Hytuk

The Hytuk^[1][2] or Adale^[3][4] (Adyghe: Хытыку; Italian and Latin: Geticicode: lat promoted to code: la ; Tatar: Adalecode: tat promoted to code: tt ) was a Circassian tribe centered on the Taman Peninsula which their principality lived during the 14th and 15th centuries.^[1]

The principality represented one of the major Circassian coastal polities of the late medieval Black Sea region and played a pivotal role in the economic and political relations between Circassia, the Genoese colonies, and the Crimean Khanate.^[1][2]

Most of the Hytuks merged with the Natukhaj tribe. During the Circassian genocide, the Natukhaj were almost completely destroyed, leading to the near disappearance of the Hytuk people as well.^[5]

Etymology

The word Hytuk is a Circassian word derived from хы meaning 'sea' and тыку meaning "corner" or "enclosure", forming the meaning "people of the sea" or "islanders". This etymology aligns with the region’s insular geography, often separated by estuaries and lagoons from the mainland Circassian lands.^[1]

Over time, the ethnonym persisted in the Circassian-speaking population of the area. By the 18th century, the Hegayk people, occupying Anapa and the Taman Peninsula, represented the continuation of the medieval Hytuk population. In cartographic tradition, this insular connotation is also reflected in Guillaume Delisle’s early 18th-century maps, which include the name Pays de Ladda (Land of Ladda), likely derived from the Turkish ada (island).^[1]

The Circassian term Hytuk, meaning "islanders," have been rendered into Turkic-Tatar as adale, derived from the word ada meaning "island".^[1]

History

By the 14th and 15th centuries, the Hytuk Principality had emerged as one of the most significant feudal powers of Circassia (Zichia). Its capital city Matrega functioned as the main port, trade, and ecclesiastical center of Zichia, hosting the Archbishop of the Circassians. The principality’s strategic location allowed it to dominate trade routes connecting the Genoese colony of Caffa (modern-day Feodosia) and the northern Black Sea littoral.^[1]

The Hytuk rulers were recognized in Italian sources as independent princes (domini Gethiticorum). In 1446, Caffa officials sought mediation from "Usdemoroch, Lord of the Getici" (Usdemoroch dominus Gethiticorum) in a territorial dispute with the Crimean Khan, demonstrating the principality’s high diplomatic status.^[1] Usdemoroch might be a variant form of Ozdemiroqu, meaning the son of Ozdemir.

The Ghisolfi family, a wealthy Genoese dynasty, established close ties with the Circassian ruling houses of Hytuk. In 1419, Viccenty de Ghisolfi settled in Matrega as the son-in-law and vassal of the local Circassian prince. His descendants, most notably Zaccaria de Ghisolfi, continued to govern Matrega and act as intermediaries between Genoa and the Circassian nobility.^[1]

Zaccaria de Ghisolfi referred to his grandfather Simon’s allegiance to Prince Djambek, whose dynastycomprising Djambek, his son Kostomok, and grandson Kadibeld ruled Matrega and possibly the entire Taman Peninsula. Despite nominal Genoese oversight, Zaccaria’s correspondence reveals that his authority ultimately relied on Circassian military support, allowing him to act independently of Caffa and even defy the Crimean Khan.^[1]

In 1472, Genoese records noted Zaccaria’s inability to detain debtors due to the "proximity of the lords and people of the Getici" (propter vicinitatem dominorum et populorum geticorum), illustrating that both the Hytuk princes and their populace wielded considerable collective power and autonomy.^[1]

The Hytuk Principality was part of a broader network of Circassian feudal entities, including Copa and Kremuk. These domains maintained mutual political and economic interests. The Copa (or Kopa) region, near modern Slavyansk-na-Kubani, and Kremuk collaborated with Hytuk in trade agreements and military alliances.^[1]

In 1467, a Genoese aristocrat proposed assembling a military force on the Taman Peninsula, which at that time was part of the Hytuk Principality, to support Nur Devlet against his brother Mengli Giray. This plan shows that Hytuk was indirectly involved in the political affairs of Crimea. Its control over Matrega gave it significant influence in regional power struggles, making it both a Circassian stronghold and a maritime hub on the Genoese–Circassian frontier.^[1][2]

The fall of Matrega in 12 August 1482 marked the end of the Hytuk Principality’s political independence. When the fortress was taken by the Ottomans, Genoese authority in the region also disappeared, but the local Circassian princes (Djambek dynasty) remained powerful. Zaccaria de Ghisolfi’s letters show that these princes, called the "signori gotici" continued to control parts of Taman and demanded payments to stay allied. In the following centuries, the Hytuk population survived under new rulers and their descendants was a part of the Khegayk people maintained the social and territorial traditions from the Hytuk Principality.^[1]

During the Russo-Circassian War, the remaining Hytuk tribespeople were living among the Natukhajs in small numbers. During the Circassian genocide, as the Natukhaj were exterminated, most of those survivors were killed. A small portion of them fled to Turkey, where they were assimilated into Turks or other tribes.^[6]

Geography

The Hytuk people inhabited the Taman Peninsula between the Azov and Black Seas, including coastal towns like Matrega. Their location offered access to major sea and land trade routes connecting Circassia, Crimea, and the Caucasus, making the region one of the most prosperous areas of medieval Circassia.^[2]

Mentions

In 1773, German explorer Johann Anton Güldenstädt reported about the Hytuk.^[7] After the end of the Russo-Circassian War in 1871, Russian historian and academician Lieutenant General N.F. Dubrovin wrote:^[8]

" ... Among the Natukhaj people lived three other Adyghe tribes, who were destroyed and merged: Chebsin, Khegayk, and Hytuk or Adale, who lived on the Taman peninsula, and now scattered in different places among the Natukhaj people ..."