principality · Caucasus

Principality of Bzhedugh

1500 CE – 1864 CE (approx.)

A princely Circassian tribe on the lower Kuban, one of the few Adyghe groups that largely remained in their homeland after 1864.

Origins

The Bzhedugh were one of the aristocratic Adyghe tribes of Circassia, living along the left bank of the Kuban and the Psekups river near modern Krasnodar. They are recorded as a distinct princely community by the 16th and 17th centuries; their earlier history is not recorded separately.

Rule and society

Princes and nobles held power over free peasants and serfs. When the commoners of the Shapsugs and Natukhaj rebelled against their nobility, Bzhedugh princes backed the aristocrats and were defeated at Bziyuqo in 1796. The tribe lay close to Russian forts on the Kuban and often negotiated with Russia while trading and fighting with it.

Decline and legacy

The Bzhedugh came under Russian control in the course of the Russo-Circassian War, which the Russian Empire completed in 1864. More of them stayed than most Circassian groups, and they form a large part of the Adyghe population of Adygea today.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (2)

  • Principality of Bzhedugh was part of Circassia1500 CE – 1864 CE
  • Principality of Bzhedugh was conquered by Russian Empire1864 CE

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻