Misplaced Pages

#457542

174-691: Although Chokha was worn by other Caucasian peoples in the same period, the Russians named this costume Cherkeska because they first saw it among the Circassians . According to Clothing History Specialist Raisa Kirsanova, the name Cherkeska originates from the fact that Russians used the name Circassian ( Cherkes ) for the Caucasian peoples, regardless of their ethnic origin. Later the Kuban Cossacks adopted it as part of their costume. Before

348-774: A Sabao , which suggests their importance to the socioeconomic structure of China. The Sogdian influence on trade in China is also made apparent by a Chinese document which lists taxes paid on caravan trade in the Turpan region and shows that twenty-nine out of the thirty-five commercial transactions involved Sogdian merchants, and in thirteen of those cases both the buyer and the seller were Sogdian. Trade goods brought to China included grapes , alfalfa , and Sassanian silverware , as well as glass containers, Mediterranean coral, brass Buddhist images, Roman wool cloth, and Baltic amber . These were exchanged for Chinese paper, copper, and silk. In

522-580: A Bronze Age urban culture: original Bronze Age towns appear in the archaeological record beginning with the settlement at Sarazm , Tajikistan, spanning as far back as the 4th millennium BC, and then at Kök Tepe, near modern-day Bulungur , Uzbekistan, from at least the 15th century BC. In the Avesta , namely in the Mihr Yasht and the Vendidad , the toponym of Gava ( gava-, gāum ) is mentioned as

696-776: A Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia , a region and former country in the North Caucasus . As a consequence of the Circassian genocide , which was perpetrated by the Russian Empire during the Russo-Circassian War in the 19th century, most of the Circassian people were exiled from their ancestral homeland and consequently began living in what was then

870-405: A Chechen in a short fur coat with a separate gas cap hanging on a belt. In D.A. Milyutin's works, a Chechen is depicted in a short, but wide-open coat with a narrow sleeves. Azerbaijanis wore chukha with or without the gazyrs. The chukha with sewn bullet pockets was called "hazyrdashly" ( Azerbaijani : hazırdaşlı ), it was called "hazyrdashsyz" ( Azerbaijani : hazırdaşsız ) if it was without

1044-685: A Turko-Sogdian delegation travelled to the Roman emperor in Constantinople to obtain permission to trade and in the following years commercial activity between the states flourished. Put simply, the Sogdians dominated trade along the Silk Road from the 2nd century BC until the 10th century. Suyab and Talas in modern-day Kyrgyzstan were the main Sogdian centers in the north that dominated

1218-699: A crisis. Following the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana in the 8th century, the Samanids resumed trade on the northwestern road leading to the Khazars and the Urals and the northeastern one toward the nearby Turkic tribes. During the 5th and 6th century, many Sogdians took up residence in the Hexi Corridor , where they retained autonomy in terms of governance and had a designated official administrator known as

1392-690: A fortress in Sogdiana, was captured in 327 BC by the forces of Alexander the Great , the basileus of Macedonian Greece, and conqueror of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. Oxyartes , a Sogdian nobleman of Bactria, had hoped to keep his daughter Roxana safe at the fortress of the Sogdian Rock, yet after its fall Roxana was soon wed to Alexander as one of his several wives. Roxana, a Sogdian whose name Roshanak means "little star",

1566-691: A gift to Byzantine ruler Justin II , but also proposed an alliance against Sassanid Persia. Justin II agreed and sent an embassy to the Turkic Khaganate, ensuring the direct silk trade desired by the Sogdians. It appears, however, that direct trade with the Sogdians remained limited in light of the small amount of Roman and Byzantine coins found in Central Asian and Chinese archaeological sites belonging to this era. Although Roman embassies apparently reached Han China from 166 AD onwards, and

1740-577: A key position along the ancient Silk Road. They played an active role in the spread of faiths such as Manicheism , Zoroastrianism , and Buddhism along the Silk Road. The Chinese Sui Shu ( Book of Sui ) describes Sogdians as "skilled merchants" who attracted many foreign traders to their land to engage in commerce. They were described by the Chinese as born merchants, learning their commercial skills at an early age. It appears from sources, such as documents found by Sir Aurel Stein and others, that by

1914-515: A part of the intangible cultural heritage of Georgia . Chokha types and designs vary by region and by culture but there are two types of chokhas worn most commonly in Caucasus: general and weighted. The common features are that the collars of both chokhas are cut open and the skirt of the coats are usually either corrugated or pleated. Chokha is usually made of broadcloth or shawl but some chokhas are made of thinner textiles for festive occasions. It

SECTION 10

#1732783217458

2088-555: A plan to occupy the Caucasus. Although he was unable to implement this plan, he laid the political and ideological foundation for the occupation to take place. Catherine II started putting this plan into action. The Russian army was deployed on the banks of the Terek River . The Russian military tried to impose authority by building a series of forts, but these forts in turn became the new targets of raids and indeed sometimes

2262-601: A priest. Miwnay cursed her Sogdian husband for leaving her, saying she would rather have been married to a pig or dog. Another letter in the collection was written by the Sogdian Nanai-vandak addressed to Sogdians back home in Samarkand informing them about a mass rebellion by Xiongnu Hun rebels against their Han Chinese rulers of the Western Jin dynasty informing his people that every single one of

2436-537: A raid by Qapaghan Qaghan (692–716), ruler of the Second Turkic Khaganate . In the 10th century, Sogdiana was incorporated into the Uighur Empire , which until 840 encompassed northern Central Asia. This khaganate obtained enormous deliveries of silk from Tang China in exchange for horses, in turn relying on the Sogdians to sell much of this silk further west. Peter B. Golden writes that

2610-635: A regular feature in the steppe environment. Prior to this, garments were trimmed with woven trim or fur. Piping or trimming of the caftan's collar and the chest was a common feature among the noble and common classes of the Parthians , Kushans , Sasanians , Sogdians , Hephthalites , Huns , Turks , Alans , and the Scythians . Another design of the caftan also includes the lapels. Lapels do not feature on Parthian, Kushan, or Sasanian caftans, however they do appear in art from Hepthalite and Sogdian sites, it

2784-411: A shirt (perangi) and trousers cut out in a specific way (dzigva) and sewn from wool fabric or sateen of black colour. Because trousers are folded, wide on top and narrowed down, they were comfortable and were easy to wear in action. The outer garment was zubuni that was tucked into the trousers. Zubunis were winter clothing, warmed with cotton lining and sleeveless vests. The most expensive and visible part

2958-649: A smaller number were resettled into the Empire's major cities. In January 1922, the Soviet government created an autonomous oblast which was the predecessor of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic . The actions of the Russian military in acquiring Circassian land through expulsion and massacres have given rise to a movement among descendants of the expelled ethnicities for international recognition of

3132-532: A uniform of the chief officers of Muslim(Azerbaijani) and Lezgin Squadron. Along with the coat, a tall Qajar era fur hat was worn. This is the most widely used type of chokha in the Caucasus. From the colors, the length and the general design of the chokha, it was possible to know a person's age, profession, and even class. The general cherkeska were sewn not only from gray and black fabric, but also from red, blue, green, golden yellow, purple and brown. The lining of

3306-405: A uniform. Some cossacks variated their cherkeskas and beshmets with different kinds of halons and cartridges, sewed initials or namesakes and decorated it with various laces, but that was considered unprofessional. The length of the coat was regulated in the army but was not strongly enforced until later. Before the war of 1914–1918, its length decreased significantly and reached almost a knee. This

3480-711: A well-known scholar and museum figure who worked for more than 50 years at the State Museum of Ethnography (now the Russian Museum of Ethnography ), was one of the best experts on the customs of the peoples of the Caucasus, as well as the costume of the peoples of the North Caucasus. In 1989, she published the book "Clothes of the peoples of the North Caucasus of the XVIII-XX centuries" ( Russian : "Одежда народов Северного Кавказа. XVIII—XX вв." ). Generally,

3654-1241: A whole. The Circassian flag consists of a green field charged with 12 gold stars and, in the centre, three crossed black arrows. The stars represent the 12 Circassian tribes: 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 of Circassian origin have had massive influence, being instrumental in

SECTION 20

#1732783217458

3828-565: Is a special kind of sabre ; a very sharp, single-edged, single-handed, and guardless sword. Although the sword is used by most of Russian and Ukrainian Cossacks, the typically Adyghean form of the sabre is longer than the Cossack type. The cherkeskas Ossetians wore had a slightly different characteristics. In art, Ossetians are depicted in a short cherkeska without a cutout on the chest, its sides are pulled together by three pairs of strings. Ossetians also have other caftans of similar design to

4002-473: Is a symbol of a fight for freedom. In Georgia it is used as a symbol of national pride, and is frequently worn by Georgian men at weddings and official functions. Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili ordered high-ranking Georgian officials working abroad to present themselves in national costumes, including the chokha, at official meetings. On June 9, 2020, Georgia's National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation recognized chokha-wearing tradition as

4176-490: Is characterized by strong Iranian-Sogdian elements probably brought with intense Sogdian-Tocharian trade, the influence of which is especially apparent in the Central-Asian caftans with Sogdian textile designs, as well as Sogdian longswords of many of the figures. Other characteristic Sogdian designs are animals, such as ducks, within pearl medallions. Aside from the Sogdians of Central Asia who acted as middlemen in

4350-401: Is chokha which was tied around with special broad belt with laces or leather belt. Kabalakhi (or bashlyk ) is a winter headwear made of thin wool. And, of course, outfit would not be complete without a dagger in sheath, a rifle and bandolier or gazyr. As footwear they used colorful wool knitted socks, pachula (soft leather shoes) and boots tied with belts. Evgenia Nikolaevna Studenetskaya,

4524-798: Is disputed. One view is that its root stems from Turkic languages, and means "head choppers" or "warrior killers", because of the Circassians' battle practices. Other sources argue that the term comes from Mongolian Jerkes , meaning "one who blocks a path". Some believe it comes from the ancient Greek name of the region, Siraces . According to another view, its origin is Persian and combines two parts, kar ("mountain") and kās ("region", in Pahlavi ), meaning "mountainous region". The spelling Cherkess may be an abbreviation of Persian Chahār-kas ("four people"), denoting four tribes. Ali ibn al-Athir (died c. 1232/3) and Ibn Khaldun (died 1406) used

4698-642: Is found in the Mihr Yasht, ie., the hymn dedicated to the Zoroastrian deity Mithra . In verse 10.14 it is described how Mithra reaches Mount Hara and looks at the entirety of the Airyoshayan ( airiio.shaiianem , 'lands of the Arya '), where navigable rivers rush with wide a swell towards Parutian Ishkata, Haraivian Margu , Gava Sogdia ( gaom-ca suγδəm ), and Chorasmia . The second mention

4872-567: Is found in the first chapter of the Vendidad, which consists of a list of the sixteen good regions created by Ahura Mazda for the Iranians. Gava is the second region mentioned on the list, directly behind Airyanem Vaejah , the homeland of Zarathustra and the Iranians, according to Zoroastrian tradition: The second of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the Gava of

5046-437: Is known today as Krasnaya Polyana. "Krasnaya Polyana" means red meadow. It takes its name from the Circassian blood flowing from the hill into the river. The proposal to deport the Circassians was ratified by the Russian government, and a flood of refugee movements began as Russian troops advanced in their final campaign. Circassians prepared to resist and hold their last stand against Russian military advances and troops. With

5220-789: Is no longer spoken. However, a descendant of one of its dialects, Yaghnobi , is still spoken by the Yaghnobis of Tajikistan. It was widely spoken in Central Asia as a lingua franca and served as one of the First Turkic Khaganate 's court languages for writing documents. Sogdians also lived in Imperial China and rose to prominence in the military and government of the Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907 AD). Sogdian merchants and diplomats travelled as far west as

5394-403: Is of debated origin. The term, in Russian, was traditionally applied to all Circassians before Soviet times, but it has since usually referred only to Circassians living in northern Karachay-Cherkessia , a federal subject of Russia , where they are indigenous and were about 12% of the population in 2010. In English, it still refers to all Circassians. The origin of the term "Circassian"

Chokha - Misplaced Pages Continue

5568-718: Is suggested that the political ascendance of the Western Turks in the Alan's territory resulted in the adoption of lapels. The caftan prevailed in fashion through the early medieval period in the Near East and Central Asia . There is very little evidence for the existence of a separate women's clothing across the Eurasian steppe and in the Caucasus since the Moschevaya Balka graves show distinct sexual dimorphism in

5742-701: Is the most popular chokha used in Georgia, often seen in official meeting and musical performance. The Khevsur chokha was worn in the Khevsureti province of Georgia in the Greater Caucasus mountains. The Khevsur chokha is considered to be the closest to the medieval version of the chokha as it shares similarities in design with the aforementioned caftan found in Moschevaya Balka . It is mostly short, with trapezoid shapes. The front side of

5916-701: Is the prototype of what we know today as chokha. The prototype may have been a common type of clothing among the Khazars and the Alans . It is possible that the caftan has its origins from the Generic Horse Archer Costume which is a clothing style worn by horsemen among the Iranic groups, Western Turks, the Huns , and also the east Germanic peoples who settled in the Pontic and Danube regions and took

6090-416: Is usually worn by princes, red by nobles, gray, brown, and black by peasants (blue, green and the other colors were rarely worn). Until 1785, Circassia resembled the medieval states of Western Europe due to their feudal systems, however, the spread of Islam in those territories started to diminish the system. Because of the feudalist nature of their society Circassian knightly culture was developed. They made up

6264-538: Is widely attributed to the ruler's lack of control. However, unlike Egypt, which was quickly recaptured by the Persian Empire, Sogdiana remained independent until it was conquered by Alexander the Great . When the latter invaded the Persian Empire , Pharasmanes, an already independent king of Khwarezm , allied with the Macedonians and sent troops to Alexander in 329 BC for his war against the Scythians of

6438-774: The Anikova dish . The Umayyads fell in 750 to the Abbasid Caliphate , which quickly asserted itself in Central Asia after winning the Battle of Talas (along the Talas River in modern Talas Oblast , Kyrgyzstan) in 751, against the Chinese Tang dynasty. This conflict incidentally introduced Chinese papermaking to the Islamic world . The cultural consequences and political ramifications of this battle meant

6612-399: The Amu Darya and the Syr Darya , and in present-day Uzbekistan , Turkmenistan , Tajikistan , Kazakhstan , and Kyrgyzstan . Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemenid Empire , and listed on the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great . Sogdiana was first conquered by Cyrus the Great , the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, and then was annexed by the Macedonian ruler Alexander

6786-530: The Anxi Protectorate of the Tang dynasty , until the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana . Qutayba ibn Muslim (669–716), Governor of Greater Khorasan under the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750), initiated the Muslim conquest of Sogdia during the early 8th century, with the local ruler of Balkh offering him aid as an Umayyad ally. However, when his successor al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah governed Khorasan (717–719), many native Sogdians, who had converted to Islam, began to revolt when they were no longer exempt from paying

6960-419: The Black Sea region (even though this anticipated campaign never materialized). During the Achaemenid period (550–330 BC), the Sogdians lived as a nomadic people much like the neighboring Yuezhi , who spoke Bactrian , an Indo-Iranian language closely related to Sogdian, and were already engaging in overland trade. Some of them had also gradually settled the land to engage in agriculture. Similar to how

7134-427: The Byzantine Empire . They played an essential part as middlemen in the Silk Road trade route. While initially practicing the faiths of Zoroastrianism , Manichaeism , Buddhism and, to a lesser extent, the Church of the East from West Asia , the gradual conversion to Islam among the Sogdians and their descendants began with the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana in the 8th century. The Sogdian conversion to Islam

Chokha - Misplaced Pages Continue

7308-417: The Gui [ Oxus ] river. They are bordered on the south by Daxia [ Bactria ], on the west by Anxi [ Parthia ], and on the north by Kangju [beyond the middle Jaxartes /Syr Darya]. They are a nation of nomads , moving from place to place with their herds, and their customs are like those of the Xiongnu. They have some 100,000 or 200,000 archer warriors. From the 1st century AD,

7482-401: The Kingdom of Alania . Between the 10th and 13th centuries Georgia had influence on the Adyghe Circassian peoples. In the medieval era there was a Circassian kingdom called Zichia ( Adyghe : Адзыгъэй ; Greek : Ζιχία ) or Zekchia. In 1382, Circassian slaves took the Mamluk throne, the Burji dynasty took over and the Mamluks became a Circassian state. The Mongols, who started invading

7656-453: The Kushan Empire (30–375 AD) of Central and South Asia . A now-independent and warlike Sogdiana formed a border region insulating the Achaemenid Persians from the nomadic Scythians to the north and east. It was led at first by Bessus , the Achaemenid satrap of Bactria . After assassinating Darius III in his flight from the Macedonian Greek army, he became claimant to the Achaemenid throne. The Sogdian Rock or Rock of Ariamazes,

7830-425: The Ottoman Empire —that is, modern-day Turkey and the rest of the Middle East . In the early 1990s, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization estimated that there are as many as 3.7 million Circassians in diaspora in over 50 countries. The two Circassian languages —western Adyghe and eastern Kabardian —are natively spoken by the Circassian people. Khabzeism is their ethnic religion , which

8004-405: The Principality of Farghana , where their ruler at-Tar (or Alutar) promised them safety and refuge from the Umayyads. However, at-Tar secretly informed al-Harashi of the Sogdians hiding in Khujand , who were then slaughtered by al-Harashi's forces after their arrival. From 722, following the Muslim invasion, new groups of Sogdians, many of them Nestorian Christians , emigrated to the east, where

8178-435: The Sakas overran the Greco-Bactrian kingdom around 145 BC, soon followed by the Yuezhi , the nomadic predecessors of the Kushans . From then until about 40 BC the Yuezhi tepidly minted coins imitating and still bearing the images of the Greco-Bactrian kings Eucratides I and Heliocles I . The Yuezhis were visited in Transoxiana by a Chinese mission, led by Zhang Qian in 126 BC, which sought an offensive alliance with

8352-513: The Tang campaign against Karakhoja and Chinese conquest of 640, with a gradual adoption of Chinese bronze coinage over the course of the 7th century. The fact that these Eastern Roman coins were almost always found with Sasanian Persian silver coins and Eastern Roman gold coins were used more as ceremonial objects like talismans , confirms the pre-eminent importance of Greater Iran in Chinese Silk Road commerce of Central Asia compared to Eastern Rome. The Kizil Caves near Kucha , mid-way in

8526-444: The Tarim Basin , record many scenes of traders from Central Asia in the 5–6th century: these combine influence from the Eastern Iran sphere, at that time occupied by the Sasanian Empire and the Hephthalites , with strong Sogdian cultural elements. Sogdia, at the center of a new Silk Road between China to the Sasanian Empire and the Byzantine Empire became extremely prosperous around that time. The style of this period in Kizil

8700-404: The Turkish War of Independence and 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 volunteer guards of the Allies upon their entry into the country and still have high positions. In Libya , they serve in high military positions. In Egypt , they were part of

8874-428: The Uyghurs not only adopted the writing system and religious faiths of the Sogdians, such as Manichaeism, Buddhism, and Christianity, but also looked to the Sogdians as "mentors", while gradually replacing them in their roles as Silk Road traders and purveyors of culture . Muslim geographers of the 10th century drew upon Sogdian records dating to 750–840. After the end of the Uyghur Empire , Sogdian trade underwent

SECTION 50

#1732783217458

9048-466: The ancient Romans imported Han Chinese silk while the Han dynasty Chinese imported Roman glasswares as discovered in their tombs, Valerie Hansen (2012) wrote that no Roman coins from the Roman Republic (507–27 BC) or the Principate (27 BC – 330 AD) era of the Roman Empire have been found in China. However, Warwick Ball (2016) upends this notion by pointing to a hoard of sixteen Roman coins found at Xi'an , China (formerly Chang'an ), dated to

9222-423: The retreat of the Chinese empire from Central Asia . It also allowed for the rise of the Samanid Empire (819–999), a Persian state centered at Bukhara (in what is now modern Uzbekistan ) that nominally observed the Abbasids as their overlords , yet retained a great deal of autonomy and upheld the mercantile legacy of the Sogdians. Yet the Sogdian language gradually declined in favor of the Persian language of

9396-478: The 17th century, under the influence of the Crimean Tatars and of the Ottoman Empire , large numbers of Circassians converted to Islam from Christianity. In 1708, Circassians paid tribute to the Ottoman sultan in order to prevent Tatar raids, but the sultan did not fulfill the obligation and the Tatars raided all the way to the center of Circassia, robbing everything they could. For this reason, Kabardian Circassians announced that they would never pay tribute to

9570-591: The 18th century stereotype of the Circassian beauty . Feudalism began to emerge among Circassians by the 4th century. As a result of Armenian, Greek and Byzantine influence, Christianity spread throughout the Caucasus between the 3rd and 5th centuries. During that period, Circassians (known at the time as Kassogs ) began to accept Christianity as a national religion, but did not abandon all elements of their indigenous religious beliefs . Circassians established many states, but could not achieve political unity. From around 400, wave after wave of outsiders began to invade

9744-417: The 1st century BC. In his Shiji published in 94 BC, Chinese historian Sima Qian remarked that "the largest of these embassies to foreign states numbered several hundred persons, while even the smaller parties included over 100 members ... In the course of one year anywhere from five to six to over ten parties would be sent out." In terms of the silk trade, the Sogdians also served as middlemen between

9918-434: The 4th century they may have monopolized trade between India and China . A letter written by Sogdian merchants dated 313 AD and found in the ruins of a watchtower in Gansu , was intended to be sent to merchants in Samarkand , warning them that after Liu Cong of Han-Zhao sacked Luoyang and the Jin emperor fled the capital, there was no worthwhile business there for Indian and Sogdian merchants. Furthermore, in 568 AD,

10092-410: The 6th-century Byzantine historian Menander Protector writes of how the Sogdians attempted to establish a direct trade of Chinese silk with the Byzantine Empire . After forming an alliance with the Sasanian ruler Khosrow I to defeat the Hephthalite Empire, Istämi , the Göktürk ruler of the First Turkic Khaganate , was approached by Sogdian merchants requesting permission to seek an audience with

10266-461: The 7th century, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang noted with approval that Sogdian boys were taught to read and write at the age of five, though their skill was turned to trade, disappointing the scholarly Xuanzang. He also recorded the Sogdians working in other capacities such as farmers, carpetweavers, glassmakers, and woodcarvers. Shortly after the smuggling of silkworm eggs into the Byzantine Empire from China by Nestorian Christian monks,

10440-403: The Adyghe warriors as courageous and well-experienced. It encouraged them to settle in various near-border settlements of the Ottoman Empire in order to strengthen the empire's borders. According to Walter Richmond , Circassia was a small independent nation on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea. For no reason other than ethnic hatred, over the course of hundreds of raids the Russians drove

10614-400: The Azerbaijani people and is an important part of the male traditional attire along with the arkhalig. Duzyakha and oymayakha differed from general chukha when it came to the shape of the arm. The lining of the arm with a swollen or rounded tip was made of silk. These sleeves often had loops and buttons made of string. Oymayakha was similar to duzyakha as neither required bullet pockets, however,

SECTION 60

#1732783217458

10788-457: The Caucasus in 1223, destroyed some of the Circassians and most of the Alans. The Circassians lost most of their lands during the ensuing Golden Horde attacks and had to retreat to the back of the Kuban River. In 1395 Circassians fought violent wars against Tamerlane , and although they won the wars, Tamerlane plundered Circassia. Prince Inal , who owned land in the Taman peninsula during the 1400s, established an army and declared that his goal

10962-486: The Chinese Empire and the Sasanian Empire. Because of the Hephthalite occupation of Sogdia, the original coinage of Sogdia came to be flooded by the influx of Sasanian coins received as a tribute to the Hephthalites. This coinage then spread along the Silk Road . The symbol of the Hephthalites appears on the residual coinage of Samarkand , probably as a consequence of the Hephthalite control of Sogdia, and becomes prominent in Sogdian coinage from 500 to 700 AD, including in

11136-472: The Chinese Han Empire and the Parthian Empire of the Middle East and West Asia. Sogdians played a major role in facilitating trade between China and Central Asia along the Silk Roads as late as the 10th century, their language serving as a lingua franca for Asian trade as far back as the 4th century. Subsequent to their domination by Alexander the Great, the Sogdians from the city of Marakanda ( Samarkand ) became dominant as traveling merchants, occupying

11310-448: The Circassian army of 20,000 Circassian horsemen and a fully equipped Russian army of 100,000 men. Circassian warriors attacked the Russian army and tried to break through the line, but most were shot down by Russian artillery and infantry. The remaining fighters continued to fight as guerillas and were soon defeated. All 20,000 Circassian horsemen died in the war. The war ended officially on May 21, 1864. The place where this war took place

11484-411: The Circassians are of Turkic origin, but no scientific evidence supports this claim and it has been strongly denied by ethnic Circassians, impartial research, linguists, and historians around the world. The Circassian language does not share notable similarities to the Turkish language, except for borrowed words. According to various historians, the Circassian origin of the Sind-Meot tribes refutes

11658-401: The Circassians from their homeland and deported them to the Ottoman Empire. At least 600,000 people lost their lives to massacre, starvation, and the elements while hundreds of thousands more were forced to leave their homeland. By 1864, three-fourths of the population was annihilated, and the Circassians had become one of the first stateless peoples in modern history. As of 2020, Georgia was

11832-434: The Crimean Khan and the Ottoman Sultan again. The Ottomans sent their army of at least 20,000 men to Kabardia under the leadership of the Crimean Khan Kaplan-Girey to conquer the Circassians and ordered that he collect the tribute. The Ottomans expected an easy victory against the Kabardinians, but the Circassians won because of the strategy set up by Kazaniko Jabagh during the battle of Kanzhal . The Crimean army

12006-413: The G2-YY1215 haplogroup is larger on the Western Caucasus and decreases to the east, while G2-YY9632 has the opposite tendency. R1a-M198* is shared with Balkars , Karachays and Kuban Cossacks . The Circassian language , also known as Cherkess, is in the Northwest Caucasian language family . Archaeological findings, mainly of dolmens in Northwest Caucasus region , indicate a megalithic culture in

12180-405: The Great in 328 BC. It would continue to change hands under the Seleucid Empire , the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom , the Kushan Empire , the Sasanian Empire , the Hephthalite Empire , the Western Turkic Khaganate and the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana . The Sogdian city-states , although never politically united, were centered on the city of Samarkand . Sogdian , an Eastern Iranian language ,

12354-507: The Kushans, together with whom they initially controlled trade in the Ferghana Valley and Kangju during the 'birth' of the Silk Road. Later, they became the primary middlemen after the demise of the Kushan Empire . Unlike the empires of antiquity, the Sogdian region was not a territory confined within fixed borders, but rather a network of city-states , from one oasis to another, linking Sogdiana to Byzantium , India , Indochina and China . Sogdian contacts with China were initiated by

12528-586: The North Caucasian groups wore a very similar style of the general cherkeska. The only way one could tell to which group the coat belonged to is by inspecting the textile it was made of, the decorations, and the number bullet cases sown on the cherkeska. According to her book, in Circassian and Abkhazian societies the cherkeska was worn among the royals, the knights, and of upper class. Different colors of clothing for males were strictly used to distinguish between different social classes, for example white

12702-832: The Northwest Caucasus. The ancestors of present-day Circassians are known as the Sinti - Maeotian tribes. Archaeological research shows that these tribes were the indigenous people of the Caucasus. Some researchers have claimed there may be links between Circassians and Indo-European-speaking communities, and some have argued that there are connections between Circassians and Hatti , who are from ancient Anatolian peoples, but these theories are not widely accepted. According to genetic tests performed on Circassians, their closest relatives are Ingush , Chechens , Georgians and Abkhazians . Turkish nationalist groups and proponents of modern-day Pan-Turkism have claimed that

12876-618: The Ottoman Empire or still languished on the Circassian coast awaiting transit, even as far greater numbers arrived following the Russo-Circassian War's conclusion. What was intended to be an orderly, gradual expulsion quickly eroded over the following months, as the Ottomans overcrowded boats and neglected previously enforced safety regulations. Numerous boats sank, unable to safely accommodate these larger loads, while

13050-437: The Ottomans had anticipated, easily reaching tens of thousands at a time. Conditions on the beaches were dismal, as those waiting for Ottoman-chartered ships contended with insufficient supplies of food and shelter, occasional raids from Russian soldiers, and outbreaks of typhus and smallpox that were only exacerbated by the cramped and unsanitary conditions. By 1864, hundreds of thousands of Circassians had either already entered

13224-469: The Pontic or Royal Scythians became *Skula, in which the δ has been regularly replaced by an l. According to Szemerényi, Sogdiana ( Old Persian : Suguda- ; Uzbek : Sug'd, Sug'diyona ; Persian : سغد , romanized :  Soġd ; Tajik : Суғд, سغد , romanized :  Suġd ; Chinese : 粟特 ; Greek : Σογδιανή , romanized :  Sogdianē ) was named from the Skuδa form. Starting from

13398-553: The Russian invasion, parts of the South Caucasus were under a Persian influence so the word chugha was widely used in the region and still continues to be used to refer to the attire, although, the pronunciation of the word varies among ethnicities. The word chugha is of an Iranian origin meaning 'outfit made of textile', but it was also found being used in Turkic languages to describe another similar coat chugha (çoğa) that

13572-405: The Russian military also systematically destroyed crops and livestock and killed Circassian civilians. Circassians responded by creating a tribal federation encompassing all tribes of the area. In 1840 Karl Friedrich Neumann estimated the Circassian casualties at around one and a half million. Some sources state that hundreds of thousands of others died during the exodus. Several historians use

13746-578: The Samanids (the ancestor to the modern Tajik language ), the spoken language of renowned poets and intellectuals of the age such as Ferdowsi (940–1020). So too did the original religions of the Sogdians decline; Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Manichaeism , and Nestorian Christianity disappeared in the region by the end of the Samanid period. The Samanids were also responsible for converting the surrounding Turkic peoples to Islam . The Samanids occupied

13920-709: The Sasanians obtained the areas south of it. The Turks fragmented in 581, and the Western Turkic Khaganate took over in Sogdia. Archaeological remains suggest that the Turks probably became the main trading partners of the Sogdians, as appears from the tomb of the Sogdian trader An Jia . The Turks also appear in great numbers in the Afrasiab murals of Samarkand , where they are probably shown attending

14094-584: The Sassanid king of kings for the privilege of traveling through Persian territories in order to trade with the Byzantines. Istämi refused the first request, but when he sanctioned the second one and had the Sogdian embassy sent to the Sassanid king, the latter had the members of the embassy poisoned. Maniah, a Sogdian diplomat, convinced Istämi to send an embassy directly to Byzantium's capital Constantinople , which arrived in 568 and offered not only silk as

14268-556: The Seleucid Empire founded in 248 BC by Diodotus I , for roughly a century. Euthydemus I , a former satrap of Sogdiana, seems to have held the Sogdian territory as a rival claimant to the Greco-Bactrian throne; his coins were later copied locally and bore Aramaic inscriptions . The Greco-Bactrian king Eucratides I may have recovered sovereignty of Sogdia temporarily. Finally Sogdia was occupied by nomads when

14442-581: The Silk Road trade, other Sogdians settled down in China for generations. Many Sogdians lived in Luoyang , capital of the Jin dynasty (266–420), but fled following the collapse of the Jin dynasty's control over northern China in 311 AD and the rise of northern nomadic tribes. Aurel Stein discovered 5 letters written in Sogdian known as the "Ancient Letters" in an abandoned watchtower near Dunhuang in 1907. One of them

14616-680: The Sogdian region from circa 819 until 999, establishing their capital at Samarkand (819–892) and then at Bukhara (892–999). In 999 the Samanid Empire was conquered by an Islamic Turkic power, the Kara-Khanid Khanate (840–1212). From 1212, the Kara-Khanids in Samarkand were conquered by the Kwarazmians . Soon however, Khwarezmia was invaded by the early Mongol Empire and its ruler Genghis Khan destroyed

14790-485: The Sogdians ( gāum yim suγδō.shaiianəm ). Thereupon came Angra Mainyu , who is all death, and he counter-created the locust, which brings death unto cattle and plants. While it is widely accepted that Gava referred to the region inhabited by the Sogdians during the Avestan period, its meaning is not clear. For example, Vogelsang connects it with Gabae, a Sogdian stronghold in western Sogdia and speculates that during

14964-588: The Sogdians in 84, when the latter were trying to support a revolt by the king of Kashgar . Historical knowledge about Sogdia is somewhat hazy during the period of the Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) in Persia. The subsequent Sasanian Empire of Persia conquered and incorporated Sogdia as a satrapy in 260, an inscription dating to the reign of Shapur I claiming "Sogdia, to the mountains of Tashkent " as his territory, and noting that its limits formed

15138-515: The Turks had been more welcoming and more tolerant of their religion since the time of Sassanian religious persecutions. They particularly created colonies in the area of Semirechye , where they continued to flourish into the 10th century with the rise of the Karluks and the Kara-Khanid Khanate . These Sogdians are known for producing beautiful silver plates with Eastern Christian iconography, such as

15312-829: The Yuezhi against the Xiongnu . Zhang Qian, who spent a year in Transoxiana and Bactria , wrote a detailed account in the Shiji , which gives considerable insight into the situation in Central Asia at the time. The request for an alliance was denied by the son of the slain Yuezhi king, who preferred to maintain peace in Transoxiana rather than seek revenge. Zhang Qian also reported: the Great Yuezhi live 2,000 or 3,000 li [832–1,247 kilometers] west of Dayuan , north of

15486-473: The Yuezhi morphed into the powerful Kushan Empire , covering an area from Sogdia to eastern India . The Kushan Empire became the center of the profitable Central Asian commerce. They began minting unique coins bearing the faces of their own rulers. They are related to have collaborated militarily with the Chinese against nomadic incursion, particularly when they allied with the Han dynasty general Ban Chao against

15660-459: The Yuezhi offered tributary gifts of jade to the emperors of China , the Sogdians are recorded in Persian records as submitting precious gifts of lapis lazuli and carnelian to Darius I , the Persian king of kings . Although the Sogdians were at times independent and living outside the boundaries of large empires, they never formed a great empire of their own like the Yuezhi, who established

15834-441: The belt, a shashka and a gun were worn over the shoulder on belts. This is why the gazyrs began to be sewn on the coat on both sides of the chest. This detail helped soldiers to easily store cartridges. In addition, the location it was sewn made it comfortable for the soldier wearing it so during the battle they did not have to look for them and fiddle around for a long time. Some chokhas had removable gazyrs while others were sown on

16008-474: The bullet spaces. The Kartli-Kakheti chokha is longer than the Khevsur chokha and has triangle-like shapes on the chest, exposing the inner cloth called beshmet. It tends to have gazyrs (locally called masri ) on both sides of the chest-spaces. The skirt usually has slits on the sides. People wear them without belts . The Kartli-Kakheti chokha has long sleeves and is usually black, dark red or blue. This

16182-403: The capital city of Shashe (Sochi) on June 25, 1861. Haji Qerandiqo Berzedj was appointed as the head of the assembly. This assembly asked for help from Europe, arguing that they would be forced into exile soon. However, before the result was achieved, Russian General Kolyobakin invaded Sochi and destroyed the parliament and no country opposed this. In May 1864, a final battle took place between

16356-510: The caravan routes of the 6th to 8th centuries. Their commercial interests were protected by the resurgent military power of the Göktürks , whose empire was built on the political power of the Ashina clan and economic clout of the Sogdians. Sogdian trade, with some interruptions, continued into the 9th century. For instance, camels, women, girls, silver, and gold were seized from Sogdia during

16530-422: The chest of the coat. More primitive versions of chokha looked like a looser, sometimes even a baggier type of clothing. The length was up to the knees or up to half of the thigh. Long narrow sleeves sometimes had a triangular protrusion at the bottom, covering the back of the arm. The chest was not as open as in chokhas from later models, and often there was a fastener from the neck to the waist. In some cases, there

16704-403: The chest. The numbers of gazyrs is special as its also an indicator of status and ranking among the Circassians especially among the noble warriors. Weapons that are frequently worn with the Circassian attire is a dagger called kama ( Adyghe : Къамэ or Сэ ) or kinzhal (when transliterating Russian : кинжал ) and a sword called shashka ( Adyghe : Сашьхъуэ, Sas̨x́ue - a long knife ). It

16878-512: The chokha . By the 18th century, a male costume common for the Caucasus was finally formed which consisted of gazyrs on the chest, beshmet , cherkeska , burka , bashlyk , papakha , etc. The chokha was in wide use among the inhabitants of the Caucasus from 8th century until the Soviet era in the early 20th century. Nowadays, the chokha is no longer in everyday use, but continues to still be worn for ceremonial and festive occasions. For many, it

17052-455: The chokha has rich decorations and slits on the sides, which extend to the waist. The Khevsur chokha has rich decorations made up of crosses and icons . The Adjarian chokha is worn in Adjara , Guria regions of Georgia and was worn in historical Lazeti (modern day Turkey ), though, the outfit is more similar to the clothing worn by Pontic Greeks . Adjaran national men's costume consists of

17226-504: The chukha and the arkhalig in the same fashion Turkmens , Volga Tatars and the Crimean Tatars wore their caftans. Aside from the general and weighted chukha, there are other types that were in wide use among Azerbaijanis such as the "duzyakha" ( Azerbaijani : düzyaxa ), "oymayakha" ( Azerbaijani : oymayaxa ), and "atmagol" ( Azerbaijani : atmagol ) chukhas. One of the most popular types of chukhas used among Azerbaijanis

17400-579: The city-building efforts of the Kidarites . The Hephthalites probably ruled over a confederation of local rulers or governors, linked through alliance agreements. One of these vassals may have been Asbar, ruler of Vardanzi , who also minted his own coinage during the period. The wealth of the Sasanian ransoms and tributes to the Hephthalites may have been reinvested in Sogdia, possibly explaining

17574-401: The claim that the Circassians are of Turkic ethnic origin. German racial theorists, after comparing skull shapes, declared that Europeans, North Africans, and Caucasians were of a common race, termed "Caucasian" or later " Caucasoid ". Scientific racism emphasized the so-called "superior beauty" of the Circassian people, referring to them as "how God intended the human race to be", leading to

17748-617: The clothes west after the invasion of the Huns in 375 CE. The caftan was worn by horsemen along the Silk Road in Caucasus during the 8th to 10th centuries, although, the generic horse archer costume remained unchanged in the region for centuries. Due to tensions between Byzantine Empire and Persia , Georgia became an important route for steppe merchants to deliver silk to Byzantium. Georgians and other North Caucasian groups started adopting

17922-482: The clothes. Sogdian and Hunnic Women wore clothing comparatively more similar to their male counterparts. The differences in fashion between men and women start to become more obvious in later centuries, the male attire continues to follow Persian and Central Asian traditions while the female attire seems to have taken some of its inspiration from eastern Mediterranean models but the steppe influence remains. The 8th century caftan known as chokha evidently does not resemble

18096-516: The coat is very specialized for mounted archery, horse riding, and combat, similar to the use modern chokha. Well-preserved caftans were made of Sogdian and Chinese fabrics. Later in the Khazar reign the caftan started to become associated with aristocracy in the Caucasus and it remained that way until late 19th century. By the period of the Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–8 CE), silk trimming became

18270-520: The coinage of their indigenous successors the Ikhshids (642–755 AD), ending with the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana . The Turks of the First Turkic Khaganate and the Sasanians under Khosrow I allied against the Hephthalites and defeated them after an eight-day battle near Qarshi , the Battle of Bukhara , perhaps in 557. The Turks retained the area north of the Oxus, including all of Sogdia, while

18444-407: The color black for chokha was reserved to the "Orden of Chokhosani" who represented the elite society of the citizens: great generals, war heroes, famous poets, and the people who had done some big service to the country. Special decorations were also used to denote their status. The Kartli-Kakheti version shares similarities with the general Caucasian chokha. In most cases, different decorations fill

18618-426: The costume style because of Georgia's role in the silk road and having constant interactions with the neighboring steppe peoples. The costume consisted of the following elements: shorts, leggings, caftan or coat (multiple layers), and boots. The large dolman sleeves allow for freedom of movement and the two slits towards the back allow the skirt to cover the legs more fully while seated on horseback. The original use of

18792-598: The diaspora Sogdians and Indians in the Chinese Western Jin capital Luoyang died of starvation due to the uprising by the rebellious Xiongnu, who were formerly subjects of the Han Chinese. The Han Chinese emperor abandoned Luoyang when it came under siege by the Xiongnu rebels and his palace was burned down. Nanai-vandak also said the city of Ye was no more as the Xiongnu rebellion resulted in disaster for

18966-660: The elbow were also commonly used. Ossetians wore gazyrs cases made from leather which held cartridges from 7 to 10 compartments. Materials among the Nakh peoples are poorer. There are various depictions by travellers of Ingush men in a cherkeska with a standing collar, the coat resembles the type worn among the Northwestern Caucasians. In the album published in Paris in 1813, Chechens are depicted in short, knee-length coats with narrow sleeves. Alexander Beggrov depicts

19140-475: The embassy of the Chinese explorer Zhang Qian during the reign of Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BC) of the former Han dynasty . Zhang wrote a report of his visit to the Western Regions in Central Asia and named the area of Sogdiana as " Kangju ". Following Zhang Qian's embassy and report, commercial Chinese relations with Central Asia and Sogdiana flourished, as many Chinese missions were sent throughout

19314-561: The entire Silk Road , but would trade goods through middlemen based in oasis towns, such as Khotan or Dunhuang . The Sogdians, however, established a trading network across the 1500 miles from Sogdiana to China. In fact, the Sogdians turned their energies to trade so thoroughly that the Saka of the Kingdom of Khotan called all merchants suli , "Sogdian", whatever their culture or ethnicity. The Sogdians had learnt to become expert traders from

19488-722: The ethnic Circassian population are affected. Considering these rates, calculations including those taking into account the Russian government's own archival figures, have estimated a loss 600,000–1,500,000. Ivan Drozdov , a Russian officer who witnessed the scene at Qbaada in May 1864 as the other Russians were celebrating their victory remarked: On the road, our eyes were met with a staggering image: corpses of women, children, elderly persons, torn to pieces and half-eaten by dogs; deportees emaciated by hunger and disease, almost too weak to move their legs, collapsing from exhaustion and becoming prey to dogs while still alive. The Ottoman Empire regarded

19662-746: The gazyrs where they were connected with a rosette. It was customary for the weighted chokha to have a set of eight cartridge holders on each breast. Among Georgians , three types of chokhas are primarily used: the Kartl-Kakheti chokha (Kartli and Kakheti are eastern Georgian provinces), the Khevsur chokha (mainly in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti province of Georgia), and the Adjarian chokha (mainly found in western Georgian provinces such as Adjara and Guria , previously also in Lazona ). In Georgia,

19836-434: The general cherkeska such karts , a winter sheepskin coat, and a lighter unlined linen caftan with frogging called the kurta , both are words of Iranian origin. Ossetians and Circassians generally wore their coats in similar fashion. The coats were most of the time made of black or gray cloth, with split sleeves. Sometimes the sleeves have a slit on the inside from the armpit and below the elbow, coats with sleeves shortened to

20010-446: The general chokha, which was typically worn for battle, the main attribute of the weighted chokha is its small bullet-pockets or cartridge holders on both sides of the chest, which over time turned into having a purely decorative significance. Gazyrs for this chokha were made of wood, and in the upper, above-pocket part they had small hoods out of gold or silver with niello or gilt. Sometimes there were golden or silver chains going up front

20184-413: The highlanders actually captured and held the forts. Under Yermolov, the Russian military began using a strategy of disproportionate retribution for raids . Russian troops retaliated by destroying villages where resistance fighters were thought to hide, as well as employing assassinations, kidnappings, and the execution of whole families. Because the resistance was relying on sympathetic villages for food,

20358-513: The historic lands of Circassia: Genetically, the Adyghe have shared ancestry partially with neighboring peoples of the Caucasus , with some influence from other regions. The most prevalent SNP haplotypes among all Circassian tribes is G2 -YY1215 (43%); others are R1a -M198* (13%), G2-YY9632 (9%), J2-M172* (7%), sharing a single common ancestor 3,000 years ago, with the largest demographic growth between 2,000 and 1,500 years ago. Prevalence of

20532-587: The inhabitants of Transcaucasia , especially among Azerbaijanis, Eastern Armenians, inhabitants of southern Dagestan, as well as among the Persians. In some artworks, Georgians are also depicted wearing it. The chukhas with the folding sleeves were the main uniform and clothing attire in the army of the Caucasian khanates. Later, it was in wide use in the Caucasian Convoy of the Imperial army and became

20706-594: The inside of the coat and as a layer indicator. In Azerbaijani society, chukha was worn among the peasants as well as the upper class, while in other parts of the Caucasus it was worn to attribute to upper class and the aristocracy as a remnant of Khazar traditions, it had more of a symbol of boasting than practicality. Different materials and decorations were used on chukhas and arkhaligs to determine social class and age. Some chukas were not worn for battles and did not have gazyrs, Azerbaijanis wore those for performing their folk music such as mugham . Azerbaijani men usually wore

20880-439: The lace with which it is sheathed. Cossacks called such fasteners "gudzyki". In winter, some Cossacks wore cherkeskas with fur called "Bekirks" or "kurks". Circassians This is an accepted version of this page Surviving Destroyed or barely existing The Circassians or Circassian people , also called Cherkess or Adyghe ( Adyghe and Kabardian : Адыгэхэр , romanized:  Adygekher ) are

21054-518: The land of the Sogdians. Gava is, therefore, interpreted as referring to Sogdia during the time of the Avesta . Although there is no universal consensus on the chronology of the Avesta, most scholars today argue for an early chronology, which would place the composition of Young Avestan texts like the Mihr Yasht and the Vendiad in the first half of the first millennium BCE. The first mention of Gava

21228-622: The lands of the Adyghe people , who were also known as the Kasogi (or Kassogs) at the time. They were conquered first by the Bulgars (who originated on the Central Asian steppes ). Outsiders sometimes confused the Adyghe people with the similarly named Utigurs (a branch of the Bulgars). After the Khazar state dissolved, the Adyghe people were integrated around the end of the 1st millennium AD into

21402-428: The military outfit worn in Caucasus and among Cossacks that we know today, it transformed over time - it changed its length and added new elements. For example, earlier on there was no such detail on the chokha like the gazyr . It appeared later when firearms started to be widely used. Initially, gazyrs were carried in leather bags attached to a shoulder strap or belt but a lot of different objects were already attached to

21576-581: The modern regions of Samarkand and Bukhara in modern Uzbekistan, as well as the Sughd region of modern Tajikistan. In the High Middle Ages , Sogdian cities included sites stretching towards Issyk Kul , such as that at the archeological site of Suyab . Oswald Szemerényi devotes a thorough discussion to the etymologies of ancient ethnic words for the Scythians in his work Four Old Iranian Ethnic Names: Scythian – Skudra – Sogdian – Saka . In it,

21750-431: The name Cherkess/Circassians. In Persian sources, Charkas/Cherkes is used to refer to the "actual" Circassians of the northwest Caucasus, and in some occasions as a general designation for Caucasians who live beyond Derbent (Darband). Despite a common self-designation and a common Russian name, Soviet authorities divided the nation into four different peoples and applied four designations to Circassians remaining in

21924-427: The name derives from Atyghe ( Adyghe : Iатыгъэ , romanized:  'atığə ) meaning "high [in altitude]" to signify a mountaineer, as the Circassian people have lived in and near the mountains for thousands of years. The word Circassian ( / s ər ˈ k æ s i ə n z / sər- KASS -ee-ənz ) is an exonym , Latinized from Russian Cherkess ( Russian : Черкес ; Adyghe : Чэркэс/Шэрджэс ), which

22098-484: The name has been settled as Cherkess . It is the same or similar in many world languages that cite these languages. The Encyclopaedia Islamica adds: "The Cherkess: the Kabardians and the western Adyghe people share a common language, which is spoken by the north-western Caucasian people, and belongs to the family known as Abkhazian-Adyghe". In Medieval Oriental and European texts, the Adyghe people were known by

22272-670: The names of the province given in Old Persian inscriptions, Sugda and Suguda, and the knowledge derived from Middle Sogdian that Old Persian -gd- applied to Sogdian was pronounced as voiced fricatives, -γδ-, Szemerényi arrives at *Suγδa as an Old Sogdian endonym . Applying sound changes apparent in other Sogdian words and inherent in Indo-European, he traces the development of *Suγδa from Skuδa, "archer", as follows: Skuδa > *Sukuda by anaptyxis > *Sukuδa > *Sukδa ( syncope ) > *Suγδa ( assimilation ). Sogdiana possessed

22446-481: The names provided by the Greek historian Herodotus and the names of his title, except Saka , as well as many other words for "Scythian", such as Assyrian Aškuz and Greek Skuthēs , descend from *skeud-, an ancient Indo-European root meaning "propel, shoot" (cf. English shoot). *skud- is the zero-grade; that is, a variant in which the -e- is not present. The restored Scythian name is *Skuδa ( archer ), which among

22620-680: The northeastern Sasanian borderlands with the Kushan Empire . However, by the 5th century the region was captured by the rival Hephthalite Empire . The Hephthalites conquered the territory of Sogdiana, and incorporated it into their Empire, around 479 AD, as this is the date of the last known independent embassy of the Sogdians to China. The Hephthalites may have built major fortified Hippodamian cities (rectangular walls with an orthogonal network of streets) in Sogdiana, such as Bukhara and Panjikent , as they had also in Herat , continuing

22794-525: The once vibrant cities of Bukhara and Samarkand. However, in 1370, Samarkand saw a revival as the capital of the Timurid Empire . The Turko-Mongol ruler Timur brought about the forced immigration to Samarkand of artisans and intellectuals from across Asia, transforming it not only into a trade hub but also into one of the most important cities of the Islamic world. Most merchants did not travel

22968-409: The only country to classify the events as genocide, while Russia actively denies the Circassian genocide, and classifies the events as a simple migration of "undeveloped barbaric peoples". As early as 1859, the Russian government had sought potential avenues for expelling the native Circassian population, and found a solution in the Ottoman Empire. Despite their numerous historical and ongoing disputes,

23142-678: The overcrowded conditions helped disease spread even further among both the Circassian migrants and the Ottoman crews. Upon their arrival, the Emigrant Commission attempted to relocate most of the new arrivals as quickly as possible to alleviate the strain on Ottoman port cities, and began to settle the Circassians throughout the Ottoman Empire. The exiled Circassians were resettled in the Empire's remaining Balkan territories, in Ottoman Syria and Transjordan, and Anatolia, while

23316-465: The perpetration of genocide. On 20 May 2011 the Georgian parliament voted in a 95 to 0 declaration that Russia had committed genocide when it engaged in massacres against Circassians in the 19th century. Adyghe society prior to the Russian invasion was highly stratified. While a few tribes in the mountainous regions of Adygeya were fairly egalitarian, most were broken into strict castes. The highest

23490-667: The phrase "Circassian massacres" for the consequences of Russian actions in the region. In a series of sweeping military campaigns lasting from 1860 to 1864... the northwest Caucasus and the Black Sea coast were virtually emptied of Muslim villagers. Columns of the displaced were marched either to the Kuban [River] plains or toward the coast for transport to the Ottoman Empire... One after another, entire Circassian tribal groups were dispersed, resettled, or killed en masse. Circassians established an assembly called "Great Freedom Assembly" in

23664-571: The pro-Umayyad Sogdian ruler Tarkhun in 710, decided that resistance against al-Harashi's large Arab force was pointless, and thereafter persuaded his followers to declare allegiance to the Umayyad governor. Divashtich (r. 706–722), the Sogdian ruler of Panjakent , led his forces to the Zarafshan Range (near modern Zarafshan, Tajikistan ), whereas the Sogdians following Karzanj, the ruler of Pai (modern Kattakurgan , Uzbekistan), fled to

23838-606: The prosperity of the region from that time. Sogdia, at the center of a new Silk Road between China to the Sasanian Empire and the Byzantine Empire became extremely prosperous under its nomadic elites. The Hephthalites took on the role of major intermediary on the Silk Road , after their great predecessor the Kushans , and contracted local Sogdians to carry on the trade of silk and other luxury goods between

24012-400: The rebel Spitamenes, who wed Seleucus I Nicator and bore him a son and future heir to the Seleucid throne . According to the Roman historian Appian , Seleucus I named three new Hellenistic cities in Asia after her (see Apamea ). The military power of the Sogdians never recovered. Subsequently, Sogdiana formed part of the Hellenistic Greco-Bactrian Kingdom , a breakaway state from

24186-440: The reception by the local Sogdian ruler Varkhuman in the 7th century AD. These paintings suggest that Sogdia was a very cosmopolitan environment at that time, as delegates of various nations, including Chinese and Korean delegates, are also shown. From around 650, China led the conquest of the Western Turks , and the Sogdian rulers such as Varkhuman as well as the Western Turks all became nominal vassals of China, as part of

24360-441: The refusal to surrender, Circassian civilians were targeted one by one by the Russian military with thousands massacred and the Russians started to raid and burn Circassian villages, destroy the fields to make it impossible to return, cut trees down and drive the people towards the Black Sea coast. Although it is not known exactly how many people are affected, researchers have suggested that at least 75%, 90%, 94%, or 95–97% of

24534-430: The reigns of various emperors from Tiberius (14–37 AD) to Aurelian (270–275 AD). The earliest gold solidus coins from the Eastern Roman Empire found in China date to the reign of Byzantine emperor Theodosius II (r. 408–450) and altogether only forty-eight of them have been found (compared to thirteen-hundred silver coins) in Xinjiang and the rest of China. The use of silver coins in Turfan persisted long after

24708-436: The retrieval and resettlement of the Circassians throughout the Ottoman Empire. The process of expulsion had already begun even before the end of the Russo-Circassian war; the first Circassians had begun to arrive in small numbers as early as 1859, mainly consisting of wealthier aristocrats. Even prior to the end of the Russo-Circassian War, expelled Circassians had begun to crowd the Circassian coast in far greater numbers than

24882-418: The ruling class. The largest Circassian clan in the country also contributed to Egyptian and Arabic cultural literary, intellectual, and political life starting with the reign of Muhammad Ali Pasha in Egypt and continuing to the modern day: the Abaza family . In Israel , Bibras Natcho is the captain of the Israeli national soccer team . In Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union , historical Circassia

25056-417: The sewn bullet pockets. The caftan and the bullet cases are decorated with various golden or silver laces and other fabrics, specific decorations and patterns are usually added on their costumes that makes it differ from the other styles. The color of the chukha mattered to Azerbaijanis as well. The colors that were used most often were blue, green, white, brown, and black. The colors white and blue were used for

25230-419: The sleeve of the general chokha is made of silk fabric, the sleeves often have loops and buttons made of string. Chokhas with very long skirts were popular among the nobility. It is cut at the waist with gathers and folds, girded with a black leather belt decorated with silver pieces, the belt buckle served as a chair for carving fire. The outfit was a clothing for combat, it was not supposed to hinder movement, so

25404-416: The sleeves were wide and short, sometimes with rows of buttons down the openings, and hand flaps. Only the old people wore the sleeves long to warm the hands. As mentioned previously, later on cases were added to place cartridges, the cases made it possible to load a flint or match gun at full gallop. Sometimes the cases were located almost under the armpits. An obligatory item of both men's and women's clothing

25578-481: The tax on non-Muslims, the jizya , because of a new law stating that proof of circumcision and literacy in the Quran was necessary for new converts. With the aid of the Turkic Turgesh , the Sogdians were able to expel the Umayyad Arab garrison from Samarkand, and Umayyad attempts to restore power there were rebuffed until the arrival of Sa'id ibn Amr al-Harashi (fl. 720–735). The Sogdian ruler (i.e. ikhshid ) of Samarkand, Gurak , who had previously overthrown

25752-441: The term Jahārkas , but the Persian hypothesis remains uncertain. In early Russian sources, Circassians are called Kasogi , but one view holds that the modern term "Cherkes" derives from Kerket , the name of one of the ancient Circassian tribes. In languages spoken geographically close to the Caucasus, the native people originally had other names for the Circassians (such as Georgian : ჯიქი, Jiqi ), but with Russian influence,

25926-491: The time of the Avesta, the center of Sogdia may have been closer to Bukhara instead of Samarkand . Achaemenid ruler Cyrus the Great conquered Sogdiana while campaigning in Central Asia in 546–539 BC, a fact mentioned by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus in his Histories . Darius I introduced the Aramaic writing system and coin currency to Central Asia , in addition to incorporating Sogdians into his standing army as regular soldiers and cavalrymen. Sogdia

26100-452: The troops of the Circassian principalities, almost identical in structure, form, and in other parameters to the European concept of "knightly army". The cherkeska was in wide use among the Circassian cavalry and was worn together with weaponry and armor. It was also common among inhabitants of Northwestern Caucasus to wear cherkeskas with no open cut on the chest. The number of pockets or cases for gazyrs can vary from 4-5 up to 18 on each side of

26274-458: The two empires negotiated on the impending migrations and resettlements. The Russians promised a gradual process that would see the Ottomans ultimately receive fewer than 100,000 Circassians. The Circassians would first be moved, or coerced to move, to the Circassian Black Sea coast, from which Ottoman boats would take them to designated ports in Anatolia. The recently formed Ottoman Muhacirin Komisyonu , or Emigrant Commission, would coordinate both

26448-611: The two types differed in the design of the collar: duzyakha translates to "plain collar" while oymayakha means "carved collar". Oymayakha was popular in Nakhchivan , the collar of the coat was heavily decorated, the design reflected the fashion of the Qajar era. Other types of chukhas worn by Azerbaijanis that were recorded are: “kemerchin” ( Azerbaijani : kəmərçin ), “buzmely” ( Azerbaijani : büzməli ), “takhtaly” ( Azerbaijani : taxtalı ), “qolchaqly” ( Azerbaijani : qolçaqlı ), “doshuachig” ( Azerbaijani : döşüaçıq ), and “doqquztakhta” ( Azerbaijani : doqquztaxta ). Cherkeska

26622-453: The war in Abkhazia, officially conquered Northern Abkhazia and the Abkhaz people recognized his rule. One of the stars on the flag of Abkhazia represents Inal. He divided his lands between his sons and grandchildren in 1453 and died in 1458. After that, Circassian tribal principalities were established, including Chemguy , founded by Temruk; Besleney , founded by Beslan; Kabardia , founded by Qabard; and Shapsug , founded by Zanoko. In

26796-407: The word chugha was not adopted and the outfit is known as shwakh-tsia which means 'covers the horseman', or simply tsey , meaning 'from fabric'. The Turkic groups in North Caucasus such as the Nogais, Balkars, Karachays and Kumyks named the coat chepken , which is another word that entered the Russian language in the form of chekmen . A popular theory is that the caftan found in Moschevaya Balka

26970-411: Was a collar in the form of a low stand with bevelled front corners. Another difference between the prototype and the current chokha is the open cut chest of the coat which was most likely a style brought to Near East as a result of numerous Turkic invasions. The Caucasians also adopted numerous headwear and clothing items from the Iranian groups and later from the Turks that started to be worn together with

27144-467: Was also common for chokhas to be worn without the bullet pockets or gazyrs. An arkhalig would also be worn under chokha. The style, decorations and patterns on chokha varies among ethnicities. There were also chukha types that included Persian elements such as the folding sleeves, completely unsewn from the armpit to the elbow, and sleeves that are cut in half from top which were worn for casual use. Those persianate style chukhas were predominantly worn among

27318-410: Was also listed on the Behistun Inscription of Darius. A contingent of Sogdian soldiers fought in the main army of Xerxes I during his second, ultimately-failed invasion of Greece in 480 BC. A Persian inscription from Susa claims that the palace there was adorned with lapis lazuli and carnelian originating from Sogdiana. During this period of Persian rule, the western half of Asia Minor

27492-405: Was constantly worn by Terek and Kuban Cossacks and the dress code was identical to the one worn by Caucasians. The main color worn in the army was in black, gray, dark blue, white, and brown; red was only worn for important ceremonies. Although the color of the daily cherkeska was up to the individual's choice, by the time of the Great War each Cossack had to wear a gray cherkeska and black beshmet as

27666-493: Was destroyed in one night on 17 September 1708. The Crimean Khan Kaplan-Giray barely managed to save his life, and was humiliated, all the way to his shoes taken, leaving his brother, son, field tools, tents and personal belongings. In 2013, the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences recognized that the Battle of Kinzhal Mountain with the paramount importance in the national history of Circassians, Balkarians and Ossetians. In 1714, Peter I established

27840-630: Was divided into the republics of Adygea , Kabardino-Balkaria , Karachay-Cherkessia , and Krasnodar Krai , and southwestern parts of Stavropol Krai . Accordingly, Circassians have been designated as Adygeans in Adygea, Kabardians in Kabardino-Balkaria, Cherkess in Karachay-Cherkessia, and Shapsug in Krasnodar Krai; all four are essentially the same people. Today, approximately 800,000 Circassians remain in historical Circassia, while 4,500,000 live elsewhere. The Circassians refer to themselves as Adyghe (also transliterated as Adyga, Adiga, Adige, Adığe, Adyge , Adygei ). According to one view,

28014-483: Was governed from the satrapy of nearby Bactria . The satraps were often relatives of the ruling Persian kings, especially sons who were not designated as the heir apparent . Sogdiana likely remained under Persian control until roughly 400 BC, during the reign of Artaxerxes II . Rebellious states of the Persian Empire took advantage of the weak Artaxerxes II, and some, such as Egypt , were able to regain their independence. Persia's massive loss of Central Asian territory

28188-401: Was historically practiced in Circassia since ancient times, but Sunni Islam became the dominant religion among them around the 17th century, following a long period of Islamization . Circassia has been repeatedly invaded since ancient times; its isolated terrain coupled with the strategic value external societies have placed on the region have greatly shaped the Circassian national identity as

28362-407: Was long tight pants - an element of clothing that was present among the steppe peoples, which was necessary for frequent horseback riding and in harsh climatic conditions. The general outfit almost always includes a dagger called khinjal , a beshmet worn under the chokha, gazyrs (bullet/charge holders), and a bashlyk (a hood, separate from the robe) or a papakha (a tall fur hat). Unlike

28536-464: Was part of the Greek civilization. As the Achaemenids conquered it, they met persistent resistance and revolt. One of their solutions was to ethnically cleanse rebelling regions, relocating those who survived to the far side of the empire. Thus Sogdiana came to have a significant Greek population. Given the absence of any named satraps (i.e. Achaemenid provincial governors) for Sogdiana in historical records, modern scholarship has concluded that Sogdiana

28710-416: Was partly due to the convenience of movement and landing on a horse, and partly for the sake of aesthetics. But the concept of aesthetics is conditional and in the late 19th century the cherkeska was worn long, reaching many almost heels. On the cutout and at the bottom it is sheathed with a shoelace, black or in the color of the material from which it is sewn. It is fastened on internal hooks or loops tied from

28884-414: Was put down by Alexander and his generals Amyntas , Craterus , and Coenus , with the aid of native Bactrian and Sogdian troops. With the Scythian and Sogdian rebels defeated, Spitamenes was allegedly betrayed by his own wife and beheaded. Pursuant with his own marriage to Roxana, Alexander encouraged his men to marry Sogdian women in order to discourage further revolt. This included Apama , daughter of

29058-402: Was the atmagol chukha, which is a Persian styled chukha worn for battles. The arms of atmagol were long and the entirety of the sleeves were cut and completely detached. The long sleeves could be hung behind the shoulder. Aside from the aesthetic, the sleeves were used to deceive the enemy during battle and also to keep the hands warm. The atmagol chukha is considered to be a huge national pride of

29232-406: Was the caste of the "princes", followed by a caste of lesser nobility, and then commoners, serfs, and slaves. In the decades before Russian rule, two tribes overthrew their traditional rulers and set up democratic processes, but this social experiment was cut short by the end of Adyghe independence. Kabardian Sogdia Sogdia or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization between

29406-493: Was the mother of Alexander IV of Macedon , who inherited his late father's throne in 323 BC (although the empire was soon divided in the Wars of the Diadochi ). After an extended campaign putting down Sogdian resistance and founding military outposts manned by his Macedonian veterans, Alexander united Sogdiana with Bactria into one satrapy. The Sogdian nobleman and warlord Spitamenes (370–328 BC), allied with Scythian tribes, led an uprising against Alexander's forces. This revolt

29580-422: Was to unite the Circassians under a single state. They were divided into many states at that time, but after declaring his own princedom, Inal conquered all of Circassia one by one. Circassian nobles and princes tried to prevent Inal's rise, but Inal and his supporters defeated 30 Circassian lords. After successfully uniting the Circassians, Inal still wanted to include the closely related Abkhazians. Inal, who won

29754-423: Was used mostly in regions like the South Caucasus, Chechnya and Dagestan. Georgians call it chokha but the clothing used to be called talavari which is now known as the Khevsur chokha. Azerbaijanis either call the caftan a chukha or chuxa or arkhalig , although arkhalig is most of the time associated with a lighter jacket but Azerbaijanis use those words interchangeably. However, in Circassian languages,

29928-441: Was virtually complete by the end of the Samanid Empire in 999, coinciding with the decline of the Sogdian language, as it was largely supplanted by New Persian . Sogdiana lay north of Bactria , east of Khwarezm , and southeast of Kangju between the Oxus ( Amu Darya ) and the Jaxartes ( Syr Darya ), including the fertile valley of the Zeravshan (called the Polytimetus by the ancient Greeks ). Sogdian territory corresponds to

30102-430: Was worn during winters in Central Asia. In that context, it is also possible that the word comes from the word chek , which is what the Turks call cotton fabric, from which the outerwear is sewn. Also, the word chek means "pull", "tighten", "tie up". From the Book of Dede Korkut , the name of this type of clothing was known among the Oghuz Turks as "chuga" or "cuha" as well which translates to "cloth". The word chugha

30276-653: Was written by a Sogdian woman named Miwnay who had a daughter named Shayn and she wrote to her mother Chatis in Sogdia. Miwnay and her daughter were abandoned in China by Nanai-dhat, her husband who was also Sogdian like her. Nanai-dhat refused to help Miwnay and their daughter after forcing them to come with him to Dunhuang and then abandoning them, telling them they should serve the Han Chinese. Miwnay asked one of her husband's relative Artivan and then asked another Sogdian man, Farnkhund to help them but they also abandoned them. Miwnay and her daughter Shayn were then forced to became servants of Han Chinese after living on charity from

#457542