Circassians in Romania

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Circassians in Romania
Circassian, others
Religion
Mainly Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
other Circassians
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
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Culture
Organizations

The Circassians in Romania

Wallachia
would continue.

In 1864, as a result of the

Romania. This Dobrujan Circassian community influenced the area, having indirectly funded the construction of buildings still standing today in Tulcea and having two villages in Romania's Northern Dobruja, Cerchezu and Slava Cercheză
, named after them.

The existence of a Circassian minority in Romania had most likely already ended by the time the 20th century had started due to assimilation. Today, there are some people in both Romania and the closely related Moldova with the surname Cerchez or similar, which are derived from the Circassians.

History

In Moldavia and Wallachia

Documents from the times of the

Principality of Wallachia; documents from the 17th century record Cercheza Maria, wife of a treasurer named Aslan. It is uncertain whether Cercheza was a proper name in itself or if it only referred to the ethnic origin of the person.[1]

The concept of the Circassian beauty, widely known in Western Europe in the past and according to which Circassian women were of great beauty, also arrived to Romania, with the Romanian poet Dimitrie Bolintineanu embodying it in his poem Esmé.[2]

It is believed that, by the start of the 20th century, the Circassian minority in Romania had already disappeared as a result of assimilation.[2]

In Dobruja

1877 ethnic map of the Balkans featuring Circassians in Northern Dobruja

Following the

Christian population of the region, especially with the more wealthy German settlers, but also with the Muslims of Dobruja. They would raid villages of the various populations of the region and then give parts of their gains to the Ottoman authorities, who would in turn do nothing to stop their attacks. It is believed the Palace of the Pasha (now the Tulcea Art Museum) and the Azizyie Mosque of Tulcea were built with funds coming from Circassian raiders.[3][4]

The

Romania gained control of Northern Dobruja. This way, the Dobrujan Circassians (which only stayed 14 years in the region) and the Romanian authorities never had any particular interaction. Today, two villages in Romania, Cerchezu and Slava Cercheză, both in Dobruja, are named after the Circassians.[3][4]

Legacy

Nowadays, in both Romania and Moldova, the surname Cerchez or variations of it exists. These surnames are derived from the Turkish word for the Circassians, çerkez. In Moldova, as of 2013, 877 people had the surname Cerchez.[1]

See also

Notes

  1. Circassian: Урымыныем ис Адыгэхэр, Wırımınıyem yis Adıgexer; Romanian
    : cerchezi or circazieni din România.

References

  1. ^ a b Cosniceanu, Maria (2013). "Nume de familie provenite de la etnonime (I)". Philologia (in Romanian). 266 (1–2): 75–81.
  2. ^ a b c Istrate, Ana Mihaela. "Femeia de origine cercheză în literatura și pictura romantică din spațiul Principatelor Române" (PDF). Romanian Economic and Business Review. Romanian-American University: 201–206.
  3. ^ a b c Tița, Diana (16 September 2018). "Povestea dramatică a cerchezilor din Dobrogea". Historia (in Romanian).
  4. ^ a b c Parlog, Nicu (2 December 2012). "Cerchezii: misterioasa națiune pe ale cărei pământuri se desfășoară Olimpiada de la Soci". Descoperă.ro (in Romanian).
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