Circassians in Romania

Circassians visited and settled in the territory that is now Romania in different periods of time. They are mentioned by many authors.
Circassians and Romanians
Circassians are a distinct ethnic group from the Northern Caucasus. Their traditions, culture and language are different then the Romanian culture and language. However, the presence of the Black Sea as a navigable route and the violent incidents that ravaged Northern Caucasus many times forced many Circassians to leave their homeland and relocate West. Others moved voluntarily.
Some traditions are similar between the two peoples. For example, both Circassians and Romanians are known to be very hospitable with their guests.
History
Late Antiquity
Today, we associate the Alans with the modern Ossetians.
According to the Roman historic Ammianus Marcellinus, under the name of Alans were designated nearly all tribes in the Northern Caucasus. Around the years 400, the Huns forced a significant part of the Alans to move West, to the flatlands of modern Ukraine and then to South-West. The Alans travelled through modern Romania and settled for a small period of time in what is now Bulgaria. The presence of Alans in Romanian territory is proved by the names of some towns and villages (see , ). The probability that Circassians were also within the Alans that left the Caucasus is very high.
Middle Ages
Around the year 1600, some Circassians moved to Romanian territory (Principality of Moldavia) and created one of the noble (boyar) families (Cerchez Family). In the Romanian language, the word Circassian is written Cerchez and is pronounced similar to the equivalent Turkish word.
The Romanian Chronicle of Ion Neculce contains a description of Circassian merchants, in the Romanian province of Moldavia. His chronicle describes a period of 82 years, from 1661 to 1743.
The Circassian Incident
Around the year 1864, 10 000 Circassians forced by the Russians to leave their homeland were settled in Romanian territory by the Ottoman Empire. Soon after that, the biggest part of them were relocated deeper into the Ottoman Empire. The remaining Circassians were supposed to be assimilated by the local population. They left behind their names:
* is a commune in Tulcea County.
*Cerchezu is another commune in ConstanÅ£a County.
*The surname (family name) Cerchez is used by many people in Romania.
Notable Circassians
General Mihail Cristodulo Cerchez is considered to be a Circassian descendent. He accepted the surrender and the sword of Osman Pasha (who was also a Circassian), commander of the Turkish forces in the 1877 war. Today, he is a national hero of Romania. A huge room in Cotroceni Palace was named with his name.
Current situation
In the 2002 Census, two persons declared to be Circassians: one in - and one in Piatra Olt - Olt County. They both declared Romanian to be their mother language.

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