Assyrians

The modern use of 'Assyrian' as an ethnic name developed in the 19th century and spread among Church of the East Christians after 1900 (e-GEDSH). Syriac-heritage Christians in Syria use several names for themselves. The common endonym Suryoye/Suraye (Syriac script ܣܘܪܝܝܐ) is shared across churches; 'Assyrian' is used especially by members of the Church of the East and by secular nationalist movements; 'Aramean' is favoured in parts of the Syriac Orthodox milieu, whose hierarchy has generally opposed the Assyrian name; 'Chaldean' is primarily the name of the Chaldean Catholic Church and, for some, an ethnic label. Scholars describe the dispute as mainly one over names rather than over separate peoples, and this atlas lists each self-designation as its own entry with cross-references, without ruling on the question.

Sources and details

After the 1933 Simele massacre in Iraq, about 9,000 Assyrians moved to Syria and were settled under French Mandate and League of Nations arrangements on the upper Khabur west of Hasakah; a further transfer of 2,500 was under way in June 1936. The settlement, of about 33–35 villages around Tell Tamr, became part of Syria in 1942. Most villagers belong to the Assyrian Church of the East, some to the Chaldean Catholic Church, and many speak North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic dialects whose speakers came originally from Hakkari.

In February 2015 ISIS attacked the Khabur villages, abducting about 253 people (figures in sources range from 232 to 253) and damaging or destroying 11 churches; most hostages were released within a year. North Press reported in 2023 that fewer than 1,500 Assyrians remained in Tell Tamr and the Khabur villages, compared with about 17,000 before the war (estimate). The Assyrian Policy Institute, an advocacy group, estimates about 200,000 ethnic Assyrians in Syria before the war, using the name in its broader sense.

Sites connected with this community 14

• Cathedral of Our Lady (Assyrian Church of the East), HasakahHasakah · Churches & monasteries

  Assyrian Church of the East cathedral in Hasakah.

• Church of Qabr Shamiya (St Qoryaqos per Armenian Assembly; 'St George' per Syriac Press)Qabr Shamiya (Khabur, Tell Tamr area), Hasakah · Churches & monasteries

  Church of an Assyrian Khabur village, reported destroyed in 2015.

• Church of St Mary (Mart Maryam), Tell NasriTell Nasri (Khabur), Hasakah · Churches & monasteries

  Assyrian Church of the East village church on the Khabur, blown up during the 2015 IS occupation.

• Mar Rabban Pithyon (Raban Pityou / 'Saint Rabban Theo') church, Tell HormizdTell Hormizd (Khabur, Tell Tamr area), Hasakah · Churches & monasteries

  Church of an Assyrian Khabur village, reported destroyed in 2015.

• Monastery of the Virgin Mary (Morth Maryam), Tell WardiyatTell Wardiyat, Hasakah · Churches & monasteries

  Monastery in the Khabur region associated with the Assyrian/Syriac community.

• St Bishu church, Tell ShamiramTell Shamiram (Khabur, Tell Tamr area), Hasakah · Churches & monasteries

  Church of an Assyrian Khabur village, reported destroyed in 2015.

• St John church, Tell JazirahTell Jazirah (Khabur, Tell Tamr area), Hasakah · Churches & monasteries

  Church of an Assyrian Khabur village, reported damaged in 2015.

• St Odisho church, Tell TalTell Tal (Taal) (Khabur, Tell Tamr area), Hasakah · Churches & monasteries

  Church of an Assyrian Khabur village, reported damaged in 2015.

• St Qoryaqos church, Tell MaghadaTell Maghada (al-Makhada) (Khabur, Tell Tamr area), Hasakah · Churches & monasteries

  Church of an Assyrian Khabur village, reported damaged in 2015.

• St Shimon church, Tell BaloaaTell Baloaa (Tell Balouet) (Khabur, Tell Tamr area), Hasakah · Churches & monasteries

  Church of an Assyrian Khabur village, reported damaged in 2015.

• St Shimun church, Abu TinaAbu Tina (Khabur, Tell Tamr area), Hasakah · Churches & monasteries

  Church of an Assyrian Khabur village, reported damaged in 2015.

• St Shimun church, Kharitaal-Kharita (Khabur, Tell Tamr area), Hasakah · Churches & monasteries

  Church of an Assyrian Khabur village, reported damaged in 2015.

• St Sleewa (Holy Cross) church, Tell TalaaTell Talaa (Khabur, Tell Tamr area), Hasakah · Churches & monasteries

  Church of an Assyrian Khabur village, reported damaged in 2015.

• Khabur valleyDeir ez-Zor · Nature

  Valley of the Khabur where the Assyrian villages of the Tell Tamr area were founded in the 1930s.

Further sites (not yet in the atlas)

• Tell Tamr تل تمرHasakah

  Market town and centre of the Assyrian Khabur villages, attacked by ISIS in 2015.

Sources (8)

1. North Press Agency – ISIS 2015 attack on Syria's Khabur Assyrians casts long shadow February 27, 2023
2. UK House of Commons (Hansard) – Syria (Assyrian Settlement), HC Deb 17 June 1936 vol 313 cc967-8 June 17, 1936
3. Endangered Languages Project – Northern Northeastern Neo-Aramaic (Häberl 2016)
4. Coakley, J. F. – Assyrians, Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage, electronic edition (e-GEDSH)
5. Minority Rights Group International – Syria: Christians, Armenians and Assyrians updated 2018-03
6. Assyrian Policy Institute – Syria (advocacy organisation)
7. Wikipedia – Assyrians in Syria (secondary pointer)
8. Wikipedia – Assyrian naming dispute (secondary pointer; cites Atto 2011, Gaunt 2010, Donabed & Makko 2009)