Syria: Adyghe or Circassian soldiers at the time of the French Mandate (c. 1922-1946)

The Adyghe or Adygs (Adyghe: Адыгэ or Adǝgă, Arabic: شركس/جركس‎, Jarkas/Sharkas, Persian: چرکس‎, Charkas), also often known as Circassians or Cherkess, were a North Caucasian ethnic group who were displaced in the course of the Russian conquest of the Caucasus in the 19th century, especially after the Russian–Circassian War of 1862.

Adyghe people mainly speak Circassian. Predominant religions include Sunni Islam and Russian Orthodox Christianity. There remain about two million speakers of Circassian in Adygea, and Karachay–Cherkessia & Kabrdinia Republic, as well as a number in the Russian Federation outside these republics.

The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization estimates that there are as many as 3.7 million ethnic Circassians in the diaspora outside the Circassian republics, of whom about 2 million live in the Republic of Turkey, 700,000 in the Russian Federation, about 150,000 in the Middle East, and about 50,000 in western countries (Europe and USA).

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