The concept of Circassian beauty is an ethnic stereotype of the Circassian people. A fairly extensive literary history suggests that Circassian women were thought to be unusually attractive, spirited, smart, and elegant. Therefore, they were seen as mentally and physically desirable for men, although most Circassians traditionally refused to marry non-Circassians in accordance with Adyghe Xabze. A smaller but similar literary history also exists for Circassian men, who were thought to be especially handsome.
There are folk songs in various languages all around the Middle East and the Balkans describing the unusual beauty of Circassian women. This trend popularised greatly after the Circassian genocide , although the reputation of Circassian women dates back to the Late Middle Ages , when the Circassian coast was frequented by Italian traders from Genoa. This reputation was further reinforced by the Italian banker and politician Cosimo de' Medici the founder of the Medici dynasty in the Republic of Florence , who conceived an illegitimate son with his Venice -based Circassian slave Maddalena.
Additionally, the Circassian women who lived as slaves in the Ottoman harem , the Safavid harem , and the Qajar harem also developed a reputation as extremely beautiful, which then became a common trope of Orientalism throughout the Western world.
As a result of this reputation, Circassians in Europe and Northern America were often characterised as ideals of feminine beauty in poetry and art. Consequently, from the 18th century onward, cosmetic products were often advertised by using the word "Circassian" in the title or by claiming that the product was based on substances used by women in Circassia. It is likely that many other concubines , whose origin is not recorded, were also of Circassian ethnicity.
The "golden age" of Circassian beauty may be considered to be between the s, when the Russian Empire seized the Crimean Khanate and cut off the Black Sea slave trade , which increased the demand for Circassian women in Muslim harems; and the s, when the Russian Empire perpetrated the Circassian genocide and destroyed the Circassians' ancestral homeland during the Russo-Circassian War , creating the modern-day Circassian diaspora. After , almost all concubines in the Ottoman harem were of Circassian origin; the Circassians had been expelled from Russian-controlled lands in the s, and the impoverished refugee parents sold their daughters in a trade that was tolerated despite being formally banned.
