Abkhazians,
Abkhaz people and
the Abkhaz or (
Abkhaz: ,
Apswa; ,
ap'khazebi) are a
Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in
Abkhazia, a disputed region on the
Black Sea coast. A large Abkhaz
diaspora population resides in Turkey, the origins of which lie in the emigration from the Caucasus in the late 19th century known as
muhajirism. Many Abkhaz also live in other parts of the former
Soviet Union, particularly in Russia and Ukraine.