Abaza family
The Abaza Family (Abaza language: абаза, Arabic: الأسرة الأباظية, عائلة أباظة, or آل أباظة, Egyptian Arabic: عيلة أباظة, Coptic: ⲁⲃⲁⲍⲁ, aliases: the House of Abaza, البيت الأباظي) is an Egyptian aristocratic family of maternal Abazin Circassian origin.
| Abaza Family (Arabic: عائلة أباظة) абаза | |
|---|---|
| Noble family | |
| Country | Egypt |
| Etymology | Abaza people and Abaza language |
| Place of origin | Abazinia, or Karachay-Cherkessia, Abkhazia (maternal) and Egypt (paternal) |
| Founded | c.1700-1750 |
| Founder | Abaza (ethnonym of matriarch), Sheikh of the Arabs Hassan Abaza (modern founding father) |
| Historic seat | Sharqia and Nile Delta |
| Titles | Pasha, Bek or Bey, Hanim, Hanum or Khanum, Effendi, Sheikh of the Arabs, Sheikh, Bash Muawin, Nizar Qism, other noble and governmental titles |
| Style(s) | Sahib-ul-Ma'ali or Sahibat-ul-Ma'ali. Sahib-ul-Sa'ada or Sahibat-ul-Sa'ada. Other styles. |
| Connected families | al-Ayedi العايدي or al-Ayed العائد |
| Distinctions | Had the most nobles in Egypt outside the former Royal Court with substantial influence on Egyptian culture, Arabic literature, and the politics and history of Egypt. The largest Circassian clan in Egypt, the sole Abazin presence, and the largest family in Sharqia. |
| Estate(s) | Ezbet Abaza, Ezbet Ahmed Pasha Abaza, Ezbet Ateya Abaza, Ezbet Desouky Abaza, Ezbet Boghdady Abaza, Izbat al Abaziyyah, Ezbet Ismail Abaza, other villages in Sharqia (main historical stronghold), villages in Beheira, Dakahlia, and Kafr Abaza, Minya al-Qamh, Teleen, and Amreet. Other villages and 'ezbas' in Nile Delta. |
"Deeply rooted in Egyptian society... [and] in the history of the country", it has had an influence from the late 18th century to modern times.
It is known for producing literary and cultural figures, nobles, officials, technocrats, governors, and politicians under the Muhammad Ali dynasty in the 19th and early 20th century and during the republican period in the 20th and 21st centuries.
They are sometimes referred to as "the family of the pashas" for having produced Egypt's largest number of nobles.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, it became a household name in Egypt and the Arab world.
The family's impact on Egyptian and Arabic culture, literature, academia, and art has been substantial. Their contributions were through the works of authors, journalists, and activists Ismail Pasha Abaza and Fekry Pasha Abaza, author Desouky Bey Abaza, poet Aziz Pasha Abaza, novelist Tharwat Abaza, sociologist Mona Abaza, actors Rushdy Abaza, Momtaz Abaza, Ahmed Abaza, and Ingy Abaza, directors Othman Abaza and Taher Abaza, among others.
Although widely celebrated for its cultural, intellectual, and historical contributions, on occasion the family has been criticized for "monopolizing" several parliamentary districts since the 19th century "reign of Muhammad Ali".
They are thought to number in the many thousands, with sources varying in their estimates. However, these numbers are thought to be highly unreliable as no local censuses of Circassian communities exist due to a general "lack in demographic data on minorities in Egypt".