Last edited on Aug-01-2022 at 06:42 AM (UTC 3 Nineveh, Assyria)
The Ancient People of Mesopotamia: Assyrian Migration 1
Gabriel Beth Kathe Translation from Turkish
Abdulmesih BarAbraham Part 1 The lands between the rivers Tigris and the Euphrates, namely known as Mesopotamia, are considered one of the most fertile places on earth and the first region of the transition for man to settle. Undoubtedly, the first thing that comes to mind is that it was at the cradle of civilization in which astronomy, astrology, culture, art, agriculture, craft and religious beliefs flourished. Villages, towns and cities that as settlement centers were established in this geography and it is believed that they spread from here to other regions. One of the peoples that settled down here were the ancient Assyrians. Assyrians were not only from the first communities of this holy land, they were also thinkers, scientists, scholars, experts, writers, illustrators, translators, and educators. As a result of the archaeological excavations carried out in the Mor Yakub Monastery in the city of Nisibis (today's Turkish city of Nusaybin), the Nisibis Academy, the first university in the world, was uncovered. Similarly, in Antiochia, Damascus, Ḫarran, Urhoy (Urfa), Diyarbekir, Mardin, Nineveh,... the Assyrians, built and established the institutions of science, culture and art as they did in many other centers, made a contribution to civilization to an extent that cannot be underestimated. This ancient people have always adopted a life of peace and harmony with the peoples with whom they lived. In this way, they produced many scientific achievements. Foremost among these was the Christological belief and philosophy they developed after the emergence of Christianity. Starting with Byzantium and Persia, followed by the Arab Caliphs, the Umayyads, the Abbasids, the Mongols, the Seljuks, and the Ottomans,...all these rulers persecuted, tortured, chopped and forcibly uprooted them from their lands. Immigration or exile ... The 1800s, which we define as the beginning of our modern history, were the scene of mass deportations. Here, the Ottoman army, Kurdish tribes,...committed massacres many times. The massacres carried out by the Ottomans in Beirut and Damascus in 1860 paved the way for the first Assyrians to escape and reach South and North America, Australia and Europe. This is still going on. These ancient people were brought to an end in 1915 during the known genocide, Sayfo (The Sword), perpetrated during the World War One by the late Ottomans. As a result, Assyrian land and geography changed hands. Because of the organized resistance and defense in villages such as Ayn-Wardo, Beth-Zabday or Hazakh, Ḫaẖ, Sare-Sorino, part of the Assyrians in Turabdin was able to survive. Sayfo was conducted by many Kurds, Zazas, Arabs, Muẖallemi, Circassians, Turkmens, Azerbaijanis who participated in the massacre alongside the Ottoman state. However, there are those who didn't participate in Sayfo. Some of them risked their lives due to rescuing people during the massacres. Sayfo was conducted despite the fact that Assyrians had never had a major political problem with the Ottoman state; Assyrians has been pursuing a path of life of peace and brotherhood with their neighbors. The physical and psychological traces of Sayfo and the memory related to the subject, the will to stay alive on their ancient geography have always been passed down from generation to generation until today. Part 2 As a people, we have always been oppressed. We have been pushed into a slave life without obtaining a single right. This was followed by a robust mechanism of repression through the local authorities on the one hand and the neighboring tribes supported by the state on the other.The justification for oppression and persecution has always been our 'Christian' faith. Our women and daughters were forcibly kidnapped, our property, products confiscated, destructed,... by virtue of the attacker’s beliefs, it has always been a legal right. In other words, it was considered religious 'ẖalal'. We have been always reminded by the neighbors that these cruelties, tortures and bullyings inflicted regularly are part of our daily life; hence, the migration route remained as the only viable option. Cyprus Question The pogrom of September 6-7, 1955 was also intended to be carried out in Turabdin. Nuri Midyat from the Mehmedo tribe and Muẖammed Şerif from the Nehrozo tribe participated in a meeting organized by the state authorities in Estel, the Muslim section of Midyat. In this meeting, both leaders adopted a negative attitude towards the planned pogrom against the Christians of the city and the plan did not come to realization. Both leaders are mysteriously eliminated in the following year. Year 1964 Cyprus again. Throughout Upper Mesopotamia, mosques and masjids became centers of anti-Christian propaganda. MIT, the Turkish Secret Service, sold weapons through arms smugglers. People were beeing prepared for the massacre. A large rally was organized in Midyat by the state. All Muẖallemi and Kurdish villages outside Midyat participated in the rally with a long cortege from Estel. The aim was to turn Midyat upside down and destroy it. The rally cortege stoped in front of the Mustafa Kemal Atatürk monument in Midyat's major road Intersection. Cemil İşler, a MIT agent and native of Estel Muẖallemis, who is one of the organizers, delivers a long and an anti-Christian speech. He stirs up the people who attended the rally. The rally is led with unspeakable curses and a foal and a dog in hand, each of which got a cross attached to their neck. Blasphemy was also directed at the Virgin Mary and Jesus, whom Christians considered sacred. Together with the mass of people at the intersection, there was the district governor of Midyat, a military group and police next to him. There is no negative attitude or any attempt to hinder the attack. Like the Assyrians, there were also Kurdish witnesses from Midyat at the intersection. Dr. Rıfat Yenigün, one of these Kurds and member of Midyat’s Nehrozo tribe, approached the district governor and expressed his reaction as follows: "Governor Bey, as a high official, if you do not prevent this rally, you will be held accountable!" The district governor is forced to act together with his soldiers, and the action remains limited to the rally; the mass of people are forced to go back to Estel and not enter into Midyat. Year 1974 Cyprus again and again. Members of the state-run Mobilization Board prepared a plan of conspiracy against Midyat. The board was headed by Abdülkerim Slam Ağa (Güven). He was an anti-Christian civil servant who had served as debt collector in the past. After his retirement, his anti-Christian stance continued unabated. In the first week of July 1974, the prepared conspiracy is put into action. Abdulkarim has a married sister in Shalirah. One of the latter's younger sons wears a military uniform with his peers from the same village. Prior to that, the times of changing the guard of military police who patroal in the city from Midyat's barracks are determined. Accordingly, an ambush is set up. The ambush is planned for the evening vigil. Meanwhile, after handing over their guard in the city, two military police return to their barracks. Before they reach their barracks, a soldier appears in front of them on the way. He asks the police for a light to light his cigarette. The policemen, trying to put their hands in their pockets to provide fire, aren't aware of the ambush. The soldier who asked for fire pulls his gun and shoots at one of the policemen. The guard collapses to the ground; the other policeman shoots at the attacker, who runs away, from the light machine gun in his hand. The assailant escapes wounded. He runs to a vineyard that was nearby. The policeman is forced to take care of his injured friend. Meanwhile, other attackers waiting in ambush started firing. The military barracks immediately mobilizes some of its troops. Soldiers rush into Midyat’s neighborhood close to the barracks and forcefuly enter into the houses. Saldırgan az sonra bir incir ağacı üzerinde, izlenen kan izi sonucu bulunuyor. Nöbetçi amiri olan subay, hemen sünnetli olup olmadığının araştırı emrini veriyor. Emre uyan askerler nöbetçi subayına “Komutanım saldırgan sünnetli!” diye yanıt veriyor. Nöbetçi amiri olan subay onlara “Onu öldürün!” emrini veriyor. Based on a trace of blood the assailant is soon found on a fig tree. The officer, who is the supervisor on duty, immediately orders an investigation into whether he is circumcised or not. The soldiers who obey the order respond to the officer on duty, "Commander, the aggressor is circumcised!"
The officer who is the supervisor on duty orders them, "Kill him!" This is how Midyat survives the planned conspiracy. Year 2000, Diyarbakır On October 4, 2000, in Diyarbakir, Yusuf Be-Kečo (Akbulut), the priest of the Church of the Virgin Mary, was arrested and convicted for saying that "... not only Armenians but also Assyrians were massacred!" Later, as a result of the political and diplomatic pressure exerted by the EU countries, which closely followed the legal case, Father Yusuf was freed from the clutches of the judiciary. Mardin 2022 As in the village of Brahimiye (Işıklar) near Mardin and many other locations, the problems of forcible confiscation of Assyrian property are brought to the judiciary in order to find their real owners. Although the cases are concluded in favor of their owners in the judiciary, the usurpers do not accept the judgement and resort to threats and violence. On Sunday, June 5, 2022, in Brahimiye, a group of usurpers, who has lost the legal process, attackes the house of the Assyrian family and owner of the property, with sticks in their hand. Zafaran Monastery’s Bishop Şaliba Be-Murad (Özmen), who received information on the subject, immediately informed the authorities, and the gendarmerie who came to the scene prevented a major disaster in this way. If the situation of the Assyrians is so unsafe and the law is not respected, how can there be a return from Europe?
1. This work was first translated from the contemporary Şurayt by Jan Beṯ-Şawoce, then enriched with historical information by the same translator.
Mezapotamya’nın Kadim Halkı Asur/Süryani/Kildani’nin Göçü
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