Examine individual changes

'{{Short description|Ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia}} {{Redirect-distinguish|Syriac people|Syrians}} {{pp-semi-indef}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}} {{Infobox ethnic group | group = Assyrians | image = Assyrian_world_population.png | image_caption = World distribution of the Assyrian diaspora | population = '''3.3'''–'''5+ million'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/49749c9837.html|title=Refworld – World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – Turkey: Syriacs|author=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|work=Refworld|access-date=6 June 2015|archive-date=3 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503103556/https://www.refworld.org/docid/49749c9837.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Baumer|2006|p=}}{{sfn|Murre van den Berg|2011|p=2304}}<ref name="Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization: yearbook">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rWB3Bv3vuyMC&q=total+assyrian+population&pg=PA43|title=Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization: yearbook|isbn=978-90-411-0223-2|last1=Simmons|first1=Mary Kate|year=1998|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers }}</ref><ref>[[SIL Ethnologue]] [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=aii estimate for the "ethnic population" associated with Neo-Aramaic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102101200/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=aii |date=2 January 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/assyrians-return-to-turkey-from-europe-to-save-their-culture-10131|title=Assyrians return to Turkey from Europe to save their culture|access-date=15 September 2017|archive-date=11 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111212816/https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/assyrians-return-to-turkey-from-europe-to-save-their-culture-10131|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/assyrians-3000-years-history-yet-internet-our-only-home|title=Assyrians: "3,000 Years of History, Yet the Internet is Our Only Home"|website=www.culturalsurvival.org|date=25 March 2010 |access-date=11 May 2023|archive-date=20 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170120023442/https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/assyrians-3000-years-history-yet-internet-our-only-home|url-status=live}}</ref> | region1 = '''[[Assyrian homeland]]''': | pop1 = Numbers can vary | region2 = Iraq | pop2 = 200.000+<ref><nowiki>{{cite web |title= ”التمثيل السياسي المسيحي في العراق | #السطر الأول مع د. زيد عبد الوهاب” |url= http://youtu.be/FNwKOMqTT8w?si=M-tQEb7hIvNmnCVD</nowiki> | ref2 = <ref name="Youtube.com"><nowiki>{{cite web|url= https://youtu.be/FNwKOMqTT8w?si=M-tQEb7hIvNmnCVD</nowiki> | region3 = Syria | pop3 = 200,000–877,000 (pre-[[Syrian civil war]]) | ref3 = <ref name="al-monitor.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2014/04/syria-assyrians-threat-crisis.html|title=Syria's Assyrians threatened by extremists – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=18 February 2015|date=2014-04-28|archive-date=15 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115080459/https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2014/04/syria-assyrians-threat-crisis.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>"Prior to the start of the war in Syria, it is estimated that the country was home to approximately 200,000 ethnic Assyrians" [https://www.assyrianpolicy.org/syria Syria: Assyrian Policy Institute] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031045323/https://www.assyrianpolicy.org/syria |date=31 October 2020 }}</ref><ref>"The Assyrian population in Iraq, estimated at approximately 200,000, constitutes the largest remaining concentration of the ethnic group in the Middle East." [http://www.assyrianpolicy.org/ Assyrian Policy Institute's Erasing the Legacy of the Khabour: Destruction of Assyrian Cultural Heritage in the Khabour Region of Syria] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028235049/https://www.assyrianpolicy.org/ |date=28 October 2020 }}</ref><ref name="Today's Zaman">[https://web.archive.org/web/20110812191457/http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?load=detay&link=140085 Turkey-Syria deal allows Syriacs to cross border for religious holidays] "An estimated 25,000 Syriacs live in Turkey, while Syria boasts some 877,000."</ref> | region4 = Turkey | pop4 = 25,000 | ref4 = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-report-on-international-religious-freedom/turkey/|title=2018 U.S. Department of State International Religious Freedom Report: Turkey|access-date=11 May 2023|archive-date=25 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425223904/https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-report-on-international-religious-freedom/turkey/|url-status=live}}</ref> | region5 = Iran | pop5 = 7,000–17,000 | ref5 = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-report-on-international-religious-freedom/iran/|title=2018 U.S. Department of State International Religious Freedom Report: Iran|access-date=11 May 2023|archive-date=18 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218105556/https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-report-on-international-religious-freedom/iran/|url-status=live}}</ref> | region6 = '''[[Assyrian diaspora]]''': | pop6 = Numbers can vary | region7 = United States | pop7 = 600,000 | ref7 = <ref>{{cite web |title=Assyrian Genocide Resolution Read in Arizona Assembly |url=http://www.aina.org/news/20200303173214.htm |website=www.aina.org |access-date=27 April 2020 |archive-date=7 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200307143628/http://www.aina.org/news/20200303173214.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Arizona HCR2006 – TrackBill |url=https://trackbill.com/bill/arizona-house-concurrent-resolution-2006-assyrian-genocide-remembrance-day/1796482/ |website=trackbill.com |language=en |access-date=27 April 2020 |archive-date=23 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723223202/https://trackbill.com/bill/arizona-house-concurrent-resolution-2006-assyrian-genocide-remembrance-day/1796482/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=HCR2006 – 542R – I Ver |url=https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/54leg/2r/bills/hcr2006p.htm |website=www.azleg.gov |access-date=27 April 2020 |archive-date=4 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304010431/https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/54leg/2r/bills/hcr2006p.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> | region8 = Sweden | pop8 = 150,000 | ref8 = <ref>{{cite news |last1=Nyheter |first1=SVT |title=Statministerns folkmordsbesked kan avgöra kommunvalet: "Underskatta inte frågan" |url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/sodertalje/statministerns-folkmordsbesked-kan-avgora-kommunvalet-underskatta-inte-fragan |website=SVT Nyheter |language=sv |date=9 May 2018 |access-date=11 May 2018 |archive-date=9 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509042416/https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/sodertalje/statministerns-folkmordsbesked-kan-avgora-kommunvalet-underskatta-inte-fragan |url-status=live }}</ref> | region9 = Germany | pop9 = 70,000–100,000 | ref9 = <ref name="Borken">[https://web.archive.org/web/20111008014028/http://www.borkenerzeitung.de/lokales/kreis_borken/borken/1561426_Diskussion_zum_Thema_Aaramaeische_Christen_im_Kapitelshaus.html "Diskussion zum Thema 'Aaramäische Christen' im Kapitelshaus"] Borkener Zeitung {{in lang|de}} (archived link, 8 October 2011)</ref><ref name="remid">70,000 Syriac Christians according to [http://www.remid.de/remid_info_zahlen.htm REMID] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625100533/http://www.remid.de/remid_info_zahlen.htm |date=25 June 2008 }} (of which 55,000 [[Syriac Orthodox]]).</ref> | region10 = Jordan | pop10 = 30,000–150,000 | ref10 = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.christianheadlines.com/news/assyrian-and-chaldean-christians-flee-iraq-to-neighboring-jordan-11542438.html|title=Assyrian and Chaldean Christians Flee Iraq to Neighboring Jordan|website=ChristianHeadlines.com|access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aina.org/brief.html|title=Brief History of Assyrians|website=www.aina.org|access-date=11 May 2023|archive-date=17 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017014421/http://www.aina.org/brief.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | region11 = Australia | pop11 = 61,000 (2020 est.) | ref11 = <ref>{{cite web |title= 2071.0 – Census of Population and Housing: Reflecting Australia – Stories from the Census, 2016|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0~2016~Main%20Features~Cultural%20Diversity%20Article~20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709233002/http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0~2016~Main%20Features~Cultural%20Diversity%20Article~20|archive-date=2017-07-09}}</ref> | region12 = Lebanon | pop12 = 50,000 | ref12 = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.assyrianpolicy.org/lebanon|title=Lebanon &#124; Assyrian Policy Institute|website=Assyrian Policy|access-date=11 May 2023|archive-date=16 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016141119/https://www.assyrianpolicy.org/lebanon|url-status=live}}</ref> | region13 = Netherlands | pop13 = 25,000–35,000 | ref13 = <ref>{{cite web |last=Miri |first=Adhid |title=Chaldeans in Europe Part V |url=https://www.chaldeannews.com/chaldeans-around-the-world/2021/1/27/chaldeans-in-europe-part-v |website=Chaldean News |access-date=14 December 2022 |date=January 27, 2021 |archive-date=14 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214025802/https://www.chaldeannews.com/chaldeans-around-the-world/2021/1/27/chaldeans-in-europe-part-v |url-status=live }}</ref> | region14 = Canada | pop14 = 19,685 | ref14 = <ref>{{cite web|title=Canada Census Profile 2021|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A000011124&HEADERlist=31&SearchText=Canada|website=Census Profile, 2021 Census|date=7 May 2021|publisher=Statistics Canada Statistique Canada|access-date=3 January 2023|archive-date=3 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103201320/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A000011124&HEADERlist=31&SearchText=Canada|url-status=live}}</ref> | region15 = France | pop15 = 16,000 | ref15 = <ref name=Wieviorka166>{{Harvnb|Wieviorka|Bataille|2007|pp=166}}</ref> | region16 = Greece | pop16 = 6,000 | ref16 = <ref name=AthensNews>{{cite news|last=Tzilivakis|first=Kathy|title=Iraq's Forgotten Christians Face Exclusion in Greece|url=http://www.atour.com/news/international/20030623a.html|access-date=7 April 2012|newspaper=Athens News|date=10 May 2003|archive-date=30 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330043953/http://www.atour.com/news/international/20030623a.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | region17 = Austria | pop17 = 2,500–5,000 | ref17 = <ref>{{cite web |title=Assyrische Bevölkerung weltweit |url=https://bethnahrin.de/assyrer/assyrische-bevoelkerung-weltweit/ |website=bethnahrin |access-date=24 June 2019 |archive-date=16 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016141121/https://bethnahrin.de/assyrer/assyrische-bevoelkerung-weltweit/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Özkan |first1=Duygu |title=Die christlichen Assyrer zu Wien |url=https://diepresse.com/home/panorama/religion/745254/Die-christlichen-Assyrer-zu-Wien |website=DiePresse |date=31 March 2012 |access-date=24 June 2019 |archive-date=24 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624063417/https://diepresse.com/home/panorama/religion/745254/Die-christlichen-Assyrer-zu-Wien |url-status=live }}</ref> | region18 = Russia | pop18 = 4,421 | ref18 = <ref>{{cite web|title=Оценка численности постоянного населения по субъектам Российской Федерации|url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/tab-5_VPN-2020.xlsx|publisher=[[Federal State Statistics Service (Russia)|Federal State Statistics Service]]|access-date=31 August 2024}}</ref> | region19 = United Kingdom | pop19 = 3,000–4,000 | ref19 = <ref>"This figure is an estimate from the Assyrian Cultural and Advice Centre" [https://www.anthro.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/anthro/documents/media/jaso26_3_1995_241_255.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101120842/https://www.anthro.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/anthro/documents/media/jaso26_3_1995_241_255.pdf |date=1 November 2020 }} at [https://www.anthro.ox.ac.uk/ Iraqi Assyrians in London: Beyond the 'Immigrant/Refugee' Divide; Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford, 1995] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028194953/https://www.anthro.ox.ac.uk/ |date=28 October 2020 }}</ref> | region20 = Georgia | pop20 = 3,299 | ref20 = <ref>"According to the 1989 population census, there were 5,200 Assyrians in Georgia (0.1 percent); according to the 2002 census, their number dropped to 3,299, while their percentage remained the same" [http://www.syriacstudies.com/AFSS/Syriac_Articles_in_English/Entries/2010/1/13_THE_ASSYRIANS_OF_GEORGIA__ETHNIC_SPECIFICS_SHOULD_BE_PRESERVED_Mamuka_KOMAKHIA.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025203901/http://www.syriacstudies.com/AFSS/Syriac_Articles_in_English/Entries/2010/1/13_THE_ASSYRIANS_OF_GEORGIA__ETHNIC_SPECIFICS_SHOULD_BE_PRESERVED_Mamuka_KOMAKHIA.html |date=2021-10-25 }} [The Assyrians of Georgia: Ethnic Specifics Should Be Preserved in the Journal of Central Asia and the Caucasus]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecoi.net/189322::georgia/324351.316658.8309...lk.566738/others.htm|title=Georgia – ecoi.net – European Country of Origin Information Network|access-date=18 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105030638/http://www.ecoi.net/189322::georgia/324351.316658.8309...lk.566738/others.htm|archive-date=2014-11-05}}</ref> | region21 = Palestine | pop21 = 1,500–5,000 | ref21 = <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://bethbc.edu/blog/2017/03/28/syriacs-still-going-strong |title=Syriacs still going strong – Syriacs in Palestine |date=28 March 2017 |access-date=7 November 2022 |archive-date=7 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221107232112/https://bethbc.edu/blog/2017/03/28/syriacs-still-going-strong/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Shams |first1=Alex |title=Learning the language of Jesus Christ |url=https://roadsandkingdoms.com/2015/learning-the-language-of-jesus-christ/ |website=Roads & Kingdoms |date=2 November 2015 |access-date=23 July 2019 |archive-date=23 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723015144/https://roadsandkingdoms.com/2015/learning-the-language-of-jesus-christ/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | region22 = Ukraine | pop22 = 3,143 | ref22 = <ref>[http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/results/nationality_population/nationality_popul1/ State statistics committee of Ukraine – National composition of population, 2001 census] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024043444/http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/results/nationality_population/nationality_popul1/ |date=24 October 2019 }} (Ukrainian)</ref> | region23 = Italy | pop23 = 3,000 | ref23 = <ref>{{Cite web |title=Brief History of Assyrians |url=http://www.aina.org/brief.html |access-date=2023-10-11 |website=www.aina.org}}</ref> | region24 = Armenia | pop24 = 2,755 | ref24 = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.armstat.am/en/?nid=82&id=2623|title=The Main Results of RA Census 2022, trilingual / Armenian Statistical Service of Republic of Armenia|website=www.armstat.am|access-date=2024-09-23}}</ref> | region25 = New Zealand | pop25 = 1,497 | ref25 = <ref name="StatNZ">{{cite web |title= 2013 Census ethnic group profiles: Assyrian |url= http://archive.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/ethnic-profiles.aspx?request_value=24764&parent_id=24761&tabname=#24764 |publisher= Statistics New Zealand |access-date= 13 March 2018 |archive-date= 24 December 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181224190952/http://archive.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/ethnic-profiles.aspx?request_value=24764&parent_id=24761&tabname=#24764 }}</ref> | region26 = Israel | pop26 = 1,000 | ref26 = <ref>{{cite web |title=The ethnic origin of Christians in Israel |url=http://parshan.co.il/index2.php?id=11204&lang=HEB |website=parshan.co.il |language=he |access-date=7 June 2015 |archive-date=22 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122044210/http://parshan.co.il/index2.php?id=11204 |url-status=live }}</ref> | region27 = Denmark | pop27 = 700 | ref27 = <ref>{{cite news |last1=Fenger-Grøndahl |first1=Af Malene |title=Assyrer: At vi har vores eget sted, styrker min følelse af at høre til i Danmark |url=https://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/kirke-tro/vi-har-vores-eget-sted-styrker-min-tro-og-min-foelelse-af-hoere-til-i-danmark |access-date=31 March 2019 |work=Kristeligt Dagblad |date=1 May 2017 |language=da |archive-date=16 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016141117/https://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/kirke-tro/vi-har-vores-eget-sted-styrker-min-tro-og-min-foelelse-af-hoere-til-i-danmark |url-status=live }}</ref> | region28 = Kazakhstan | pop28 = 350 | ref28 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.astanatimes.com/2014/12/assyrian-community-kazakhstan-survived-dark-times-now-focuses-education/|title=Assyrian Community in Kazakhstan Survived Dark Times, Now Focuses on Education|work=The Astana Times|access-date=18 February 2015|date=2014-12-19|archive-date=30 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330155008/https://astanatimes.com/2014/12/assyrian-community-kazakhstan-survived-dark-times-now-focuses-education/|url-status=live}}</ref> | languages = [[Neo-Aramaic languages]]<br />{{smaller|([[Suret]], [[Turoyo]])}},<br />[[Classical Syriac]] (liturgical), [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] (in antiquity), [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] (in antiquity) | religions = Predominantly [[Syriac Christianity]] <br />Minority: [[Protestantism]], [[Islam]] and [[Judaism]] | native_name = ܣܘܼܪ̈ܝܵܝܹܐ / ܣܽܘܪܝܳܝܶܐ / ܐܵܬܘܿܪܵܝܵܐ / ܐܵܫܘܿܪܵܝܵܐ | native_name_lang = syr | flag = Flag of the Assyrians (gold and blue Assur).svg | flag_caption = [[Assyrian flag|Ethnic flag used by most Assyrians]]| }} '''Assyrians'''{{Efn|(ܣܘܪ̈ܝܐ, Sūrāyē/Sūrōyē)}} are an [[Indigenous peoples|indigenous]] [[ethnic group]] native to [[Mesopotamia]], a geographical region in [[West Asia]]. Modern Assyrians descend directly from the ancient [[Assyria|Assyrians]], one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from other Mesopotamian groups, such as the Babylonians, they share in the broader cultural heritage of the Mesopotamian region.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kramer |first=Samuel Noah |title=In the world of Sumer: an autobiography |date=1988 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=0-8143-2121-6 |location=Detroit |oclc=17726815}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=A. Leo Oppenheim |url=https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/ancient_mesopotamia.pdf |title=Ancient Mesopotamia |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |year=1964 |access-date=8 November 2015 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010103044/https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/ancient_mesopotamia.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Modern Assyrians may culturally self-identify as [[Terms for Syriac Christians#Syriac identity|Syriacs]], [[Chaldean Catholics|Chaldeans]], or [[Terms for Syriac Christians#Aramean identity|Arameans]] for religious, geographic, and tribal identification.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hays |first=Jeffrey |title=ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS, CHALDEANS AND JACOBITES {{!}} Facts and Details |url=https://factsanddetails.com/world/cat55/sub392/entry-5794.html |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=factsanddetails.com |language=en |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004142400/https://factsanddetails.com/world/cat55/sub392/entry-5794.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hanish |first=Shak |date=2008-03-22 |title=The Chaldean Assyrian Syriac people of Iraq: an ethnic identity problem |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=10604367&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA240186433&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs |journal=Digest of Middle East Studies |language=English |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=32–48|doi=10.1111/j.1949-3606.2008.tb00145.x }}</ref> Assyrians speak [[Aramaic]], specifically dialects such as [[Suret]] and [[Turoyo]], which are among the oldest continuously spoken and written languages in the world. Aramaic was the [[lingua franca]] of West Asia for centuries and was the language spoken by [[historical Jesus|Jesus]]. It has influenced other languages such as Hebrew and Arabic, and, through cultural and religious exchanges, it has had some influence on Mongolian and Uighur. Aramaic itself is the oldest continuously spoken and written language in the Middle East, with a history stretching back over 3,000 years.<ref>Naby, Eden (2016), The Assyrians and Aramaic: Speaking the Oldest Living Language of the Middle East.</ref><ref>The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Aramaic language.</ref><ref>Barr, James, WHICH LANGUAGE DID JESUS SPEAK? SOME REMARKS OF A SEMITIST, p. 29.</ref><ref name="auto1">Khan, Geoffrey (2012), The Language of the Modern Assyrians: The North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic dialect group.</ref> [[File:Assyrian Christians from Baghdad.jpg|thumb|[[Chaldean Catholic Church|Chaldean Catholics]] praying in a [[Holy Qurbana]] in [[Baghdad, Iraq]]]] Assyrians are almost exclusively Christian,<ref name="9780313321092 p206">{{cite book |last=Minahan |first=James |title=Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: A-C |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-313-32109-2 |page=206 |quote=The Assyrians, although closely associated with their Christian religion, are divided among a number of Christian sects. The largest denominations are the Chaldean Catholic Church with about 45% of the Assyrian population, the Syriac Orthodox with 26%, the Assyrian Church of the East with 19%, the free Orthodox Church of Antioch or Syriac Catholic Church with 4%, and various Protestant sects with a combined 6%.}}</ref> with most adhering to the [[East Syriac Rite|East]] and [[West Syriac Rite|West Syriac]] liturgical rites of Christianity.<ref>For Assyrians as a Christian people, see * [http://www.zindamagazine.com/html/archives/2000/zn112700.htm#TheLighthouse Joel J. Elias, The Genetics of Modern Assyrians and their Relationship to Other People of the Middle East ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313031613/http://www.zindamagazine.com/html/archives/2000/zn112700.htm#TheLighthouse |date=13 March 2018 }}</ref>{{sfn|Hanish|2015|p=517}} Both rites use [[Syriac language|Classical Syriac]] as their liturgical language. The Assyrians were among the early converts to Christianity, along with Jews, Arameans, [[Armenians]], [[Greeks]], and [[Nabataeans]]. The ancestral indigenous lands that form the [[Assyrian homeland]] are those of ancient [[Upper Mesopotamia|Mesopotamia]] and the Zab rivers, a region currently divided between modern-day [[Iraq]], southeastern Turkey, northwestern [[Iran]], and northeastern [[Syria]].{{sfn|Laing-Marshall|2005|p=149-150}} A majority of modern Assyrians have migrated to other regions of the world, including North America, [[the Levant]], Australia, Europe, Russia and the [[Caucasus]]. Emigration was triggered by genocidal events throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, including the [[Assyrian genocide]] or Sayfo, as well as religious persecution by Islamic extremists. The emergence of the [[Islamic State]] and the occupation of a significant portion of the Assyrian homeland resulted in another major wave of Assyrian displacement due to events such as the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] by the United States and [[Multi-National Force – Iraq|its allies]], and the [[Syrian civil war]], which began in 2011. Of the one million or more Iraqis who have fled Iraq since the [[Occupation of Iraq (2003–2011)|occupation]], nearly 40% were indigenous Assyrians, even though Assyrians accounted for only around 3% of the pre-war [[Demographics of Iraq|Iraqi population]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Assyrian Christians 'Most Vulnerable Population' in Iraq |url=http://www.christianpost.com/article/20061205/23863.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208143126/http://www.christianpost.com/article/20061205/23863.htm |archive-date=8 December 2012 |access-date=2006-12-05 |work=The Christian Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=U.S. Gov't Watchdog Urges Protection for Iraq's Assyrian Christians |url=http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070314/26312_U.S._Gov't_Watchdog_Urges_Protection_for_Iraq's_Assyrian_Christians.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211195624/http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070314/26312_U.S._Gov%27t_Watchdog_Urges_Protection_for_Iraq%27s_Assyrian_Christians.htm |archive-date=2007-12-11 |access-date=2007-12-31 |work=The Christian Post}}</ref> The Islamic State was driven out from the Assyrian villages in the [[Khabur (Euphrates)|Khabour River]] Valley and the areas surrounding the city of [[Al-Hasakah]] in Syria by 2015, and from the [[Nineveh Plains]] in Iraq by 2017. In 2014, the [[Nineveh Plain Protection Units]] was formed and many Assyrians joined the force to defend themselves. The organization later became part of [[Iraqi Armed Forces|Iraqi Armed forces]] and played a key role in liberating areas previously held by the Islamic State during the [[War in Iraq (2013–2017)|War in Iraq]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-10-23|title=Video: Iraqi troops liberate Christian town of Bartella from IS group|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20161023-video-iraqi-troops-liberate-christian-town-bartella|access-date=2022-02-16|website=France 24|language=en|archive-date=16 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216161737/https://www.france24.com/en/20161023-video-iraqi-troops-liberate-christian-town-bartella|url-status=live}}</ref> In northern Syria, Assyrian groups have been taking part both politically and militarily in the Kurdish-dominated but multiethnic [[Syrian Democratic Forces]] (see [[Khabour Guards]] and [[Sutoro]]) and [[Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria]]. == History == {{Main|History of the Assyrian people}} === Pre-Christian history === {{Main|Mesopotamia|Assyria|Neo-Assyrian Empire}} [[File:Sculpted reliefs depicting Ashurbanipal, the last great Assyrian king, hunting lions, gypsum hall relief from the North Palace of Nineveh (Irak), c. 645-635 BC, British Museum (16722368932).jpg|thumb|Part of the ''[[Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal]]'', c. 645–635 BC]] [[Assyrian homeland|Assyria]] is the homeland of the Assyrian people, located in the ancient Near East. The earliest [[Neolithic]] sites in Assyria belonged to the [[Jarmo]] culture c. 7100 BC and [[Tell Hassuna]], the centre of the [[Hassuna culture]], c. 6000 BC. The history of Assyria begins with the formation of the city of [[Assur]], perhaps as early as the 25th century BC.<ref>Georges Roux, ''Ancient Iraq'', p. 187</ref> During the early [[Bronze Age]] period, [[Sargon of Akkad]] united all the native [[Semitic language|Semitic]]-speaking peoples, including the Assyrians, and the [[Sumer]]ians of [[Mesopotamia]] under the [[Akkadian Empire]] (2335–2154 BC). The cities of Assur and [[Nineveh]] (modern-day [[Mosul]]), which was the oldest and largest city of the ancient Assyrian Empire,<ref>{{cite web |title=Nineveh |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Nineveh-ancient-city-Iraq |publisher=Max Mallowan |access-date=29 September 2018 |archive-date=17 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117200057/https://www.britannica.com/place/Nineveh-ancient-city-Iraq |url-status=live }}</ref> together with several other towns and cities, existed as early as the 25th century BC. They appear to have been Sumerian-ruled administrative centres at this time rather than independent states. The Sumerians were eventually absorbed into the Akkadian (Assyro-Babylonian) population.<ref name="Deutscher">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XFwUxmCdG94C|title=Syntactic Change in Akkadian: The Evolution of Sentential Complementation|publisher=[[Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press US]]|year=2007|isbn=978-0-19-953222-3|pages=20–21|author=Deutscher, Guy|author-link=Guy Deutscher (linguist)|access-date=26 August 2020|archive-date=18 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418050423/https://books.google.com/books?id=XFwUxmCdG94C|url-status=live}}</ref> An Assyrian identity distinct from other neighboring groups appears to have formed during the [[Old Assyrian period]], in the 21st or 20th century BC.<ref>{{cite book |last=Michel |first=Cécile |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhsmDwAAQBAJ |title=A Companion to Assyria |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-118-32524-7 |editor=E. Frahm |location=Hoboken |chapter=Economy, Society, and Daily Life in the Old Assyrian Period}} p. 81</ref> [[File:Map of Assyria.png|thumb|A map of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] under [[Shalmaneser III]] (dark green) and [[Esarhaddon]] (light green)]] In the traditions of the [[Assyrian Church of the East]], they are descended from [[Abraham]]'s grandson, [[Dedan (Bible)|Dedan]] son of [[Jokshan]], progenitor of the ancient Assyrians.<ref>Genesis 25:3</ref> However, there is no other historical basis for this assertion. The [[Hebrew Bible]] does not directly mention it, and there is no mention in Assyrian records, which date as far back as the 25th century BC. What is known is that [[Ashur-uballit I]] overthrew the [[Mitanni]] c. 1365 BC and the Assyrians benefited from this development by taking control of the eastern portion of Mitanni territory and later annexing [[Hittites|Hittite]], [[Babylonia]]n, [[Amorites|Amorite]] and [[Hurrians|Hurrian]] territories.<ref>{{cite news| title= Ashur| url= https://www.worldhistory.org/ashur/| work= [[World History Encyclopedia]]| access-date= 29 May 2016| archive-date= 16 April 2021| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210416200312/https://www.worldhistory.org/ashur/| url-status= live}}</ref> The rise and rule of the [[Middle Assyrian Empire]] (14th to 10th century BC) spread Assyrian culture, people and identity across [[Upper Mesopotamia|northern Mesopotamia]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Düring |first=Bleda S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1NLKDwAAQBAJ |title=The Imperialisation of Assyria: An Archaeological Approach |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-108-47874-8 |location=Cambridge}} p. 145</ref> The Assyrian people, after the fall of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] in 609 BC, were under the control of the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]] and later, the [[Persian Empire]], which consumed the entire [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Neo-Babylonian or "Chaldean" Empire]] in 539 BC. Assyrians became [[front line]] soldiers for the Persian Empire under [[Xerxes I]], playing a significant role in the [[Battle of Marathon]] under [[Darius the Great|Darius I]] in 490 BC.<ref>"Artifacts show rivals Athens and Sparta," Yahoo News, December 5, 2006.</ref> However, [[Herodotus]], whose ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'' are the primary source of information about that battle, makes no mention of Assyrians in connection with it.<ref>{{Cite web| url= http://www.parstimes.com/history/herodotus/persian_wars/erato.html| title= The Persian Wars by Herodotus: Book 6 – ERATO| website= parstimes.com| access-date= 9 December 2018| archive-date= 13 April 2018| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180413103808/http://www.parstimes.com/history/herodotus/persian_wars/erato.html| url-status= live}}</ref> Despite the influx of foreign elements, the presence of Assyrians is confirmed by the worship of the god [[Ashur (god)|Ashur]]. References to the name survive into the 3rd century AD.{{sfn|Yana|2008|p=30}} The [[Greeks]], [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]], and [[Roman Empire|Romans]] had a relatively low level of integration with the local population in Mesopotamia, which allowed their cultures to survive.<ref>Olmatead, ''History of the Persian Empire'', Chicago University Press, 1959, p.39</ref> Semi-independent kingdoms influenced by Assyrian culture ([[Hatra]], [[Adiabene]], [[Osroene]]) and perhaps semi-autonomous Assyrian vassal states ([[Assur]]) sprung up in the east under Parthian rule, lasting until conquests by the [[Sasanian Empire]] in the region in the 3rd century AD.<ref name="naei">{{cite web |url=http://media.hujada.nu/2019/03/Parpola-identity_Article_-Final1.pdf |title=National and Ethnic Identity in the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Assyrian Identity in Post-Empire Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119042653/http://media.hujada.nu/2019/03/Parpola-identity_Article_-Final1.pdf |archive-date=2020-11-19}}</ref> ====Language==== Modern Assyrian derives from ancient [[Aramaic]], part of the Northwest Semitic languages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Assyrians and Aramaic: Speaking the Oldest Living Language of the Middle East |url=http://www.aina.org/news/20191001180841.htm |access-date=2023-04-18 |website=www.aina.org |archive-date=18 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418042312/http://www.aina.org/news/20191001180841.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Around 700 BC, Aramaic slowly replaced Akkadian in Assyria, Babylonia and the Levant. Widespread bilingualism among Assyrian nationals was already present before the fall of the Empire.<ref name="naei"/> The [[Akkadian language]] has influenced the Aramaic that the modern Assyrians speak.<ref>Parpola, Simo, National and Ethnic Identity in the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Assyrian Identity in Post-Empire Times.</ref> The [[Kültepe|Kültepe texts]], which were written in Old Assyrian, preserve some loanwords from the [[Hittite language]]. Those loanwords are the earliest attestation of any [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]], dated to the 20th century BC. Most of the archaeological evidence is typical of [[Anatolia]] rather than of Assyria, but using both cuneiform and the dialect is the best indication of Assyrian presence. Over 20,000 cuneiform tablets have been recovered from the site.<ref>E. Bilgic and S Bayram, Ankara Kultepe Tabletleri II, Turk Tarih Kurumu Basimevi, 1995, {{ISBN|975-16-0246-7}}</ref><ref>K. R. Veenhof, Ankara Kultepe Tabletleri V, Turk Tarih Kurumu, 2010, {{ISBN|978-975-16-2235-8}}</ref> From 1700 BC and onward, the [[Sumerian language]] was preserved by the ancient [[Babylonia]]ns and Assyrians only as a [[Sacred language|liturgical]] and [[classical language]] for religious, artistic, and scholarly purposes.<ref name="woods">{{Cite web| url= http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/OIS2.pdf| title= Woods C. 2006 "Bilingualism, Scribal Learning, and the Death of Sumerian." In S. L. Sanders (ed) ''Margins of Writing, Origins of Culture'': 91–120 Chicago| access-date= October 12, 2019| archive-date= April 29, 2013| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130429121058/http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/OIS2.pdf}}</ref> The [[Akkadian language]], with its main [[dialect]]s of [[Akkadian language#Dialects|Assyrian and Babylonian]], once the [[lingua franca]] of the Ancient [[Near East]], began to decline during the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] around the 8th century BC, being marginalized by [[Old Aramaic]] during the reign of [[Tiglath-Pileser III]]. By the [[Hellenistic period]], the language was largely confined to scholars and priests working in temples in Assyria and Babylonia. ===Early Christian period=== [[File:Southwestern part of the Sasanian Empire.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A map of [[Asōristān]] (226–637 AD)]] {{Further|Syriac Christianity|History of Eastern Christianity|Asōristān}} From the 1st century BC, Assyria was the theatre of the protracted [[Roman–Persian Wars]]. Much of the region would become the [[Roman province]] of [[Assyria (Roman province)|Assyria]] from 116 AD to 118 AD following the conquests of [[Trajan]]. Still, after a Parthian-inspired Assyrian rebellion, the new emperor [[Hadrian]] withdrew from the short-lived province Assyria and its neighboring provinces in 118 AD.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hadrian |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hadrian |publisher=G. W. Bowersock |access-date=29 September 2018 |archive-date=29 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929200715/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hadrian |url-status=live }}</ref> Following a successful campaign in 197–198, Severus converted the kingdom of [[Osroene]], centred on [[Edessa]], into a frontier Roman province.{{sfn|Millar|1967|p=211}} Roman influence in the area came to an end under [[Jovian (emperor)|Jovian]] in 363, who abandoned the region after concluding a hasty peace agreement with the Sassanians.<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus]] The Later Roman Empire (354–378) ''A shameful peace concluded by Jovian'' 6.7 p. 303, Penguin Classics, Translated by [[Walter Hamilton (translator)|Walter Hamilton]] 1986</ref> The Assyrians were Christianized in the first to third centuries in [[Roman Syria]] and [[Roman Assyria]]. The population of the [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian province]] of [[Asoristan]] was a mixed one, composed of Assyrians, [[Arameans]] in the far south and the western deserts, and [[Persians]].<ref name= "RP">{{cite book| last= Etheredge| first= Laura|title=Iraq|year=2011|publisher=[[Rosen Publishing]] |isbn= 978-1-61530-304-5| page=72}}</ref> The [[Greeks|Greek]] element in the cities, still strong during the [[Parthian Empire]], ceased to be ethnically distinct in Sasanian times. Most of the population were [[Eastern Aramaic languages|Eastern Aramaic]] speakers. Along with the Arameans, [[Armenians]], [[Greeks]], and [[Nabataeans]], the Assyrians were among the first people to convert to [[Christianity]] and spread [[Eastern Christianity]] to the [[Far East]] despite becoming, from the 8th century, a [[minority religion]] in their homeland following the [[Muslim conquest of Persia]]. In 410, the [[Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon]], the capital of the [[Sasanian Empire]],<ref>Seleucia-Ctesiphon is not to be confused with [[Seleucia Isauria]] (now [[Silifke]], Turkey) within the Roman Empire, where, at the request of the Roman emperor, the [[Council of Seleucia]] was held in 359.</ref> organised the Christians within that Empire into what became known as the [[Church of the East]]. Its head was declared to be the bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, who in the acts of the council was referred to as the Grand or Major Metropolitan and who soon afterward was called the [[Catholicos]] of the East. Later, the title of [[Patriarch]] was also used. Dioceses were organised into [[Ecclesiastical province|provinces]], each of which was under the authority of a [[metropolitan bishop]]. Six such areas were instituted in 410. [[File:Mar Matti Monastery.jpg|thumb|[[Mor Mattai Monastery]] (Dayro d-Mor Mattai) in, [[Bartella]], [[Nineveh Plains|Nineveh]], [[Iraq War|Iraq]]. It is recognized as one of the oldest Christian monasteries in existence. It is famous for its magnificent library and a considerable collection of [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac Christian]] manuscripts<ref>[[Michael Goldfarb (author and journalist)|Michael Goldfarb]], ''Ahmad's War, Ahmad's Peace'' (New York: Carroll & Graf, 2005).</ref>]] Another council held in 424 declared that the [[List of Patriarchs of the Church of the East|Catholicos of the East]] was independent of "Western" ecclesiastical authorities (those of the Roman Empire). Soon afterward, Christians in the Roman Empire were divided by their attitude regarding the [[Council of Ephesus]] (431), which condemned [[Nestorianism]], and the [[Council of Chalcedon]] (451), which condemned [[Monophysitism]]. Those who for any reason refused to accept one or other of these councils were called Nestorians or Monophysites, while those who accepted both councils, held under the auspices of the Roman emperors, were called Melkites (derived from Syriac ''malkā'', king),<ref>{{Cite web| url= https://www.dictionary.com/browse/melkite| title= Definition of melkite| website= Dictionary.com| publisher= | access-date= 6 December 2018| archive-date= 7 December 2018| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181207102814/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/melkite| url-status= live}}</ref> meaning royalists. All three groups existed among the Syriac Christians, the East Syriacs being called Nestorians and the West Syriacs being divided between the Monophysites (today the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]], also known as Jacobites, after [[Jacob Baradaeus]]) and those who accepted both councils, primarily today's [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], which has adopted the [[Byzantine Rite]] in [[Greek language|Greek]], but also the [[Maronite Church]], which kept its [[West Syriac Rite]] and was not as closely aligned with Constantinople.<ref name="Syriac language">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Syriac language |url= https://www.britannica.com/topic/Syriac-language |encyclopedia= [[Encyclopaedia Britannica]]|date= 29 January 2024 }}</ref> Roman/Byzantine and Persian spheres of influence divided Syriac-speaking Christians into two groups: those who adhered to the Miaphysite Syriac Orthodox Church (the so-called Jacobite Church), or West Syrians, and those who adhered to the Church of the East, the so-called Nestorian Church. Following the split, they developed distinct dialects, mainly based on the pronunciation and written symbolization of vowels.<ref name="Syriac language"/> With the rise of [[Syriac Christianity]], eastern Aramaic enjoyed a renaissance as a classical language in the 2nd to 8th centuries, and varieties of that form of Aramaic ([[Neo-Aramaic languages]]) are still spoken by a few small groups of Jacobite and Nestorian Christians in the Middle East.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Aramaic language |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aramaic-language | encyclopedia= Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref> [[Theodora (wife of Justinian I)|Theodora]], who lived from April 1, 527 A.D. to June 28, 548 A.D., was a notable empress of the [[Byzantine Empire]] and the wife of Emperor [[Justinian I]]. Although her exact ethnic background is not definitively established, some sources suggest she was of Assyrian origin. She played a significant role in advocating for women's rights and social reforms. Theodora is particularly remembered for her efforts to improve the status of women, including legislation against forced prostitution and support for widows and orphans. She was a key supporter of her husband's efforts to restore and expand the Byzantine Empire from their capital, [[Constantinople]]. Additionally, Theodora worked towards alleviating the persecution of [[Miaphysites]], although full reconciliation with this Christian sect was not achieved during her lifetime.<ref>Theodora the "Believing Queen:" A Study in Syriac Historiographical Tradition, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, p. 216, 217, 218.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Theodora-Byzantine-empress-died-548|title=Theodora &#124; Empress, Biography, Accomplishments, Justinian, & Facts &#124; Britannica|website=www.britannica.com|access-date=11 May 2023|archive-date=15 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415173948/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Theodora-Byzantine-empress-died-548|url-status=live}}</ref> === Arab conquest === {{Further|Fall of Babylon|Muslim conquest of Persia}} [[File:Mar Toma church urmia.jpg|thumb|Assyrian [[St. Thomas Church, Balowlan|Mar Toma Church]] near [[Urmia]], [[Iran]].]] The Assyrians initially experienced periods of religious and cultural freedom interspersed with periods of severe religious and ethnic persecution after the 7th century [[Muslim conquest of Persia]]. Assyrians contributed to Islamic civilizations during the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] and [[Abbasid Caliphate]]s by translating works of [[Ancient Greek philosophy|Greek philosophers]] to Syriac and afterward to [[Arabic]]. They also excelled in [[philosophy]], [[science]] ([[Masawaiyh]],<ref name= "JoubertRocher1995">{{cite book| last= Beeston|first=Alfred Felix Landon| title= Arabic literature to the end of the Umayyad period| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0QkhaK4kBUC&pg=PA501|access-date=20 January 2011| date=1983| publisher= Cambridge University Press| isbn=978-0-521-24015-4|page=501}}</ref> [[Eutychius of Alexandria]], and [[Jabril ibn Bukhtishu]]<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Contadini| first1=Anna| title=A Bestiary Tale: Text and Image of the Unicorn in the Kitāb naʿt al-hayawān (British Library, or. 2784)| journal=Muqarnas| date=2003| volume=20| pages=17–33| jstor=1523325| doi=10.1163/22118993-90000037| url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/434/1/UnicornMuqarnas2003.pdf| access-date=6 November 2019| archive-date=24 November 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124004948/https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/434/1/UnicornMuqarnas2003.pdf| url-status=live}}</ref>) and [[theology]] (such as [[Tatian]], [[Bardaisan]], [[Babai the Great]], [[Nestorius]], and [[Thomas of Marga]]) and the personal [[physician]]s of the Abbasid Caliphs were often Assyrians, such as the long-serving [[Bukhtishu]] dynasty.<ref>{{cite web| first= Rémi | last= Brague | website= christiansofiraq.com | url= http://www.christiansofiraq.com/assyriancontributionstotheislamiccivilization.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130927015958/http://www.christiansofiraq.com/assyriancontributionstotheislamiccivilization.htm | title=Assyrians Contributions To The Islamic Civilization | date= | archive-date= 27 September 2013 }}</ref> Many scholars of the [[House of Wisdom]] were of Assyrian Christian background.<ref>Hyman and Walsh ''Philosophy in the Middle Ages'' Indianapolis, 1973, p. 204' Meri, Josef W. and Jere L. Bacharach, Editors, ''Medieval Islamic Civilization'' Vol.1, A-K, Index, 2006, p. 304.</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Legend of the Middle Ages: Philosophical Explorations of Medieval Christianity, Judaism, and Islam|first=Rémi |last=Brague|year= 2009| isbn=978-0-226-07080-3| page =164|publisher=University of Chicago Press}}</ref> Indigenous Assyrians became second-class citizens (''[[dhimmi]]'') in a greater Arab Islamic state. Those who resisted [[Arabization]] and conversion to Islam were subject to severe religious, ethnic, and cultural discrimination and had certain restrictions imposed upon them.<ref>{{cite book| first= Clinton | last= Bennett | year= 2005 | title= Muslims and Modernity: An Introduction to the Issues and Debates | publisher= Continuum International Publishing Group | pages= 162, 163 | isbn=0-8264-5481-X | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NY7RzLXR79wC |access-date= 2012-07-07}}</ref> Assyrians were excluded from specific duties and occupations reserved for Muslims. They did not enjoy the same political rights as Muslims, and their word was not equal to that of a Muslim in legal and civil matters. As Christians, they were subject to payment of a special tax, the [[jizya]].<ref name="Glenn 2007 219">{{cite book| first= H. Patrick | last= Glenn | title= Legal Traditions of the World | publisher= Oxford University Press| year= 2007 | page= 219| isbn=}}</ref> They were banned from spreading their religion further or building new churches in Muslim-ruled lands, but were expected to adhere to the same laws of property, contract, and obligation as the Muslim Arabs.<ref name="Glenn 2007 219"/> They could not seek the conversion of a Muslim, a non-Muslim man could not marry a Muslim woman, and the child of such a marriage would be considered a Muslim. They could not own an enslaved Muslim and had to wear different clothing from Muslims to be distinguishable. In addition to the jizya tax, they were required to pay the [[kharaj]] tax on their land, which was heavier than the jizya. However, they were protected, given religious freedom, and to govern themselves according to their own laws.{{sfn|Joseph|2000|p=48-49}} [[File:Church of our virgin lady in Baghdad.jpg|thumb|Assyrian Church of Our Virgin Lady in [[Baghdad]].]] As non-Islamic [[proselytising]] was punishable by death under [[Sharia]], the Assyrians were forced into preaching in [[Transoxiana]], [[Central Asia]], [[India]], [[Mongolia]] and [[China]] where they established numerous churches. The [[Church of the East]] was considered to be one of the major Christian powerhouses in the world, alongside [[Latin Church|Latin Christianity]] in Europe and the [[Byzantine Empire]] ([[Eastern Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodoxy]]).<ref>{{cite book| last= Winkler |first=Dietmar|title=Hidden Treasures And Intercultural Encounters: Studies On East Syriac Christianity In China And Central Asia|year=2009|publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7f9gS40A_3IC&pg=PA321| isbn= 978-3-643-50045-8}}</ref> From the 7th century AD onwards, Mesopotamia saw a steady influx of Arabs, [[Kurds]] and other [[Iranian peoples]],{{sfn|Aboona|2008|p=XI}} and later [[Turkic peoples]]. Assyrians were increasingly marginalized, persecuted and gradually became a minority in their homeland. Conversion to Islam was a result of heavy taxation, which also resulted in decreased revenue from their rulers. As a result, the new converts migrated to Muslim garrison towns nearby. Assyrians remained dominant in Upper Mesopotamia as late as the 14th century,<ref>According to Georges Roux and Simo Parpola</ref> and the city of Assur was still occupied by Assyrians during the Islamic period until the mid-14th century when the Muslim Turco-Mongol ruler [[Timur]] conducted a religiously motivated massacre against Assyrians. After, no records of Assyrians remained in Assur according to the archaeological and numismatic record. From this point, the Assyrian population was dramatically reduced in their homeland.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.assur.de/Themen/Stadtgeschichte_Engl/body_stadtgeschichte_engl.html | title= History of Ashur | work= Assur.de | access-date= 12 June 2012 | archive-date= 10 October 2017 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171010103424/http://www.assur.de/Themen/Stadtgeschichte_Engl/body_stadtgeschichte_engl.html | url-status= live }}</ref> From the 19th century, after the rise of nationalism in the [[Balkans]], the Ottomans started viewing Assyrians and other Christians on their eastern front as a potential threat. The Kurdish Emirs sought to consolidate their power by attacking Assyrian communities, which were already well-established there. Scholars estimate that tens of thousands of Assyrians in the [[Hakkari (historical region)|Hakkari]] region were [[Massacres of Badr Khan|massacred in 1843]] when [[Bedr Khan Beg]], the emir of [[Bohtan]], invaded their region.{{sfn|Gaunt|Beṯ-Şawoce|Donef|2006|p=32}} After a later massacre in 1846, western powers forced the Ottomans into intervening in the region, and the ensuing conflict destroyed the Kurdish emirates and reasserted the Ottoman power in the area. The Assyrians were subject to the [[massacres of Diyarbakır (1895)|massacres of Diyarbakır]] soon after.{{sfn|Aboona|2008|p=105}} Being culturally, ethnically, and linguistically distinct from their Muslim neighbors in the Middle East—the Arabs, [[Persian people|Persians]], Kurds, [[Turkish people|Turks]]—the Assyrians have endured much hardship throughout their recent history as a result of religious and ethnic persecution by these groups.<ref>{{cite book| last= Khanbaghi |first=Aptin|title=The fire, the star, and the cross: minority religions in medieval and early modern Iran| year= 2006| publisher= I.B.Tauris| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7iAbUEaXnfEC&pg=PA87|isbn=978-1-84511-056-7}}</ref> ===Mongolian and Turkic rule=== {{Further|Timurid Empire|Aq Qoyunlu|Kara Koyunlu}} [[File:Syriac Christianity.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|A map of the Aramaic language and [[Syriac Christianity]] in the Middle East and Central Asia until being largely annihilated by [[Tamerlane]] in the 14th century]] After initially coming under the control of the [[Seljuk Empire]] and the [[Buyid dynasty]], the region eventually came under the control of the [[Mongol Empire]] after the [[Siege of Baghdad (1258)|fall of Baghdad]] in 1258. The Mongol khans were sympathetic with Christians and did not harm them. The most prominent among them was probably [[Isa Kelemechi]], a diplomat, astrologer, and head of the Christian affairs in [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan China]]. He spent some time in Persia under the [[Ilkhanate]]. The 14th century massacres of Timur devastated the Assyrian people. Timur's massacres and pillages of all that was Christian drastically reduced their existence. At the end of the reign of Timur, the Assyrian population had almost been eradicated in many places. Toward the end of the thirteenth century, [[Bar Hebraeus]], the noted Assyrian scholar and hierarch, found "much quietness" in his diocese in Mesopotamia. Syria's diocese, he wrote, was "wasted."{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} The region was later controlled by the in Iran-based Turkic confederations of the [[Aq Qoyunlu]] and [[Kara Koyunlu]]. Subsequently, all Assyrians, like with the rest of the ethnicities living in the former Aq Qoyunlu territories, fell into [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid]] hands from 1501 and on.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}} === From Iranian Safavid to confirmed Ottoman rule === {{See also|Massacres of Badr Khan |Massacres of Diyarbakir (1895)}} [[File:Assyrianmareliasnestorianbishop.jpg|upright|thumb|Mar Elias (Eliya), the [[Nestorian]] bishop of the [[Urmia]] plain village of Geogtapa, c. 1831]] The Ottomans secured their control over Mesopotamia and Syria in the first half of the 17th century following the [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1623–39)]] and the resulting [[Treaty of Zuhab]]. Non-Muslims were organised into [[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|millets]]. Syriac Christians, however, were often considered one millet alongside Armenians until the 19th century, when Nestorian, Syriac Orthodox and Chaldeans gained that right as well.<ref name= kennith255>{{cite book| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fHtSuvaVAAoC&pg=PA255 | title= The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity | first= Kenneth | last= Parry | date= 15 April 2008 | page= 255| publisher= John Wiley & Sons| isbn= 978-0-470-76639-2| via= Google Books}}</ref> The Aramaic-speaking Mesopotamian Christians had long been divided between followers of the [[Church of the East]], commonly referred to as "[[Nestorianism|Nestorians]]", and followers of the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]], commonly called [[Jacob Baradaeus|Jacobites]]. The latter were organised by [[Marutha of Tikrit]] (565–649) as 17 dioceses under a "Metropolitan of the East" or "[[Maphrian]]", holding the highest rank in the Syriac Orthodox Church after that of the [[Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East]]. The Maphrian resided at [[Tikrit]] until 1089, when he moved to the city of [[Mosul]] for half a century, before settling in the nearby [[Monastery of Mar Mattai]] (still belonging to the Syriac Orthodox Church) and thus not far from the residence of the Eliya line of Patriarchs of the Church of the East. From 1533, the holder of the office was known as the Maphrian of Mosul, to distinguish him from the Maphrian of the [[Patriarch of Tur Abdin]].<ref>[https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Maphrian]{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022054401/https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Maphrian|date=22 October 2020}}<span> "Maphrian Catholicos [Syr. Orth.</span>" in ''Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage''</ref> In 1552, a group of bishops of the Church of the East from the northern regions of [[Amid]] and [[Salmas]], who were dissatisfied with reservation of patriarchal succession to members of a single family, even if the designated successor was little more than a child, elected as a rival patriarch the abbot of the [[Rabban Hormizd Monastery]], [[Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa|Yohannan Sulaqa]]. This was by no means the first schism in the Church of the East. An example is the attempt to replace Timothy I (779–823) with Ephrem of Gandīsābur.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Lesser_Eastern_Churches/Chapter_4|title=The Lesser Eastern Churches|first=Adrian Henry Timothy Knottesford|last=Fortescue|chapter=4. The Nestorian Church in the Past |access-date=11 May 2023|via=Wikisource|archive-date=21 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421152829/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Lesser_Eastern_Churches/Chapter_4|url-status=live}}</ref> By tradition, a patriarch could be ordained only by someone of archiepiscopal (metropolitan) rank, a rank to which only members of that one family were promoted. For that reason, Sulaqa travelled to Rome, where, presented as the new Patriarch elect, he entered communion with the Catholic Church and was ordained by the Pope and recognized as Patriarch. The title or description under which he was recognized as Patriarch is given variously as "Patriarch of [[Mosul]] in Eastern Syria";<ref>{{cite book| chapter= Patriarcha de Mozal in Syria orientali | url= https://archive.org/details/orienschristian04grgoog | editor-first= Anton | editor-last= Baumstark | title= Oriens Christianus| volume= IV:1| place= Rome and Leipzig | year= 2004 | page=277| publisher= O. Harrassowitz }}</ref> "Patriarch of the Church of the Chaldeans of Mosul";<ref>''Chaldaeorum ecclesiae Musal Patriarcha'' ([http://digitale-sammlungen.ulb.uni-bonn.de/content/pageview/33998 Giuseppe Simone Assemani (editor), ''Bibliotheca Orientalis Clementino-Vaticana'' (Rome 1725), vol. 3, part 1, p. 661)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219054858/http://digitale-sammlungen.ulb.uni-bonn.de/content/pageview/33998 |date=19 December 2019 }}</ref> "Patriarch of the Chaldeans";{{sfn|Tisserant|1931|p=228}}{{sfn|Baumer|2006|p=248}}{{sfn|Healey|2010|p=45}} "Patriarch of Mosul";{{sfn|Mooken|2003|p=33}}{{sfn|Frazee|2006|p=57}}{{sfn|Winkler|2019|p=127}} or "Patriarch of the Eastern Assyrians", this last being the version given by Pietro Strozzi on the second-last unnumbered page before page 1 of his ''De Dogmatibus Chaldaeorum'',<ref>{{cite book|author=Pietro Strozzi|title=De dogmatibus chaldaeorum disputatio ad Patrem ... Adam Camerae Patriarchalis Babylonis ...| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=2u2hpp2f3G0C| year= 1617| publisher= ex typographia Bartholomaei Zannetti}}</ref> of which an English translation is given in Adrian Fortescue's ''Lesser Eastern Churches''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.173539|title=A Chronicle Of The Carmelites In Persia (vol I)|date=11 May 1939|access-date=11 May 2023|via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>In his contribution [http://jaas.org/edocs/v14n1/e3.pdf "Myth vs. Reality" to ''JAA Studies'', Vol. XIV, No. 1, 2000 p. 80] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713130009/http://www.jaas.org/edocs/v14n1/e3.pdf |date=2020-07-13 }}, George V. Yana (Bebla) presented as a "correction" of Strozzi's statement a quotation from an unrelated source (cf. p. xxiv) that Sulaqa was called "Patriarch of the Chaldeans".</ref> Mar Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa returned to northern [[Mesopotamia]] in the same year and fixed his seat in Amid. Before being imprisoned for four months and then in January 1555 put to death by the governor of [[Amadiya]] at the instigation of the rival Patriarch of [[Alqosh]], of the ''Eliya line'',{{sfn|Frazee|2006|p=56}} he ordained two metropolitans and three other bishops,{{sfn|Winkler|2019|p=126-127}} thus beginning a new ecclesiastical hierarchy: the patriarchal line known as the ''Shimun line''. The area of influence of this patriarchate soon moved from Amid east, fixing the see, after many changes, in the isolated village of [[Qochanis]]. [[File:Adana massacre in Le Petit Journal (1909).jpg|thumb|upright|A [[Adana massacre|massacre of Armenians and Assyrians]] in the city of [[Adana]], Ottoman Empire, April 1909]] The ''Shimun line'' eventually drifted away from Rome and in 1662 adopted a profession of faith incompatible with that of Rome. Leadership of those who wished communion with Rome passed to the Archbishop of Amid [[Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch)|Joseph I]], recognized first by the Turkish civil authorities (1677) and then by Rome itself (1681). A century and a half later, in 1830, headship of the Catholics (the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]]) was conferred on [[Yohannan VIII Hormizd|Yohannan Hormizd]], a member of the family that for centuries had provided the patriarchs of the legitimist "Eliya line", who had won over most of the followers of that line. Thus the patriarchal line of those who in 1553 entered communion with Rome are now patriarchs of the "traditionalist" wing of the Church of the East, that which in 1976 officially adopted the name "[[Assyrian Church of the East]]".{{sfn|Joseph|2000|p=1}}{{sfn|Baum|Winkler|2003|p=4}}{{sfn|Butts|2017|p=604}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fredaprim.com/pdfs/2008/20080307a.pdf|title=Fred Aprim, "Assyria and Assyrians Since the 2003 US Occupation of Iraq"|access-date=October 12, 2019|archive-date=7 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807153159/http://www.fredaprim.com/pdfs/2008/20080307a.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 1840s many of the Assyrians living in the mountains of [[Hakkari (historical region)|Hakkari]] in the south eastern corner of the Ottoman Empire were massacred by the Kurdish emirs of Hakkari and Bohtan.{{sfn|Aboona|2008|p=218-219}} Another major massacre of Assyrians (and Armenians) in the [[Ottoman Empire]] occurred between 1894 and 1897 by Turkish troops and their Kurdish allies during the rule of Sultan [[Abdul Hamid II]]. The motives for these massacres were an attempt to reassert [[Pan-Islamism]] in the Ottoman Empire, resentment at the comparative wealth of the ancient indigenous Christian communities, and a fear that they would attempt to secede from the tottering Ottoman Empire. Assyrians were massacred in [[Diyarbakir]], [[Hasankeyef]], [[Sivas]] and other parts of Anatolia, by Sultan Abdul Hamid II. These attacks caused the death of over thousands of Assyrians and the forced "Ottomanisation" of the inhabitants of 245 villages. The Turkish troops looted the remains of the Assyrian settlements and these were later stolen and occupied by Kurds. Unarmed Assyrian women and children were raped, tortured and murdered.{{sfn|Courtois|2004|p=105-107}}{{sfn|Atman|2018|p=215-232}} ==== World War I and aftermath ==== [[File:Old Assyrian Flag.svg|thumb|right|[[Assyrian flag]], c. 1920<ref name= ChaldOn>{{cite web |title=The Old Assyrian Flag |url= http://www.chaldeansonline.net/photo/oldflag.html |website=Chaldeans On Line |access-date=21 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060105110929/http://www.chaldeansonline.net/photo/oldflag.html |archive-date=5 January 2006}}</ref><ref name=AANF>{{cite web |author1=AANF |title=HISTORY |url=http://aanf.org/history.html |website= AANF.org | publisher= Assyrian American National Federation |access-date=21 June 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050207234713/http://aanf.org/history.html |archive-date=7 February 2005}}</ref> ]] [[File:Burning of Assyrians.jpg|thumb|right|The burning of bodies of Assyrian women]] {{Main|Sayfo|1915 genocide in Diyarbekir|Assyrian struggle for independence}} The Assyrians suffered a number of religiously and ethnically motivated massacres throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries,{{sfn|Aboona|2008|p=218-219}} culminating in the large-scale [[Hamidian massacres]] of unarmed men, women and children by Muslim Turks and Kurds in the late 19th century at the hands of the Ottoman Empire and its associated (largely Kurdish and Arab) militias, which further greatly reduced numbers, particularly in southeastern Turkey. The most significant recent persecution against the Assyrian population was the [[Sayfo|Assyrian genocide]] which occurred during the First World War.{{sfn|Yacoub|2016|p=}} Between 275,000 and 300,000 Assyrians were estimated to have been slaughtered by the armies of the Ottoman Empire and their Kurdish allies, totalling up to two-thirds of the entire Assyrian population. This led to a large-scale migration of Turkish-based Assyrian people into countries such as Syria, [[Iran]], and Iraq (where they were to suffer further violent assaults at the hands of the Arabs and Kurds), as well as other neighbouring countries in and around the Middle East such as [[Armenia]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and [[Russia]].<ref>The Plight of Religious Minorities: Can Religious Pluralism Survive? – Page 51 by United States Congress</ref><ref>{{cite book | title= The Armenian Genocide: Wartime Radicalization Or Premeditated Continuum | page= 272 |editor-first= Richard | editor-last= Hovannisian | year= | publisher= | isbn=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title= Not Even My Name: A True Story | page= 131 | first= Thea | last=Halo | author-link = Thea Halo | year= | publisher= | isbn=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title= The Political Dictionary of Modern Middle East | first= Agnes G. | last= Korbani | year= | publisher= | isbn=}}</ref> During World War I ([[Sayfo]]), the Assyrians suffered heavy losses due to deportations and mass killings organized by the Ottoman Turks. Several representatives of the Assyrian people participated in the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 after the war had ended. These representatives aimed to free Assyria and sought to influence the victorious powers to place it under one mandatory power. Although many felt sympathy for the Assyrians, none of their demands were implemented. The Assyrians failed in their efforts due to geographical and denominational differences among themselves, as well as the fact that the major powers, Britain and France, had their own plans for the territories where the Assyrians lived.<ref>Lundgren, Svante (2020), THE FAILURE OF THE ASSYRIAN LOBBIES AT THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE IN 1919.</ref> ====Assyrian volunteers==== {{Main|Assyrian volunteers}} [[File:Assyrian_volunteers_capture_Turkish_banner_1918.jpg|thumb|Assyrian troops led by Agha Petros (saluting) with a captured Turkish banner in the foreground, 1918]] In reaction to the [[Assyrian Genocide]] and lured by British and Russian promises of an independent nation, the Assyrians led by [[Agha Petros]] and [[Malik Khoshaba]] of the Bit-[[Tyari]] tribe, fought alongside the Allies against Ottoman forces known as the [[Assyrian volunteers]] or [[Our Smallest Ally]]. Despite being heavily outnumbered and outgunned the Assyrians fought successfully, scoring a number of victories over the Turks and Kurds. This situation continued until their Russian allies left the war, and Armenian resistance broke, leaving the Assyrians surrounded, isolated and cut off from lines of supply. The sizable Assyrian presence in south eastern Anatolia which had endured for over four millennia was thus reduced significantly by the end of World War I.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LsaJPgAACAAJ|title=Our Smallest Ally; Wigram, W[illiam] A[inger]; A Brief Account of the Assyrian Nation in the Great War. Introd. by General H.H. Austin|last=Wigram|first=William Ainger|date=1920|publisher=Soc. for Promoting Christian Knowledge|language=en}}</ref><ref name="books.google.co.uk">Naayem, Shall This Nation Die?, p. 281</ref> ====Assyrian rebellion==== {{Main|Assyrian rebellion}} The [[Assyrian rebellion]] was an uprising by the Assyrians in [[Hakkari (historical region)|Hakkari]] that began on the 3rd of September 1924 and ended on the 28th of September. The Assyrians of [[Tyari]] and [[Tkhuma]] returned to their ancestral land in Hakkari in 1922, shortly after World War I without permission from the Turkish government. This led to clashes between the Assyrians and the Turkish army with their Kurdish allies that grew into a rebellion in 1924, it ended with the Assyrians being forced to retreat to Iraq. === Modern history === [[File:Assyrian refugees on wagon.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Assyrian refugees on a wagon moving to a newly constructed village on the [[Khabur (Euphrates)|Khabur River]] in Syria]] The majority of Assyrians living in what is today modern Turkey were forced to flee to either Syria or Iraq after the Turkish victory during the [[Turkish War of Independence]]. In 1932, Assyrians refused to become part of the newly formed state of [[Iraq]] and instead demanded their recognition as a nation within a nation. The Assyrian leader [[Shimun XXI Eshai]] asked the [[League of Nations]] to recognize the right of the Assyrians to govern the area known as the "[[Assyrian triangle]]" in northern Iraq. During the [[French mandate]] period, some Assyrians, fleeing [[ethnic cleansing]]s in [[Kingdom of Iraq|Iraq]] during the [[Simele massacre]], established numerous villages along the [[Khabur (Euphrates)|Khabur River]] during the 1930s. The [[Assyrian Levies]] were founded by the British in 1928, with ancient Assyrian military rankings such as [[Rab-shakeh]], Rab-talia and [[Tartan (Assyrian)|Tartan]], being revived for the first time in millennia for this force. The Assyrians were prized by the British rulers for their fighting qualities, loyalty, bravery and discipline,<ref>Len Dieghton, ''Blood Sweat and Tears''</ref> and were used to help the British put down insurrections among the Arabs and Kurds. During [[World War II]], eleven Assyrian companies saw action in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] and another four served in [[Cyprus]]. The Parachute Company was attached to the [[Royal Marine Commando]] and were involved in fighting in [[Albania]], [[Italy]] and [[Greece]]. The Assyrian Levies played a major role in subduing the pro-[[Nazi]] Iraqi forces at the battle of [[Habbaniyah|Habbaniya]] in 1941. [[File:Contingent Arrives in England For Victory Parade, Liverpool, Lancashire, England, UK, 1946 D27674.jpg|thumb|Three Assyrian [[Iraqis|Iraqi]] Levies, who volunteered in 1946 for service as ground crew with the Royal Air Force, look over the side of the ORBITA as it pulls into the docks at Liverpool. Left to right, they are: Sergeant Macko Shmos, Lance Corporal Adoniyo Odisho and Corporal Yoseph Odisho.]] However, this cooperation with the British was viewed with suspicion by some leaders of the newly formed [[Kingdom of Iraq]]. The tension reached its peak shortly after the formal declaration of independence when hundreds of Assyrian civilians were slaughtered during the Simele massacre by the [[Iraqi Army]] in August 1933. The events lead to the expulsion of [[Shimun XXI Eshai]] the Catholicos Patriarch of the [[Assyrian Church of the East]] to the United States where resided until his death in 1975.<ref>{{cite journal| last= Zubaida| first= S| title= Contested nations: Iraq and the Assyrians| journal= [[Nations and Nationalism (journal)|Nations and Nationalism]]| date= July 2000| volume= 6| issue= 3| pages= 363–82| doi= 10.1111/j.1354-5078.2000.00363.x| url= http://www.aina.org/articles/contestednations.pdf| access-date= 23 September 2011| archive-date= 19 February 2018| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180219233946/http://www.aina.org/articles/contestednations.pdf| url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="peshitta1">{{cite web| title=Biography of His Holiness, The Assyrian Martyr, The Late Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII| url=http://www.peshitta.org/initial/mareshai.html| publisher=Committee of the 50th Anniversary of the Patriarchate of Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII| work=peshitta.org| access-date=23 September 2011| archive-date=27 September 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927100353/http://www.peshitta.org/initial/mareshai.html| url-status=live}}</ref> The period from the 1940s through to 1963 saw a period of respite for the Assyrians. The regime of President [[Abd al-Karim Qasim]] in particular saw the Assyrians accepted into mainstream society. Many urban Assyrians became successful businessmen, others were well represented in politics and the military, their towns and villages flourished undisturbed, and Assyrians came to excel, and be over represented in sports. The [[Ba'ath Party]] seized power in [[February 1963 Iraqi coup d'état|Iraq]] and [[1963 Syrian coup d'état|Syria]] in 1963, introducing laws aimed at suppressing the Assyrian national identity via arabization policies. The giving of traditional Assyrian names was banned and Assyrian schools, political parties, churches and literature were repressed. Assyrians were heavily pressured into identifying as ''Iraqi/Syrian Christians''. Assyrians were not recognized as an ethnic group by the governments and they fostered divisions among Assyrians along religious lines (e.g. Assyrian Church of the East vs. Chaldean Catholic Church vs Syriac Orthodox Church).<ref name= "UNHCR1">{{cite web| url= http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,USCIS,,IRQ,,3f520de14,0.html |title= Iraq: Information on treatment of Assyrian and Chaldean Christians |publisher= United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |work= Refworld |access-date=18 February 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121019062353/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country%2C%2CUSCIS%2C%2CIRQ%2C%2C3f520de14%2C0.html |archive-date=19 October 2012 }}</ref>[[File:SyriacChurch-Mosul.jpg|thumb|left|Celebration at a Syriac Orthodox monastery in [[Mosul]], early 20th century]] In response to Baathist persecution, the Assyrians of the [[Zowaa]] movement within the [[Assyrian Democratic Movement]] took up armed struggle against the Iraqi government in 1982 under the leadership of [[Yonadam Kanna]],<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.zowaa.org/| title=زوعا| work=zowaa.org| language=| access-date=18 February 2015| archive-date=3 September 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160903153813/http://www.zowaa.org/| url-status=live}}</ref> and then joined up with the Iraqi-Kurdistan Front in the early 1990s. Yonadam Kanna in particular was a target of the [[Saddam Hussein]] Ba'ath government for many years. The [[Anfal genocide|Anfal campaign]] of 1986–1989 in Iraq, which was intended to target Kurdish opposition, resulted in 2,000 Assyrians being murdered through its gas campaigns. Over 31 towns and villages, 25 Assyrian monasteries and churches were razed to the ground. Some Assyrians were murdered, others were deported to large cities, and their lands and homes then being appropriated by Arabs and Kurds.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.indict.org.uk/crimedetails.php?crime=Anfal | title= The Anfal Offensives |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110928232815/http://www.indict.org.uk/crimedetails.php?crime=Anfal |archive-date= September 28, 2011 | website= indict.org.uk | publisher=| date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last1=Certrez |last2=Donabed |last3=Makko |title=The Assyrian Heritage: Threads of Continuity and Influence |pages=288–289|year=2012|publisher=Uppsala University|isbn=978-91-554-8303-6}}</ref> ==== 21st century ==== {{Main|Assyrian exodus from Iraq|2008 attacks on Christians in Mosul}} [[File:Assyrian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, Armenia.JPG|thumb|upright=0.75|Assyrian Genocide Memorial in [[Yerevan]], [[Armenia]]]] After the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|2003 Invasion of Iraq]] by [[United States|US]] and its [[Multi-National Force – Iraq|allies]], the [[Coalition Provisional Authority]] disbanded the [[Iraq]]i military, security, and intelligence infrastructure of former President [[Saddam Hussein]] and began a process of "[[de-Baathification]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title={{as written|Coa|liton [sic]}} Provisional Authority Order Number 1 – De-Ba'Athification Of Iraqi Society |url=http://www.cpa-iraq.org/regulations/20030516_CPAORD_1_De-Ba_athification_of_Iraqi_Society_.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509145453/http://www.cpa-iraq.org/regulations/20030516_CPAORD_1_De-Ba_athification_of_Iraqi_Society_.pdf |archive-date=9 May 2008 |access-date=2022-02-10 }}</ref> This process became an object of controversy, cited by some critics as the biggest American mistake made in the immediate aftermath of the Invasion of Iraq, and as one of the main causes in the deteriorating security situation throughout Iraq.<ref name="NPR Mullen Mistakes2">{{cite news |date=1 August 2007 |title=Mullen's Plain Talk About U.S. Mistakes in Iraq |newspaper=National Public Radio |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/news/2007/08/mullens_plain_talk_about_us_mi_1.html |access-date=24 September 2010 |archive-date=8 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108170101/http://www.npr.org/blogs/news/2007/08/mullens_plain_talk_about_us_mi_1.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SSI What Went Wrong">Henderson & Tucker, p. 19.</ref> Social unrest and chaos resulted in the unprovoked persecution of Assyrians in Iraq mostly by [[Islamic extremism|Islamic extremists]] (both [[Shia]] and [[Sunni]]) and [[Kurdish nationalism|Kurdish nationalists]] (ex. [[2011 Dohuk riots|Dohuk Riots of 2011]] aimed at Assyrians & [[Yazidis]]). In places such as [[Dora, Baghdad|Dora]], a neighborhood in southwestern [[Baghdad]], the majority of its Assyrian population has either fled abroad or to northern Iraq, or has been murdered.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/07/05/exodus_of_christians_hits_baghdad_district/| title= Exodus of Christians hits Baghdad district| work= [[The Boston Globe]]| access-date= 18 February 2015| archive-date= 24 September 2015| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150924154643/http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/07/05/exodus_of_christians_hits_baghdad_district/| url-status= live}}</ref> Islamic resentment over the United States' occupation of Iraq, and incidents such as the [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|''Jyllands-Posten'' Muhammad cartoons]] and the [[Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy]], have resulted in Muslims attacking Assyrian communities. Since the start of the Iraq war, at least 46 churches and monasteries have been bombed.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.aina.org/news/20080107163014.htm | title= Church Bombings in Iraq Since 2004 | website= Aina.org | access-date= 2008-11-16 | archive-date= 16 January 2008 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080116141427/http://www.aina.org/news/20080107163014.htm | url-status= live }}</ref> In recent years, the Assyrians in northern Iraq and northeast Syria have become the target of extreme unprovoked [[Islamic terrorism]]. As a result, Assyrians have taken up arms alongside other groups, such as the Kurds, Turcomans and Armenians, in response to unprovoked attacks by [[Al Qaeda]], the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State]] (ISIL), [[Nusra Front]] and other [[terrorist]] [[Islamic Fundamentalist]] groups. In 2014 Islamic terrorists of ISIL attacked Assyrian towns and villages in the [[Assyrian Homeland]] of northern Iraq, together with cities such as [[Mosul]] and [[Kirkuk]] which have large Assyrian populations. There have been reports of atrocities committed by ISIL terrorists since, including; beheadings, crucifixions, child murders, rape, forced conversions, [[ethnic cleansing]], robbery, and extortion in the form of illegal taxes levied upon non-Muslims. Assyrians in Iraq have responded by forming armed militias to defend their territories. In response to the Islamic State's [[Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014)|invasion of the Assyrian homeland]] in 2014, many Assyrian organizations also formed their own independent fighting forces to combat ISIL and potentially retake their "ancestral lands."<ref name="aleteia" /> These include the [[Nineveh Plain Protection Units]],<ref>{{cite web | url = http://catholicphilly.com/2016/04/news/world-news/militias-of-iraqi-christians-resist-islamic-state-amid-sectarian-strife/ | title = Militias of Iraqi Christians resist Islamic State amid sectarian strife | last = Jeffrey | first = Paul | date = April 29, 2016 | website = CatholicPhilly.com | access-date = August 2, 2020 | archive-date = 10 August 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200810030407/https://catholicphilly.com/2016/04/news/world-news/militias-of-iraqi-christians-resist-islamic-state-amid-sectarian-strife/ | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="aleteia">{{cite web| first= John| last= Burger| website= Aletia.org| date= December 4, 2014| url= http://www.aleteia.org/en/world/article/christians-in-iraq-forming-militia-to-defend-and-possibly-retake-ancestral-lands-5337839336161280| title= Christians in Iraq Forming Militia to Defend, and Possibly Retake, Ancestral Lands| publisher= | access-date= 3 August 2020| archive-date= 1 April 2015| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150401150800/http://www.aleteia.org/en/world/article/christians-in-iraq-forming-militia-to-defend-and-possibly-retake-ancestral-lands-5337839336161280| url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first= Steven | last= Nelson | work= [[U.S. News & World Report]] | date= February 6, 2015 | url= https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/02/06/iraqi-christians-form-anti-isis-militia-and-you-can-legally-fund-them | title= Iraqi Assyrian Christians Form Anti-ISIS Militia, and You Can Legally Chip In | publisher= | access-date= 3 August 2020 | archive-date= 24 July 2022 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220724184032/https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/02/06/iraqi-christians-form-anti-isis-militia-and-you-can-legally-fund-them | url-status= live }}</ref> [[Dwekh Nawsha]],<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/10/iraq-christian-paramilitary-forces-nineveh.html | title=Iraq's Christian paramilitaries split in IS fight | date=30 October 2014 | agency=[[Al-Monitor]] | access-date=10 March 2015 | last=Henderson | first=Peter | archive-date=4 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304202804/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/10/iraq-christian-paramilitary-forces-nineveh.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Westerners join Iraqi Christian militia to 'crusade' |url=https://www.worldbulletin.net/world/westerners-join-iraqi-christian-militia-to-crusade-h155284.html |publisher=World Bulletin |access-date=14 April 2019 |date=18 February 2015 |archive-date=14 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414221121/https://www.worldbulletin.net/world/westerners-join-iraqi-christian-militia-to-crusade-h155284.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[Nineveh Plain Forces]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://warisboring.com/inside-the-christian-militias-defending-the-nineveh-plains-fe4a10babeed#.e83w8o5am|title=Inside the Christian Militias Defending the Nineveh Plains |website= Warisboring.com |date=7 March 2015| access-date=8 January 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160907184807/https://warisboring.com/inside-the-christian-militias-defending-the-nineveh-plains-fe4a10babeed#.e83w8o5am |archive-date=7 September 2016| df= dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.syriacsnews.com/establishment-nineveh-plain-forces-npf/ |title=The establishment of Nineveh Plain Forces – NPF|publisher=Syriac International News Agency|date=7 January 2015|access-date=5 January 2017| url-status= usurped |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180816051210/http://www.syriacsnews.com/establishment-nineveh-plain-forces-npf/|archive-date=16 August 2018}}</ref> The latter two of these militias were eventually disbanded.<ref>{{citation| last= Hanna| first= Reine| date=June 1, 2020|title=Contested Control: The Future of Security in Iraq's Nineveh Plain| publisher=Assyrian Policy Institute|page = 38 & 39}}</ref> In Syria, the ''[[Dawronoye]]'' modernization movement has influenced Assyrian identity [[Assyrians in Syria|in the region]].<ref name=Dawronoye>{{cite web | first= Carl | last= Drott | url= http://www.warscapes.com/reportage/revolutionaries-bethnahrin | title= The Revolutionaries of Bethnahrin | website= Warscapes.com | date= 25 May 2015 | access-date= 18 September 2016 | archive-date= 10 July 2019 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190710040436/http://www.warscapes.com/reportage/revolutionaries-bethnahrin | url-status= live }}</ref> The largest proponent of the movement, the [[Syriac Union Party (Syria)|Syriac Union Party]] (SUP) has become a major political actor in the [[Democratic Federation of Northern Syria]]. In August 2016, the ''Ourhi Centre'' in the city of [[Qamishli|Zalin]] was started by the Assyrian community, to educate teachers in order to make Syriac an optional language of instruction in public schools,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/08/syriac-christians-revive-ancient-language-despite-war-2/|title=Syriac Christians revive ancient language despite war|publisher=ARA News|date=2016-08-19|access-date=2016-08-19|archive-date=18 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818211634/http://aranews.net/2016/08/syriac-christians-revive-ancient-language-despite-war-2/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.hawarnews.com/the-syriacs-are-taught-their-language-for-the-first-time/|title=The Syriacs are taught their language for the first time|publisher=[[Hawar News Agency]]|date=2016-09-24|access-date=2016-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924094715/http://en.hawarnews.com/the-syriacs-are-taught-their-language-for-the-first-time/|archive-date=2016-09-24}}</ref> which then started with the 2016/17 academic year.<ref name=syriaclanguage>{{cite web|url=http://syrianobserver.com/EN/News/31729/Hassakeh_Syriac_Language_Be_Taught_PYD_controlled_Schools/|title=Hassakeh: Syriac Language to Be Taught in PYD-controlled Schools|publisher=The Syrian Observer|date=3 October 2016|access-date=2016-10-05|archive-date=14 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514082443/https://syrianobserver.com/news/25299/hassakeh_syriac_language_be_taught_pyd_controlled_schools.html|url-status=live}}</ref> With that academic year, states the Rojava Education Committee, "three curriculums have replaced the old one, to include teaching in three languages: Kurdish, Arabic and Assyrian."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/10/rojava-administration-launches-new-education-system-kurdish-arabic-assyrian-2/|title=Rojava administration launches new curriculum in Kurdish, Arabic and Assyrian|publisher=ARA News|date=7 October 2016|access-date=2016-10-07|archive-date=7 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007194102/http://aranews.net/2016/10/rojava-administration-launches-new-education-system-kurdish-arabic-assyrian-2/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Associated with the SUP is the [[Syriac Military Council]], an Assyrian militia operating in Syria, established in January 2013 to protect and stand up for the national rights of Assyrians in Syria as well as working together with the other communities in Syria to change the current government of [[Bashar al-Assad]].<ref>[http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syriacs-establish-military-council-in-syria.aspx?pageID=238&nid=40329 Syriacs establish military council in Syria] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006125944/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syriacs-establish-military-council-in-syria.aspx?pageID=238&nid=40329 |date=6 October 2014 }}, ''[[Hürriyet Daily News]]'', 2 February 2013</ref> However, many Assyrians and the organizations that represent them, particularly those outside of Syria, are critical of the Dawronoye movement.<ref name="schools" /><ref name="policy" /> A 2018 report stated that Kurdish authorities in Syria, in conjunction with Dawronoye officials, had shut down several Assyrian schools in Northern Syria and fired their administration. This was said to be because these schooled failed to register for a license and for rejecting the new curriculum approved by the Education Authority. Closure methods ranged from officially shutting down schools to having armed men enter the schools and shut them down forcefully. An Assyrian educator named Isa Rashid was later badly beaten outside of his home for rejecting the Kurdish self-administration's curriculum.<ref name="policy">{{cite web| url = https://www.assyrianpolicy.org/post/kurdish-self-administration-in-syria-release-assyrian-journalist-souleman-yusph| title = Kurdish Self-Administration in Syria: Release Assyrian Journalist Souleman Yusph| date = September 30, 2018| website = Assyrian Policy Institute| access-date = August 2, 2020| archive-date = 14 August 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200814195454/https://www.assyrianpolicy.org/post/kurdish-self-administration-in-syria-release-assyrian-journalist-souleman-yusph| url-status = live}}</ref><ref name="schools">{{cite web | url = https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/09/assyrian-christians-face-persecution-kurdish-nationalists/ | title = Closure of Syrian Schools: Another Bleak Sign for Christians in Syria | last = Safi | first = Marlo | date = September 25, 2018 | website = National Review | access-date = August 2, 2020 | archive-date = 29 October 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191029205739/https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/09/assyrian-christians-face-persecution-kurdish-nationalists/ | url-status = live }}</ref> The Assyrian Policy Institute claimed that an Assyrian reporter named Souleman Yusph was arrested by Kurdish forces for his reports on the Dawronoye-related school closures in Syria. Specifically, he had shared numerous photographs on Facebook detailing the closures.<ref name="policy" /> == Demographics == [[File:Maunsell&#039;s map, Pre-World War I British Ethnographical Map of eastern Turkey in Asia, Syria and western Persia 01.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Maunsell's map, a Pre-World War I British Ethnographical Map of the Middle East showing "''Chaldeans''", "''Jacobites''", and "''Nestorians''"]] [[File:Map of Assyria Paris Peace Conference 1919.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|The Assyro-Chaldean Delegation's map of an independent Assyria, presented at the Paris Peace Conference 1919]] === Homeland === {{Main|Assyrian homeland|List of Assyrian tribes|Proposals for Assyrian autonomy in Iraq}} The [[Assyrian homeland]] includes the [[Ancient history|ancient]] cities of Nineveh ([[Mosul]]), Nuhadra ([[Dohuk]]), [[Arrapha]]/Beth Garmai ([[Kirkuk]]), [[Al Qosh]], [[Tesqopa]] and [[Erbil|Arbela]] (Erbil) in Iraq, [[Urmia]] in Iran, and [[Hakkari (historical region)|Hakkari]] (a large region which comprises the modern towns of [[Yüksekova]], [[Hakkâri (city)|Hakkâri]], [[Çukurca]], [[Şemdinli]] and [[Uludere]]), [[Edessa]]/Urhoy ([[Urfa]]), [[Harran]], Amida ([[Diyarbakır]]) and [[Tur Abdin]] ([[Midyat]] and [[Kafro]]) in Turkey, among others.<ref>Wigram, W.A., "The Ashiret Highlands of Hakkari (Mesopotamia)," Royal Central Asian Society Journal, 1916, Vol. III, pg. 40. – The Assyrians and their Neighbors (London, 1929)</ref> Some of the cities are presently under Kurdish control and some still have an Assyrian presence, namely those in Iraq, as the Assyrian population in southeastern Turkey (such as those in Hakkari) was [[ethnically cleanse]]d during the [[Assyrian genocide]] of the [[First World War]].{{sfn|Laing-Marshall|2005|p=149-150}} Those who survived fled to unaffected areas of Assyrian settlement in northern Iraq, with others settling in [[List of cities in Iraq|Iraqi cities]] to the south. Though many also immigrated to neighbouring countries in and around the [[Caucasus]] and [[Middle East]] like Armenia, Syria, Georgia, southern Russia, Lebanon and Jordan.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IXJ6CgAAQBAJ&q=assyrian+homeland&pg=PA31|title=The West in the World|last=Sherman|date=2013-09-13|publisher=McGraw-Hill Higher Education|isbn=978-1-259-15705-9|language=en}}</ref> In ancient times, [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]-speaking Assyrians have existed in what is now Syria, Jordan, [[State of Palestine|Palestine]], Israel and Lebanon, among other modern countries, due to the sprawl of the [[Neo-Assyrian empire]] in the region.{{sfn|Bryce|2009|p=439}} Though recent settlement of Christian Assyrians in [[Nusaybin|Nisabina]], [[Qamishli]], [[Al-Hasakah]], [[Al-Qahtaniyah, al-Hasakah Governorate|Al-Qahtaniyah]], [[Al Darbasiyah]], [[Al-Malikiyah]], [[Amuda]], [[Tel Tamer]] and a few other small towns in [[Al-Hasakah Governorate]] in Syria, occurred in the early 1930s,<ref>Betts, Robert Brenton, Christians in the Arab East (Atlanta, 1978)</ref> when they fled from northern Iraq after they were targeted and slaughtered during the [[Simele massacre]].<ref>Dodge, Bayard, "The Settlement of the Assyrians on the Khabur," Royal Central Asian Society Journal, July 1940, pp. 301–320.</ref> The Assyrians in Syria did not have [[Syrian citizenship]] and title to their established land until late the 1940s.<ref>Rowlands, J., "The Khabur Valley," Royal Central Asian Society Journal, 1947, pp. 144–149.</ref> Sizable Assyrian populations only remain in [[Assyrians in Syria|Syria]], where an estimated 400,000 Assyrians live,<ref name="Al-Monitor">{{Cite web |url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/10/iraq-assyrians-ethnic-rights-ignored.html |title=Al-Monitor: Ethnic dimension of Iraqi Assyrians often ignored |access-date=2014-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017200046/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/10/iraq-assyrians-ethnic-rights-ignored.html |archive-date=2015-10-17 |date=2014-10-10 }}</ref> and [[Assyrians in Iraq|in Iraq]], where an estimated 300,000 Assyrians live.<ref name="ishtartv.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.ishtartv.com/viewarticle,48856.html|title=مسؤول مسيحي: عدد المسيحيين في العراق تراجع الى ثلاثمائة الف|access-date=18 February 2015|archive-date=8 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200208111600/https://www.ishtartv.com/viewarticle,48856.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This is a decline from an estimate of 1,100,000 Assyrians in the 1980’s, following instability caused by the American invasion of Iraq in 2003.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McBride |first=Julian |date=February 4, 2023 |title=Assyrians Continue to Struggle to Survive Post-U.S. Invasion of Iraq |url=https://thegeopolitics.com/assyrians-continue-to-struggle-to-survive-post-u-s-invasion-of-iraq/ |access-date=March 4, 2024 |website=Geopolitics.com}}</ref> In Iran and Turkey, only small populations remain, with only 20,000 [[Assyrians in Iran]],<ref name="atourpop">{{cite web|url=http://www.aina.org/articles/dtcitaic.htm|title=Ishtar: Documenting The Crisis In The Assyrian Iranian Community|work=aina.org|access-date=3 October 2007|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221173054/http://www.aina.org/articles/dtcitaic.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees">{{cite web |author=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/4cb826c3c.html |title=Iran: Last of the Assyrians |publisher=Refworld |date=2010-10-13 |access-date=2013-09-18 |archive-date=21 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221135447/https://www.refworld.org/docid/4cb826c3c.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and a small but growing [[Assyrians in Turkey|Assyrian population in Turkey]], where 25,000 Assyrians live, mostly in the cities and not the ancient settlements.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-06 |title=Cumhuriyetin ilk kilisesi açılıyor… Süryani Ruhani Lideri'nin ilk röportajı CNN Türk'te |url=https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/cumhuriyetin-ilk-kilisesi-aciliyor-suryani-ruhani-liderinin-ilk-roportaji-cnn-turkte-42341964 |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=www.hurriyet.com.tr |language=tr}}</ref> [[File:Project assyria (updated).png|thumb|Worldwide population changes of the Assyrian population, showing a steep decline in areas where Assyrians lived historically, however a sharp increase in the overall population of the Assyrian diaspora.]] In Tur Abdin, a traditional centre of [[Assyrian culture]], there are only 2,500 Assyrians left.{{sfn|Atto|2011|p=83}} Down from 50,000 in the 1960 census, but up from 1,000 in 1992. This sharp decline is due to an intense conflict between [[Turkey-PKK War|Turkey and the PKK]] in the 1980s. However, there are an estimated 25,000 Assyrians in all of Turkey, with most living in [[Istanbul]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-06 |title=Cumhuriyetin ilk kilisesi açılıyor… Süryani Ruhani Lideri'nin ilk röportajı CNN Türk'te |url=https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/cumhuriyetin-ilk-kilisesi-aciliyor-suryani-ruhani-liderinin-ilk-roportaji-cnn-turkte-42341964 |access-date=2023-10-07 |website=www.hurriyet.com.tr |language=tr}}</ref> Most Assyrians currently reside in [[Western world|the West]] due to the centuries of persecution by the neighboring Muslims.<ref name=autogenerated18>{{Cite web|url=http://sor.cua.edu/SOCNews/2002/20021201EUPStmt.html|title=Statement on Assyrians/Syriacs in Turkey/Iraq|website=sor.cua.edu|access-date=2008-12-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120131038/http://sor.cua.edu/SOCNews/2002/20021201EUPStmt.html|archive-date=2008-11-20}}</ref> Prior to the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]], in a 2013 report by a [[Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council]] official, it was estimated that 300,000 Assyrians remained in Iraq.<ref name="ishtartv.com"/> ===Assyrian subgroups=== There are three main Assyrian subgroups: Eastern, Western, Chaldean. These subdivisions are only partially overlapping linguistically, historically, culturally, and religiously. * The Eastern subgroup historically inhabited [[Hakkari (historical region)|Hakkari]] in the northern [[Zagros Mountains]], the [[Simele]] and [[Sapna valley]]s in [[Dohuk|Nuhadra]], and parts of the Nineveh and [[Urmia Plain]]s. They speak [[Northeastern Neo-Aramaic]] dialects and are religiously diverse, adhering to the [[East Syriac Rite|East Syriac]] churches<ref name="Minahan 2002, p. 209">[[#CITEREFMinahan2002|Minahan 2002]], p. 209</ref> and [[Protestantism]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Vander Werff|first=Lyle L. |title=Christian mission to Muslims: the record: Anglican and Reformed approaches in India and the Near East, 1800–1938|publisher=William Carey Library|year=1977|series=The William Carey Library series on Islamic studies|pages=[https://archive.org/details/christianmission0000vand/page/366 366]|isbn=978-0-87808-320-6|url=https://archive.org/details/christianmission0000vand|url-access=registration}}</ref> * The Chaldean subgroup is a subgroup of the Eastern one. The group is often equated with the adherents of the Chaldean Catholic Church,<ref name='BBC'>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7271828.stm |title=Who are the Chaldean Christians? |date=March 13, 2008 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=March 26, 2010 |archive-date=28 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128025509/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7271828.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> however not all [[Chaldean Catholics]] identify as Chaldean.{{sfn|Nisan|2002|p=x}}{{sfn|Travis|2010|p=238}} They are traditionally speakers of [[Northeastern Neo-Aramaic]] dialects, however there are some Turoyo speakers. In Iraq, Chaldean Catholics inhabit the western [[Nineveh Plains]] villages of [[Alqosh]], [[Batnaya]], [[Tel Keppe]] and [[Tesqopa]], as well as the [[Nahla valley]] and [[Aqra]]. In Syria they live in [[Aleppo]] and the [[Al-Hasakah Governorate]]. [[Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Amida|In Turkey]], they live scattered in [[Istanbul]], [[Diyarbakir]], [[Sirnak Province]] and [[Mardin Province]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-religion-turkey-christians-factbox-idUSTRE50L08O20090122|title=FACTBOX: Christians in Turkey|date=22 January 2009|access-date=11 May 2023|via=www.reuters.com|archive-date=11 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511063603/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-religion-turkey-christians-factbox-idUSTRE50L08O20090122|url-status=live}}</ref> * The Western subgroup, historically inhabited [[Tur Abdin]].<ref>The Middle East, abstracts and index, Part 1. Library Information and Research Service. Northumberland Press, 2002. Page 491.</ref><ref>Central Asia and the Caucasus: transnationalism and diaspora. Touraj Atabaki, Sanjyot Mehendale. Routledge, 2005. Page 228.</ref> They mainly speak the [[Central Neo-Aramaic]] language [[Turoyo language|Surayt]] (also known as [[Turoyo]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Šlomo Surayt |url=https://textbook.surayt.com/en/Online%20Course/0 |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=textbook.surayt.com |archive-date=20 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120011643/https://textbook.surayt.com/en/Online%20Course/0 |url-status=live }}</ref> Most adhere to the [[West Syriac Rite|West Syriac]] churches,<ref name="Minahan 2002, p. 209"/> such as the [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch]] and the [[Syriac Catholic Church]]. Today there are also evangelical groups that have founded their own churches in the diaspora. Historically, [[Assyrian culture|Syriac Orthodox culture]] was centred in two monasteries near [[Mardin]] (west of Tur Abdin), [[Mor Gabriel Monastery|Mor Gabriel]] and [[Deyrulzafaran]].{{sfn|Üngör|2011|p=15}} Historic Assyrian villages, some of which are still inhabited by Assyrians in Turabdin, include the following: [[Gülgöze, Mardin|Aynwardo]], [[Yemişli, Midyat|Anhil]], [[Elbeğendi, Midyat|Kafro]], Miden, Arnas, Beth Debe, [[Beth Kustan, Mardin|Beth Kustan]], Beth Sbirino, Dayro da-Slibo, Hrabemishka, Qartmin, Arkah, [[Taşköy, Nusaybin|Arbo]], [[Doğançay, Mardin|Mizizah]], [[Altıntaş, Midyat|Kfraze]], Hah, Marbobo, Salah, Sare and Hapsis. In addition, the cities of [[Midyat]] and [[İdil|Beth Zabday]] (''Azech)'' were historically Assyrian cities with an Assyrian majority, this is no longer the case today. Outside of the area of core Assyrian settlement in [[Tur Abdin]], there were also sizable populations in the towns of [[Diyarbakır]], [[Urfa]], [[Harput]], and [[Adiyaman]]{{sfn|Gaunt ''et al.''|2017| p=19}} as well as some other villages. [[File:Tur Abdin.svg|thumb|With its many historic churches & monasteries, Tur Abdin is considered the spiritual centre of the Syriac Orthodox Assyrians.]] [[File:Assyrian genocide map-pt.svg|thumb|upright=1.15|A map depicting Assyrian relocation after Seyfo in 1914]] === Persecution === Due to their Christian faith and ethnicity, the Assyrians have been persecuted since their adoption of Christianity. During the reign of [[Yazdegerd I]], Christians in Persia were viewed with suspicion as potential Roman subversives, resulting in persecutions while at the same time promoting [[Nestorianism|Nestorian]] Christianity as a buffer between the Churches of Rome and Persia. Persecutions and attempts to impose [[Zoroastrianism]] continued during the reign of [[Yazdegerd II]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=1u2oP2RihIgC&pg=PA85 ''This History of the Medieval World''] by Susan Wise Bauer, pg. 85–87</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2nWP0_6gkiYC&pg=PA83 ''A Short World History of Christianity''] by Robert Bruce Mullin, pp. 82–85</ref> During the eras of Mongol rule under [[Genghis Khan]] and [[Timur]], there was indiscriminate slaughter of tens of thousands of Assyrians and destruction of the Assyrian population of northwestern Iran and central and northern Iran.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/409819/Nestorian |title=Nestorian (Christian sect) |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |access-date=2013-09-18}}</ref> More recent persecutions since the 19th century include the [[massacres of Badr Khan]], the [[massacres of Diyarbakır (1895)]], the [[Adana massacre]], the [[Assyrian genocide]], the [[Simele massacre]], and the [[al-Anfal campaign]]. === Diaspora === {{main|Assyrian Diaspora}} {{see also|List of Assyrian settlements|Assyrian population by country}} [[File:Assyrian world population.png|thumb|upright=1.15|Assyrian world population<br /> {{legend|#440055|more than 500,000}} {{legend|#aa00d4|100,000–500,000}} {{legend|#dd55ff|50,000–100,000}} {{legend|#eeaaff|10,000–50,000}} {{legend|#F9D6FE|less than 10,000}}]] Since the [[Assyrian genocide]], many Assyrians have left the Middle East entirely for a more safe and comfortable life in the countries of the [[Western world]]. As a result of this, the Assyrian population in the Middle East has decreased dramatically. As of today there are more Assyrians in the diaspora than in their homeland. The largest Assyrian diaspora communities are found in [[Assyrians/Syriacs in Sweden|Sweden]] (100,000),<ref name="Demographics of Sweden">[http://www.eurfedling.org/Sweden.htm Demographics of Sweden] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502175529/http://www.eurfedling.org/Sweden.htm |date=2 May 2019 }}, [[Swedish Language Council]] "Sweden has also one of the largest exile communities of Assyrian and Syriac Christians (also known as Chaldeans) with a population of around 100,000."</ref> [[Assyrians/Syriacs in Germany|Germany]] (100,000),<ref name="Erzdiözese">{{cite web|url=http://www.sokad.de/index.php/erzdioezese |title=Erzdiözese |access-date=18 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150305015143/http://sokad.de/index.php/erzdioezese |archive-date=5 March 2015 }}</ref> the [[Assyrian Americans|United States]] (80,000),<ref name="Data Access and Dissemination Systems DADS 2">{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_1YR_S0201&prodType=table|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212055845/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_1YR_S0201&prodType=table|archive-date=12 February 2020|title=American FactFinder – Results|publisher=Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS)|access-date=18 February 2015}}</ref> and in [[Australia]] (46,000).<ref>Assyrian Australian Association & Ettinger House 1997, Settlement Issues of the Assyrian Community, AAA, Sydney.</ref> By ethnic percentage, the largest Assyrian diaspora communities are located in [[Södertälje]] in [[Stockholm County]],<ref name="Nineveh Press">{{cite book |last1=Lundgren |first1=Svante |title=The Assyrians: Fifty Years in Swedenq |date=15 May 2019 |publisher=Nineveh Press |isbn=978-91-984101-7-4 |page=14}}</ref> [[Assyrians and Syriacs in Sweden|Sweden]], and in [[Fairfield City]] in [[Sydney]], [[Assyrian Australian|Australia]], where they are the leading ethnic group in the suburbs of [[Fairfield, New South Wales|Fairfield]], [[Fairfield Heights]], [[Prairiewood, New South Wales|Prairiewood]] and [[Greenfield Park, New South Wales|Greenfield Park]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/news/fairfields-assyrian-resource-centre-has-secured-40000-to-fund-its-renovations/story-fngr8gwi-1226813905924|title=Fairfield's Assyrian Resource Centre has secured $40,000 to fund its renovations|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=January 31, 2014}}</ref><ref>Fairfield City Council 2003, State of the Community Report, Fairfield City Council, Wakeley.</ref><ref>Kinarah: Twentieth Anniversary of Assyrian Australian Association 1989, Assyrian Australian Association, Edensor Park.</ref> There is also a sizable Assyrian community in [[Melbourne]], Australia ([[Broadmeadows, Victoria|Broadmeadows]], [[Meadow Heights]] and [[Craigieburn, Victoria|Craigieburn]])<ref>Deniz, F. 2000, 'Maintenance and Transformation of Ethnic Identity: the Assyrian Case', The Assyrian Australian Academic Journal</ref> In the [[Assyrian Americans|United States]], Assyrians are mostly found in [[Chicago]] ([[Niles, Illinois|Niles]] and [[Skokie, Illinois|Skokie]]), [[Detroit]] ([[Sterling Heights, Michigan|Sterling Heights]], and [[West Bloomfield Township]]), [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], [[Modesto, California|Modesto]] ([[Stanislaus County, California|Stanislaus County]]) and [[Turlock, California|Turlock]].<ref name="Thrown to the Lions">[http://spectator.org/archives/2007/07/02/thrown-to-the-lions Thrown to the Lions] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808095832/http://spectator.org/archives/2007/07/02/thrown-to-the-lions |date=2013-08-08 }}, [[Doug Bandow]], The America Spectator</ref> Small Assyrian communities are found in [[San Diego]], [[Sacramento]] and [[Fresno]] in the United States, [[Toronto]] in [[Assyrian Canadians|Canada]] and also in [[London]], [[British Assyrians|UK]] ([[London Borough of Ealing]]). In [[German Assyrians|Germany]], pocket-sized Assyrian communities are scattered throughout [[Munich]], [[Frankfurt]], [[Stuttgart]], [[Berlin]] and [[Wiesbaden]]. In [[Paris]], [[Assyrians in France|France]], the commune of [[Sarcelles]] has a small number of Assyrians. [[Assyrians in the Netherlands]] mainly live in the east of the country, in the province of [[Overijssel]]. In [[Assyrians in Russia|Russia]], small groups of Assyrians mostly reside in [[Krasnodar Kray]] and [[Moscow]].<ref name="http://www.aina.org/brief.html">{{cite web |author1=Peter BetBasoo |title=Brief History of Assyrians |url=http://www.aina.org/brief.html |website=www.aina.org |access-date=7 April 2012 |archive-date=17 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017014421/http://www.aina.org/brief.html |url-status=live }}</ref> To note, the Assyrians residing in [[California]] and Russia tend to be from [[Iranian Assyrians|Iran]], whilst those in Chicago and Sydney are predominantly [[Iraqi Assyrians]]. More recently, [[Syrian Assyrians]] are growing in size in Sydney after a huge influx of new arrivals in 2016, who were granted [[Asylum in Australia|asylum]] under the [[Government of Australia|Federal Government]]'s special [[humanitarian]] intake.<ref>[https://www.ssi.org.au/news/ssi-news-blog/938-the-facts-about-syrian-refugees-and-fairfield The facts about Syrian refugees and Fairfield] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721073241/https://www.ssi.org.au/news/ssi-news-blog/938-the-facts-about-syrian-refugees-and-fairfield |date=21 July 2018 }} by SSI News Blog, 23 February 2017</ref><ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-02/fairfield-struggles-to-cope-after-increase-in-refugee-arrivals/8145250 Fairfield struggles to cope after threefold increase in refugee arrivals] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806111928/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-02/fairfield-struggles-to-cope-after-increase-in-refugee-arrivals/8145250 |date=6 August 2018 }} by Penny Timms from [[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]], 3 January 2017</ref> The Assyrians in [[Assyrians in Detroit|Detroit]] are primarily [[Chaldean Neo-Aramaic|Chaldean]] speakers, who also originate from Iraq.<ref name=ACMEp2>"[http://www.cus.wayne.edu/content/publications/Arab_Factsheet1.pdf Arab, Chaldean, and Middle Eastern Children and Families in the Tri-County Area]." ([https://web.archive.org/web/20131109050605/http://www.cus.wayne.edu/content/publications/Arab_Factsheet1.pdf Archive]) ''From a Child's Perspective: Detroit Metropolitan Census 2000 Fact Sheets Series''. [[Wayne State University]]. Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2004. p. 2/32. Retrieved on November 8, 2013.</ref> Assyrians in such European countries as Sweden and Germany would usually be [[Turoyo]]-speakers or Western Assyrians,<ref>B. Furze, P. Savy, R. Brym, J. Lie, Sociology in Today's World, 2008, p. 349</ref> and tend to be originally from [[Turkish Assyrians|Turkey]].<ref name="Nineveh Press"/> == Identity and subdivisions == {{Further|Assyrian nationalism|3=Arabization|4=Turkification|5=Kurdification}} [[File:Flag of the Assyrians (gold and blue Assur).svg|thumb|[[Assyrian flag]], adopted in 1968<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/assyria.html |title=Assyria |publisher=Crwflags.com |access-date=2008-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012054550/http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/Flags/assyria.html |archive-date=12 October 2008 }}</ref>]] [[File:Flag of the Syriac-Aramaic People.svg|thumb|[[Syriac flag|Syriac-Aramean flag]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/sy%7Darama.html |title=Syriac-Aramaic People (Syria) |publisher=Crwflags.com |access-date=2008-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011110172504/http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/sy%7Darama.html |archive-date=10 November 2001 |url-status=live }}</ref>]] [[File:Chaldean flag.svg|thumb|[[Chaldean flag]], published in 1999<ref>{{cite web |title=CHALDEAN FLAG ... from A to Z |url=http://chaldeanflag.com/flag.html |website=Chaldean Flag |access-date=27 March 2020 |archive-date=29 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729203245/http://chaldeanflag.com/flag.html |url-status=live }}</ref>]] Syriac Christians of the Middle East and diaspora employ different terms for self-identification based on conflicting beliefs in the origin and identity of their respective communities.{{sfn|Murre van den Berg|2015|p=127}} During the 19th century, English archaeologist [[Austen Henry Layard]] believed that the native Christian communities in the historical region of Assyria were descended from the ancient Assyrians,{{sfn|Layard|1849a|p=IX-X, 38, 241}}{{sfn|Layard|1849b|p= 237}} a view that was also shared by [[William Ainger Wigram]].<ref name="Cross 2005">{{cite book |title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church |last= Cross |first= Frank Leslie |year= 2005 |publisher= Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-280290-3 |quote= In the 19th cent. A. H. Layard, the excavator of Nineveh, first suggested that the local *Syriac Christian communities in the region were descended from the ancient Assyrians, and the idea was later popularized by W. A. Wigram, a member of the Abp. Of Canterbury's Mission to the Church of the East (1895–1915).|page=119 }}</ref>{{sfn|Coakley|2011a|p=45}} Although at the same time [[Horatio Southgate]]{{sfn|Southgate|1840|p=179}} and [[George Thomas Bettany]]{{sfn|Bettany|1888|p=491}} claimed during their travels through [[Mesopotamia]] that the Syriac Christians are the descendants of the [[Arameans]]. Today, Assyrians and other minority ethnic groups in the Middle East, feel pressure to identify as "Arabs",<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.meforum.org/article/558|title=Iraqi Assyrians: Barometer of Pluralism|author=Jonathan Eric Lewis|journal=Middle East Forum|date=June 2003|access-date=18 February 2015|archive-date=4 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704192409/http://www.meforum.org/article/558|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aina.org/releases/20070416140021.htm |title=Arab American Institute Still Deliberately Claiming Assyrians Are Arabs |publisher=Aina.org |access-date=2008-11-16 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126055125/http://www.aina.org/releases/20070416140021.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> "Turks" and "Kurds".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aina.org/news/20061120133220.htm |title=In Court, Saddam Criticizes Kurdish Treatment of Assyrians |publisher=Aina.org |access-date=2008-11-16 |archive-date=14 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014180706/http://aina.org/news/20061120133220.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, [[Western media]] often makes no mention of any ethnic identity of the Christians in the region, and simply call refer to them as Christians,<ref name="Al-Monitor" /> [[Christianity in Iraq|Iraqi Christians]], [[Christianity in Iran|Iranian Christians]], [[Christianity in Syria|Christians in Syria]], and [[Christianity in Turkey|Turkish Christians]], a label rejected by Assyrians. === Self-designation === {{Main|Names of Syriac Christians}} Below are terms commonly used by Assyrians to self-identify:. * '''Assyrian''', named after their ethnicity as the descendants of the ancient Assyrian people,<ref>{{Cite book |title=A companion to Assyria |date=2017 |first=Eckart |last=Frahm |isbn=978-1-118-32524-7 |location=Hoboken, NJ |oclc=962025766}}</ref> is advocated by followers from within all Middle Eastern based [[East Syriac Rite|East]] and [[West Syriac Rite]] Churches. (see [[Syriac Christianity]]){{sfn|Murre van den Berg|2015|p=127}}<ref name="Catholic Encyclopaedia">[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05230a.htm "Eastern Churches"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717065130/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05230a.htm |date=17 July 2018 }}, ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'', see "Eastern Syrians" and "Western Syrians" respectively. Modern terminology within the group is Western Assyrians and Eastern Assyrians respectively, while those who reject the Assyrian identity opt for Syriac or Aramean rather than Assyrian.</ref> * '''Chaldean''' is a term that was used for centuries by western writers and scholars as designation for the [[Aramaic language]]. It was so used by [[Jerome]],{{sfn|Gallagher|2012|p=123-141}} and was still the normal terminology in the nineteenth century.{{sfn|Gesenius|Prideaux-Tregelles|1859|p=}}{{sfn|Fürst|1867|p=}}{{sfn|Davies|1872|p=}} Only in 1445 did it begin to be used to designate Aramaic speakers who had entered [[full communion|communion]] with the [[Catholic Church]]. This happened at the [[Council of Florence]],{{sfn|Coakley|2011b|p=93}} which accepted the profession of faith that Timothy, [[metropolitan bishop|metropolitan]] of the Aramaic speakers in [[Cyprus]], made in Aramaic, and which decreed that "nobody shall in future dare to call [...] Chaldeans, Nestorians".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum17.htm|title=Council of Basel 1431–45 A.D. Council Fathers|first=Council|last=Fathers|date=14 December 1431|access-date=11 May 2023|archive-date=17 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117000637/https://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum17.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Baum|Winkler|2003|p=112}}{{sfn|O'Mahony|2006|p=526-527}} Previously, when there were as yet no Catholic Aramaic speakers of Mesopotamian origin, the term "Chaldean" was applied with explicit reference to their "[[Nestorianism|Nestorian]]" religion. Thus Jacques de Vitry wrote of them in 1220/1 that "they denied that Mary was the Mother of God and claimed that Christ existed in two persons. They consecrated leavened bread and used the 'Chaldean' (Syriac) language".{{sfn|Baum|Winkler|2003|p=63}} Until the second half of the 19th century, the term "Chaldean" continued in general use for East Syriac Christians, whether "Nestorian" or Catholic.{{sfn|Ainsworth|1841|p=36}}{{sfn|Ainsworth|1842b|p=272}}{{sfn|Layard|1849a|p=260}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ppAOAAAAQAAJ&q=levant+chald%C3%A9ens+nestoriens&pg=PA83|title=Histoire critique de la creance et des coûtumes des nations du Levant|first=Richard|last=Simon (oratorien)|date=July 3, 1684|publisher=Chez Frederic Arnaud|via=Google Books|access-date=8 November 2020|archive-date=17 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117150843/https://books.google.com/books?id=ppAOAAAAQAAJ&q=levant+chald%C3%A9ens+nestoriens&pg=PA83|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1840, upon visiting Mesopotamia, [[Horatio Southgate]] reported that local ''Chaldeans'' consider themselves to be descended from ancient ''Assyrians'',{{sfn|Southgate|1840|p=179}} and in some later works also noted the same origin of local ''Jacobites''.{{sfn|Southgate|1842|p=249}}{{sfn|Southgate|1844|p=80}} * '''Aramean''', also known as '''Syriac-Aramean''',<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url = https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.31826/9781463238933-014/html|doi = 10.31826/9781463238933-014|chapter = 11. Other branches of Syriac Christianity: Melkites and Maronites|title = Introduction to Aramean and Syriac Studies|year = 2017|pages = 217–222|isbn = 978-1-4632-3893-3|last1 = Akopian|first1 = Arman|access-date = 10 May 2021|archive-date = 23 April 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210423164655/https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.31826/9781463238933-014/html|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite CiteSeerX |citeseerx = 10.1.1.694.4099|title = Syriac Universal Alliance|year = 2003}}</ref> named after the ancient [[Arameans|Aramean people]], is advocated by some followers from within Middle Eastern based [[West Syriac Rite]] Churches.{{sfn|Donabed|Mako|2009|p=75}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S5mRxprCL9MC&q=Suryanis&pg=PA109|title=Minority Rights in the Middle East|first1=Joshua|last1=Castellino|first2=Kathleen A.|last2=Cavanaugh|date=April 25, 2013|publisher=OUP Oxford|access-date=October 12, 2019|via=Google Books|isbn=978-0-19-967949-2}}</ref> Furthermore, Assyrians identifying as Aramean have obtained recognition from the [[Israeli government]].<ref>{{cite web|script-title=he:אנחנו לא ערבים - אנחנו ארמים|url=http://www.israelhayom.co.il/article/107811|publisher=[[Israel HaYom]]|language=he|date=9 August 2013|access-date=3 October 2015|archive-date=19 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019153849/https://www.israelhayom.co.il/article/107811|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-neither-arab-nor-jew-israel-s-unheard-minorities-speak-up-1.6464684|title=Neither Arab nor Jew: Israel's Unheard Minorities Speak Up After the Nation-state Law|first=Ofer|last=Aderet|date=September 9, 2018|access-date=October 12, 2019|newspaper=Haaretz|archive-date=18 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018190343/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-neither-arab-nor-jew-israel-s-unheard-minorities-speak-up-1.6464684|url-status=live}}</ref> To note, ancient Arameans were a separate ethnic group that lived concurrently with the Assyrian empire in what is now [[Syria]] and parts of [[Lebanon]], [[Israel]] the [[West Bank]] and [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]], [[Jordan]], [[Iraq]] and [[Turkey]].{{sfn|Fiey|1965|p=141–160}}{{sfn|Lipiński|2000|p=}}{{sfn|Schniedewind|2002|p=276-287}}{{sfn|Gzella|2015|p=}} === Assyrian vs. Syrian naming controversy === [[File:Map of ancient Syria, Description de L'Universe (Alain Manesson Mallet, 1683).jpg|thumb|The proximity between [[Roman Syria]] and Mesopotamia in the 1st century AD, [[Alain Manesson Mallet]], 1683]] As early as the 8th century BC [[Luwian]] and [[Cilician]] subject rulers referred to their Assyrian overlords as ''Syrian'', a western [[Proto-Indo-European language|Indo-European]] corruption of the original term ''Assyrian''. The Greeks used the terms "Syrian" and "Assyrian" interchangeably to indicate the indigenous [[Arameans]], Assyrians and other inhabitants of the Near East, [[Herodotus]] considered "Syria" west of the Euphrates. Starting from the 2nd century BC onwards, ancient writers referred to the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] ruler as the [[List of Syrian monarchs|King of Syria]] or King of the Syrians.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8pXhAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA652|title= Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece|author= Nigel Wilson|page= 652|isbn= 978-1-136-78800-0|date= 2013-10-31|publisher= Routledge}}</ref> The Seleucids designated the districts of Seleucis and [[Coele-Syria]] explicitly as Syria and ruled the Syrians as indigenous populations residing west of the [[Euphrates]] in contrast to Assyrians who had their native [[Assyrian homeland|homeland]] in [[Mesopotamia]] east of the Euphrates.{{sfn|Andrade|2013|p=28}}{{sfn|Andrade|2014|p=299–317}} This version of the name took hold in the Hellenic lands to the west of the old Assyrian Empire, thus during [[Greeks|Greek]] [[Seleucid]] rule from 323 BC the name ''Assyria'' was altered to ''Syria'', and this term was also applied to areas west of Euphrates which had been an Assyrian colony, and from this point the Greeks applied the term without distinction between the Assyrians of Mesopotamia and [[Arameans]] of the Levant.<ref>[[Herodotus]], ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|The Histories]]'', VII.63, [[s:History of Herodotus/Book 7]].</ref>{{sfn|Joseph|1997|p=37-43}} The question of ethnic identity and self-designation is sometimes connected to the scholarly debate on the [[Syria (etymology)|etymology of "Syria"]]. The question has a long history of academic controversy, but majority mainstream opinion currently strongly favours that ''Syria'' is indeed ultimately derived from the Assyrian term ''Aššūrāyu''.{{sfn|Frye|1992|p=281–285}}{{sfn|Frye|1997|p=30–36}}{{sfn|Rollinger|2006a|p=72-82}}{{sfn|Rollinger|2006b|p=283-287}} Meanwhile, some scholars has disclaimed the theory of Syrian being derived from Assyrian as "simply naive", and detracted its importance to the naming conflict.{{sfn|Heinrichs|1993|p=106–107}} Rudolf Macuch points out that the Eastern Neo-Aramaic press initially used the term "Syrian" (''suryêta'') and only much later, with the rise of nationalism, switched to "Assyrian" (''atorêta'').{{sfn|Macuch|1976|p=89, 206, 233}} According to Tsereteli, however, a [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] equivalent of "Assyrians" appears in ancient Georgian, Armenian and Russian documents.<ref>Tsereteli, ''Sovremennyj assirijskij jazyk'', Moscow: Nauka, 1964.</ref> This correlates with the theory of the nations to the East of Mesopotamia knew the group as Assyrians, while to the West, beginning with Greek influence, the group was known as Syrians. Syria being a Greek corruption of Assyria. The debate appears to have been settled by the discovery of the [[Çineköy inscription]] in favour of Syria being derived from Assyria. The ''Çineköy inscription'' is a [[Hieroglyphic Luwian]]-[[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] [[bilingual inscription|bilingual]], uncovered from Çineköy, [[Adana Province]], Turkey (ancient [[Cilicia]]), dating to the 8th century BC. Originally published by Tekoglu and Lemaire (2000),{{sfn|Tekoğlu|Lemaire|İpek|Tosun|2000|p=961-1007}} it was more recently the subject of a 2006 paper published in the [[Journal of Near Eastern Studies]], in which the author, Robert Rollinger, lends support to the age-old debate of the name "Syria" being derived from "Assyria" (see [[Etymology of Syria]]). The object on which the inscription is found is a monument belonging to Urikki, [[vassal]] king of [[Quwê|Hiyawa]] (i.e., [[Cilicia]]), dating to the eighth century BC. In this monumental inscription, Urikki made reference to the relationship between his kingdom and his Assyrian overlords. The Luwian inscription reads "Sura/i" whereas the Phoenician translation reads ''{{`}}ŠR'' or "Ashur" which, according to Rollinger (2006), "settles the problem once and for all".{{sfn|Rollinger|2006b|p=283–287}} The modern terminological problem goes back to colonial times, but it became more acute in 1946, when with the independence of Syria, the adjective ''Syrian'' referred to an independent state. The controversy is not restricted to [[exonyms]] like English "Assyrian" vs. "Aramaean", but also applies to self-designation in Neo-Aramaic, the minority "Aramaean" faction endorses both ''Sūryāyē'' {{lang|syr|ܣܘܪܝܝܐ}} and ''Ārāmayē'' {{lang|syr|ܐܪܡܝܐ}}, while the majority "Assyrian" faction endorses ''Āṯūrāyē'' {{lang|syr|ܐܬܘܪܝܐ}} or ''Sūryāyē''.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} == Culture == {{Main|Assyrian culture}} [[File:Assyrianclothes23.jpg|thumb|upright|An Assyrian child dressed in traditional clothes]] Assyrian culture is largely influenced by Christianity.<ref>{{cite web |last1=ASSYRIANS OF CHICAGO |title=The Assyrian Academic Society |url=http://www.aina.org/articles/chicago.pdf |website=www.aina.org |access-date=16 November 2008 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010105120/http://www.aina.org/articles/chicago.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> There are many Assyrian customs that are common in other Middle Eastern cultures. Main festivals occur during religious holidays such as [[Easter]] and [[Christmas]]. There are also secular holidays such as [[Kha b-Nisan]] (vernal equinox).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.assyrianconference.com/ashur/002.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060502081740/http://www.assyrianconference.com/ashur/002.htm|title=The Assyrian New Year|archive-date=May 2, 2006}}</ref> People often greet and bid relatives farewell with a kiss on each cheek and by saying "{{lang|syr|ܫܠܡܐ ܥܠܝܟ}}" ''[[Shlama]]/Shlomo lokh'', which means: "Peace be upon you" in Neo-Aramaic. Others are greeted with a handshake with the right hand only; according to Middle Eastern customs, the left hand is associated with evil. Similarly, shoes may not be left facing up, one may not have their feet facing anyone directly, whistling at night is thought to waken evil spirits, etc.<ref>Chamberlain, AF. "Notes on Some Aspects of the Folk-Psychology of Night". ''American Journal of Psychology'', 1908 – JSTOR.</ref> A parent will often place an eye pendant on their baby to prevent "an evil eye being cast upon it".<ref>Gansell, AR. FROM MESOPOTAMIA TO MODERN SYRIA: ETHNOARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON FEMALE ADORNMENT DURING RITES. Ancient Near Eastern Art in Context. 2007 – Brill Academic Publishers.</ref> [[Spitting]] on anyone or their belongings is seen as a grave insult.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} Assyrians are [[endogamy|endogamous]], meaning they generally marry within their own ethnic group, although [[Exogamy|exogamous]] marriages are not perceived as a taboo, unless the foreigner is of a different religious background, especially a Muslim.<ref name="Awoyemi2014">{{cite book|author=Dr. Joseph Adebayo Awoyemi|title=Pre-marital Counselling In a Multicultural Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nm1LCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT75|date=14 September 2014|isbn=978-1-291-83577-9|pages=75–|publisher=Lulu.com}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Throughout history, [[Armenian–Assyrian relations|relations between the Assyrians and Armenians]] have tended to be [[Alliance|very friendly]], as both groups have practised Christianity since ancient times and have suffered through persecution under Muslim rulers. Therefore, [[Interethnic marriage|mixed marriage]] between Assyrians and [[Armenians]] is quite common, most notably in [[Iraq]], [[Iran]], and as well as in the diaspora with adjacent Armenian and Assyrian communities.<ref>The Ethnic Minorities of Armenia, Garnik Asatryan, Victoria Arakelova.</ref> === Language === {{Main|Neo-Aramaic languages}} [[File:Syriac Dialects EN.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|A map of [[Neo-Aramaic languages|Assyrian dialects]]]] The Neo-Aramaic languages, which are in the [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] branch of the [[Afroasiatic language family]], ultimately descend from [[Old Aramaic language|Late Old Eastern Aramaic]], the lingua franca in the later phase of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, which displaced the [[East Semitic]] [[Akkadian language|Assyrian dialect of Akkadian]] and [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]]. After being conquered by the Assyrians, many people, including the Arameans, were deported to the Assyrian heartland and elsewhere. Due to a large number of Aramaic-speaking people, the Aramaization of Assyria began. The relationship between Arameans and Assyrians grew stronger, with Aramean scribes working with Assyrian ones.{{sfn|Parpola|2004|p=9}} Around 700 B.C., the Aramaic alphabet replaced cuneiform and became the official writing system of the Assyrian empire.{{sfn|Parpola|2004|p=9}} Aramaic was the language of commerce, trade, and communication and became the vernacular language of Assyria in classical antiquity.{{sfn|Lipiński|2000|p=}}{{sfn|Bae|2004|p=1–20}}{{sfn|Gzella|2015|p=}} By the 1st century AD, Akkadian was extinct, although its influence on contemporary Eastern Neo-Aramaic languages spoken by Assyrians is significant and some loaned vocabulary still survives in these languages to this day.<ref name="Akkadian words">{{Cite web|url=http://www.aina.org/articles/akkadianwords.pdf|title=Akkadian Words in Modern Assyrian|access-date=October 12, 2019|archive-date=21 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921085123/http://www.aina.org/articles/akkadianwords.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Kaufman">Kaufman, Stephen A. (1974), The Akkadian influences on Aramaic. University of Chicago Press</ref> To the native speaker, the language is usually called ''Surayt'', ''Soureth'', ''Suret'' or a similar regional variant. A wide variety of dialects exist, mainly [[Suret]], and [[Turoyo language|Surayt]]. All are classified as Neo-Aramaic languages and are usually written using [[Syriac alphabet|Syriac script]], a derivative of the ancient [[Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic script]]. [[Jewish Aramaic|Jewish]] varieties such as [[Lishanid Noshan]], [[Lishán Didán]] and [[Lishana Deni]], written in the [[Hebrew script]], are spoken by Assyrian Jews. <ref name="Avenery, Iddo 1988">Avenery, Iddo, ''The Aramaic Dialect of the Jews of Zakho''. The Israel academy of Science and Humanities 1988.</ref><ref>[[Geoffrey Khan|Khan, Geoffrey]] (1999). ''A Grammar of Neo-Aramaic: the dialect of the Jews of Arbel''. Leiden: EJ Brill.</ref><ref>[[Arthur John Maclean|Maclean, Arthur John]] (1895). ''Grammar of the dialects of vernacular Syriac: as spoken by the Eastern Syrians of Kurdistan, north-west Persia, and the Plain of Mosul: with notices of the vernacular of the Jews of Azerbaijan and of Zakhu near Mosul''. Cambridge University Press, London.</ref> There is a considerable amount of [[mutually intelligible|mutual intelligibility]] between Suret dialects. Therefore, these "languages" would generally be considered to be dialects rather than separate languages. The [[Jewish Aramaic]] languages of Lishan Didan and Lishanid Noshan share a partial intelligibility with these varieties. The mutual intelligibility between Suret and Surayt/Turoyo is, depending on the dialect, limited to partial, and may be asymmetrical.<ref name="Avenery, Iddo 1988"/>{{sfn|Heinrichs|1990|p=}}{{sfn|Tezel|2003|p=}} Being [[Stateless nation|stateless]], Assyrians are typically multilingual, speaking both their native language and learning those of the societies they reside in. While many Assyrians have fled from their traditional homeland recently,<ref>{{cite web|last1=O'Brien|first1=Abbie|title=Australia's only Assyrian school is giving refugees a fresh start|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/australia-s-only-assyrian-school-is-giving-refugees-a-fresh-start|website=SBS News|access-date=14 March 2018|archive-date=20 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220032821/https://www.sbs.com.au/news/australia-s-only-assyrian-school-is-giving-refugees-a-fresh-start|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The inside story of how 226 Assyrian Christians were freed from ISIS|url=http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/12/06/the-inside-story-of-how-226-assyrian-christians-were-freed-from-isis/|access-date=14 March 2018|newspaper=Catholic Herald|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329085910/https://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/12/06/the-inside-story-of-how-226-assyrian-christians-were-freed-from-isis/|archive-date=29 March 2019}}</ref> a substantial number still reside in Arabic-speaking countries speaking [[Arabic language|Arabic]] alongside the Neo-Aramaic languages<ref name="aina 1">{{cite web |title=Understanding recent movements of Christians from Syria and Iraq to other countries across the Middle East and Europe |url=http://www.aina.org/reports/utrmcfsi.pdf |website=www.aina.org |access-date=15 September 2017 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010103419/http://www.aina.org/reports/utrmcfsi.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Baumer|2006|p=}}<ref>{{cite web |author1=Carl Drott |title=The Revolutionaries of Bethnahrin |url=http://www.warscapes.com/reportage/revolutionaries-bethnahrin |website=Warscapes |language=en |date=25 May 2015 |access-date=25 September 2016 |archive-date=10 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710040436/http://www.warscapes.com/reportage/revolutionaries-bethnahrin |url-status=live }}</ref> and is also spoken by many Assyrians in the diaspora. The most commonly spoken languages by Assyrians in the diaspora are [[English language|English]], [[German language|German]] and [[Swedish language|Swedish]]. Historically many Assyrians also spoke [[Turkish language|Turkish]], [[Armenian language|Armenian]], [[Azerbaijani language|Azeri]], [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]], and [[Persian language|Persian]] and a smaller number of Assyrians that remain in Iran, Turkey ([[Istanbul]] and [[Tur Abdin]]) and Armenia still do today.<ref name="trtworld.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/assyrians-return-to-turkey-from-europe-to-save-their-culture-10131|title=Assyrians return to Turkey from Europe to save their culture|website=Assyrians return to Turkey from Europe to save their culture|language=tr-TR|access-date=2018-03-05|archive-date=11 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111212816/https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/assyrians-return-to-turkey-from-europe-to-save-their-culture-10131|url-status=live}}</ref> Many [[List of loanwords in Assyrian Neo-Aramaic|loanwords from the aforementioned languages]] exist in the Neo-Aramaic languages, with the [[Iranian languages]] and Turkish being the greatest influences overall. Only Turkey is reported to be experiencing a population increase of Assyrians in the four countries constituting their historical homeland, largely consisting of Assyrian refugees from Syria and a smaller number of Assyrians returning from the diaspora in Europe.<ref name="trtworld.com"/> ====Script==== {{Main|Syriac alphabet}} Assyrians predominantly use the Syriac script, which is written from right to left. It is one of the [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] [[abjad]]s directly descending from the [[Aramaic alphabet]] and shares similarities with the [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]], [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] and the [[Arabic alphabet]]s.{{sfn|Briquel-Chatonnet|2019|p=243–265}} It has 22 letters representing consonants, three of which can be [[Mater lectionis|also]] used to indicate vowels. The vowel sounds are supplied either by the reader's memory or by optional [[diacritic]] marks. Syriac is a [[cursive]] script where some, but not all, letters connect within a word. It was used to write the [[Syriac language]] from the 1st century AD.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/578972/Syriac-alphabet | title=Syriac alphabet | encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online | access-date=June 16, 2012}}</ref> The oldest and classical form of the alphabet is the ''{{transliteration|sem|ʾEsṭrangēlā}}'' script.<ref>[[William Hatch (theologian)|Hatch, William]] (1946). ''An album of dated Syriac manuscripts''. Boston: The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, reprinted in 2002 by Gorgias Press. p. 24. {{ISBN|1-931956-53-7}}.</ref> Although ʾEsṭrangēlā is no longer used as the main script for writing Syriac, it has received some revival since the 10th century, and it has been added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in September, 1999. The East Syriac dialect is usually written in the ''{{transliteration|sem|Maḏnḥāyā}}'' form of the alphabet, which is often translated as "contemporary", reflecting its use in writing modern Neo-Aramaic. The West Syriac dialect is usually written in the ''{{transliteration|sem|Serṭā}}'' form of the alphabet. Most of the letters are clearly derived from ʾEsṭrangēlā, but are simplified, flowing lines.<ref>[[Eberhard Nestle|Nestle, Eberhard]] (1888). ''Syrische Grammatik mit Litteratur, Chrestomathie und Glossar''. Berlin: H. Reuther's Verlagsbuchhandlung. [translated to English as ''Syriac grammar with bibliography, chrestomathy and glossary'', by R. S. Kennedy. London: Williams & Norgate 1889. p. 5].</ref> Furthermore, for practical reasons, Assyrian people sometimes use the [[Latin alphabet]], especially in [[social media]]. === Religion === {{Main|Syriac Christianity}} [[File:Syriac Christian denominations.svg|thumb|upright=1.25|Historical divisions within Syriac Christian Churches in the Middle East]] Assyrians belong to various [[Christian denominations]], such as the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]], which has over 1 million members around the world, the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]], with about 600,000 members,<ref>J. Martin Bailey, Betty Jane Bailey, Who Are the Christians in the Middle East? p. 163: "more than two thirds" out of "nearly a million" Christians in Iraq.</ref> the [[Assyrian Church of the East]], with an estimated 400,000 members,<ref>{{cite web |title=Assyrian Church of the East |url=http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_41.html#303 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031001183203/http://adherents.com/Na/Na_41.html#303 |archive-date=October 1, 2003 |access-date=2013-09-18 |publisher=Adherents.com}}</ref> and the [[Ancient Church of the East]], with some 100,000 members. The churches that constitute the East Syriac rite include the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]], [[Assyrian Church of the East]], and the [[Ancient Church of the East]], whereas the churches of the West Syriac rite are the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]] and the [[Syriac Catholic Church]]. A small minority of Assyrians accepted the [[Reformation|Protestant Reformation]] and became [[Eastern Protestant Christianity|Reform Orthodox]] in the 20th century, possibly due to British influences, and are now organised in the [[Assyrian Evangelical Church]], the [[Assyrian Pentecostal Church]] and other Protestant/Reform Orthodox Assyrian groups. While there are some atheist Assyrians, they tend to still associate with some denomination.<ref>{{cite conference| url = https://globalization.osu.cz/publ/beyond_globalisation.pdf#page=71| title = Assyrian Ethnic Identity in a Globalizing World| first = Artur| last = Boháč| year = 2010| editor1-first=Přemysl| editor1-last=Mácha| editor2-first=Vincenc| editor2-last=Kopeček| book-title = Beyond Globalisation: Exploring the Limits of Globalisation in the Regional Context| publisher = [[University of Ostrava]]| location = [[Ostrava]]| page = 71| isbn = 978-80-7368-717-5| quote = Although there are some atheists among Assyrians, they are usually associated with specific communities based on the adherence to a concrete religious sect. | language = en}}</ref> Many members of the following churches consider themselves Assyrian. Ethnic identities are often deeply intertwined with religion, a legacy of the Ottoman [[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|Millet system]]. The group is traditionally characterized as adhering to various churches of Syriac Christianity and speaking Neo-Aramaic languages. It is subdivided into: * adherents of the [[Assyrian Church of the East]] and [[Ancient Church of the East]] following the [[East Syriac Rite]], also known as ''Nestorians'' * adherents of the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]] following the East Syriac Rite, also known as ''Chaldeans'' * adherents of the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]] following the [[West Syriac Rite]], also known as ''Jacobites'' * adherents of the [[Syriac Catholic Church]] following the West Syriac Rite Baptism and First Communion are celebrated extensively, similar to a [[Brit Milah]] or [[Bar and Bat Mitzvah|Bar Mitzvah]] in Jewish communities. After a death, a gathering is held three days after burial to celebrate the ascension to heaven of the dead person, as of [[Jesus]]; after seven days another gathering commemorates their death. A close family member wears only black clothes for forty days and nights, or sometimes a year, as a sign of mourning. During the "Seyfo" genocide,{{sfn|Abdalla|2017|p=92-105}} there were a number of Assyrians who were forced to convert to Islam.<ref>{{cite book|title=Genocide in the Ottoman Empire: Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks, 1913–1923|first=George |last=N. Shirinian|year= 2017| isbn=978-1-78533-433-7| page =109|publisher=Berghahn Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Let Them Not Return: Sayfo – The Genocide Against the Assyrian, Syriac, and Chaldean Christians in the Ottoman Empire|first=Soner|last=O. Barthoma|year= 2017| isbn=978-1-78533-499-3| page =2|publisher=Berghahn Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Armenian Genocide: Cultural and Ethical Legacies|first=Richard |last=G. Hovannisian|year= 2011| isbn=978-1-4128-3592-3| page =268|publisher=Transaction Publishers}}</ref> They reside in Turkey, and practice Islam but still retain their identity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.seyfocenter.com/english/muslim-assyrians-who-are-they/|title=Muslim Assyrians? Who are they?|date=November 23, 2016|access-date=3 July 2019|archive-date=1 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801081135/http://www.seyfocenter.com/english/muslim-assyrians-who-are-they/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://armenianweekly.com/2016/11/28/crypto-assyrians-who-are-they/|title=Crypto-Assyrians: Who are they?|date=November 28, 2016|website=The Armenian Weekly|access-date=4 July 2019|archive-date=3 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703162129/https://armenianweekly.com/2016/11/28/crypto-assyrians-who-are-they/|url-status=live}}</ref> A small number of Assyrian Jews exist as well.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jokopost.com/thoughts/21609/|title=שואת אחינו האשוריים {{!}} הדרך המהירה שבין תרבות ישראל לתרבות אשור {{!}} יעקב מעוז|date=2019-07-18|website=JOKOPOST {{!}} עיתון המאמרים והבלוגים המוביל בישראל|language=he-IL|access-date=2019-07-22|archive-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722162725/https://www.jokopost.com/thoughts/21609/|url-status=live}}</ref> <div align="center"><gallery caption="Assyrian Christianity" widths="150"> File:Eskikale-Mardin Merkez-Mardin, Turkey - panoramio (3).jpg|[[Mor Hananyo Monastery]]: is an important [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac Orthodox]] [[monastery]] in [[Tur Abdin]], [[Turkey]]. File:Mar Assia Syrian Catholic Church, Aleppo (interior).jpg|[[Mar Assia al-Hakim Church]]: is a [[Syriac Catholic Church|Syriac Catholic]] [[Church (building)|Church]] in [[Al-Jdayde|Al-Jdayde quarter]] of [[Aleppo]], [[Syria]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Qenshrin.com: Guide to the Christian congregations in Aleppo (in Arabic) |url=http://www.qenshrin.com/christian/numbers/alp/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301221607/http://www.qenshrin.com/christian/numbers/alp/index.html |archive-date=2011-03-01 |url-status=live }}</ref> File:Rabban Hormizd Monastery - view from below (1).jpg|[[Rabban Hormizd Monastery]]: is an important [[monastery]] of the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]] and the [[Church of the East]] in [[Alqosh]], [[Iraq]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Leroy |first1=Jules |last2=Collin |first2=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rzDqR7xjKoUC&pg=PA165 |title=Monks and Monasteries of the Near East |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-59333-276-1 |pages=166–167 |publisher=Gorgias Press }}{{Dead link|date=June 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> File:Assyrian Church.png|[[Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows]]: is a [[Chaldean Catholic]] [[cathedral]] in [[Baghdad]], [[Iraq]] File:Church of Saint Mary - Urmia - Iran - کلیسای ننه مریم، ارومیه - ایران.jpg|[[St. Mary Church, Urmia|Saint Mary Church]]: is an ancient [[Church of the East|Assyrian church]] located in the city of [[Urmia]], [[Iran]]. </gallery> </div> === Music === {{Main|Assyrian/Syriac folk music|Syriac sacral music}} [[File:Assyriankhigga.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.05|[[Traditional clothing]] may be worn for [[Assyrian folk dance]].]] Assyrian music is a combination of traditional [[folk music]] and western contemporary music genres, namely [[pop music|pop]] and [[soft rock]], but also [[electronic dance music]]. Instruments traditionally used by Assyrians include the [[zurna]] and [[davul]]a, but has expanded to include guitars, pianos, violins, synthesizers (keyboards and [[electronic drum]]s), and other instruments. Some well known Assyrian singers in modern times are [[Ashur Bet Sargis]], [[Sargon Gabriel]], [[Evin Agassi]], [[Janan Sawa]], [[Juliana Jendo]], and [[Linda George (Assyrian singer)|Linda George]]. Assyrian artists that traditionally sing in other languages include [[Melechesh]], [[Timz]] and [[Aril Brikha]]. Assyrian-Australian band [[Azadoota]] performs its songs in the Assyrian language whilst using a western style of instrumentation. The first international Aramaic Music Festival was held in Lebanon in August 2008 for Assyrian people internationally. === Dance === {{Main|Assyrian folk dance}} [[File:Assyrianfolkdance.jpg|thumb|[[Folk dance]] in an Assyrian party in [[Chicago]]]] Assyrians have numerous traditional dances which are performed mostly for special occasions such as weddings. Assyrian dance is a blend of ancient indigenous and general Near Eastern elements. Assyrian folk dances are mainly made up of [[circle dance]]s that are performed in a line, which may be straight, curved, or both. The most common form of Assyrian folk dance is [[khigga]], which is routinely danced as the bride and groom are welcomed into the wedding reception. Most of the circle dances allow unlimited number of participants, with the exception of the ''Sabre Dance'', which require three at most. Assyrian dances would vary from weak to strong, depending on the mood and [[tempo]] of a song. === Festivals === Assyrian festivals tend to be closely associated with their Christian faith, of which [[Easter]] is the most prominent of the celebrations. Members of the Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church and Syriac Catholic Church follow the [[Gregorian calendar]] and as a result celebrate Easter on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25 inclusively.<ref>[http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/easter.php The Date of Easter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814045718/http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/easter.php |date=2011-08-14 }}. Article from [[United States Naval Observatory]] (March 27, 2007).</ref> Members of the Syriac Orthodox Church and Ancient Church of the East celebrate Easter on a Sunday between April 4 and May 8 inclusively on the Gregorian calendar, March 22 and April 25 on the [[Julian calendar]]. During [[Lent]], Assyrians are encouraged to fast for 50 days from meat and any other foods which are animal based. Assyrians celebrate a number of festivals unique to their culture and traditions as well as religious ones: * [[Kha b-Nisan]] ''{{Script/Mdnh|ܚܕ ܒܢܝܣܢ}}'', the Assyrian New Year, traditionally on April 1, though usually celebrated on January 1. Assyrians usually wear traditional costumes and hold social events including parades and parties, dancing, and listening to poets telling the story of creation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aua.net/News/releases/2006/NewYear2006.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119121049/http://aua.net/News/releases/2006/NewYear2006.pdf|title=AUA Release March 26, 2006.|archive-date=November 19, 2011}}</ref> * [[Sauma d-Ba'utha]] ''{{Script/Mdnh|ܒܥܘܬܐ ܕܢܝܢܘܝܐ}}'', the Nineveh fast, is a three-day period of fasting and prayer.<ref name=SycOrth>{{cite web|title=Three Day Fast of Nineveh |url=http://syrianorthodoxchurch.org/news/2011/02/10/three-day-fast-of-nineveh/ |publisher=syrianorthodoxchurch.org |access-date=1 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025123007/http://syrianorthodoxchurch.org/news/2011/02/10/three-day-fast-of-nineveh/ |archive-date=25 October 2012 }}</ref> * Somikka, All Saints Day, is celebrated to motivate children to fast during Lent through use of frightening costumes * Kalu d'Sulaqa, feast of the Bride of the Ascension, celebrates Assyrian resistance to the invasion of Assyria by Tamerlane * Nusardyl, commemorating the baptism of the Assyrians of Urmia by St. Thomas.<ref name="FestivalsAssyrianIranica">{{cite encyclopedia | title = FESTIVALS ix. Assyrian | last1 = Piroyan | first1 = William | last2 = Naby | first2 = Eden | author-link2 = Eden Naby | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/festivals-ix-assyrian | encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. IX, Fasc. 6 | pages = 561–563 | year = 1999 }}</ref> * Sharra d'Mart Maryam, usually on August 15, a festival and feast celebrating St. Mary with games, food, and celebration.<ref name="FestivalsAssyrianIranica"/> * [[File:Assyrians celebrating Assyrian New Year (Akitu) year 6769 (April 1st 2019) in Nohadra (Duhok) 23.jpg|thumb|Assyrians celebrating Mesopotamian New Year ([[Akitu]]) year 6769 ([[Nisan]], April 1st 2019) in Nohadra ([[Duhok]]), [[Iraq]]]]Other Sharras (special festivals) include: Sharra d'Mart Shmuni, Sharra d'Mar Shimon Bar-Sabbaye, Sharra d'Mar Mari, and Shara d'Mar Zaia, Mar Bishu, Mar Sawa, Mar Sliwa, Mar Odisho, and many more. Each town or city also have their own Sharras based on the patron saints of the churches, monasteries, or other holy sites in the settlement or nearby. * Yoma d'Sah'deh (Day of Martyrs), commemorating the thousands massacred in the [[Simele massacre]] and the hundreds of thousands massacred in the [[Assyrian genocide]]. It is commemorated annually on August 7. Assyrians practice unique marriage ceremonies. The rituals performed during weddings are derived from many different elements from the past 3,000 years. An Assyrian wedding traditionally lasted a week. Today, weddings in the Assyrian homeland usually last 2–3 days. In the [[Assyrian diaspora]] they last 1–2 days. === Traditional clothing === {{Main|Assyrian clothing}} Assyrian clothing varies from village to village. Clothing is usually blue, red, green, yellow, and purple; these colors are also used as embroidery on a white piece of clothing. Decoration is lavish in Assyrian costumes, and sometimes involves jewellery. The conical hats of traditional Assyrian dress have changed little over millennia from those worn in ancient Mesopotamia, and until the 19th and early 20th centuries the ancient Mesopotamian tradition of braiding or platting of hair, beards and moustaches was still commonplace.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} ===Cuisine=== {{Main|Assyrian cuisine}} [[Image:Assyriancusiene.jpg|thumb|right|Typical [[Assyrian cuisine]]]] [[Assyrian cuisine]] is similar to other Middle Eastern cuisines, and is rich in grains, meat, potato, cheese, bread and tomatoes. Typically, rice is served with every meal, with a stew poured over it. Tea is a popular drink, and there are several dishes of desserts, snacks, and beverages. Alcoholic drinks such as wine and [[wheat beer]] are organically produced and drunk. Assyrian cuisine is primarily identical to [[Iraqi cuisine|Iraqi/Mesopotamian cuisine]], as well as being very similar to other [[Middle Eastern cuisine|Middle East]]ern and Caucasian cuisines, as well as [[Greek cuisine]], [[Levantine cuisine]], [[Turkish cuisine]], [[Iranian cuisine]], [[Israeli cuisine]], and [[Armenian cuisine]], with most dishes being similar to the cuisines of the area in which those Assyrians live/originate from.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://mag.jewishinseattle.org/articles/2017/12/5/an-ancient-empire-gets-new-life-on-a-food-truck|title=An Ancient Empire Gets New Life — on a Food Truck|last=Mandel|first=Pam|date=2017-12-05|work=Jewish in Seattle Magazine|access-date=2018-03-21|archive-date=2019-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603115721/https://mag.jewishinseattle.org/articles/2017/12/5/an-ancient-empire-gets-new-life-on-a-food-truck}}</ref> It is rich in grains such as barley, meat, tomato, herbs, spices, cheese, and potato as well as herbs, fermented dairy products, and pickles.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lj0CeaIIETkC |title=Food, Cuisine, and Cultural Competency for Culinary, Hospitality, and Nutrition Professionals |editor-last=Edelstein |editor-first=Sari |publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-7637-5965-0 |location=Boston, Massachusetts |pages=545–552}}</ref> == Genetics == {{Further|Genetic history of the Middle East}} Late-20th-century DNA analysis conducted by [[Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza|Cavalli-Sforza]], Paolo Menozzi and Alberto Piazza, "shows that Assyrians have a distinct genetic profile that distinguishes their population from any other population."<ref name="assyrianfoundation.org">{{Cite web|url=http://www.assyrianfoundation.org/genetics.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000816235456/http://www.assyrianfoundation.org/genetics.htm|title=Dr. Joel J. Elias, Emeritus, University of California, The Genetics of Modern Assyrians and their Relationship to Other People of the Middle East|archive-date=August 16, 2000}}</ref> Genetic analyses of the Assyrians of [[Persia]] demonstrated that they were "closed" with little "intermixture" with the Muslim [[Persians|Persian population]] and that an individual Assyrian's genetic makeup is relatively close to that of the Assyrian population as a whole.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Akbari M.T. |author2=Papiha Sunder S. |author3=Roberts D.F. |author4=Farhud Daryoush D. | year = 1986 | title = Genetic Differentiation among Iranian Christian Communities | journal = American Journal of Human Genetics | volume = 38 | issue = 1| pages = 84–98 |pmid=3456196 |pmc=1684716 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1= Luigi Luca |last1=Cavalli-Sforza|author-link=Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza |first2=Paolo |last2=Menozzi|first3= Alberto |last3=Piazza|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FrwNcwKaUKoC |title=The History and Geography of Human Genes|page= 243|isbn=978-0-691-08750-4|year=1994|publisher=Princeton University Press }}</ref> "The genetic data are compatible with historical data that religion played a major role in maintaining the Assyrian population's separate identity during the [[Christian era]]".<ref name="assyrianfoundation.org"/> In a 2006 study of the [[Y chromosome]] DNA of six regional [[Armenian people|Armenian]] populations, including, for comparison, Assyrians and [[Syrian people|Syrians]], researchers found that, "the Semitic populations (Assyrians and Syrians) are very distinct from each other according to both [comparative] axes. This difference supported also by other methods of comparison points out the weak genetic affinity between the two populations with different historical destinies."<ref name="Iran and the Caucasus">{{Cite web |url=http://www.rau.am/downloads/publ.kafedr/episkoposyan_medbiolog/Yepiskoposian_I%26C_06.pdf |title=Yepiskoposian et al., Iran and the Caucasus, Volume 10, Number 2, 2006, pp. 191–208(18), "Genetic Testing of Language Replacement Hypothesis in Southwest Asia" |access-date=2021-05-10 |archive-date=2015-10-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017200047/http://www.rau.am/downloads/publ.kafedr/episkoposyan_medbiolog/Yepiskoposian_I%26C_06.pdf }}</ref> A 2008 study on the genetics of "old ethnic groups in Mesopotamia", including 340 subjects from seven ethnic communities ("Assyrian, Jewish, [[Zoroastrian]], Armenian, [[Turkmen people|Turkmen]], the [[Arab people]]s in Iran, Iraq, and [[Kuwait]]") found that Assyrians were homogeneous with respect to all other ethnic groups sampled in the study, regardless of religious affiliation.<ref name="pubmed.gov">{{cite journal | pmid = 18505046 | doi=10.3378/1534-6617(2008)80[73:VODVAA]2.0.CO;2 | volume=80 | issue=1 | title=Variation of DAT1 VNTR alleles and genotypes among old ethnic groups in Mesopotamia to the Oxus region | date=Feb 2008 | journal=Hum Biol | pages=73–81 | quote = The relationship probability was lowest between Assyrians and other communities. [[Endogamy]] was found to be high for this population through determination of the heterogeneity coefficient (+0,6867), Our study supports earlier findings indicating the relatively closed nature of the Assyrian community as a whole, which as a result of their religious and cultural traditions, have had little intermixture with other populations. | last1=Banoei | first1=M. M. | last2=Chaleshtori | first2=M. H. | last3=Sanati | first3=M. H. | last4=Shariati | first4=P | last5=Houshmand | first5=M | last6=Majidizadeh | first6=T | last7=Soltani | first7=N. J. | last8=Golalipour | first8=M | s2cid=10417591 }}</ref> In a 2011 study focusing on the genetics of [[Marsh Arabs]] of Iraq, researchers identified Y chromosome [[haplotype]]s shared by Marsh Arabs, Iraqis, and Assyrians, "supporting a common local background."<ref name="BMC Evolutionary Biology">[http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2148-11-288.pdf Al-Zahery et al., BMC Evolutionary Biology 2011, 11:288, "In search of the genetic footprints of Sumerians: a survey of Y-chromosome and mtDNA variation in the Marsh Arabs of Iraq"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151105012321/http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2148-11-288.pdf |date=5 November 2015 }}"In the less frequent J1-M267* clade, only marginally affected by events of expansion, Marsh Arabs shared haplotypes with other Iraqi and Assyrian samples, supporting a common local background."</ref> In a 2017 study focusing on the genetics of Northern Iraqi populations, it was found that Iraqi Assyrians and Iraqi [[Yazidis]] clustered together, but away from the other Northern Iraqi populations analyzed in the study, and largely in between the West Asian and Southeastern European populations. According to the study, "contemporary Assyrians and Yazidis from northern Iraq may in fact have a stronger continuity with the original genetic stock of the Mesopotamian people, which possibly provided the basis for the ethnogenesis of various subsequent Near Eastern populations".<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dogan|first1=Serkan|title=A glimpse at the intricate mosaic of ethnicities from Mesopotamia: Paternal lineages of the northern Iraqi Arabs, Kurds, Syriacs, Turkmens and Yazidis|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=12|issue=11|pages=e0187408|date=3 November 2017|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0187408|pmid=29099847|pmc=5669434|bibcode=2017PLoSO..1287408D|doi-access=free}}</ref> ===Haplogroups=== [[Y-DNA haplogroup]] [[Haplogroup J (Y-DNA)|J-M304]] which originated from a geographical zone that includes northeastern Syria, northern Iraq and eastern Turkey from where it expanded to the rest of the Near East and North Africa<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last1=Dogan |first1=Serkan |date=3 November 2017 |title=A glimpse at the intricate mosaic of ethnicities from Mesopotamia: Paternal lineages of the northern Iraqi Arabs, Kurds, Syriacs, Turkmens and Yazidis |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=12 |issue=11 |pages=e0187408 |bibcode=2017PLoSO..1287408D |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0187408 |pmc=5669434 |pmid=29099847 |doi-access=free}}</ref> has been measured at 55% among Assyrians of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and diaspora; while it has been found at 11% among Assyrians of Iran.<ref name="auto">{{cite journal |vauthors=Lashgary Z, Khodadadi A, Singh Y, Houshmand SM, Mahjoubi F, Sharma P, Singh S, Seyedin M, Srivastava A, Ataee M, Mohammadi ZS, Rezaei N, Bamezai RN, Sanati MH |title=Y chromosome diversity among the Iranian religious groups: a reservoir of genetic variation |journal=Ann. Hum. Biol. |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=364–71 |date=2011 |pmid=21329477 |doi=10.3109/03014460.2010.535562 |s2cid=207460555 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/49843898}}</ref> the same haplogroup also have high prevalence among Iraqi Arabs which is "indicative of their indigenous nature".<ref name=":1" /> [[Haplogroup T-M184]] [reported as K*] has been measured at 15.09% among [[Assyrians in Armenia]].<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite journal |vauthors=Yepiskoposian L, Khudoyan A, Harutyunian A |title=Genetic Testing of Language Replacement Hypothesis in Southwest Asia |journal=Iran and the Caucasus |volume=10 |issue=2 |year=2006 |pages=191–208 |jstor=4030922 |doi=10.1163/157338406780345899}}</ref> The haplogroup is frequent in [[Middle Eastern Jews]], [[Georgian people|Georgians]], [[Druze people|Druze]] and [[Somali people|Somalians]]. According to a 2011 study by Lashgary et al., [[R1b]] [reported as R*(xR1a)] has been measured at 40% among [[Assyrians in Iran]], making it major haplogroup among Iranian Assyrians.<ref name="auto" /> Yet another [[DNA test]] comprising 48 Assyrian male subjects from Iran, the Y-DNA haplogroups [[Haplogroup J (Y-DNA)|J-M304]], found in its greatest concentration in the [[Arabian peninsula]], and the northern [[Haplogroup R1b#R1b1a1b (R-M269)|R-M269]], were also frequent at 29.2% each.<ref name="Grugni">{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0041252|pmid = 22815981|pmc = 3399854|title = Ancient Migratory Events in the Middle East: New Clues from the Y-Chromosome Variation of Modern Iranians|journal = PLOS ONE|volume = 7|issue = 7|pages = e41252|year = 2012|last1 = Grugni|first1 = Viola|last2 = Battaglia|first2 = Vincenza|last3 = Hooshiar Kashani|first3 = Baharak|last4 = Parolo|first4 = Silvia|last5 = Al-Zahery|first5 = Nadia|last6 = Achilli|first6 = Alessandro|last7 = Olivieri|first7 = Anna|last8 = Gandini|first8 = Francesca|last9 = Houshmand|first9 = Massoud|last10 = Sanati|first10 = Mohammad Hossein|last11 = Torroni|first11 = Antonio|last12 = Semino|first12 = Ornella|bibcode = 2012PLoSO...741252G|doi-access = free}}</ref> Lashgary et al. explain the presence of haplogroup [[Haplogroup R1b|R]] in Iranian Assyrians as well as in other Assyrian communities (~23%) as a consequence of mixing with [[Armenians]] and assimilation/integration of different peoples carrying haplogroup R, while explain its frequency as a result of [[genetic drift]] due to small population size and endogamy due to religious barriers.<ref name="auto" /> Haplogroup [[Haplogroup J-M172|J2]] has been measured at 13.4%, which is commonly found in the [[Fertile Crescent]], the [[Caucasus]], [[Anatolia]], [[Italy]], coastal [[Mediterranean Basin|Mediterranean]], and the [[Iranian plateau]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Underhill PA, Shen P, Lin AA, Jin L, Passarino G, Yang WH, Kauffman E, Bonné-Tamir B, Bertranpetit J, Francalacci P, Ibrahim M, Jenkins T, Kidd JR, Mehdi SQ, Seielstad MT, Wells RS, Piazza A, Davis RW, Feldman MW, Cavalli-Sforza LL, Oefner PJ | title = Y chromosome sequence variation and the history of human populations | journal = Nature Genetics | volume = 26 | issue = 3 | pages = 358–61 | year = 2000 | pmid = 11062480 | doi = 10.1038/81685 | s2cid = 12893406 }}</ref><ref>Semino O, Magri C, Benuzzi G, Lin AA, Al-Zahery N, Battaglia V, Maccioni L, Triantaphyllidis C, Shen P, Oefner PJ, Zhivotovsky LA, King R, Torroni A, Cavalli-Sforza LL, Underhill PA, Santachiara-Benerecetti AS: ''Origin, diffusion, and differentiation of Y-chromosome haplogroups E and J: inferences on the Neolithization of Europe and later migratory events in the Mediterranean area.'' Am J Hum Genet 2004, 74:1023–1034.</ref> == See also == {{Portal|Christianity}} {{Columns-list |colwidth=20em| * [[Assyria]] * [[Assyrian diaspora]] * [[Assyrian genocide]] * [[Assyrian homeland]] * [[Assyrian independence movement]] * [[Assyrian Universal Alliance]] * [[The Last Assyrians]] * [[List of Assyrians]] * [[Mandaeans]] * [[Mhallami]] * [[Neo-Aramaic languages]] * [[Proposals for Assyrian autonomy in Iraq]] * [[Syriac Christianity]] * [[Syriac language]] * [[World Council of Arameans]] }} == Notes == {{notelist}} {{Reflist|group=Note}} == References == {{Reflist|2}} == Sources == {{Refbegin}} * {{Cite book|last=Abdalla|first=Michael|chapter=The Term Seyfo in Historical Perspective|title=The Assyrian Genocide: Cultural and Political Legacies|year=2017|volume=1|location=London|publisher=Routledge|pages=92–105|isbn=978-1-138-28405-0|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_8azAQAACAAJ}} * {{Cite book|last=Aboona|first=Hirmis|author-link=Hirmis Aboona|title=Assyrians, Kurds, and Ottomans: Intercommunal Relations on the Periphery of the Ottoman Empire|year=2008|location=Amherst|publisher=Cambria Press|isbn=978-1-60497-583-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AdZfWpd4YrYC|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=15 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115221200/https://books.google.com/books?id=AdZfWpd4YrYC|url-status=live}} * {{Cite journal|last=Abramtsov|first=David|title=The Assyrians of Persia and the Russian Orthodox Church|journal=One Church|year=1960|volume=14|pages=155–169}} * {{Cite journal|last=Ainsworth|first=William F.|author-link=William Francis Ainsworth|title=An Account of a Visit to the Chaldeans, Inhabiting Central Kurdistán; And of an Ascent of the Peak of Rowándiz (Ṭúr Sheïkhíwá) in Summer in 1840|journal=The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London|year=1841|volume=11|pages=21–76|doi=10.2307/1797632|jstor=1797632}} * {{Cite book|last=Ainsworth|first=William F.|author-link=William Francis Ainsworth|title=Travels and Researches in Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Chaldea and Armenia|year=1842a|volume=1|location=London|publisher=John W. 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{{Cite book|last=Murre van den Berg|first=Heleen|chapter=Syriac Orthodox Church|title=The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization|year=2011|orig-date=2009|volume=4|location=Malden|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|pages=2304–2309|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/1287641|access-date=28 February 2021|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326041333/https://www.academia.edu/1287641|url-status=live}} * {{Cite book|last=Murre van den Berg|first=Heleen|chapter=Classical Syriac and the Syriac Churches: A Twentieth-Century History|title=Syriac Encounters: Papers from the Sixth North American Syriac Symposium|year=2015|location=Louvain|publisher=Peeters Publishers|pages=119–148|isbn=978-90-429-3046-9|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K123rQEACAAJ}} * {{Cite journal|last1=Mutlu-Numansen|first1=Sofia|last2=Ossewaarde|first2=Marinus|title=A Struggle for Genocide Recognition: How the Aramean, Assyrian, and Chaldean Diasporas Link Past and Present|journal=Holocaust and Genocide Studies|year=2019|volume=33|issue=3|pages=412–428|doi=10.1093/hgs/dcz045|url=https://research.utwente.nl/files/191702532/Mutlu_Numansen2019struggle.pdf}} * {{Cite book|last=Nisan|first=Mordechai|title=Minorities in the Middle East: A History of Struggle and Self-Expression|year=2002|edition=2nd|location=Jefferson, NC|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-5133-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=keD9z1XWuNwC}} * {{Cite book|last=O'Mahony|first=Anthony|chapter=Syriac Christianity in the modern Middle East|title=The Cambridge History of Christianity: Eastern Christianity|volume=5|year=2006|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=511–536|isbn=978-0-521-81113-2|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1xUV-nMxNGsC}} * {{Cite journal|last=Parpola|first=Simo|author-link=Simo Parpola|title=National and Ethnic Identity in the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Assyrian Identity in Post-Empire Times|journal=Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies|year=2004|volume=18|number=2|pages=5–22|url=http://www.jaas.org/edocs/v18n2/Parpola-identity_Article%20-Final.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128181409/http://www.jaas.org/edocs/v18n2/Parpola-identity_Article%20-Final.pdf|archive-date=2007-11-28}} * {{Cite journal|last=Rollinger|first=Robert|title=Assyrios, Syrios, Syros und Leukosyros|journal=Die Welt des Orients|year=2006a|volume=36|pages=72–82|jstor=25684050}} * {{Cite journal|last=Rollinger|first=Robert|title=The Terms Assyria and Syria Again|journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies|year=2006b|volume=65|number=4|pages=283–287|doi=10.1086/511103|s2cid=162760021|url=http://www.aina.org/articles/ttaasa.pdf|access-date=7 December 2008|archive-date=10 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010105118/http://www.aina.org/articles/ttaasa.pdf|url-status=live}} * {{Cite journal|last=Садо|first=Стефан|title=Российская православная миссия в Урмии (1898–1918)|journal=Христианское чтение|year=1996|volume=13|pages=73–112|url=http://christian-reading.info/data/1996/13/1996-13-07.pdf|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171010103431/http://christian-reading.info/data/1996/13/1996-13-07.pdf|archive-date=October 10, 2017}} * {{Cite book|last=Sato|first=Noriko|chapter=The Memory of Sayfo and Its Relation to the Identity of Contemporary Assyrian/Aramean Christians in Syria|title=Sayfo 1915: An Anthology of Essays on the Genocide of Assyrians/Arameans during the First World War|year=2018|location=Piscataway, NJ|publisher=Gorgias Press|pages=305–326|isbn=978-1-4632-0730-4|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=64jttwEACAAJ}} * {{Cite book|last=Schniedewind|first=William M.|chapter=The Rise of the Aramean States|title=Mesopotamia and the Bible: Comparative Explorations|year=2002|location=London|publisher=Sheffield Academic Press|pages=276–287|isbn=978-0-567-08231-2|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=60fmNZQzwjYC}} * {{Cite 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H. Southgate to the Syrian Church of Mesopotamia, 1841|journal=The Spirit of Missions|year=1842|volume=7|pages=163–174, 246–251, 276–280|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aLbSAAAAMAAJ}} * {{Cite book|last=Southgate|first=Horatio|author-link=Horatio Southgate|title=Narrative of a Visit to the Syrian (Jacobite) Church of Mesopotamia|year=1844|location=New York|publisher=Appleton|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TFLMrTAyAQQC}} * {{Cite journal|last1=Tekoğlu|first1=Recai|last2=Lemaire|first2=André|last3=İpek|first3=İsmet|last4=Tosun|first4=Kazım|title=La bilingue royale louvito-phénicienne de Çineköy|journal=Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres|year=2000|volume=144|number=3|pages=961–1007|url=https://www.persee.fr/docAsPDF/crai_0065-0536_2000_num_144_3_16174.pdf}}{{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} * {{Cite book|last=Tezel|first=Aziz|title=Comparative Etymological Studies in the Western Neo-Syriac (Ṭūrōyo) Lexicon: With Special Reference to Homonyms, Related Words and Borrowings with Cultural Signification|year=2003|location=Uppsala|publisher=Uppsala University Library|isbn=978-91-554-5555-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y85zQgAACAAJ}} * {{Cite book|last=Tisserant|first=Eugène|author-link=Eugène Tisserant|chapter=L'Église nestorienne|title=Dictionnaire de théologie catholique|year=1931|volume=11|location=Paris|publisher=Letouzey et Ané|pages=157–323|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JxhAAQAAMAAJ}} *{{cite book|last=Travis|first=Hannibal|title=Genocide in the Middle East: The Ottoman Empire, Iraq, and Sudan|location=Durham, NC|publisher=Carolina Academic Press|year=2010|orig-date=2007|isbn=978-1-59460-436-2|pages=237–77, 293–294}} * {{cite book|last1=Wieviorka|last2=Bataille|first1=Michel|first2=Philippe|title=The lure of anti-Semitism: hatred of Jews in present-day France|year=2007|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-16337-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EljRLlwxgFAC}} * {{Cite book|last=Wigram|first=William Ainger|author-link=William Ainger Wigram|title=The Assyrians and Their Neighbours|year=1929|location=London|publisher=G. Bell & Sons|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.282998}} * {{Cite book|last=Winkler|first=Dietmar W.|chapter=The Syriac Church Denominations: An Overview|title=The Syriac World|year=2019|location=London|publisher=Routledge|pages=119–133|isbn=978-1-138-89901-8|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E48JswEACAAJ}} * {{Cite book|last=Wolk|first=Daniel P.|chapter=Assyrian Americans|title=Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society|year=2008|volume=1|location=Los Angeles|publisher=SAGE Publications|pages=107–109|isbn=978-1-4129-2694-2|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YMUola6pDnkC&pg=PA107}} * {{Cite book|last=Yacoub|first=Joseph|author-link=Joseph Yacoub|title=Year of the Sword: The Assyrian Christian Genocide: A History|year=2016|location=New York|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-063346-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t34jDgAAQBAJ}} * {{Cite book|last=Yana|first=George V.|title=Ancient and Modern Assyrians: A Scientific Analysis|year=2008|location=Philadelphia|publisher=Xlibris Corporation|isbn=978-1-4653-1629-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=32HS_jUi4NEC}} * {{Cite journal|last=Yildiz|first=Efrem|title=The Assyrians: A Historical and Current Reality|journal=Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies|year=1999|volume=13|number=1|pages=15–30|url=https://www.academia.edu/22095031|access-date=25 November 2020|archive-date=27 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227105522/https://www.academia.edu/22095031|url-status=live}} * {{Cite journal|last=Yildiz|first=Efrem|title=The Aramaic Language and Its Classification|journal=Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies|year=2000a|volume=14|number=1|pages=23–44|url=https://www.academia.edu/22094684|access-date=25 November 2020|archive-date=5 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220905145315/https://www.academia.edu/22094684|url-status=live}} * {{Cite journal|last=Yildiz|first=Efrem|title=Los Asirio-Caldeos, Cristianos orientales arameoparlantes|journal=Dialogo Ecumenico|year=2000b|volume=35|number=112|pages=263–282|url=https://summa.upsa.es/high.raw?id=0000002192&name=00000001.original.pdf|access-date=25 November 2020|archive-date=23 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423180924/https://summa.upsa.es/high.raw?id=0000002192&name=00000001.original.pdf|url-status=live}} * {{Cite book|last=Yildiz|first=Efrem|chapter=The Assyrian Linguistic Heritage and its Survival in Diaspora|title=The Assyrian Heritage: Threads of Continuity and Influence|year=2012|location=Uppsala|publisher=Uppsala Universitet|pages=201–220|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/25156354|access-date=25 November 2020|archive-date=25 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425081105/https://www.academia.edu/25156354|url-status=live}} * {{Cite book|last1=Gaunt|first1=David|last2=Atto|first2=Naures|last3=Barthoma|first3=Soner O.|chapter=Introduction: Contextualizing the Sayfo in the First World War|title=Let Them Not Return: Sayfo – The Genocide Against the Assyrian, Syriac, and Chaldean Christians in the Ottoman Empire|year=2017|publisher=Berghahn Books|pages=1–32|isbn=978-1-78533-499-3|ref={{sfnref|Gaunt et al.|2017}}}} * {{cite book |last1=Üngör |first1=Uğur Ümit |author1-link=Uğur Ümit Üngör |title=The Making of Modern Turkey: Nation and State in Eastern Anatolia, 1913–1950|title-link=The Making of Modern Turkey |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-965522-9 |language=en}} {{Refend}} == External links == * {{Commons category-inline}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20190924013211/http://betnahrain.am/ BetNahrain – Assyrian Center in Armenia] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfwoGQS_ieE YouTube-Video: Associate professor Svante Lundgren elaborates on the history and origin of the Assyrian people] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20071116064544/http://www.visarkiv.se/mmm/media/assyrien/cyber-e.htm A virtual Assyria: Cyberland] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927043107/http://www.visarkiv.se/mmm/media/assyrien/religi-e.htm A virtual Assyria: Christians from the Middle East] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20071103114444/http://www.christiansofiraq.com/assyriancostumoc96.html Traditional Assyrian Costumes] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20030511210802/http://www.zindamagazine.com/iraqi_documents/earliestchurches.html Assyrian Iraqi Document Projects] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20030511211400/http://www.zindamagazine.com/iraqi_documents/whoareassyrians.html Who Are Assyrians?] * [http://www.aina.org/brief.html Assyrian History] * [http://www.aramaic-dem.org/English/History/1.htm Aramean History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318194125/http://www.aramaic-dem.org/English/History/1.htm |date=2018-03-18 }} {{Assyrian communities}} {{Ethnic groups in Iran}} {{Iraq topics}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Assyrian people| ]] [[Category:Ethnic groups in Iran]] [[Category:Ethnic groups in Iraq]] [[Category:Ethnic groups in Syria]] [[Category:Ethnic groups in the Middle East]] [[Category:Ethnic groups in Turkey]] [[Category:Indigenous peoples of West Asia]] [[Category:Oriental Orthodoxy in Iran]] [[Category:Oriental Orthodoxy in Iraq]] [[Category:Oriental Orthodoxy in Syria]] [[Category:Oriental Orthodoxy in Turkey]] [[Category:Ethnoreligious groups in Asia]] [[Category:Christian ethnoreligious groups]]'