Gudisa VARDANIA

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Gudisa Vardania, Ph.D. (Hist.), associate professor, the State University of Abkhazia, project head at the Study Center of National Interests and Strategic Problems of Abkhazia(Sukhumi, Abkhazia).

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THE CAUCASIAN DIASPORA—ABKHAZ AND ADIGHES: EPISODES FROM THE PAST

ABSTRACT

The author takes a look into the past in order to shed light on some of the still painful issues relating to the emergence of the Abkhaz-Adighe element of the Caucasian diaspora, the ups and downs of the Caucasian War Russia waged in the Caucasus for many years, the deportation of huge numbers of local people, and their arduous integration into Ottoman Turkey.

The Beginning

The Caucasian diaspora dates back to a much earlier period than the mid-19th century, when the mountain dwellers were deported in huge numbers. According to Procopius of Caesarea (the 6th century), the Abkhazian rulers selected handsome young men from among their subjects to be sold into slavery to the Byzantine court. Their relatives were all exterminated just in case, to avoid a blood feud. This undermined the nation’s gene pool, while it also………………

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