The Circassians (; ), also known by their endonym Adyghe (Circassian languages: Адыгэхэр, "Adıgəxər" , "Adygi"; ), are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group native to Circassia, some of whom migrated to the Levant areas in exile after the Russo-Circassian War which spanned 101 years in the 19th century. The Circassians used to mainly speak the Circassian languages, a Northwest Caucasian dialect continuum with two main dialects and numerous sub-dialects, however the Circassian language has been forgotten over the years and today most Circassians speak Turkish, Russian, English, Arabic and Hebrew, having been exiled by Russia to lands of the Ottoman Empire, where the majority of them live today. The majority of Circassians are Muslim.