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Bartella (; ar, برطلّة) is a town that is located in the Nineveh Plains in northern
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, about east of
Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...
. Bartella was liberated from
ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
control on October 20, 2016 by
Iraqi Special Operations Forces The Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) ( ar, قوات العمليات الخاصة العراقية) are a special operations force of Iraq. The unit was created in 1950, but was disbanded and recruited from scratch by coalition forces after ...
along with the Nineveh Plain Protection Units and PMF Brigade 30, who both currently control and run the city's security. The town is populated by Assyrians and
Shabaks Shabaks ( ar, الشبك; ku, شەبەک, translit=Şebek) are a group with a disputed ethnic origin. Some Shabaks identify themselves as a distinct ethnic group and others as ethnic Kurds. They live east of Mosul in Iraq. However their cultural t ...
. The town had an Assyrian majority prior to the Northern Iraq offensive of ISIL, while the Shabak population has risen to at least 35% of the population or a majority.


History


Early history

The earliest known mention of Bartella was by Father Potrus Qasha in 1153, where he talked about Ignatius Elia'azar (1143-1164), the maphiryan of Ashur, making Bartella his home and see. Elia'azar reported directly to the Patriarch in
Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...
,
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. The congregation was upset with Elia'azar for changing the see location from the traditional
Mor Mattai Monastery Dayro d-Mor Mattai ( syr, ܕܝܪܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܡܬܝ;''The Monastery of St. Matthew'', Arabic, دير مار متى) is a Syriac Orthodox Church monastery on Mount Alfaf in northern Iraq. It is located 20 kilometers northeast of the city of Mosul ...
. An agreement was reached to return to Mar Mattai, with the tradition to visit Bartella regularly. Other maphiryans who made their see Bartella include: * Dyonosius Saliba II (1222–1231) * Gregorius Barsuma (1288–1308) * Gregorius Mattai I (1317–1345) * Gregorius Bar Qeenaya (d. 1361) * Athinasius Abraham II (1365–1379) * Cyril Joseph III (1458–1470) In 1171, the
Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...
attacked Bartella, as well as the
Mor Mattai Monastery Dayro d-Mor Mattai ( syr, ܕܝܪܐ ܕܡܪܝ ܡܬܝ;''The Monastery of St. Matthew'', Arabic, دير مار متى) is a Syriac Orthodox Church monastery on Mount Alfaf in northern Iraq. It is located 20 kilometers northeast of the city of Mosul ...
. When the people of
Nineveh Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ba ...
heard this, they joined forced to fight back and succeeded. However, the monks at the monastery learned of another encroaching attack and agreed to sign a peace treaty with the Kurds to avoid more bloodshed. They paid the Kurds 30 golden dinariis with the agreement. As soon as the Kurds received the gold, they gathered a larger army of 1,500 people and attacked the monastery, causing a crack in its wall. They entered and killed 15 monks, while the others escaped. In 1201, a Christian priest and Muslim cleric in Bartella had a quarrel. The people in the town complained to the mayor, who punished the Muslim cleric with a beating. The cleric went to
Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...
and gathered a large crowd by the main mosque, and later marched toward Bartella to destroy it. When they reached the town, the gates were closed and they couldn't enter. On their way back to Mosul, the mob broke into a church called MarZena and took all the valuables. Today, this church is the al-Khallal mosque. Between 1261 and 1369, the Mor Mattai Monastery was attacked by Kurds again, which impacted Bartella. In 1745,
Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian ...
, a Persian, attacked Bartella, killed many men and took many young men, girls and women away. From 1756 to 1758, Bartella experienced great
famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompan ...
, which promoted more travel of the people of the town to purchase their needs. They suffered many robberies and attacks during these travels. In 1789, Jolu Beg bin Bdagh, the Emir of Shikhan, exhausted Bartella of their goods while at war with the Arab Emir Mohammad bin Hasan al-Taa'i. In the 18th century,
Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
entered the city when
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
and Dominican monks opened a center to offer educational and medical services. In 1778, the Assyrians of Bakhdida were leaning towards Catholicism, which influenced some family members of the Aal Makrooh family in Bartella to convert. In 1780, Father Zakariya Kindo converted along with 40 other families. While there were some quarrels about using the church in Bartella between the Catholic and Orthodox priests in, they came a common understanding and accepted each other's choice of denomination. Today, about one third of the town is Catholic, while the other two-thirds remain Orthodox.


Latest events

On August 31, 2004, three girls from Bartella were slaughtered while returning home from their work at a hospital in
Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...
where they worked. On November 19, 2004, two brothers from Bartella were killed while at work when a
mortar shell A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore (although some models use a rifled barrel) metal tube fixed to a base plate (to spread out the recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount and ...
fell on the shop they worked at in Mosul market. On December 8, 2004, Dr. Ra'ad Augustine Qoryaqos, one of Bartella's notables and a successful surgeon who worked as a professor at the College of Medicine in
University of Anbar The University of Anbar ( ar, جامعة الأنبار) is an Iraqi university in Ramadi, Al Anbar, Iraq. It was founded in 1987 with a college of education and a college of girls' education, and then expanded until it reached university status ...
, was murdered in
Ramadi Ramadi ( ar, ٱلرَّمَادِي ''Ar-Ramādī''; also formerly rendered as ''Rumadiyah'' or ''Rumadiya'') is a city in central Iraq, about west of Baghdad and west of Fallujah. It is the capital and largest city of Al Anbar Governorate w ...
. A group of three terrorists stormed his clinic while he was checking on his patients, shot and left him bleeding. An operation later failed to save his life. Dr. Qoryaqos left behind his wife and two children. On August 10, 2009, a pair of large
flatbed truck A flatbed truck (or flatbed lorry in British English) is a type of truck which can be either articulated or rigid. As the name suggests, its bodywork is just an entirely flat, level 'bed' with no sides or roof. This allows for quick and easy loa ...
s packed with
bombs A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanic ...
exploded simultaneously shortly after dawn, destroying a Shabak village known as Khazna, about east of Mosul and a few kilometres away from Bartella. The blast shattered windows at many homes in Bartella. On March 28, 2013, and during the
passion week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, ...
of
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...
, a car bomb parked downtown not far from street of Bartella went off in the early hours of that day killing one local resident. On August 3, 2014, many families from Bartella left the city to
Erbil Erbil, also called Hawler (, ar, أربيل, Arbīl; syr, ܐܲܪܒܹܝܠ, Arbel), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It lies in the Erbil Governorate. It has an estimated population of around 1,600,000. H ...
,
Ankawa Ankawa ( ar, عنكاوا, Ankāwā; , syr, ܥܲܢܟܵܒ̣ܵܐ) is a suburb of Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It is located northwest of downtown Erbil. The suburb is predominantly populated by Assyrians, most of whom adhere to the Cha ...
and Shekhan due to attacks by
ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
fighters. The
Peshmerga The Peshmerga ( ku, پێشمەرگه, Pêşmerge, lit=those who face death) is the Kurdish military forces of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, the Peshmerga, along with their security subsidiaries, ...
forces were fighting them to retake ISIL-controlled Gogjali district west of Bartella. On August 6, 2014, Peshmerga forces guarding the city ordered the remaining residents to leave, and pulled back to
Erbil Erbil, also called Hawler (, ar, أربيل, Arbīl; syr, ܐܲܪܒܹܝܠ, Arbel), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It lies in the Erbil Governorate. It has an estimated population of around 1,600,000. H ...
at around 8:30 pm. Over the night, the city was almost completely empty of its predominately Christian Assyrian residents. At around 4:30 am on August 7, the whole city was totally taken by
ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
militants in a bullet-less fall. On August 8, they burned
liquor store A liquor store is a retail shop that predominantly sells prepackaged liquors – typically in bottles – usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence (i ...
s, looted houses and food stores, hung their flags on the church walls, pulled down the crosses and demanded the few remaining Christian locals of either converting to Islam, staying in the city and paying a yearly tax of $200, or facing "death by the sword" if refused to convert or pay. In late August and early September 2014, it was reported that three residents of the few remaining Christian Assyrians, died. One was disabled, the other due to illness and old age and the third one was tortured then killed after he refused to convert to Islam. In mid-September 2014, the 12 remaining residents managed to escape by faking conversion. On October 20, 2016, as part of the Iraqi government offensive to retake Mosul, the
Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyri ...
Nineveh Plain Protection Units and
Iraqi Special Operations Forces The Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) ( ar, قوات العمليات الخاصة العراقية) are a special operations force of Iraq. The unit was created in 1950, but was disbanded and recruited from scratch by coalition forces after ...
(ISOF) liberated Bartella from ISIL control. On December 24, 2016, the first post-liberation
Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...
mass was held at Mart Shmony Church.


Churches of Bartella

Bartella and its vicinity has six churches, two partially demolished, one abandoned, one new, and two very old: * Mar Aho Dama Church This church was in existence in 1153 when was expanded by Maphrian Ignatius II La'Azer. It was in use till 1386. Excavation in its ruins found the remains of three bishops which were moved to Mart Shmony Church. * Mart Shmony Church It's unknown when this church was first built, however, it was reinvigorated for the first time in 1807, It was rebuilt again completely in 1869, and It was reinvigorated again in 1971. * Mar Giwargis Church There are two churches with this name. The first is in ruins (recently renovated and reused) and is believed to be a monastery for St. Jerjis who built it around 1701. The second church was completed in 1939. * Church of the Virgin This church was built in 1890 at the time of Qorlos Elias al-Mosuli who died in 1911. However, an inscription dating 16th century mentions the name of the Church of the Virgin which contradicts the date of 1890 and assumes that this church was standing at that time. The gate and part of the church were destroyed by ISIS sometime between August 2014 and October 2016. * Al-Sayida Church The complete demolition of Al-Sayida Church came in 1934 as its bricks were used to build the new Mar Giwargis Church. * Ber Nagara Monastery This monastery is named after Yohanan bit Nagara (St John Bar Nagaré) meaning "Yohanan of the Carpenters" since all his family were working as carpenters. It's believed that he used to worship pagans, and after converting to Christianity he was killed by his father and was buried in the village of Ba Agre. When this village was destroyed in 1282, his grave which was visited heavily by the locals was destroyed with it. That forced Maphrian Gregarious bin al-Ebry to build a temple for the martyr Yohanan in Bartella and was completed in 1285. On November 23, 1285, the remains of St. Yohanan, monks from Syria, and the 40 martyrs killed by the Persians were moved and reburied in this temple. Unfortunately, this monastery was destroyed in 1653 and again the remains were moved to St. Shmony church. Currently, all what exist of this monastery is a small room built recently as a reminder to its existence. * The Monastery of the Forty Martyrs This monastery is still frequented by parishioners, while a part of it is demolished. It dates back to 1269. * Mar Youhanna Monastery This monastery is ancient without a known date of construction. It sits on the side of the main road north of Bartella. * Mar Daniel Monastery Mar Daniel is on a small hill near Bartella. It is named after Mar Daniel the Hermit, who ventured to Nineveh from Diyar Bakir with Mar Mattai in the year 363. This monastery is also known locally as the "Monastery of the Beetles" due to the large numbers of small beetles that appeared during the three-day festival on October 20. Forty minutes by foot from the "upper monastery" is a "lower monastery", which is commonly where the monks lived. Arab historians have called it al-Khalidi, al-Shabishti and Yaqut.


Population

In early August 2014, Bartella was overrun by
ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
Islamic extremists Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic und ...
.Nabih Bulos
Iraqi Christians displaced by Sunni militants seek to flee abroad
''Los Angeles Times'' (September 18, 2014).
The Christian population of the town fled, mostly to
Erbil Erbil, also called Hawler (, ar, أربيل, Arbīl; syr, ܐܲܪܒܹܝܠ, Arbel), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It lies in the Erbil Governorate. It has an estimated population of around 1,600,000. H ...
, joining thousands of other
Iraqi Christians The Christians of Iraq are considered to be one of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world. The vast majority of Iraqi Christians are indigenous Eastern Aramaic-speaking ethnic Assyrians who claim descent from ancient Assyria, ...
fleeing ISIL terror. Before the ISIL invasion, the population was around 30,000, with the majority being ethnic Assyrian
Syriac Christians Syriac Christianity ( syr, ܡܫܝܚܝܘܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ / ''Mšiḥoyuṯo Suryoyto'' or ''Mšiḥāyūṯā Suryāytā'') is a distinctive branch of Eastern Christianity, whose formative theological writings and traditional liturgies are e ...
, including
Syriac Catholics The Syriac Catholic Church ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ, ʿĪṯo Suryayṯo Qaṯolīqayṯo, ar, الكنيسة السريانية الكاثوليكية) is an Eastern Catholic Christian jurisdiction originating in t ...
and
Syriac Orthodox Christians , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascu ...
. Bartella was
Christianized Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
in the 2nd century. With the emergence of the
Christological controversies In Christianity, Christology (from the Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Christ", is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Differ ...
, the people and their church came under the dominion of the
Church of the East The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...
(historically known as the
Nestorian Church The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...
); however, it switched to the
Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...
(historically known as Jacobite) around 610. On November 23–24, 2013 during the 2-day "Bartella Friends" conference held in Erbil to discuss the demographic change due to the Shabak exodus fleeing
Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...
and the surrounding villages towards Bartella from 2003. It was announced that the percentage of Christians has dropped dramatically from 99% to 40%.


Industry

Bartella was known in Nineveh to have some of the best goldsmiths.
Tahini Tahini () or tahina (, ) is a Middle Eastern condiment made from toasted ground hulled sesame. It is served by itself (as a dip) or as a major ingredient in hummus, baba ghanoush, and halva. Tahini is used in the cuisines of the Levant an ...
is one of the main food products in the town. Weddings and festivals also inspire various craftsmanship in the town.


Wedding tradition

Every Sunday or festival day (holy feast days) between the engagement and the marriage, the groom's mother hosts the women and girls in her home, where they prepare trays of treats including seeds, sweets and dried fruit. The plates are covered with colorful fabric and taken to the bride's home to be presented to her. A few days prior to the wedding, the wall above the front of door of the couple's future home is painted with beautiful colors and decorated with various flowers. The walls of the couple's room are newly painted as well, since they typically became darkened with smoke from the indoor fires used for heat in the winter. Christian symbols were also painted on the walls to protect from bad spirits.


Gallery

File:Church of the Virgin Mary.JPG,
Syriac Catholic Church The Syriac Catholic Church ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝܬܐ, ʿĪṯo Suryayṯo Qaṯolīqayṯo, ar, الكنيسة السريانية الكاثوليكية) is an Eastern Catholic Christian jurisdiction originating in ...
of the Virgin Mary, pictured in December 2013 File:Mar Giwargis Church (the old one) built in around 1701.JPG, Former Mar Giwargis Syriac Orthodox Church, pictured in December 2013 File:Mar Giwargis Church (the new one) built in 1930s.JPG, Current Mar Giwargis
Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...
, pictured in December 2013


See also

*
Assyrian homeland The Assyrian homeland, Assyria ( syc, ܐܬܘܪ, Āṯūr or syc, ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, Bêth Nahrin) refers to the homeland of the Assyrian people within which Assyrian civilisation developed, located in their indigenous Upper Mesopotamia. T ...
*
Proposals for Assyrian autonomy in Iraq Since the early 20th century several proposals have been made for the establishment of an autonomous area or a independent state for the Syriac-speaking Assyrians in northern Iraq. Historical proposals * Urmia Manifesto of the United Free Assyri ...
*
Assyrians in Iraq Iraqi Assyrians ( syr, ܣܘܪ̈ܝܐ, ar, آشوريو العراق) are an ethnic and linguistic minority group, Indigenous peoples, indigenous to Upper Mesopotamia. Assyrians in Iraq are those Assyrian people, Assyrians still residing in the ...
*
List of Assyrian settlements The following is a list of historical and contemporary Assyrian settlements in the Middle East. This list includes settlements of Assyrians from Southeastern Turkey who left their indigenous tribal districts in Hakkari (or the historical Hakk ...
* Tahrawa *
Bakhdida Qaraqosh, also known as Al-Hamdaniya or Bakhdida, is an Assyrian city in Iraq within the Nineveh Governorate, located about 32 km (20 mi) southeast of the city of Mosul and 60 km (37 mi) west of Erbil amid agricultural lands, close ...
* Karemlesh


References


External links


baretly.net
{{Nineveh Plains Assyrian communities in Iraq Populated places in Nineveh Governorate Shabak communities Nineveh Plains