![The church of St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/The_church_of_St._George%2C_Be-Biyya.jpg)
Jīlū was a district located in the
Hakkari region of upper
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
in modern-day Turkey.
Before 1915 Jīlū was home to
Assyrians and as well as a minority of
Kurds ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ira ...
. There were 20
Assyrian villages in this district. The area was traditionally divided into Greater and Lesser Jīlū, and Ishtāzin - each with its own
Malik, and consisting of a number of Assyrian villages. In the summer of 1915, 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 ...
, Jīlū was surrounded and attacked by Turkish troops and neighboring Kurdish tribes under the leadership of Agha Sūtū of Oramar. It is now located around
Yeşiltaş, Yüksekova.
After a brief struggle to maintain their positions, the Assyrian citizens of Jīlū were forced to flee to
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 ...
in
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 ...
along with other refugees from the Hakkari highlands. Today their descendants live all over the world including
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 the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
,
Syria,
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 ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
,
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-eig ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Australia and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
. In Syria's
al-Hasakah Governorate
Al-Hasakah Governorate ( ar, محافظة الحسكة, Muḥāfaẓat al-Ḥasakah, ku, Parêzgeha Hesekê}, syc, ܗܘܦܪܟܝܐ ܕܚܣܟܗ, Huparkiyo d'Ḥasake, also known as syc, ܓܙܪܬܐ, Gozarto) is one of the fourteen governorates (pro ...
there are two villages,
Tel-Gorān and
Abū-Tīnā, established in 1935 by Jīlū refugees from
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 the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
on the banks of the
Khabur River.
Geography and Nature
The Jīlū district is home to the second highest mountain range in Turkey, the Cilo-Sat range, which are an eastern extension of the
Taurus Mountains
The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğird ...
. The highest peak in the Cilo-Sat range is Toura Jelu (also known as Cilo dağı, maximum elevation 4,168 m), from the summit of which one can see as far as the city 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 ...
in Iraq. The southern slopes of the massif are covered with broad-leaved forests (primarily oak), and the northern slopes are covered with steppes and shrub thickets where the inhabitants of Jīlū and Dīz would graze their herds during the summer. Among the animals which abound in these mountains are bears, leopards, wolves, foxes,
chamois,
wild goat
The wild goat (''Capra aegagrus'') is a wild goat species, inhabiting forests, shrublands and rocky areas ranging from Turkey and the Caucasus in the west to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. It has been listed as near threate ...
s, and
ovis
''Ovis'' is a genus of mammals, part of the Caprinae subfamily of the ruminant family Bovidae. Its seven highly sociable species are known as sheep or ovines. Domestic sheep are members of the genus, and are thought to be descended from the w ...
(wild sheep), of which there are three varieties. There are also many birds, especially the large yellow partridge, and the
red-legged variety.
History
Not much is known about Jīlū's pre-Christian history due to its inaccessibility and instability, restricting any form of fieldwork, though prehistoric rock carvings have been found in the Gevaruk valley near Sāţ and on the Tirisin Plateau. These have been dated to 10,000 years ago.
According to the Acts of
Saint Mari
Saint Mari, also known as Mares and originally named Palut, is a saint of the Church of the East. He was converted by Thaddeus of Edessa, or Addai, and is said to have had Mar Aggai as his spiritual director.
Missionary work
He is believed to ...
, it was his disciple St. Ţomīs who was the first to bring Christianity to the region of
Gawar and Zozān (including Jīlū) in the 1st century AD.The text also mentions that he was martyred somewhere in the Gawar plain, not far from Jīlū, and that later on a church was established on his burial site. Indeed, the ancient church in the Jīlū village of Sāţ (modern-day İkiyaka) is dedicated to St. Mārī, and is the only church in the Hakkari region or northern Iraq historically known to have had been. Mārī was also the name of one of the area's earliest bishops. He was among the signatories of the acts of the synod of Catholicos Mār Dādīshoʿ in 424 AD.
A hitherto unpublished text of the Acts of St.
Mammes of Caesarea
Saint Mammes (Mamas, Mammas, Mammet) of Caesarea ( el, Μάμας; french: Mammès; it, Mamante; es, Mamés; pt, São Mamede) was a child-martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who s ...
, who lived in the 3rd century AD, also credits him with having traveled to the village of Oramar (modern-day
Dağlıca) where he built a church, known today as El Ahmar Kilisesi. A church also in Oramar dedicated to his disciple St. Daniel is now the village mosque. Afterwards, St. 'Azīzā - reputedly a disciple of
Mar Awgin
Mar Awgin or Awgen (died 363 AD), also known as Awgin of Clysma or Saint Eugenios, was an Egyptian monk who, according to traditional accounts, introduced Christian monasticism to Syriac Christianity. These accounts, however, are all of late ...
- is credited with having arrived in Jīlū during the 4th century AD, establishing a monastery in the village of Zêrīnī. The earliest surviving manuscript from the Jīlū district was copied in this monastery and dates back to 1212/3.
[Wilmshurst, David, ''The ecclesiastical organisation of the Church of the East, 1318-1913'', Leuven: Peeters Publishers, 2000, p. 300]
The Jīlū district is also home to one of the region's oldest churches, founded by St. Zayʿā and his disciple St. Tāwor in 427 AD. According to the Saint's vita, Jīlū at that time was the center of a kingdom named Jīlām-Jīlū and the church construction project was led by its king Bālaq son of King Zūraq. This church for many centuries was the cathedral of the Mār Sargīs Metropolitan Bishops of Jīlū. Most Jīlū's ancient churches are still standing, despite having been abandoned and in a state of decay for nearly a century.
5th century, Church of the East origins
![The ruins of the ancient church of St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/The_ruins_of_the_ancient_church_of_St._M%C4%81r%C4%AB_in_the_village_of_S%C4%81t%2C_J%C4%ABl%C5%AB_district%2C_Y%C3%BCksekova.jpg)
The Jīlū district was also important in the history of the
Church of the East from an early period. At the synod of Catholicos Mār Isaac in 410 AD Beth-Bghāsh, located in the Jīlū village of Bé-Baghshé, was confirmed as a suffragan diocese of the ecclesiastical province of
Adiabene
Adiabene was an ancient kingdom in northern Mesopotamia, corresponding to the northwestern part of ancient Assyria. The size of the kingdom varied over time; initially encompassing an area between the Zab Rivers, it eventually gained control of N ...
. The future Catholicos-Patriarch
Timothy I Timothy I may refer to:
* Pope Timothy I of Alexandria, Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark in 378–384
* Timothy I of Constantinople
Timothy I or Timotheus I (? – 1 April 518) was a Christian priest who was appointed Patria ...
, an influential figure in the Church of the East's missionary movement, became bishop of Beth-Bghāsh c.770 AD, upon the retirement of his elderly uncle Gīwargīs, and remained in the diocese until his election as Catholicos-Patriarch in 780 AD. Although a native of Hazzah near
Arbil, his family is traditionally held to have originated from Jīlū.
15th century, destruction and revival
In 1448 the Jīlū district was ravaged by the
Qara Qoyunlu and many of its villages lay abandoned for over a century.
This is probably the reason why the colophon of a manuscript copied in 1490 at Bé-Silim in the Baz district mentions only the metropolitan of Mosul. Normally, Baz would have been included in either the diocese of Beth-Bghāsh or Jīlū.
Most of the refugees from Jīlū fled to Assyrian districts in neighboring Iran. Evidence for this appears in the inclusion of Jīlū in the title of the metropolitan of
Salamas around 1552, and the copying of a manuscript in the village of
Naze north of
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 ...
in 1563 by the priest Paul of Oramar. Additionally, many Chaldean families in the
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 ...
region trace their ancestry to settlers originally from Jīlū. Among the most well known are the Malek-Yonan family of Geogtapa, who are descended from a Jīlū chieftain who founded the village in the 16th century. He also built a church there dedicated to St. Zayʿā which he set with stones brought from the original church in Jīlū.
Later in the 16th century, many inhabitants from Jīlū returned to rebuild their homes and churches. Those of Zêrīnī found the church of St. 'Azīzā in ruins and, after rebuilding it, they acquired a text of the saint's legend from the town of
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 ...
in the
Nineveh Plains.
16th-17th century
![The church of Sts](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/The_church_of_Sts._Zay%27a_and_Tavor_in_hakkari.jpg)
Since the 16th century, and probably even earlier, the village of Mātā d-ʿUmrā d-Mār Zayʿā was the seat of a metropolitan bishop of the
Church of the East. The diocese of this metropolitan bishop included the
Hakkari districts of Jīlū,
Baz,
Tkhuma
Prior to World War I, the Tkhuma ( syr, ܬܚܘܡܐ, Tkhūmā "Borderland") were one of five principal and semi-independent Assyrian tribes subject to the spiritual and temporal jurisdiction of the Assyrian Patriarch with the title Mar Shimun. T ...
, Chāl (modern-day
Çukurca), Ţāl, and Rékān.
The first historical mention of the diocese of Jīlū is from 1580, when the metropolitan of Jīlū,
Siirt
Siirt ( ar, سِعِرْد, Siʿird; hy, Սղերդ, S'gherd; syr, ܣܥܪܬ, Siirt; ku, Sêrt) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the seat of Siirt Province. The population of the city according to the 2009 census was 129,188.
History
P ...
and
Salamas, was elevated to the patriarchate of the
Chaldean Catholic Church as Mār Shim'on IX Dinha (1580-1600). That year the new patriarch consecrated a metropolitan for Jīlū named Mār Sargīs, who was among the signatories of a letter from him to
Pope Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII ( la, Gregorius XIII; it, Gregorio XIII; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585), born Ugo Boncompagni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for ...
, and he is probably the same as the Metropolitan Mār Sargīs of Jīlū mentioned in hierarchies listed in the reports of 1607 and 1610 sent by Catholic patriarch Mār Shim'on X Eliyā (1600-1638) to
Pope Paul V
Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...
.
In 1610 also, the large village of Sāţ is recorded as being the residence of bishop named Mār Gīwargīs, who was probably a suffragan of Mār Sargīs. The report of 1610 also mentioned that the ''Malik'' of Jīlū was named David, and he commanded 4,000 fighting men; the ''Malik'' of Ishtāzin was named 'Caitar', and he was in charge of 500 fighters; and Sāţ was led by a man named 'Chartus', probably also a ''Malik'', who in his turn commanded 300 fighters.
In the late 17th century the diocese severed its ties with
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 ...
, along with the rest of the Qudshānis patriarchate, and returned to being traditionalist. The metropolitan bishops of Jīlū were usually nominated from the same clan and all bore the hereditary title Mār Sargīs. An exception to this appears to have been the patriarch Mār Shim'on XV Michael Mukhattas (1740-1780), who is said to have been metropolitan of Jīlū before being elevated to the patriarchate and, indeed, the Cathedral of Sts. Zayʿā and Tāwor is commonly held to have served at certain times as the residence of the patriarchs of that line.
It is during this period that a new line of bishops belonging to the same clan as the metropolitans of Jīlū, Bé-Yagmālā, was established at the village of Gāgawran (modern-day Aksu) in the nearby Gāwār plain. These distant blood-relatives, who took the name Mār Slīvā, probably began as suffragans of Mār Sargīs and are first mentioned in a manuscript colophon from 1743.
19th century
Nineteenth-century bishop Mār Yawsip Sargīs was described by Sir
Austen Henry Layard, who met him at the village of Nahrā in late August 1849, as "... a young man of lofty stature and handsome countenance..." and likened his look to that of a hunter or warrior.
In 1891 he was visited by British explorer and writer
Isabella Bird
Isabella Lucy Bird, married name Bishop (15 October 1831 – 7 October 1904), was a nineteenth-century British explorer, writer, photographer, and naturalist. With Fanny Jane Butler she founded the John Bishop Memorial Hospital in Srinagar i ...
, who described him as "a magnificent-looking man with a superb gray beard, the ''beau-ideal'' of an Oriental ecclesiastic."
This bishop was approached by the
Chaldean Catholic Church in 1890 and 1895, but on both occasions he refused to convert to Catholicism. It is around this time that the inhabitants of the large and isolated village of Sāţ converted to the Catholicism in their entirety.
20th century, post-genocide
![British soldier helping Jilu Assyrian refugees](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/British_soldier_helping_Jilu_Assyrian_refugees.jpg)
The last of these metropolitan bishops to reside at Mātā d-Mār Zayʿā was Mār Zayʿā Sargīs, who was consecrated at 11 years of age. 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 ...
the bishop moved to the
Salamas district between 1915 and 1918, then remained at the
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 ...
refugee camp between 1918 and 1920, before moving to Mosul in 1920. From 1921 onward his see was fixed at the village of Khirshéniyah, immediately to the northwest of
Alqosh
Alqosh ( syr, ܐܲܠܩܘܿܫ, Judeo-Aramaic: אלקוש, ar, ألقوش, alternatively spelled Alkosh or Alqush) is a town in the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq, a sub-district of the Tel Kaif District and is situated 45 km north of the ...
in the
Dohuk Governorate
ar, محافظة دهوك
, image_skyline = Collage_of_Dohuk_Governorate.jpg
, imagesize =
, image_caption =
, image_flag =
, image_seal = ...
, where a small church was built dedicated to St. Zayʿā. Then in 1941 his see was moved to Baghdad, where a large Jīlū émigré community existed at Camp al-Sikak (the "Railroads Camp") with a mud-brick church dedicated to St. Zayʿā built in the 1920s.
After the
Iraqi revolution in 1958, a new Cathedral dedicated to St. Zayʿā was built at Karrādat Maryam, with large contributions in money and in kind from Jīlū entrepreneurs Lira and Supar. On 24 June 1959 the new cathedral was dedicated by Metropolitan
Mar Yawsip Khnanishu and Bishop Mār Īshoʿ Sargīs. This dedication was marked by the attendance of high-profile officials, among them the new Iraqi president
Abd al-Karim Qasim
Abd al-Karim Qasim Muhammad Bakr al-Fadhli al-Zubaidi ( ar, عبد الكريم قاسم ' ) (21 November 1914 – 9 February 1963) was an Iraqi Army brigadier and nationalist who came to power when the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown d ...
, as well as other religious leaders.
In the mid-1980s the cathedral was appropriated by the Iraqi government, which planned to turn the surrounding area into a restricted area. In return, a parcel of land was given in the Mechanics' quarter (Hayy al-Mīkānīk) of
Dora, Baghdad
Dora (also al-Dura, or ad-Durah, ar, الدورة) is a neighborhood in Al Rashid administrative district, southern Baghdad, Iraq. Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it was home to the city's largest concentration of Christian Assyrians, as well ...
. A new cathedral was built there and dedicated in 1986, forming the only parish of the "diocese of Baghdad" to which the current bishop from this line,
Mar Yawsip Sargis, was assigned. In 2002 the bishop left for the United States and has since been unable to return to his diocese. He currently resides in exile at
Modesto, California. For many years after the
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
the cathedral in Baghdad was closed, reopening in 2009. With the death of the resident parish priest in 2011, the cathedral is no longer used for regular worship.
Legend and Tradition
According to Lalayan (''Assyrians of the Van District'', 1914), there was an oral legend concerning the origins and history of the Maliks of Greater Jīlū. The tradition is probably full of historical errors, but must have some element of truth to it.
It narrates that a man named Mandū, from the clan of "
Nebuchadnezzar," for some unknown reason set out from the city of Āthor (
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 ...
), traveling in the company of his four brothers: Bārut, Yôsip, Bākus and Issé. Mandū had promised that he would settle in a place where they could feed him the head and shanks of a sheep (a dish called ''pāchā''). After a long journey Mandū and his brothers arrived at a place named Pāchū, where a poor man fed them ''pāchā''. Mandū observed that he had reached his destination and decided to stay there and become the head of that district. He chose a good place, later known as Zārānīsh (Zêrīnī), just opposite from Pāchū. There he built a house for himself.
One day as Mandū was walking in the forest, he saw four
birds but did not know from where they had come. He also saw a black stone, and nearby, a locked church. In his dream that night he saw the key to the church and a
candelabra buried under the black stone. The next morning he went and found the key under the black stone, opened the church and entered it to pray. From that day that church became a place for
worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recogniti ...
for all the residents of the village. One day, as Mandū was walking according to his habit, he saw a large cave filled with human bones. He inquired and was told that some people had escaped from the
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.
...
and had hidden themselves in this cave. The Persians found the cave and lit a fire before its entry, killing those inside it.
Around the village there used to live some pagans who Mandū converted to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, killing those who refused to. Mandū did not molest those from four well-known families though, and ordered them to go and live in a nearby village. They went as ordered and their descendants still remained for some time but did not increase. Each had remained one family only. Descendants of Malik Mandū became Maliks of Greater Jīlū, and also took the name of Mandū.
The same tradition recounts that during the reign of one of the Maliks, the
Mar Shim'on (Catholicos-Patriarch of the
Church of the East) fled from Āthor (
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 sought refuge in
Alqosh
Alqosh ( syr, ܐܲܠܩܘܿܫ, Judeo-Aramaic: אלקוש, ar, ألقوش, alternatively spelled Alkosh or Alqush) is a town in the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq, a sub-district of the Tel Kaif District and is situated 45 km north of the ...
. The Persians then came and conquered the area and took Mār Shim'on to Persia, permitting him to live in the town of
Ushnū, where he settled as a refugee and built a large cathedral. After a while Malik Mandū is said to have freed Mār Shim'on from the Persians and brought him to Zêrīnī. For 60 years after that time the Mār Shim'ons lived in Zêrīnī. The grave of one of them was even said to be located in the village cemetery. It is not clear why they left Zêrīnī and settled in the village of Tirqônis, and later in
Qudshānis, which was given to them as a gift by Malik Mandū. They did not stay long in
Qudshānis either because the village was near
Julamerk, and prone to the raids of its Kurdish ''Emir'' (prince).
He was therefore obliged to move to the district of Dīzan. Malik Mandū was not pleased that Mār Shim'on had left
Qudshānis. He conferred with the Kurdish ''Emir'' of
Julamerk on how he could return Mār Shim'on to
Qudshānis. He went to Dīzan and burned Mār Shim'on's residence near the village of Rabbān Dād-Īsho'. Later they collected money and built a new one for him in
Qudshānis, and invited him to live in it. In this manner Mār Shim'on was made to accept the invitation to go and settle in
Qudshānis.
It continues to tell that the 'throne' of Malik Mandū was inherited by Malik Ahron. He attacked the Kurdish castle of Khirwāt (modern-day Hirvata near the Gawar Plain), took it and destroyed it. It was a great victory. Malik Ahron was followed by another who took the name Mandū. He also, like former Maliks, was a man of war. When there was a conflict with Malik Khubyar of
Bāz, he attacked the district and killed a number of its inhabitants. Malik Mandū was followed by Malik Sulaymān and during his reign the Ottoman Government thought it was necessary to post its representatives in those parts. The Government appointed a local ''Rayyis'' (Chief) each in
Julamerk, Gawar, and
Shamdinan (Shamsdin). These Chiefs tried in every way to prevent fighting between the various tribes in the area. Therefore, Malik Sulaymān and Malik Shlëmun who followed him, both had kept peace among the other tribes.
Malik Shlëmun was followed by Malik Wardā. It was said that he was bribed by the Kurdish chief of
Oramar, not to aid the Assyrian tribes of Dīzan,
Ţyāré,
Tkhūmā when they were attacked by Kurdish ''Emir''
Badr Khān Beg of Bohtan and his allies. During the
massacres of Badr Khan A series of massacres in Hakkari in the years 1843 and 1846 of Assyrians were carried out by the Kurdish emirs of Bohtan and Hakkari, Bedr Khan Bey, Nurullah. The massacres resulted in the killing of more than 10,000 Assyrians and the captivity o ...
the Kurds attacked, plundered, killed and stole their cattle, but Malik Wardā did not interfere to defend the Assyrian tribes. Malik Īshū, who followed Malik Wardā, attacked the Assyrian
Tkhuma Tribe and took away 2,000 head of sheep. After that the tribe of Dīzan attacked Tkhūmā, occupied the lands of Qarāsū, and put their own cattle in their planted fields. Malik Īshū attacked the Dīzan tribe, and took their cattle. He then controlled their fields and collected their farming produce for himself.
Malik Īshū was followed by Malik Mirzā. Nothing is known about this Malik. During the time of Malik Khālil who followed Malik Mirzā, Kurdish tribes attacked Jīlū tribes and stole 2,000 head of sheep. Malik Khālil complained to the Ottoman government, later taking 400 strongmen from his tribe and 40 Turkish soldiers to attack the Kurdish chief of
Oramar. He was forced to pay Malik Khālil 200 Liras, 682 sheep, seven mules, four cows, and some carpets and other things. Afterwards, in 1909 Malik Khālil traveled to Europe to collect money. He was dressed in his native clothes and was introduced into the presence of Pope
Pius X
Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of ...
. He explained to the Pope that he was Malik of Jīlū and added that there was no education in his country and requested Pope's permission to collect money to open schools.
The Pope gave his permission and in a short time he collected 18,000 Vatican Liras and returned home where he began to build a school building. He again went back to Europe to collect money. It appeared that he was impersonating a Catholic monk in his travels in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. As Lalayan had learned from a German Consul he knew, the German Government arrested Malik Khālil since they suspected him of fraud, i.e. collecting money for himself in the name of the Church, and he had requested the Consul to introduce him personally to German Government!
Lalayan (''Assyrians of the Van District'', 1914), also recounts the oral legend concerning the origins and history of the Maliks of Lesser Jīlū. It narrates that Malik Zāmū, considered the head of his clan, along with his brother Bayrijjé and their relatives, had come from the village of Ţirnākhīr in the Bohtān region and settled in the village of Ţelānā in Greater Jīlū. They had been exiled from their former homes by Kurds. Several Maliks inherited his position. One of the Maliks made strong kinship ties with one of the well-known families of Ţelānā by giving his daughter in marriage to one of their sons. It is not known when they settled in Zīr. From this clan was born a strongman named Aro, who later brought Ţelānā under his rule, and assumed the title and authority of Malik. He was succeeded by his son Malik Gewargīs, and then his grandson Malik Khammū, of whom nothing particular is known.
Neo-Aramaic dialect of Jīlū
The Jīlū dialect is one of the most distinct Neo-Aramaic dialects of Southeastern Turkey. It falls under the Northern
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 ...
group, (similar to the
Baz, Diz, and
Gawar dialects). The vowel in "tora" (''cow'') is diphthongized to "tawra". It also includes some elements of Turkish and Kurdish vocabulary and grammar. The most recent study of this dialect was published by Samuel Ethan Fox in 1997 (''The Neo-Aramaic dialect of Jilu'', Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag). There are also sub-dialects within the Jīlū dialect, some with their own distinct pronunciation or verb conjugations. The Jīlū Assyrians read Assyrian Standard based literature and read and write in Assyrian Standard. Most can
switch back and forth from Jīlū to Assyrian Standard or Iraqi Koine when conversing with Assyrian speakers of other dialects.
Phonology
The Jīlū dialect is said to "soften" sounds in Assyrian standard Neo-Aramaic vocabulary (e.g. a softer "
k" sound replaces the "
qoph
Qoph ( Phoenician Qōp ) is the nineteenth letter of the Semitic scripts. Aramaic Qop is derived from the Phoenician letter, and derivations from Aramaic include Hebrew Qof , Syriac Qōp̄ ܩ and Arabic .
Its original sound value was a ...
" sound in ''qurbānā'' (like the "
q" in Qatar) and becomes "ķurbānā", see above table).
Vowel
Jīlū's, especially those originating from Mātā d-Mār Zayʿā (Bné-Má), pronounce their "ā"'s as "é" when speaking, e.g. ''kābābé'' (kebabs) becomes "kébébè".
Verb conjugations
There are also variances in the way verbs are conjugated in the Jīlū dialect.
Some speakers tend to adopt a form of verb conjugation that is closer to the Assyrian Standard, this may be considered the Koine Jīlū because it is the most widely used.
The Koine Jīlū may be attributed to the growing exposure to Assyrian Standard-based literature, media, and its use as a liturgical language by the
Assyrian Church of the East. The Jīlū Koine may also be attributed to the social exposure of the Jīlū to Chaldeans of other tribes, and especially to those speaking the Urmian dialect. The majority of Jīlū Koine speakers are from Iraq or descendants of Jīlū Chaldeans from Iraq.
Jīlū Chaldeans from Syria tend to have a verb conjugation system that is similar to the Jīlū Koine but further from the Assyrian Standard. Their sub-dialects originate mostly from the Greater Jīlū villages of Nahrā, Alşan and Mātā d-Mār Zayʿā (settled in Tell-Gorān), as well as Zīr in Lesser Jīlū and Ishtāzin (settled in Abū-Tīnā). Thy also employ vocabulary and terms that are foreign to Jīlū Koine speakers from Iraq, e.g. "ténowwè" (speaking) instead of the usual "b-humzômè" in Iraqi Jīlū Koine. Some speakers of the Jīlū dialect from Syria claim that their way of speaking is purer than that of the Iraqi speakers. It is certain that many Iraqi Jīlū speakers consider the dialect of those from Syria to be more archaic. This is because they have remained in two adjacent rural settlements until this day and are relatively isolated from other Assyrian groups.
Sub-Districts, Villages and Clans
![Hakkari Turkey Provinces locator](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Hakkari_Turkey_Provinces_locator.jpg)
Greater Jīlū
*Zêrīnī (modern-day Demirli) - residence of the Malik
*Alsan (modern-day Arsan) - its inhabitants were originally from Zêrīnī
*Mīdhī
*Nahrā (modern-day Kapaklı):
**Yawela established Nara, he had 2 sons
**Latchin and Bella, who were the origin for all Nara's families
**Bé-Yaķķū
**Bé-Khawshū (Bé-Yagmālā)
**Bé-Lāchin - originally from village of Bé-Nahré in Rumtā sub-district of Upper Ţyāré
**Bé-Billā - originally from village of Bé-Nahré in Rumtā sub-district of Upper Ţyāré
**Bé-Īshay (Halanāyé) - originally from the ruined village of Bīdū, said to be of Greek origin
*Mātā d-ʿUmrā d-Mār Zayʿā (Má d-Mār Zayyā):
** Bné-Má
**Bé-Hājī - originally from
Ankawa
**Bé-Zkharyā
**Bé-Mār Sargīs (Bé-Yagmālā)
**Bé-Smāl
*Bé-Pāchū
*Ummuţ
*Ţelānā
*Bé-Buķrā
Lesser Jīlū
*Zīr (modern-day Üçkardeş) - residence of the Malik
*Nérik
*Ūré
Ishtāzin
*Samsikké (modern-day Yeşiltaş) - residence of the Malik
*Sarpil:
**Bé-Dāmirchī - originally from
Arbil
*Būbāwā
*Mātā d-Ūryāyé (Má d-Ūryé)
*Mūsperān
*Bé-Baghshé (Beth-Bghāsh)
Dostikān
*Oramar (modern-day
Dağlıca)
*Sāţ (modern-day İkiyaka)
Notable Jīlū Assyrians
* ''
Terrence Malick
Terrence Frederick Malick (born November 30, 1943) is an American filmmaker. His films include '' Days of Heaven'' (1978), '' The Thin Red Line'' (1998), for which he received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenp ...
''
: Assyrian-American
Hollywood film director, screenwriter, and producer. Oscar-winning director and writer of ''The New World'' (2005), ''The Thin Red Line'' (1998), ''Days of Heaven'' (1978), ''Badlands'' (1973).
*''
Rosie Malek-Yonan''
: Assyrian actress, director, activist and author of ''The Crimson Field''.
*''
Helena Guergis''
: Canadian Member of Federal Parliament, member for Simcoe-Grey (2004-2011).
*''
Margaret George Shello'' (1942–1969)
:
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, ...
combat woman,
Kurdistan Democratic Party Activist, and commander of a guerrilla unit during the
First Kurdish Iraqi War (1961-1970). Also known as "Daya Kurdistan" (the mother of Kurdistan).
*''
George Malek-Yonan''
: Assyrian international attorney, politician and champion athlete.
*''
Milton Malek-Yonan''
: Assyrian entrepreneur and inventor.
*''
Sargon Dadesho''
: Founder and president the Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party (BNDP), Assyrian National Congress (ANC), Bet-Nahrain Cultural Centre in
Ceres, California
Ceres is a city in Stanislaus County, California. Its population was 49,302 at the 2020 U.S. Census, up from 45,417 at the 2010 U.S. Census. It is part of the Modesto metropolitan statistical area.
Ceres is located in the San Joaquin Valley a ...
, AssyriaVision and AssyriaSat.
*''
Mar Sargis Yosip''
: Bishop of the
Assyrian Church of the East in Baghdad, Iraq. Currently resides in
Modesto, California.
*''Fadi Merza Be-Gulawi''
: World champion Muay Thai
kickboxer
*''Malik Andrious''
Malik of Greater Jilu in the early 1920s. He was deported with Catholicos-Patriarch
Shimun XXI Eshai
Mar Eshai Shimun XXIII ( syr, ܡܪܝ ܐܝܫܝ ܫܡܥܘܢ ܟܓ.) (26 February 1908 – 6 November 1975), sometimes known as Mar Eshai Shimun XXI, Mar Shimun XXIII Ishaya, Mar Shimun Ishai, or Simon Jesse,Foster, p. 34 served as the 119th Catholico ...
of the
Assyrian Church of the East to Cyprus in 1933 after the
Simele massacre
The Simele massacre, also known as the Assyrian affair, was committed by the Kingdom of Iraq, led by Bakr Sidqi, during a campaign systematically targeting the Assyrians in and around Simele in August 1933. An estimated 600 to 6,000 Assyrians ...
.
*''
Malik Qambar''
Malik Qambar was a
Catholic-Assyrian national leader and general of the Assyro-Chaldean battalion formed in 1920 as part of the
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...
.
:
:
See also
*
List of Assyrian tribes
The following is a list of Assyrian clans or tribes of northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and northwestern Iran.
Tribes
* Nerwa tribe
* Albaq Tribe
* Alqosh Tribe
* Barwar Tribe
* Baz tribe
* Botan tribe
* Ch ...
*
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 Ha ...
*
Assyrian Church of the East
*
Dioceses of the Church of the East to 1318
At the height of its power, in the 10th century AD, the dioceses of the Church of the East numbered well over a hundred and stretched from Egypt to China. These dioceses were organised into six interior provinces in Mesopotamia, in the Church's ...
*
Dioceses of the Church of the East, 1318–1552
Dioceses of the Church of the East, 1318–1552 were metropolitan provinces and dioceses of the Church of the East, during the period from 1318 to 1552. They were far fewer in number than during the period of the Church's greatest expansion in the ...
*
Dioceses of the Church of the East after 1552
Dioceses of the Church of the East after 1552 were dioceses of the Church of the East and its subsequent branches, both traditionalist (that were eventually consolidated as the Assyrian Church of the East) and pro-Catholic (that were eventually c ...
*
Tyari
Tyari ( syr, ܛܝܵܪܹܐ, Ṭyārē) is an Assyrian tribe and a historical district within Hakkari, Turkey. The area was traditionally divided into Upper (''Tyari Letha'') and Lower Tyari (''Tyari Khtetha'')–each consisting of several Assyrian ...
*
Gawar
*
Nochiya
*
Arosh and
Halmon
*
Öveç, Şemdinli
*
Beyyurdu, Şemdinli
References
Sources
*
* {{Cite book, last=Coakley, first=J.F., title=The Church of the East and the Church of England: A History of the Archbishop of Canterbury's Assyrian Mission, year=1992, location=Oxford, publisher=Clarendon Press, isbn=9780198267447, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UHcKAQAAMAAJ
Assyrian tribes
Hakkari