 | Assyrians post-Nineveh
identity, fragmentation, conflict, and survival
(672 BC - 1920)
A study of Assyrogenous communities
by Dr. Racho DonefPurchase Information: Amazon |
Assyrians post-Nineveh
identity, fragmentation, conflict, and survival (672 BC - 1920)
A study of Assyrogenous communities
by Dr. Racho Donef — Sydney, Australia. December, 2012.Book Information Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: Racho Donef (December 16, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0987423908
ISBN-13: 978-0987423900
Book Dimensions:
9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces Preface Many terms have been employed to define the population group referred to as Assyrians: Syrians, Jacobites, Nestorians and Chaldeans are the most common, but arguably also Maronites, Melkites and Arameans. This varied usage reflects the want of linguistic, cultural, religious and ethnic homogeneity among the Assyrians. Although, the Assyrian identity covers all the above-mentioned groups, this was not always the case. As today, the Assyrians in the nineteenth century and earlier were fragmented in terms of language and confessional identity. It is the aim of this study to look into the context in which this fragmentation and confusion arose and examine pertinent historical sources, which inform us about the connection between ancient and modern Assyrians. This issue has been continuously debated and this study aims to contribute to this discourse. This study examines the distant past to see the connection between Imperial Assyria and the Assyrians in the nineteenth century and the hypothesis that the Assyrians identity is purely a western construct of the nineteenth century. There have been a number of studies, which discuss the Assyrians, continuity of their culture from Ancient times, and identity. However, this study examines a number of sources, which by and large, have not been utilised. Many travellers, missionaries, and explorers, travelled to the East between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries and wrote about the peoples they visited. Furthermore, there are Vatican sources, which up to now have not been used in the study of the religious schisms among the Assyrian communities. These primary accounts in French, Latin, Spanish and English and certain Greek sources shed light to the problematic. Sources in Turkish, often as translated documents from Arabic and Syriac, clarified the extant information.
Dr. Racho Donef
writer, human rights activist
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