Assyrians in Iran ( syr, ܐܬܘܪܝܐ ܕܐܝܼܪܵܢ), ( fa, آشوریان ایران), are an

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established fo ...

and linguistic minority in present-day

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The Assyrians of Iran speak

Assyrian Neo-Aramaic Suret ( syr, ܣܘܪܝܬ) ( �su:rɪtʰor �su:rɪθ, also known as Assyrian or Chaldean, refers to the varieties of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) spoken by ethnic Assyrians, including those identifying as religious groups rather than eth ...

, a

neo-Aramaic language The Neo-Aramaic or Modern Aramaic languages are varieties of Aramaic that evolved during the late medieval and early modern periods, and continue to the present day as vernacular (spoken) languages of modern Aramaic-speaking communities. With ...

descended from

Classical Syriac The Syriac language (; syc, / '), also known as Syriac Aramaic (''Syrian Aramaic'', ''Syro-Aramaic'') and Classical Syriac ܠܫܢܐ ܥܬܝܩܐ (in its literary and liturgical form), is an Aramaic dialect that emerged during the first century ...

and elements of

Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic ...

, and are Eastern Rite Christians belonging mostly to the

Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East,, ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية sometimes called Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East,; ar, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية الرسول� ...

and also to the

Ancient Church of the East The Ancient Church of the East is an Eastern Christian denomination. It branched from the Assyrian Church of the East in 1964, under the leadership of Mar Thoma Darmo (d. 1969). It is one of three Assyrian Churches that claim continuity with t ...

Assyrian Pentecostal Church The Assyrian Pentecostal Church ( syr, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܐܚܘܢܘ̈ܬܐ ܦܢܛܩܘܣܛܝ̈ܐ ܐܬܘܪ̈ܝܐ, ''‘Ittā d-Akhonāwāthā Pēnṭēqosṭāyē Ātūrāyē''; fa, کلیسای پنطیکاستی آشوری), is a Reformed Eastern Chr ...

Chaldean Catholic Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = Assyrian Church.png , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq , abbreviation = , type ...

and

Assyrian Evangelical Church The Assyrian Evangelical Church is a Presbyterian church in the Middle East that attained a status of ecclesiastical independence from the Presbyterian mission in Iran in 1870. Members Its members are predominantly ethnic Assyrians, an Eastern ...

. They share a common history and ethnic identity, rooted in shared linguistic, cultural and religious traditions, with

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 ...

Assyrians in Turkey Assyrians in Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Süryanileri, Syriac: ܣܘܪܝܝܐ ܕܛܘܪܩܝܐ) are an indigenous Semitic-speaking ethnic group and minority of Turkey who are Eastern Aramaic–speaking Christians, with most being members of the Syriac ...

and

Assyrians in Syria Assyrians in Syria ( syr, ܐܬܘܪܝܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܐ, ar, الآشوريون في سوريا) are an ethnic and linguistic minority that are indigenous to Upper Mesopotamia (known in Syriac as ''Gozarto'') which is the name used for the uplands ...

, as well as with the

Assyrian diaspora 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 * Assyrian ...

. The Assyrian community in Iran numbered approximately 200,000 prior to the

Islamic Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

of 1979. In 1987, there were an estimated 50,000 Assyrians living in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

. However, after the revolution many Assyrians left the country, primarily for the United States; the 1996 Iranian census counted only 32,000 Assyrians. Current estimates of the Assyrian population in Iran consist of 7,000 combined members of the Assyrian Church of the East and Chaldean Catholic Church in addition to less than 10,000 members of the Assyrian Evangelical Church. The Iranian capital,

, is home to the majority of Iranian Assyrians; however, approximately 15,000 Assyrians reside in northern Iran, in

Urmia Urmia or Orumiyeh ( fa, ارومیه, Variously transliterated as ''Oroumieh'', ''Oroumiyeh'', ''Orūmīyeh'' and ''Urūmiyeh''.) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran and the capital of Urmia County. It is situated at an al ...

and various Assyrian villages in the surrounding area. To note among the

, the Assyrians residing in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

tend to be originally from

. The

Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, قانون اساسی جمهوری اسلامی ایران, ''Qanun-e Asasi-ye Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran'') was adopted by referendum on 2 and 3 December 1979, and went into force replac ...

, ratified in 1979, recognizes Assyrians as a

religious minority A minority religion is a religion held by a minority of the population of a country, state, or region. Minority religions may be subject to stigma or discrimination. An example of a stigma is using the term cult with its extremely negative conn ...

and

ethnic minority The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...

and reserves for them one seat in the

Islamic Consultative Assembly The Islamic Consultative Assembly ( fa, مجلس شورای اسلامی, Majles-e Showrā-ye Eslāmī), also called the Iranian Parliament, the Iranian Majles (Arabicised spelling Majlis) or ICA, is the national legislative body of Iran. The P ...

, the Iranian parliament. , the seat was occupied by Yonathan Betkolia, who was elected in 2000 and reelected in the 2004 legislative election. In 2010, it was estimated that there were only around 5,000 Assyrians left in the historical center of the city of Urmia.

History

The Assyrian presence in Iran goes back 4,000 years to ancient times, and

Assyria Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

was involved in the history of

Ancient Iran The history of Iran is intertwined with the history of a larger region known as Greater Iran, comprising the area from Anatolia in the west to the borders of Ancient India and the Syr Darya in the east, and from the Caucasus and the Eurasian Step ...

even before the arrival of the modern

Iranian peoples The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separate ...

to the region circa 1000 BC. During the

Old Assyrian Empire The Old Assyrian period was the second stage of Assyrian history, covering the history of the city of Assur from its rise as an independent city-state under Puzur-Ashur I 2025 BC to the foundation of a larger Assyrian territorial state after th ...

(c.2025-1750 BC) and

Middle Assyrian Empire The Middle Assyrian Empire was the third stage of Assyrian history, covering the history of Assyria from the accession of Ashur-uballit I 1363 BC and the rise of Assyria as a territorial kingdom to the death of Ashur-dan II in 912 BC. ...

(1365-1020 BC) the Assyrians ruled over parts of ''Pre-Iranic'' northern and western Iran. The

Neo-Assyrian Empire The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history and the final and greatest phase of Assyria as an independent state. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew ...

(911-605 BC) saw Assyria conquer the

Iranic The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separate ...

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

Medes The Medes ( Old Persian: ; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, ...

and

Parthians Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

into their empire, together with the ancient ''pre-Iranic'' Elamites,

Kassites The Kassites () were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire c. 1531 BC and until c. 1155 BC (short chronology). They gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylo ...

, Manneans and

Gutians The Guti () or Quti, also known by the derived exonyms Gutians or Guteans, were a nomadic people of West Asia, around the Zagros Mountains (Modern Iran) during ancient times. Their homeland was known as Gutium ( Sumerian: ,''Gu-tu-umki'' or ,'' ...

, and also the Iranic

Cimmerians The Cimmerians (Akkadian: , romanized: ; Hebrew: , romanized: ; Ancient Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people originating in the Caspian steppe, part of whom subsequently migrated into Wes ...

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

and

Scythians The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Cent ...

of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

. The home of the Assyrians in Iran has traditionally been along the western shore of

Lake Urmia Lake Urmia; az, اۇرمۇ گؤلۆ, script=Arab, italic=no, Urmu gölü; ku, گۆلائوو رمیەیێ, Gola Ûrmiyeyê; hy, Ուրմիա լիճ, Urmia lich; arc, ܝܡܬܐ ܕܐܘܪܡܝܐ is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is l ...

from the

Salmas Salmas ( fa, سلماس; ; ; ; syr, ܣܵܠܵܡܵܣ, Salamas) is the capital of Salmas County, West Azerbaijan Province in Iran. It is located northwest of Lake Urmia, near Turkey. According to the 2019 census, the city's population is 127,86 ...

area to the Urmia plain. After the fall of Assyria between 612 and 599 BC, after decades of civil war, followed by an attack by an alliance of former subject peoples; the

Babylonians Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. 1 ...

Chaldea Chaldea () was a small country that existed between the late 10th or early 9th and mid-6th centuries BCE, after which the country and its people were absorbed and assimilated into the indigenous population of Babylonia. Semitic-speaking, it was ...

ns,

and

, its people became an integral part of the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

(as did

itself), holding important military, civic and economic positions, and the Achaemenid Persians, having spent centuries under Assyrian domination, were greatly influenced by Assyrian Art and Architecture, modelled their empire upon Assyrian lines, and saw themselves as the successors of the great Assyrian kings. Assyrians are still attested as being extant in the north west of the region during the

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conqu ...

(160 BC-223 AD) and

Sassanid Empire The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

(224-650 AD), and throughout the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, where the Bukhtishu family of physicians were held in great regard by the Persian kings. There were about 200,000 Assyrians in Iran at the time of the 1976 census.Iran A Country Study By Federal Research Division - Page 128 Many emigrated after the revolution in 1979, but at least 50,000 were estimated to be still in Iran in 1987. In 1900, Assyrians numbered over 76,000 in northwestern Iran, constituting over a quarter of the Azerbaijan province's population and were the largest non-Muslim majority in

. Of the 300 villages around Urmia, 60 were exclusively Assyrians and 60 were mixed villages with Assyrian, Armenian, and Azeri communities. Nevertheless, there were over 115 documented Assyrian villages to the west of

prior to 1918. Old church of Urmia

During the

Assyrian genocide The Sayfo or the Seyfo (; see below), also known as the Assyrian genocide, was the mass slaughter and deportation of Assyrian / Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan province by Ottoman forces and some Kurdish ...

, which took place during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the

Ottoman Army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...

together with allied Kurdish and

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

militias along the Persian-Turkish and Persian-Iraqi border carried out religiously and ethnically motivated massacres and deportations on unarmed Assyrian civilians (and

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

) both in the mountains and on the rich plains, resulting in the death of at least 300,000 Assyrians.David Gaunt
"The Assyrian Genocide of 1915"
''Assyrian Genocide Research Center'', 2009 This genocide that started in 1914 was said to be started with the Ottomans’ ‘Jihad’ declaration, apparently solely based on its ethnic and religious differences with the Assyrians because of their belief in Christianity, but actually there was an ambition to extend their ‘holy war’ beyond Assyrian territories to spread its Ottoman influences. The Ottomans already implemented massacres of several Assyrian tribes from 1843 to 1845, with the motive of taking over their ancestral lands and making them part of the Ottoman Empire. These tribes were particularly the Tiyari, Tkhuma, Jilu and Baz, who all refused Ottoman command. According to British councils, 10,000 Assyrians were massacred already during this time alone. Women and children were taken while Assyrian leaders were cast out from Ottoman forces. Assyrians felt forced to convert to for example Catholicism or Russian Orthodoxy to receive help from the Russian, French or British. In 1914 alone, they attacked dozens of villages and drove off all the inhabitants of the district of Gawar. The Assyrians defended themselves and for a time successfully repelled further attacks under the leadership of Agha Petros, seizing control of much of the Urmia region and defeating Ottoman forces and their Kurdish and Arab allies in the process. However, lack of ammunition and supplies, due mainly to the withdrawal of

from the war, and the collapse of allied Armenian forces led to their downfall. Massively outnumbered, surrounded, undersupplied and cut off, the Assyrians suffered terrible massacres. These included Assyrian deportations close to the Ottoman-Persian border in January 1915, as well as the invasion of several Assyrian tribes located in the Hakkari mountains. This area already suffered a numerous number of massacres in the 1840s. By the summer of 1918 almost all surviving Assyrians had fled to Tehran or to existing Assyrian communities or refugee camps in Iraq such as

Baqubah Baqubah ( ar, بَعْقُوبَة; BGN: Ba‘qūbah; also spelled Baquba and Baqouba) is the capital of Iraq's Diyala Governorate. The city is located some to the northeast of Baghdad, on the Diyala River. In 2003 it had an estimated populat ...

. Local Kurds and Arabs and took the opportunity of the last phases of World War I to rob Assyrian homes, murder civilians and leave those remaining destitute. The critical murder that sowed panic in the Assyrian community came when Kurdish militias, under Agha Ismail Simko, assassinated the Patriarch,

Mar Benyamin Shimon XIX Mar, mar or MAR may refer to: Culture * Mar or Mor, an honorific in Syriac * Earl of Mar, an earldom in Scotland * MAA (singer) (born 1986), Japanese * Marathi language, by ISO 639-2 language code * March, as an abbreviation for the third ...

, on March 3, 1918, under the pretext of inviting him to negotiations, although the Assyrian leader

Malik Khoshaba Malik Khoshaba Yousip ( syr, ܡܠܟ ܚܕܒܫܒܐ ܝܘܣܦ) was an Assyrian tribal leader (or "malik") of the Tyari tribe (''Bit Tyareh'') who played a significant role in the Assyrian independence movement during World War I. Early life Malik Kho ...

exacted revenge upon Simko by attacking and sacking his citadel, forcing the Kurdish leader to flee for his life.

Religious communities

Most Assyrians in Iran are followers of the

, with a minority of 3,900 following the

Chaldean Catholic Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = Assyrian Church.png , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq , abbreviation = , type ...

. Some also follow Protestant denominations such as the

and possibly

Russian Orthodoxy Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most C ...

due to a

Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Urmia The Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Urmia (''Русская духовная миссия в Урмии'') or Orthodox Mission in Urmia (''Урмийская духовная миссия'') was a Russian Orthodox mission to the ethnic Assyrians ...

during the 1900s.

Distribution

(): ** Abajalu, Abdulkandi, Adeh (ܥܕܐ), Aliabad, Aliawach, Alikumi, Alqayeh, Anhar, Ardishai, Armutaghaj, Babarud,

Badelbu Badelbu ( fa, بدلبو, also Romanized as Badelbū) is a village in Nazluchay Rural District, Nazlu District, Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, ...

, Badiki, Balanush, Balu, Borashan, Chamaki, Chamashajan, Charagushi, Charbakhsh (), Darbarut, Digala (), Dizataka, Diszgeri, Gawilan, Geogtapa, Lower Gniza, Upper Gniza, Gulpashin/ Gulpashan, Gowzgavand, Hesar Babaganja, Ikiaghaj, Iryawa, Jamlawa, Khanishan,

Kosi KOSI (101.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Denver, Colorado. KOSI is owned by Salt Lake City–based Bonneville International and airs an adult contemporary music format. Its studios and offices are located on East Orchard Road in Green ...

, Lulpa, Mushawa,

Nazlu Nazlu ( fa, نازلو, also Romanized as Nāzlū) is a village in Nazluchay Rural District, Nazlu District, Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 1,311, in 328 families. Urmia University The main ...

, Piqabaklu, Qala, Qara-Aghaj, Qarajalu, Qaragoz, Qasemlu, Qezel Ashuq, Qurtapa, Saatlu, Sainabad, Sangar, Saralan, Sardarud, Shirabad (ܫܝܪܐܒܕ),

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

, Sopurghan,

Taka The Bangladeshi taka ( bn, টাকা, sign: , code: BDT, short form: Tk) is the currency of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. In Unicode, it is encoded at . Issuance of bank notes 10 and larger is controlled by Bangladesh Bank, whil ...

, Tarmani, Tazakand,

, Vazirabad, Yaghmiralu, Yengija, Zumalan (ܙܘܡܠܢ). *

Margawar Margavar Rural District ( fa, دهستان مرگور, ku, Mirgewer) is a rural district (''dehestan'') in Silvaneh District, Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 34,862, in 6,012 families. The r ...

: ** Diza, Gerdik, Gullistan, Nergi, Razhani. *

Targawar Targavar Rural District ( fa, دهستان ترگور, syr, ܬܪܓܘܪ, Targawar) is a rural district (''dehestan'') in Silvaneh District, Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 7,893, in 1,344 fam ...

(): ** Anbi, Balulan, Darband, Dastalan,

Haki Haki, Hake ( Old Norse: ) or Haco, the brother of Hagbard, was a famous Scandinavian sea-king, in Norse mythology. He is mentioned in the 12th century '' Gesta Danorum'', and in 13th-century sources including '' Ynglinga saga'', ''Nafnaþulur' ...

, Mavana (ܡܥܘܢܐ), Qurana,

Salona Salona ( grc, Σάλωνα) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. Salona is located in the modern town of Solin, next to Split, in Croatia. Salona was founded in the 3rd century BC and was mostly destroyed in ...

, Shibani, Tuleki,

Tulu Tulu may refer to: People *Derartu Tulu (born 1972), Ethiopian long-distance runner *Walid Yacoubou (born 1997), Togolese footballer nicknamed "Tulu" India *Tulu calendar, traditional solar calendar generally used in the regions of southwest Kar ...

. * Sumay Baradust: ** Gangachin, Tazakand. *

():: ** Akhtekhana, Chara, Delemon (), Guliser, Khanaga, Khosrawa, Mahlam, Patamur, Qederabad,

Sarna Sarna may refer to: ;People *Sarna (Polish surname) *Sarna (Punjabi surname) *Sarna (clan), a Punjabi clan of India ;Places *Sarna, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, a village in northern Poland *Sarna sthal, a place of worship in India *Särna, a lo ...

, Sawra, Ulah, Zewajik.

Churches

* Holy Mary (Mart Maryam) Church –

– Kermanshah – 1955 * St. Joseph (Mar Yozep) Church – Tehran (Forsat St.) – 1950 * St. Thomas (Mar Toma) Church () – Tehran ( Amirabad) – 1967

Famous Assyrians from Iran

* Hannibal Alkhas, poet and visual artist *

Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major champion and an Tennis at the 1996 Summer Olympic ...

, Assyrian-Armenian tennis player *

Evin Agassi Evin Agassi, also written as Evin Aghassi (Syriac: ܐܝܒ̣ܢ ܐܓܣܝ, born September 1945), is an Assyrian- American singer who has released over 20 albums during his career.Mike Agassi,

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

boxer and father of Andre Agassi *

Ramona Amiri The Miss World Canada contest is a Beauty pageant held annually in different incarnations since 1957 to select Canada's representative to the Miss World contest. In 2017 MTC-W Inc. obtained the exclusive rights to send the Canadian representativ ...

, Miss World Canada 2005 * Ashurbanipal Babilla, actor, theatre director, playwright and visual artist *

Steven Beitashour Steven Mehrdad Beitashour ( ; fa, استیون مهرداد بیت‌آشور , ; born February 1, 1987) is a professional association football, soccer player who currently plays as a right-back for Colorado Rapids. Born in the United States, ...

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

player * George Bit Atanus, designed the current

Assyrian flag The Assyrian flag ( syr, ܐܬܐ ܐܬܘܪܝܬܐ or ) is the flag widely used to represent the Assyrian nation in the homeland and in the diaspora. Its two components, the star of Utu/Shamash, which was a symbol for the god Shamash, and whic ...

in 1968. * Bukhtishu family, famous physicians in the Middle Ages *

Beneil Dariush Beneil Khobier Dariush (born May 6, 1989) is an Assyrian-American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 24, 2022, he is #4 in the UFC lightw ...

, MMA fighter *

Eprime Eshag Eprime Eshag ( fa, اپريم اسحاق , born Urmia, Iran, 6 November 1918 – died Oxford, England, 24 November 1998) was an Assyrian-Iranian-born Keynesian socialist economist.Golestan, Ebrahim and Andrew Roth (1998) Keynes's Iranian pup ...

, Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford * Alexander L. George, Graham H. Stuart Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Stanford University * Mar Youhannan Semaan Issayi, Archbishop of Assyro-Chaldean Metropolitan Tehran *

George Malek-Yonan George Malek-Yonan (1924-2014) was an Iranian Assyrian international attorney, politician and athlete, and father of actress Rosie Malek-Yonan. Biography The Assyrian Malek family claims to trace its roots back eleven centuries. During the Assy ...

, procured a seat in the Iranian Parliament for Assyrians *

Rosie Malek-Yonan Rosie Malek-Yonan (b. July 4, 1965) is an Assyrian-American actress, author, director, public figure and activist. Malek-Yonan became a noted pianist at an early age. Having graduated from the University of Cambridge, she settled in the United St ...

, actress, author and activist * Andrew David Urshan, evangelist and author *

Younan Nowzaradan Younan Nowzaradan ( fa, یونان نوذرادان; born October 11, 1944), also known as Dr. Now, is an Iranian doctor, TV personality, and author. He specializes in vascular surgery and bariatric surgery. He is known for helping morbidly obe ...

, Assyrian-American physician and television personality (''

My 600-lb Life ''My 600-lb Life'' is an American reality television series that has aired on the TLC television network since 2012, Each episode follows a year in the life of morbidly obese individuals, who usually begin the episode weighing at least , and ...

'') * Patrick Bet-David, Assyrian-Armenian entrepreneur

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Eden Naby, “The Assyrians of Iran: Reunification of a ‘Millat,’ 1906-1914" International Journal of Middle East Studies, 8. (1977) pp. 237–249 * Eden Naby, “The Iranian Frontier Nationalities: The Kurds, the Assyrians, the Baluch and the Turkmens,”Soviet Asian Ethnic Frontiers, ed.by McCagg and Silver (New York, Pergamon Press, 1979). * Eden Naby, “Christian Assyrian Architecture of Iran,” News – Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions (Spring 1998) vol. 5, no. 2, p. 7, 10. * Eden Naby, "Ishtar: Documenting the Crisis in the Assyrian Iranian Community," MERIA 10/4 (2006)https://web.archive.org/web/20090124055153/http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2006/issue4/Naby.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Assyrians In Iran

Ethnic groups in Iran