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Tell Tamer ( ar, تَلّ تَمْر, Tall Tamr, ku, گرێ خورما, Girê Xurma or Til Temir, syr, ܬܠ ܬܡܪ) also known as Tal Tamr or Tal Tamir, is a town in western
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 (prov ...
, northeastern
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 ...
. It is the
administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...
of the
Tell Tamer Subdistrict Tell Tamer Subdistrict ( ar, ناحية تل تمر) is an ethnically Assyrian and Syriac subdistrict of al-Hasakah District in western al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria. The administrative centre is the city of Tell Tamer. At the 20 ...
consisting of 13 municipalities. Originally built and inhabited by Assyrians of the Upper Tyari tribe in the late 1930s, the town is now predominantly populated by
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 Ir ...
and Arabs, with Assyrians remaining a substantial minority of about 20%. At the 2004 census, Tell Tamer had a population of 7,285. Located on the Khabur River at an intersection between the M4 Highway (
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
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 large ...
) and the major road between
al-Hasakah Al-Hasakah ( ar, ٱلْحَسَكَة, al-Ḥasaka; ku, Heseke/حەسەکە; syr, ܚܣܝܟܐ Hasake), is the capital city of the Al-Hasakah Governorate, in the northeastern corner of Syria. With a 2004 census population of 188,160, it is the e ...
and
Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...
(Turkey), the town is a transport hub of major importance.


Etymology

The name of the town, "Tell Tamer", is derived from the
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
and
Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
words "tell/tella", both meaning "hill", and "tamer/tamra", both meaning " date". The name of the town therefore means "Hill of Dates".


Geography

In the Khabur Valley of
Upper Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia is the name used for the Upland and lowland, uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, ...
, Tell Tamer is situated on the left (eastern) bank of Khabur River, just south of the small
Zirgan Zirgan (russian: Зирган) is a rural locality (a selo) and the administrative centre of Zirgansky Selsoviet, Meleuzovsky District, Bashkortostan The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республ ...
River's estuary. About to the east, the landscape ascends to the Ard al-Shaykh volcanic basalt plateau. Tell Tamer lies on a direct line between the city of Ras al-Ayn some to the northwest and the provincial capital
al-Hasakah Al-Hasakah ( ar, ٱلْحَسَكَة, al-Ḥasaka; ku, Heseke/حەسەکە; syr, ܚܣܝܟܐ Hasake), is the capital city of the Al-Hasakah Governorate, in the northeastern corner of Syria. With a 2004 census population of 188,160, it is the e ...
some to the southeast. The intersection with the M4 highway (
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
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 large ...
) and the nearby river crossing make Tell Tamer an essential transport hub.


History

It was settled in the 1930s by Iraqi Assyrian refugees fleeing the Simele massacre in Iraq, who moved to French controlled
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 ...
and settled in a 25 km stretch of the Khabur River in 35 settlements. Tell Tammar on the Khabur.jpg, Tal Tamer (1939) Group of Assyrian men.jpg,
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 ...
n men in Tal Tamer (1939) Assyrian woman cooking.jpg, Assyrian woman cooking (1939) Assyrian woman spins wool.jpg, Assyrian woman spinning wool (1939) Watermill Khabur 1.jpg, Tal Tamer watermill (1939)


Civil War

An Assyrian exodus from the town began in November 2012, when
Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...
soldiers threatened to invade the town. The exodus further continued when the
Islamic State An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
took control of nearby roads just outside the town. In October 2013, four Assyrians were stopped while driving in a car and kidnapped by IS. According to the Syriac International News Agency, in May 2014, ISIL attacked an Assyrian village, which prompted the Assyrians to call the Kurdish
YPG The People's Defense Units (YPG), (YPG) ; ar, وحدات حماية الشعب, Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb) also called People's Protection Units, is a mainly-Kurds in Syria, Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the ...
to help protect them. Since IS militants captured the city of
Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish languages, Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. T ...
, some Assyrians from there and from
Al-Thawrah Al-Thawrah ( ar, ٱلثَّوْرَة, aṯ-Ṯawrah), also known as Al-Tabqah ( ar, ٱلطَّبْقَة, aṭ-Ṭabqah, also ), is a city in Raqqa Governorate, Syria, approximately west of Raqqa. The name "al-Thawrah" literally means "The Revo ...
fled to Tell Tamer as refugees. However, more than 500 Assyrian families have also fled the town. Many Assyrians from the town emigrated mainly to the United States, Europe and Canada. In February 2015 the town was taken by the
Islamic State An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
militia, resulting in the abduction of about 90 residents. during the al-Hasakah offensive. Several thousand residents fled the city, mostly to the city of
al-Hasakah Al-Hasakah ( ar, ٱلْحَسَكَة, al-Ḥasaka; ku, Heseke/حەسەکە; syr, ܚܣܝܟܐ Hasake), is the capital city of the Al-Hasakah Governorate, in the northeastern corner of Syria. With a 2004 census population of 188,160, it is the e ...
. On 23 February 2015, IS kidnapped around 220 Assyrians from villages surrounding Tell Tamer, and by 26 February, that number had increased to 350. On 1 March, IS released 19 of the kidnapped Assyrians. On 24 March 5 more Assyrian hostages were released, raising the number of released Assyrian hostages to 24. On 11 December 2015, three truck bombs killed 60 people and injured more than 80. On 14 October 2019, the Syrian army deployed to Tell Tamer after the Syrian Government reached an agreement with the SDF.


Demographics

Its original inhabitants are Assyrians from the Upper Tyari tribe, who came to the area from
Hakkari Hakkari or Hakkâri may refer to: *Hakkari (historical region), a historical region in modern-day Turkey and Iraq *Hakkâri (city), a city and the capital of Hakkâri Province, Turkey *Hakkâri Province Hakkâri Province (, tr, Hakkâri ili, ...
region in
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
via
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 ...
. As late as the 1960s, they still comprised virtually the entire population of the town. The majority of the town's modern population is composed of
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
and
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 Ir ...
, while local Assyrian leaders in the 1990s estimated their own community's presence in the town to be around 20%. Historical population estimates are as follows: 1,244 (1936); 1,250 (1960); 2,994 (1981); 5,030 (1993); 5,216 (1994); 5,405 (1995). The pre-war scholarly estimates actually placed the total number of Assyrians belonging 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 ...
living all over of
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 ...
at around 30,000 individuals, with between 15,000 and 20,000 (i.e., 2/3, at most) of them living along the Khabur.


Religion

The Assyrian "Church of Our Lady", located in the Old Town, at a prominent place near the actual ''Tell'' (hill), serves as the center of the Assyrian community. In the early 1980s the original church built of mud-brick in the 1930s was broken down and replaced by a new
Italianate-style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...
building. A large green-domed brick mosque built in the 1970s serves the growing Muslim community just to the south of the town center.


Notable people

*
Adwar Mousa Adwar Mousa ( syr, ܐܕܘܪ ܡܘܣܐ; ar, أدوار موسى, born 10 April 1950), also known as Edwar Mousa and Edward Mousa, is an Assyrian singer-songwriter and poet who mainly writes folk dance music. Mousa is famed for writing a dozen nota ...
, prominent Assyrian singer-songwriter. *
Juliana Jendo Juliana Jendo (born November 30, 1962 in Tel Tamer, Syria, Syriac: ܓܘܠܝܢܐ ܓܢܕܐ) is an Assyrian singer and actress who, unlike many other Assyrian Neo-Aramaic-speaking artists, has occasionally recorded songs in Turoyo, Chaldean Neo-Arama ...
, prominent Assyrian singer. *
Omar Souleyman Omar Souleyman ( ar, عمر سليمان) is a Syrian Arab (Timestamp-Minute 1:00) Singer from the village of Ra's al-'Ayn near the Syria–Turkey border but grew up in the city of Tell Tamer. He started his career as a part-time wedding singer i ...
, prominent Arab singer.


See also

*
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 ...


References


Literature

* *


External links

*http://www.aina.org/articles/asotk.pdf *http://www.aina.org/maps/khaburmap.htm {{Al-Hasakah Governorate, hasakah Assyrian communities in Syria Kidnapping in Syria Upper Mesopotamia