This volume of the "Peoples and Cultures" series presents a historical and ethnological description of the Adyghe (Circassians), the oldest indigenous people of the North Caucasus. Adyghe is the indigenous self-designation of the people, while Circassians is an exoethnonym used by other peoples to refer to the Adyghe. Abroad, the exoethnonym Cherkes is more common, so depending on the historical context, both ethnonyms are interchangeable. In the national-state entities of the Russian Federation, the following official terms have been assigned to the modern Adyghe: Adygeytsy in the Republic of Adygea, Kabardintsy in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Circassians in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, and Shapsugs in the Lazarevsky and Tuapse districts of Krasnodar Krai. At the same time, the historical legacy of division into territorial groups persists, according to which the Adyghe include the Abadzekhs, Besleneys, Bzhedugs, Kabardins, Kemirgoys, Natu-Khays, Shapsugs, and Ubykhs. Regardless of their region of residence, they all consider themselves a single people with a common origin and ethnic culture.

The Adyghe and Kabardino-Circassian languages, along with Abkhaz, Abaza, and Ubykh, form a single Abkhaz-Adyghe group of the Caucasian language family. The Adyghe are an indigenous people of the Caucasus. Their material and spiritual culture evolved over millennia in the Northwest and Central Caucasus, intertwined with and, in some cases, defining key stages in the historical and cultural development of the Caucasus macroregion. Adyghe ethnic culture has ancient roots, some archaic elements of which persist to this day.

In ancient times, the Middle Ages, and the modern era, the Adyghe created a number of political entities that maintained relations with many European and Asian states and participated in the political life of neighboring regions. Situated at the crossroads of global cultures and communications, the Adyghe were regularly subjected to devastating invasions by conquerors. Despite this, they managed to preserve the foundations of their distinctive culture and, through interaction with other peoples, ensure its continued development to this day.