tribal confederation · Caucasus

Abadzekhs

1500 CE – 1864 CE (approx.)

A self-governing Circassian people of the forested foothills of the western Caucasus, among the most determined opponents of the Russian conquest.

Origins

The Abadzekhs inhabited the forested valleys of the upper Belaya, Pshish and Psekups rivers, behind the coastal Shapsugs. They emerged as a distinct and numerous Adyghe community of Circassia by the 17th century; earlier history is not separately recorded. Their villages lay scattered in clearings across the forest.

Rule and society

Like the Shapsugs and Natukhaj, they shed the authority of princes in the late 18th century and governed through assemblies and customary law, with sworn associations of households. They lived by farming, herding and forest crafts. From 1848 Muhammad Amin, Shamil's envoy, organised them into a more centralised Islamic administration with courts and taxes.

Decline and legacy

The Abadzekhs submitted to Russia in 1859 but soon resumed resistance. The Russian Empire completed the conquest in 1864, and the great majority were expelled to the Ottoman Empire. A few villages remained near Maykop, in what is now Adygea.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Abadzekhs. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/abadzekhs
MLA
“Abadzekhs.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/abadzekhs. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Abadzekhs.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/abadzekhs.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Abadzekhs’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/abadzekhs (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻