Happy Circassian 🍀 Flag Day Everyone!
Today is celebrated annually on April the 25th to honour the national symbol of our Circassian (Adyghe 🍀) people, symbolising unity, identity, and the preservation of culture across the global diaspora. The day marks the 1830s origins of the green and gold flag, which represents freedom, the unity of the twelve tribes, and a commitment to preserving their heritage.
It always connects our Circassian 🍀 communities and societies across dozens of countries, preserving shared roots and values.
The flag was first used in 1836 to signify Circassian 🍀 independence and resistance, a legacy celebrated for over a century.
The day involves festive parades, traditional Circassian 🍀 and North Caucasian 🍀 dances (Adyghe dzhegu), and cultural performances, particularly in the North Caucasus 🍀 (Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia) and in diaspora communities in Turkey 🇹🇷, Syria 🇸🇾, Jordan 🇯🇴, Europe 🇪🇺 and Israel. 🇮🇱
The green color represents the Circassian 🍀 and North Caucasian 🍀 landscape (greenery) and mother nature and the twelve (12) gold stars ⭐️ symbolise the twelve principal tribes, and the three crossed arrows 🏹🏹🏹 represent peace, unity and freedom.
The flag was officially adopted by the Republic of Adygea 🍀 on April the 29th, in the year 1996, though it has been used as a national symbol since the 19th century.
While specifically a national symbol for the Circassian (Adyghe) people, Circassian Flag Day is deeply intertwined with the broader history and geography of the North Caucasus.
The flag’s legacy as a symbol of resistance against 19th-century expansionism and its current role in regional identity make it a focal point for North Caucasian 🍀 solidarity.
Originally adopted in 1836 during the Russo-Circassian War, the flag became a unifying banner for various tribes in the North Caucasus fighting for independence. It is often viewed as a "Holy Banner" (Sanjak-Sherif) of the region's long struggle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Circassian_War
While the 12 stars specifically represent Circassian tribes, the flag has historically inspired or been associated with broader North Caucasian movements. For instance, a separate historical flag for the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus (1917–1922) also used stars (seven) to represent the diverse ethnic groups of the entire region, including Chechens, Ingush, and Dagestanis.
Celebrations often include neighboring groups. For example, in Abkhazia, the Circassian flag is treated with high honor and is frequently flown alongside the Abkhazian flag during joint cultural events and commemorations.
Today, the day serves not just as an ethnic holiday, but as a rallying point for the preservation of North Caucasian 🍀 languages and cultures that were impacted by historical exile and modern assimilation.
The Circassian 🍀 flag holds unique historical importance for the British 🇬🇧 because it was largely popularised and, according to historical accounts, designed by a Scotsman 🏴🇬🇧, the diplomat and writer David Urquhart. While serving as a diplomat in Constantinople, Urquhart 🏴🇬🇧 became a fierce advocate for Circassian 🍀 independence. In 1834, he visited the region and reportedly designed the green and gold flag to provide the tribes with a unifying national symbol.
Our Circassian 🍀 flag became a significant symbol of British 🇬🇧 defiance against the Tsar Empire following the 1836 seizure of the British 🇬🇧 merchant ship Vixen. This event nearly triggered a war between Britain 🇬🇧 and the Tsar Empire and cemented public British 🇬🇧 support for the Circassian 🍀 cause.
For 19th-century British 🇬🇧 liberals, the Circassian 🍀 struggle was seen as a heroic battle for freedom against "despotic" Tsar expansion. Urquhart’s 🏴🇬🇧 Circassian 🍀 Committee in London was instrumental in keeping the "Circassian 🍀 Question" alive in British 🇬🇧 public discourse until the 1860s.
While Urquhart 🏴🇬🇧 claimed authorship, some historians suggest he adapted existing local symbols—specifically from the Kabardian 🍀 coat of arms—in collaboration with Circassian 🍀 nobleman and leaders like Seferbiy Zaneqo.
Today, the flag remains a rare physical link to a period of intense British-Circassian 🇬🇧🍀 diplomatic history. It is often cited in academic circles at institutions like the British Library in London 🏴🇬🇧 as a testament to the influence of British 🇬🇧 travellers and activists in shaping 19th-century national identities.
In 1836, Urquhart 🏴🇬🇧 delivered three copies of a flag (the "Deliberti" or "Liberty" flag) to Circassian tribes. To convince them of British protection, he told them the flags were a direct gift from the British 🇬🇧 King - King William IV himself. 🇬🇧👑
David Urquhart 🏴🇬🇧 - Wikipedia:
https://share.google/ov8QcWeUvbhPqKYyZ
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Urquhart
William IV 🏴🇬🇧👑 - Wikipedia:
https://share.google/oO7tWUQOrJC4EX213
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_IV
In the 19th century, British 🇬🇧🏴🏴🇮🇪 people did raise the Circassian 🍀 flag during political rallies to show solidarity with the Circassian cause. Today, the flag continues to be raised by our Circassian 🍀 diaspora in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 during annual cultural celebrations.
Historically, In cities like London 🏴🇬🇧 and Glasgow 🏴🇬🇧, supporters of the "Circassian 🍀 Question" raised the green and gold banner at public meetings. These events were often organised by the Circassian 🍀 Committee, a group of influential British 🇬🇧 citizens advocating for British 🍀 intervention in the North Caucasus. 🍀
In the past - after the year 1836, seizure of the British 🍀 ship Vixen, our Circassian 🍀 flag was used by the British 🇬🇧 press and public as a symbol of anti-Tsar defiance and a call for "freedom of trade".
In the 1830s, there was a widespread "Circassophilia 🍀" in Britain. 🇬🇧
The public in Britain 🇬🇧 and the West 🇪🇺🇺🇲 were deeply moved by stories of the "heroic mountaineers" fighting Tsarist expansion. During this era of the 19th century, the Circassian 🍀 flag was a common sight at political rallies in London 🏴🇬🇧 and Glasgow 🏴🇬🇧 - strongly demanding the British 🇬🇧 government to provide greater support and aid to our Circassian 🍀 ancestors and homeland.
Our Circassian 🍀 flag is a central part of Circassian 🍀 identity that was "born" from a British 🇬🇧 diplomatic effort, even if the British 🇬🇧 public has since forgotten its role in creating it.
While most modern Britons 🇬🇧 may not know the flag, it represents a "lost" era of British 🇬🇧 history when the struggle for Circassian 🍀 independence was a major national cause.
Our Circassian 🍀 flag brings to the British 🇬🇧 people is rooted in a unique chapter of 19th-century history where British 🇬🇧 liberal values and geopolitical interests merged into a public obsession.
The Circassian 🍀 flag became a "test case" for British 🇬🇧 commitment to defending the rights of oppressed nations. For the Victorian 🇬🇧 public, our Circassian 🍀 ancestors were seen as heroic mountaineers fighting for freedom against Tsars' "despotism," which resonated deeply with the British 🇬🇧 liberal ideals of the time. The British 🇬🇧 public's connection was so strong that Circassian 🍀 leaders even sent a formal petition to Queen Victoria 🇬🇧👑 in 1864, hoping the deep public sympathy in Britain 🇬🇧 would lead to military intervention.
On May the 23rd, year 1838, the British-Scottish 🇬🇧🏴 diplomat David Urquhart 🏴🇬🇧 gave a famous speech in Glasgow 🏴🇬🇧 that cemented the Circassian 🍀 flag’s place in British 🇬🇧 history. Speaking at a banquet held in his honour by the city's commercial leaders, he delivered what became known as the "Flag of Circassia 🍀" speech.
In this address, Urquhart 🏴🇬🇧 officially presented himself as the representative of the Circassian 🍀 cause in Britain 🇬🇧 and made several influential claims;
The Claim of Authorship: Urquhart 🏴🇬🇧 publicly stated that he had conceived and designed the Circassian 🍀 flag himself while on the shores of Circassia 🍀 in 1834. He made the flag a symbol of British 🇬🇧 solidarity.
David Urquhart did, however, addressed the Glasgow 🏴🇬🇧 merchant community specifically, arguing that an independent Circassia 🍀 was vital for British 🇬🇧 commerce and the freedom of the Black Sea. 🍀
The speech was widely reprinted in newspapers and pamphlets, turning the "Circassian 🍀 Question" into a major national topic for decades. David Urquhart' speeches made our Circassian 🍀 flag as being of "British 🇬🇧 design," and it explains the deep, if now historical, connection the British 🍀 people once felt for the cause.
In Western political and academic circles, the flag is increasingly viewed as an emblem for the "Circassian Question"—the ongoing push for international recognition of the 1864 Circassian Genocide.
Human rights organisations in Europe 🇪🇺 and the US 🇺🇲 use the flag during demonstrations to advocate for the right of return for the millions of Circassians 🍀 living in exile.
In Art and Literature - French 🇫🇷⚜️ artists and writers of the Romantic period were fascinated by the North Caucasus. 🍀
Our Circassian 🍀 flag (representing the North Caucasus too) flag appeared in various illustrations and travelogues as a symbol of the "noble struggle" of a people they considered the most beautiful and brave in the world. 🌍🌎🌏
In the 1830s, the "Circassian cause" became a major topic in Britain. British-Scottish 🇬🇧🏴 travellers like James Stanislaus Bell 🏴🇬🇧 hand-delivered copies of the flag to the North Caucasus. 🍀
Rallies were held in cities like London 🏴🇬🇧 and Glasgow 🏴🇬🇧 to support Circassian 🍀 independence, with the flag being a central symbol at these events.
The Circassian 🍀 flag is studied by British 🇬🇧 historians and vexillologists as a unique example of "transnational nationalism" where a British 🇬🇧 individual helped forge the national identity of another people.
For the British 🇬🇧, celebrating Circassian 🍀 Flag Day (April 25th) is about honoring a unique historical partnership that most people have forgotten, but which shaped the identity of an entire nation.
Historically, Circassian leaders looked to Queen Victoria and the British Parliament as their greatest hope for protection. By celebrating Flag Day, the modern community keeps that historical "friendship" alive, reminding the UK 🇬🇧 of its 19th-century moral and political commitments to the North Caucasus. 🍀
Queen Victoria 🏴🇬🇧👑 - Wikipedia:
https://share.google/OVGr5voXDdkh9F6cn
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Victoria
Parliament of the United Kingdom 🏴🇬🇧 - Wikipedia:
https://share.google/efngyzOOlE4S6Ka6S
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom
House of Commons of the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 - Wikipedia:
https://share.google/paepvLPvzib70TRb6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom
Sir Robert Peel was well-aware of the Circassians and their struggle, primarily as a high-stakes diplomatic and political issue during his time as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party.
Sir Robert Peel 🏴🇬🇧, who innovatively created and established the "police" in human history, was well-aware of the Circassians 🍀 and their struggle, primarily as a high-stakes diplomatic and political issue during his time as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party.
For Sir Robert Peel 🏴🇬🇧, the Circassians 🍀 represented a symbol of British 🇬🇧 liberal values.
Sir Robert Peel 🏴🇬🇧 - Wikipedia:
https://share.google/hmyolxl9yyfh0bGQ5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Peel
Essentially, the flag is the "glue" that maintains our Circassian 🍀 identity from fading into history.
