Kösreli () is a village in the Silopi District of

Şırnak Province Şırnak Province (, ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province in Turkey in the Southeastern Anatolia Region. Şırnak Province was created in 1990, with areas that were formerly part of the Siirt Province, Siirt, Hakkâri Province, Hakkâri and Mardin ...

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 ...

. The village is populated by

Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...

and had a population of 43 in 2023. It is located atop

Mount Judi Mount Judi (; ; ; ) is a mountain in Turkey. It was considered in antiquity to be Noah's or "Place of Descent", the location where the Ark came to rest after the Great Flood, according to very early Christian and Islamic traditions (the latter ...

in the

Bohtan Bohtan was a medieval Kurdish principality in the Ottoman Empire centered on the town of Jazirah ibn 'Omar in southeastern Anatolia. The official religion of this principality was Yezidism in 14th century, although the rulers eventually conv ...

region. Near the village, there are two

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

n reliefs, a ruined castle, and the Monastery of Glale (or "John the Persian").

History

Ḥaṣṣen (today called Kösreli) is attested as the residence of 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 ...

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

Joseph of Gazarta in 1808 after he had been forced to abandon his normal residence at the Monastery of Mar Isaac of Nineveh due to war. In the same year, he copied a manuscript at the Church of Mār Mūshe at Ḥaṣṣen for a Christian woman called Alpō. Joseph's successor, also named Joseph, similarly resided at Ḥaṣṣen in the second half of the nineteenth century and was converted to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

with some of the villagers by American missionaries. The village was populated by 25 Protestant families and 4 or 5 Church of the East families in 1881. In 1914, it was inhabited by 300 Assyrians, as per the list presented to the

Paris Peace Conference Agreements and declarations resulting from meetings in Paris include: Listed by name Paris Accords may refer to: * Paris Accords, the agreements reached at the end of the London and Paris Conferences in 1954 concerning the post-war status of Germ ...

by the Assyro-Chaldean delegation. It was located in the ''

kaza A kaza (, "judgment" or "jurisdiction") was an administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. It is also discussed in English under the names district, subdistrict, and juridical district. Kazas co ...

'' (district) of Djeziret-ibn-Oumar. The villagers were tenants of the aghas of

Şırnak Şırnak () is a city in Şırnak District and the capital of Şırnak Province in Turkey. The Ibrahim Khalil border crossing with Iraq is one of the main links of Turkey to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The city is mainly populated by Kurds o ...

and

Silopi Silopi () is a city and seat of Silopi District in the Şırnak Province of Turkey. The city is mainly populated by Kurds of Sipêrtî and Zewkan tribes and had a population of 108,880 in 2023. Adalet Fidan of the HDP was elected mayor in ...

. Amidst the

Sayfo The Sayfo (, ), also known as the Seyfo or the Assyrian genocide, was the mass murder and deportation of Assyrian people, Assyrian/Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan province by Ottoman Army ...

, most of the villagers were massacred, including the Presbyterian pastor and the Church of the East priest, whilst some survivors found refuge at the nearby Kurdish village of Gerçulaye. In 1918, the village was inhabited by 420 Assyrians. Ḥaṣṣen had two churches dedicated to Mart Shmūni and Mār Mīkhāʾīl respectively in the 1950s that may have been built prior to 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 ...

. The village was known for the production of

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

s made from goat hair. By 1980, the village was inhabited by 200 families, including Protestants and adherents of the

Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East (ACOE), sometimes called the Church of the East and officially known as the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, is an Eastern Christianity, Eastern Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian denomin ...

, 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

Syriac Catholic Church The Syriac Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' (self-governing) particular church that is in full communion with the Holy See and with the entirety of the Catholic Church. Originating in the Levant, it uses the West Syriac ...

, and the

Syriac Orthodox Church The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination, denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The ch ...

. Ḥaṣṣen was forcibly evacuated by the Turkish army on 20 November 1993, but 40 families remained, and some families temporarily moved to Midun, Azakh, Bnebil, and the

Mor Hananyo Monastery Mor Hananyo Monastery or Monastery of Saint Ananias (; ) is an important Syriac Orthodox Church, Syriac Orthodox monastery located five kilometers south east of Mardin, Turkey, in the Assyrian culture, Syriac cultural region known as Tur Abdin. Mo ...

. Many villagers emigrated to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, particularly the city of

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

. The Turkish Ministry of National Defence authorised families to return to Ḥaṣṣen in 2010.

Population

Population history from 2015 to 2023:

Notable people

* Erol Dora (), Syriac politician

References

Notes Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{Silopi District Villages in Silopi District Assyrian communities in Turkey Places of the Sayfo