The Monastery of Saint Elijah, or Dair Mar Elia (; ), was located in

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

Nineveh Governorate Nineveh Governorate (; , ) is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people as of 2003. Its largest city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of a ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. Established in the late 6th century, it was one of Iraq's oldest monasteries. It belonged to the

Church of the East The Church of the East ( ) or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church, the Chaldean Church or the Nestorian Church, is one of three major branches o ...

and then to the

Chaldean Catholic Church The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular church (''sui iuris'') in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is ...

. The monastery was shut down in 1743, when the

Afsharids The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly referred to as Afsharid Iran or the Afsharid Empire, was an Iranian empire established by the Turkoman Afshar tribe in Iran's north-eastern province of Khorasan, establishing the Afsharid dynasty that w ...

massacred its monks after they refused to convert to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, and went on to become a Christian pilgrimage site. Its ruins were damaged during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and were destroyed entirely by the

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

in 2014.

Early history

Founding

The monastery was founded around 595 AD by Mar Elia, a monk who had previously studied at

al-Hirah Al-Hira ( Middle Persian: ''Hērt'' ) was an ancient Lakhmid Arabic city in Mesopotamia located south of what is now Kufa in south-central Iraq. The Sasanian Empire, Sasanian government established the Lakhmid state (Al-Hirah) on the edge of the ...

and later in the great monastery at

Mount Izla Mount Izla ( ''Ṭūr Īzlā' ''),Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Izla — ܛܘܪܐ ܕܐܝܙܠܐ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified January 14, 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/100. also Mountain of Nisibis or briefly in the 9th century Moun ...

in modern-day

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It belonged to the

. The monastery was the center of the regional Christian community and for centuries thousands of Christians would visit the monastery to observe the Mar Elia Holiday, which falls on the last Wednesday of November.

Massacre of monks by the Afsharid army

The main sanctuary of the monastery was built in the 11th century, and it was renovated by Hurmizd Alqushnaya in the 17th century. In 1743,

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

damaged the monastery and killed the 150 monks who lived there, after they refused to convert to

Modern history

As a Christian pilgrimage site

The monastery lay in ruins until the beginning of the 20th century, when some restoration was completed on a few halls and rooms. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Dair Mar Elia was a place of refuge which led to the rebuilding of part of the site. The structure, along with its neighboring reservoir and natural mineral water springs, were cared for by the

, and

Christian pilgrims Christianity has a strong tradition of pilgrimages, both to sites relevant to the New Testament narrative (especially in the Holy Land) and to sites associated with later saints or miracles. History Christian pilgrimages were first made to sit ...

continued to visit the ruins. In the 1970s, the monastery became a base for the Iraqi

Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wit ...

2003 invasion of Iraq

During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the monastery was damaged by Iraqi tank units, which trashed rooms and filled a cistern with garbage. One of its walls was destroyed after being hit by a

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet Union, Soviet main battle tanks that entered production in 1973. The T-72 was a development based on the T-64 using thought and design of the previous Object 167M. About 25,000 T-72 tanks have been built, and refu ...

tank turret. After the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

took control of the area, the site lay within Forward Operating Base Marez. American soldiers vandalized the monastery by inscribing graffiti on the walls and by whitewashing the chapel, destroying its 600-year-old murals in the process. The structure was further damaged by looters. However, a U.S. military chaplain saw the importance of the site, and a commander ordered troops to vacate the monastery. Eventually, military chaplains began taking care of the structure, and gave tours of the ruins to soldiers.

Restoration efforts

In May 2008, Iraqi archaeologists were able to visit the areas for the first time since the invasion. Later that year, the U.S. military's efforts to restore Dair Mar Elia were reported in the international media. The journalist James Foley, who was later beheaded by ISIL, wrote that the site was being saved "for future generations of Iraqis who will hopefully soon have the security to appreciate it." Prior to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, army engineers from the 94th Corps of Engineers of

Fort Leonard Wood Fort Leonard Wood is a United States Army, U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri The Ozarks, Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of the city of St. Robert, Missouri, St. Robert. The post was created in De ...

drew up plans of the monastery.

2014 destruction by the Islamic State

In June 2014, Mosul was taken over by the

(IS). The militant group destroyed the monastery sometime between 27 August and 28 September 2014, along with a number of other cultural sites. The destruction of the monastery was not publicized by IS, and it was only confirmed by satellite imagery released in January 2016. The fact that its destruction went unreported for about 16 months led to fears that many other Christian sites in Iraq might have also been destroyed secretly.

Architecture

The monastery consisted of a fortress-like complex of buildings, having an area of around . Before its destruction, it had 26 rooms built around a

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...

, including a chapel and a sanctuary.

References

External links

New York Times Article about restoration efforts of Dair Mar Elia
* ttp://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/iraq-monastery.html#ixzz1BJ7yAAa3 Article about restoration efforts from the Smithsonian Magazine {{Authority control Christianity in Nineveh Governorate Christian monasteries in Iraq Chaldean Catholic monasteries 590s establishments Monasteries of the Church of the East 1740s disestablishments in Asia Destroyed Christian monasteries Buildings and structures destroyed by ISIL Buildings and structures demolished in 2014 Churches destroyed by Muslims Persecution of Christians in Iraq Destroyed churches in Iraq Sasanian church buildings