Relations between Circassians who migrated to Anatolia after the 1877-1878 Ottoman-Russian war with native elements

Relations between Circassians who migrated to Anatolia after the 1877-1878 Ottoman-Russian War with Native Elements The 1877-1878 Ottoman-Russian War is one of the most important developments that led to the narrowing of the Ottoman Empire's dominance in European territory. While the Ottoman Empire lost much of its territory in the Balkans and Eastern Anatolia, it was dragged towards a social transformation by attracting the Turkish and Muslim people living in these lands to its inner lands. What happened before and after the 93 War led to the emergence of the national-state consciousness, which was one of the popular political transformations of the period, and a transformation that the Ottomans had to accept. The waves of migration from the Caucasus and the Balkans to Anatolia with the 93 War not only provided resources for the Ottoman Empire's struggles not to disappear in the near future, but also prepared the foundations of the Anatolian geography while it was transforming into Turkey. The 93 War coincided with the desire of the European States to expel the Turks from the European lands and the expansion policies of the Russians. Therefore, as a result of the war, millions of Turkish and Muslim elements left their homeland, while hundreds of thousands of them lost their lives from massacres during the war, from epidemics and from conflicts in the regions where they were settled. During the 93 War, many Muslim ethnic elements, especially Turks, were affected in the struggle to defend the homeland directly against the Russians and indirectly against European states. Among these elements, the Circassians who were exiled to the Ottoman territory from within or outside the borders of the Ottoman State were exiled for the second time in the same century. In addition to the difficulties experienced by the Circassians during migration, being placed in a different climate outside their homeland also required a long adaptation period. The efforts of the Circassians to impose themselves on the local elements in the regions where they were settled in the process of integration brought along a series of problems. The increase in the population of Turkish and Muslim elements with Circassian immigrants in the Southern Anatolian Region upset the non-Muslim elements living in the region and made it difficult for the Circassians to be accepted into the region. Analysis of the relations between Circassian immigrants and local elements during the period of migration and settlement will contribute to the understanding of the new social structure. Keywords: 93 War, Circassian, migration, settlement, local elements, adaptation