In the 19th century the Caucasian War had taken place. This war began due to the fact that Russia wanted to expand its land holdings and wanted to annex Caucasus as part of Russia. The war lasted from 1817–1864 with Russia emerging victorious. Once Russia had become victorious they expelled the Circassians who did not want to stay under Russian rule from their homeland, those who were expelled were placed on ships bound for the Ottoman Empire as the majority of the population in Caucasus was Muslim. The Russian army rounded up the Circassians from their villages and drove them to the port to await the Ottoman ships. Many Circassians died during the expulsion process or on the Ottoman ships, nearly 30,000 Circassians died in Trabzon, Turkey.
The mountaineers leave the aul, by P.N. Gruzinsky, 1872.
Refugees & War 