatYozgat ProvinceYozgat Province is a province in central Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Çorum to the northwest, Kırıkkale to the west, Kırşehir to the southwest, Nevşehir to the south, Kayseri to the southeast, Sivas to the east, Tokat to the northeast, and Amasya to the north...
. - Karachay: They live in villages concentrated in KonyaKonya ProvinceKonya Province is a province of Turkey located in central Anatolia. The provincial capital is the city of Konya. It is the largest province by area of Turkey.-Districts:...
and EskişehirEskisehir ProvinceEskişehir Province is a province in northwestern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Bilecik to the northwest, Kütahya to the west, Afyon to the southwest, Konya to the south, Ankara to the east, and Bolu to the north. The provincial capital is Eskişehir. Most of the province is laid down in...
. - AzerisAzeris in TurkeyIt is hard to determine how many ethnic Azeris currently reside in Turkey because ethnicity is a rather fluid concept in this country. According to some sources, there are about 800,000 Twelvers, however this figure may differ substantially from the real one. Up to 300,000 of Azeris who reside in...
arrived in Turkey in several waves throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth century settling consistently in the eastern regions (ErzurumErzurum ProvinceErzurum Province is a Province of Turkey, in the Eastern Anatolia Region of the country. It is bordered by the provinces of Kars and Ağrı to the east, Muş and Bingöl to the south, Erzincan and Bayburt to the west, Rize and Artvin to the north and Ardahan to the northeast. The provincial capital is...
, AğrıAgri ProvinceThe Ağrı Province is a province in eastern Turkey, bordering Iran to the east, Kars to the North, Erzurum to the Northwest, Muş and Bitlis to the Southwest, Van to the south, and Iğdır to the northeast. Area 11,376 km². Population 542,022 ....
, KarsKars ProvinceKars Province is a province of Turkey, located in the northeastern part of the country. It shares part of its border with the Republic of Armenia.The provinces of Ardahan and Iğdır were until the 1990s part of Kars Province.-History:...
), as well as in AfyonAfyonkarahisar ProvinceAfyonkarahisar Province , also called more simply Afyon Province, is a province in western Turkey.Adjacent provinces are Kütahya to the northwest, Uşak to the west, Denizli to the southwest, Burdur to the south, Isparta to the southeast, Konya to the east, and Eskişehir to the north. The provincial...
, BursaBursa ProvinceBursa Province is a province in western Turkey, along the Sea of Marmara. Its adjacent provinces are Balıkesir to the west, Kütahya to the south, Bilecik and Sakarya to the east, Kocaeli to the northeast and Yalova to the north. The province has an area of 11,043 km2 and a population of 3,187,000...
, and AmasyaAmasya ProvinceAmasya Province is a province of Turkey, situated on the Yeşil River in the Black Sea Region to the north of the country. Area 5,520 km². Population 334,786....
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- Circassians (including the Abkhaz
- Autochthonous peoples of Transcaucasia:
- speaking South Caucasian languagesSouth Caucasian languagesThe Kartvelian languages are spoken primarily in Georgia, with a large group of ethnic Georgian speakers in Russia, the United States, the European Union, and northeastern parts of Turkey. There are approximately 5.2 million speakers of this language family worldwide.It is not known to be related...
:- LazLaz peopleThe Laz are an ethnic group native to the Black Sea coastal regions of Turkey and Georgia...
: They are found in the territory of former LazistanLazistanLazistan was the Ottoman administrative name for the sanjak comprising the Laz or Lazuri-speaking population on the southeastern shore of the Black Sea. However, its boundaries did not coincide with the Laz-speaking area...
sanjakSanjakSanjaks were administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. Sanjak, and the variant spellings sandjak, sanjaq, and sinjaq, are English transliterations of the Turkish word sancak, meaning district, banner, or flag...
and also in DüzceDüzce ProvinceDüzce Province is a province in northwestern Turkey. It is on the coastline of the Black Sea and is traversed by the main highway between Istanbul and Ankara. The main town is Düzce...
, SakaryaSakarya ProvinceSakarya Province is a province in Turkey, located on the coast of Black Sea. The river Sakarya creates a webbing of estuaries in the province....
, KocaeliKocaeli ProvinceKocaeli Province is a province of Turkey. Its capital is İzmit, which is sometimes referred to as Kocaeli itself. The largest town in the province is now Gebze. The traffic code is 41. The province is located at the easternmost end of the Marmara Sea, especially on the Gulf of İzmit. Because of...
, BartınBartin ProvinceBartın Province is a small province in northern Turkey on the Black Sea, surrounding the city of Bartın. It is to the east from Zonguldak Province.The town of Bartın contains a number of very old wooden houses which are no longer extant in other places....
. - GeorgiansGeorgiansThe Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
: Muslim Georgians form the majority in parts of Artvin ProvinceArtvin ProvinceArtvin Province is a province in Turkey, on the Black Sea coast in the north-eastern corner of the country, on the border with Georgia.The provincial capital is the city of Artvin.-Geography:...
east of the Çoruh RiverÇoruh RiverThe Çoruh River or Ch'orokhi River rises in the Mescit Mountains in north-eastern Turkey, flows through the cities of Bayburt, Ispir, Yusufeli, and Artvin, along the Kelkit-Çoruh Fault, before flowing into Georgia, where it reaches the Black Sea just south of Batumi and a few kilometers north of...
. Immigrant groups of Georgian origins, found scattered in Turkey are known as ChveneburiChveneburiChveneburi , meaning "of us" in Georgian, is an autonym of Muslim immigrants of Georgian descent who had settled in non-Georgian majority regions of Turkey, thus, "of us" signifies a triple distinction from Christian Georgians, Muslim Turks, and autochthonous Muslim Georgians...
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- Laz
- speaking South Caucasian languages