Why did Circassian Muslims settle in the Ottoman Balkans after the Crimean War?

The migration of Circassian Muslims to the Ottoman Empire was not a direct result of the Crimean War, but rather the consequence of a long-standing and brutal campaign of conquest by the Russian Empire in the Caucasus region.12

Following decades of fierce resistance against Russian expansion, the Circassian people faced a systematic campaign of forced displacement. By 1860, the Russian government began forcibly resettling Circassians to the Kuban River valley. Rather than submit to Russian rule, approximately 400,000 Circassians chose exile, emigrating to Ottoman territories between 1860 and 1864. This mass exodus left their homeland in the Western Caucasus largely empty and desolated. Many of these refugees suffered from starvation and disease during their journey, and they were subsequently settled by the Ottoman authorities in various parts of the empire, including the Balkans.12