The Circassians are poor, and their daughters are beautiful, and indeed it is in them they chiefly trade. The legend of Circassian women in the western world was enhanced in 1734, when, in his Letters on the English, Voltaire alludes to the beauty of Circassian women: Literary allusions Inspection of New Arrivals, painted by Giulio Rosati (1858–1917). There were also several classical Turkish music pieces and poems that praise the beauty of the Circassian ethnic group like "Lepiska Saçlı Çerkes" (Straight, flaxen-haired Circassian "lepiska" refers to long blonde hair which is straight, as if flatironed.). It may have been a reference to the Circassian fur hat, rather than the hair. It is not clear why Barnum chose this hairstyle. This hair style was a sort of exhibit's trademark and was achieved by washing the hair of women in beer, drying it and then teasing it. They wore a distinctive curly, big hair style, which had no precedent in earlier portrayals of Circassians, but which was soon copied by other female performers in the United States, who became known as "moss-haired girls". Barnum exhibited women who he claimed were Circassian beauties. After 1854, almost all Ottoman harem concubines were of Circassian origin the Circassians had been expelled from Russian lands in the 1860s and the impoverished refugee parents sold their daughters in a trade that was formally banned, but tolerated. The "golden age" of the Circassian beauty may be considered to be between the 1770s, when the Russian Empire seized the Crimean Khanate and cut off their slave trade, which increased the demand for Circassian women in Near Eastern harems and the 1860s, when the Russians massacred thousands of Circassians and conquered Circassia. İkbals (honoured lady consorts) of Circassian descent were also numerous, most notable of them being Cevherriz II, Ceylanyar II, Dilfirib I, Nalanıdil III, and Nergis IV in addition to Gözdes (favourite lady consorts), including Dürdane I, Hüsnicenan III, Safderun IV, amongst others. Most wives and mothers of several Ottoman Sultans were ethnic Circassians, including Perestü Valide Sultan, Şevkefza Valide Sultan, Tirimüjgan Valide Sultan, Nükhetseza Başhanımefendi, Şemsiruhsar Hatun, Saçbağlı Sultan, Hümaşah Haseki Sultan, Hatice Muazzez Haseki Sultan, Ayşe Haseki Sultan, Bedrifelek I, Bidar II, Kamures I, Servetseza I, Bezmara VI, Düzdidil III, Hayranıdil II, Meyliservet IV, Mihrengiz II, Neşerek III, Nurefsun II, Reftaridil II, Şayan III, amongst many others. Cosmetic products were advertised, from the 18th century on, using the word "Circassian" in the title, or claiming that the product was based on substances used by the women of Circassia. Īs a result of this reputation, in Europe and America Circassians were often characterised as ideals of feminine beauty in poetry and art. During the Ottoman Empire and Persian Safavid and Qajar dynasties, Circassian women living as slaves in the Sultan's Imperial Harem and Shah's harems started to build their reputation as extremely beautiful, which then became a common trope in Western Orientalism. There are folk songs in various languages all around the Middle East and Balkans describing the unusual beauty of Circassian women, a trend popularised after the Circassian genocide, although the reputation of Circassian women dates back to the Late Middle Ages when the Circassian coast was frequented by traders from Genoa, and the founder of the Medici dynasty, Cosimo de' Medici, had an illegitimate son from a Circassian slave. A smaller but similar literature also exists for Circassian men, who were thought to be especially handsome. A fairly extensive literary history suggests that Circassian women were thought to be unusually beautiful and attractive, spirited, smart and elegant, and as such were desirable (although most Circassians traditionally refused to marry non-Circassians in accordance with Adyghe Xabze). Circassian beauty is a stereotype and a belief referring to the Circassian people.
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