Ep. 3 — Mapping a Nation: The Circassian Tribes from the Middle Ages to 1864

Shapsugh. Abzakh. Natukhai. Bjedugh. Temirgoy. Ubykh. Kabarday. This episode is the full atlas of the Circassian nation: every major tribe, the river valley it held, and the story behind its name. We work through the accounts of the travellers who mapped them, including Güldenstädt, Pallas, Klaproth and Bell, along with the errors they made and why those errors still matter. We unpack the great Kabardian split of 1759 between Greater and Lesser Kabarda, the position of the Ubykh as the bridge between Adyghe and Abkhaz, and the tribes who carried the heaviest weight in the final years of the war with the Russian Empire. If you have ever wondered how one nation carried so many names, this is the map.Support the show