Shapsugs

Shapsug
Шапсыгъ
Total population
	c. 807,882
Regions with significant populations
Turkey	800,000 (approximation)
Israel	4,000
Russia; ; Krasnodar Krai: 3,839 (2010 census);	1,914 (2021 census) 3,882 (2010 census)
Languages
	Circassian language ; (West Adyghe dialect) ; (Shapsug sub-dialect, Hakuchi sub-dialect), Russian, Turkish, Hebrew and Arabic
Religion
	Predominantly: Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
	Other Circassian tribes

The Shapsug (Adyghe: шапсыгъ [ʃaːpsəʁ], Russian: шапсуги, Turkish: Şapsığlar, Arabic: الشابسوغ, Hebrew: שפסוגים) (also known as the Shapsugh or Shapsogh) are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes.^[4] Historically, the Shapsug tribe comprised one of the largest groups of the Black Sea Adyghe (Причерноморские адыги). They inhabited the region between the Dzhubga (in Adyghe: Жьыбгъэ means "Winds" or "The Valley of Winds") River and the Shakhe Rivers (the so-called Maly Shapsug, or Little Shapsug) and high-altitude mountainous areas of the northern slopes of the Caucasus range along the Antkhir, Abin, Afips, Bakan, Ships, and other rivers (Bolshoy Shapsug, or Greater Shapsug). In Russia, the remaining Shapsug population mainly live in the Tuapsinsky District (Tuapse) of Krasnodar Krai, Lazarevsky City District of Sochi, and in the Republic of Adygea (mainly in District of Takhtamukaysky and District of Teuchezksky), which were a small part of historical Circassia.

However, today the major Shapsug communities are found in Turkey, Israel (Kfar Kama), Jordan (Amman, Na'our, Marj Al-Hamam, Wadi Al-Seer), Lebanon (Tripoli, Berkayel-Akkar), Iraq, Syria, Western Europe and the United States of America. The first Circassians to settle in Amman were from the Shapsug tribe, and as a result the Shapsug's neighbourhood is considered the oldest neighbourhood in the Capital Amman and was the down town of it;^[5] however, other Circassians from the Kabardian, Abadzekh, and Bzhedug tribes also settled in Amman afterwards. Today, the Shapsug are the third-most numerous Circassian tribe in the world, after the most numerous Kabardian and second-most numerous Abzakh tribes. The Shapsug are the most numerous Circassian tribe in Israel, third-most numerous in Turkey where the majority of them live, and the fifth-most numerous one in Russia. In Jordan, after the Abzakh, the Shapsug and Kabardian tribes are the most numerous Adyghe tribes.

The Shapsug speak a sub-dialect of the Adyghe language.^[6] According to some indirect data, there were over four thousand Shapsug in Russia in 1926, but the Shapsug people were not enumerated as a separate group in Russian Censuses until 2002, when the population was recorded at 3,231. The Shapsug who live in the Adyghe Republic were enumerated as an Adyghe in general instead of Shapsug in particular, as they are an Adyghe (Circassian) tribe, rather than a separate ethnic group.

In District of Takhtamukaysky a reservoir which was built in 1952 was named after the Shapsug tribe (Russian: Шапсугское водохранилище) since the area was inhabited by this tribe for thousands of years and was considered to be part of historical Shapsugia, a region in historical Circassia.

^ ^a ^b Russian Federation Federal State Statistics Service (FSSS) (2010). Всероссийская перепись 2010, Материалы. Табл. 7. Национальный состав населения по субъектам Российской Федерации [All-Russian Census 2010, Materials. Table 7. National Composition of the Populations on the Subjects of the Russian Federation] (Press release) (in Russian). Moscow.
^ "Национальный состав населения Российской Федерации согласно переписи населения 2021 года". Archived from the original on 2022-12-30. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
^ "Refworld | Shapsugs Increasingly Important Players in Circassian Struggle with Moscow".
^ "Circassians". Adiga-home.net. 2010. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2016. The 12 Circassian tribes: Abadzeh Besleney Bzhedug Yegeruqay Zhaney Kabarday Mamheg Natuhay Temirgoy Ubyh Shapsug Hatukay. The twelve stars on the Adyghe Flag also refers to the twelve tribes.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-10-02. Retrieved 2015-09-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Official Website of Amman
^ "Corpus chapsough". Archived from the original on 2010-12-28. Retrieved 2010-10-26. Shapsug Sub-Dialect (French Language)

[RussiaCensus_2-1] Russian Federation Federal State Statistics Service (FSSS) (2010). Всероссийская перепись 2010, Материалы. Табл. 7. Национальный состав населения по субъектам Российской Федерации [All-Russian Census 2010, Materials. Table 7. National Composition of the Populations on the Subjects of the Russian Federation] (Press release) (in Russian). Moscow.

[2] "Национальный состав населения Российской Федерации согласно переписи населения 2021 года". Archived from the original on 2022-12-30. Retrieved 2023-01-05.

[3] "Refworld | Shapsugs Increasingly Important Players in Circassian Struggle with Moscow".

[4] "Circassians". Adiga-home.net. 2010. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2016. The 12 Circassian tribes: Abadzeh Besleney Bzhedug Yegeruqay Zhaney Kabarday Mamheg Natuhay Temirgoy Ubyh Shapsug Hatukay. The twelve stars on the Adyghe Flag also refers to the twelve tribes.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

[5] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-10-02. Retrieved 2015-09-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Official Website of Amman

[6] "Corpus chapsough". Archived from the original on 2010-12-28. Retrieved 2010-10-26. Shapsug Sub-Dialect (French Language)

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