Assyrians Āṯūrāyē / Āshūrāyē /Sūrāyē [1]
Ashurnasirpal II • Ephrem the Syrian • A. Petros • F. Atturaya Naum Faiq • Ammo Baba • Rosie Malek-Yonan • Ashour Asho
Total population
ca. Ashur-nasir-pal II ( Transliteration: Aššur-nâṣir-apli, meaning " Ashur is guardian of the heir" was king of Assyria from 884 BC-859 Ephrem the Syrian ( Syriac: ܐܦܪܝܡ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ Mor Afrêm Sûryāyâ; Greek:; Latin Agha Petros Elia of Baz ( Syriac: ܐܓܐ ܦܜܪܘܣ 1 April, 1880 – 2 February, 1932) was a military General Dr Freydun Bet-Oraham Atturaya (Freydun the Assyrian (1891 &ndash 1926 was an Assyrian Physicist born in the town of Charbash in the district of Urmia Naum Elias Yaqub Palakh (February 1868 &ndash February 5, 1930) better known as Naum Faiq ( Syriac: ܢܥܘܡ ܦܐܝܩ, Emmanuel Baba Dawud (born November 27, 1934 in Baghdad, Iraq) better known as Ammo Baba. Rosie Malek-Yonan is an Assyrian Actress, Artist, director, Author and Activist. Achour Esho is an Assyrian boxer from United States. He competes in the professional junior welterweight division 3. 3 million[2][3]
Regions with significant populations
Assyrian homeland  Iraq 1,300,000 [4]  Syria 735,000 [5]  Iran 80,000 [3]  Turkey 5,000 [6] Assyrian diaspora  United States 83,000 [7]  Sweden 80,000 [8]  Jordan 77,000 [9][10]  Australia 24,000 [11]  Germany 23,000  France 15,000 [12]  Russia 14,000 [13]  Canada 7,000 [14]  Armenia 3,409 [15]
Languages
Neo-Aramaic (various Neo-Aramaic dialects)
Religions
Syriac Christianity (various Eastern denominations)
Related ethnic groups
Other Semitic peoples

The Assyrians are an ethnic group whose origins lie in what is today Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria,^[16] but many of whom have migrated to the Caucasus, North America and Western Europe during the past century. The Assyrian homeland or Assyria ( Assyrian: ܐܬܘܪ or Beth Nahrain refers to a geographic and cultural region in the For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Since World War I, the Assyrian diaspora has steadily increased so that there are now more Assyrians living in western and eastern Europe, North America The United States of America —commonly referred to as the "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Armenia (Հայաստան transliterated: Hayastan,) officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն Hayastani Neo-Aramaic, or Modern Aramaic, languages are varieties of Aramaic that are spoken as a Mother tongue in the modern era. Syriac Christianity is a culturally and linguistically distinctive community within Eastern Christianity. In Linguistics and Ethnology, Semitic (from the Biblical " Shem " Hebrew שם translated as "name" Arabic: ساميّ For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية The Caucasus ( also referred to as North Caucasus) is a geopolitical region located between Europe Asia & Middle East Western Europe at its most general meaning means 'all the countries in the West of Europe '

Hundreds of thousands more live in Assyrian diaspora and Iraqi refugee communities in Europe, the former Soviet Union, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. Since World War I, the Assyrian diaspora has steadily increased so that there are now more Assyrians living in western and eastern Europe, North America Throughout the past 100 years there have been a growing number of Refugees fleeing Iraq and settling throughout the world peaking recently with the latest Iraq War The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The United States of America —commonly referred to as the For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية As a result of persecution in the wake of the First World War, there is now a significant diaspora. Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual/group by another group Major events included the Islamic revolution in Iran,^[17] the Simele massacre in Iraq, and the Assyrian genocide in what is today Turkey. The Iranian Revolution' (mostly known as the Islamic Revolution, Persian: انقلاب اسلامی Enghelābe Eslāmi was the Revolution that transformed The Simele massacre ( Syriac: syr ܦܪܡܬܐ ܕܣܡܠܐ Premta d-Simele) was the first of many massacres committed by the The Assyrian Genocide (also known as Sayfo or Seyfo; Aramaic: ܩܛܠܐ ܕܥܡܐ ܐܬܘܪܝܐ or ܣܝܦܐ

The latest event to hit the Assyrian community is the war in Iraq; of the one million or more Iraqis reported by the United Nations to have fled, nearly forty percent (40%) are Assyrian, despite Assyrians comprising only three to five percent of the Iraqi population. The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security ^[18][19][20]

History

Main article: History of the Assyrian people

The Assyrian people are descended from the population of the ancient Assyrian Empire, which itself emerged from the Akkadian Empire founded by Sargon of Akkad. The Assyrian people ( Aramaic: Āṯūrāyē; Akkadian: Aššūrāyu) are descended from the ancient Assyrians of Mesopotamia Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture You may be looking for the Assyrian kings Sargon I ^[21][22][23] Eventually, Assyrian kings conquered Aramaean tribes and assimilated them into the Assyrian empire,^[24][25][26] and their language, Aramaic, accordingly supplanted the native Akkadian language,^[23][27][28] due in part to the mass relocations enforced by Assyrian kings of the Neo-Assyrian period. The Aramaeans (also Arameans) ( Aramaic / Syriac: ܐܪܡܝܐ, Ārāmāye' were a Semitic (West Semitic language group Aramaic is a Semitic language with The Neo-Assyrian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 934 BC and ended in 609 BC ^[29] However, the modern neo-Aramaic language spoken by modern Assyrians, is quite heavily infused with ancient Akkadian language. Neo-Aramaic, or Modern Aramaic, languages are varieties of Aramaic that are spoken as a Mother tongue in the modern era. The modern Assyrian identity is therefore believed to be a miscegenation, or ethnogenesis, of the major ethnic groups which inhabited Assyria-proper, which were, for the most part, Assyrian, and to some extent, Aramaean. Miscegenation (Latin miscere "to mix" + genus "kind" is the mixing of different racial groups, that is marrying, cohabiting Ethnogenesis (From Greek: ethnos ( group of people nation and genesis ( a coming into being is the process by which a group of human beings comes The Assyrian homeland or Assyria ( Assyrian: ܐܬܘܪ or Beth Nahrain refers to a geographic and cultural region in the ^[30] By the 5th century BC, "Imperial Aramaic" had become lingua franca in the Achaemenid Empire. The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of ^[31]

The Assyrian people are believed to have descended from the ancient Assyrians of Mesopotamia (Aramaic: Bet-Nahrain, "the land of the rivers"), who, in the 7th century BC, controlled a vast empire which stretched from Egypt and Anatolia, across the land between two rivers, to western Iran. Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding Aramaic is a Semitic language with The 7th century BC started the first day of 700 BC and ended the last day of 601 BC. An empire (from the Latin " Imperium " denoting military Command within the ancient Roman government) is a State that This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Tradition maintains that the history of the Assyrian people stretches back over 6,500 years, to the dawn of Mesopotamian civilization. A Civilization is a society in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elements ^[32] Culturally and linguistically distinct from, although quite influenced by, their neighbours in the Middle East - the Arabs, Persians, Kurds, Turks, and Armenians - the Assyrians have endured much hardship throughout their recent history as a result of religious and ethnic persecution. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding layout and formatting it should ensure no clashes with the top of the infobox The Turkish people (Türk Halkı also known as " Turks " ( Türkler) are defined mainly as being speakers of Turkish as a First language The Armenians (Հայեր Hayer) are a Nation and Ethnic group originating in the Caucasus and in the Armenian Highlands A large Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual/group by another group ^[33][34]

The most significant recent persecution against the Assyrian population was the Assyrian genocide, which occurred at the onset of the First World War. The Assyrian Genocide (also known as Sayfo or Seyfo; Aramaic: ܩܛܠܐ ܕܥܡܐ ܐܬܘܪܝܐ or ܣܝܦܐ World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All This led to a large-scale resettlement of the Assyrian people in countries such as Syria, Iran and Iraq, as well as other neighbouring countries in and around the Middle East. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. ^[35]

Demographics

Further information: List of Assyrian settlements

Assyrians in Iraq account for a slight majority in two Ninewa counties, Tel Kaif and Al-Hamdaniya. The following is a list of current Assyrian towns and villages. Tel Keppe (also spelled Tel Keipeh ܬܠ ܟܦܐ in Syriac; TalKayf or Tel Kaif تل كيف in Arabic) is one Bakhdida ( Syriac: ܒܓܕܝܕܐ Arabic: بخديدا or قره قوش) also known as Al-Hamdaniya Municipality

Assyrian populations are distributed between the Assyrian homeland and the Assyrian diaspora. The Assyrian homeland or Assyria ( Assyrian: ܐܬܘܪ or Beth Nahrain refers to a geographic and cultural region in the Since World War I, the Assyrian diaspora has steadily increased so that there are now more Assyrians living in western and eastern Europe, North America There are no official statistics, and estimates of the total number of Syriac Christians vary greatly, between less than one and more than three million, mostly due to the uncertainty of the number of Assyrians in Iraq (since the 2003 Iraq war in significant but unknown numbers dislocated to Syria). For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية The diaspora population accounts for roughly 300,000 people, the largest diaspora community in the Near East being in Jordan, and the largest oversea communities found in the United States and in Sweden. Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern The United States of America —commonly referred to as the "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. The main demographic subdivision is along geographic as well as linguistic and denominational lines, the three main groups being:

• the "Western Assyrians" or "Jacobite" group of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and eastern Anatolia (Syriac Orthodox Church);
• the "Eastern Assyrians" or "Nestorian" group of northern Iraq, eastern Anatolia, and Iran (Assyrian Church of the East & Ancient Church of the East);
• the "Chaldean Christians" or "Chaldean Assyrians" group of northern Iraq, Iran, and eastern Anatolia (Chaldean Catholic Church);

In northern Iraq, Assyrians are concentrated in the Ninewa and Dahuk governorates. The Assyrians are an Ethnic group whose origins lie in what is today Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black The Syriac Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Middle East with members spread throughout the world The Assyrians are an Ethnic group whose origins lie in what is today Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (ܥܕܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܘܫܠܝܚܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܪ̈ܝܐ ‘Ittā Qaddishtā wa-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi The Ancient Church of the East separated from the Assyrian Church of the East, after Mar Shimun XXIII the patriarch of Assyrian Church of the East made reforms which "Chaldean people" redirects here For additional information see Chaldea, Babylonia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black The Chaldean Catholic Church or the Chaldean Church of Babylon (الكنيسة الكلدانية) is an Eastern particular church of the Nineveh plains ( Mosul plains, Assyria among others Assyrian: Deshta d-Ninwe ܕܫܬܐ ܕܢܝܘܐ) is a region in the Ninawa Governorate Dahuk (also Dohuk or Duhok) is one of the Governorates of Iraq. Assyrian settlements in northwestern Iran are located in the West Azarbaijan Province, those of northeastern Syria in the Al-Hasakah province. This article is about the Iranian province for similar uses see Azerbaijan (disambiguation. Al-Hasakah ( الحسكة) is the capital city of the Al Hasakah Governorate and is located in the far north-east corner of Syria. Assyrians of Turkey's Southeastern and Eastern Anatolia have mostly moved to the diaspora.

Iraq War

Main article: Assyrians in Post-Saddam Iraq

Since the Iraq War starting in 2003, there has been a massive persecution of Assyrians in Iraq, mostly by Islamic extremists. The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Islamic fundamentalism Arabic: usul (from usul the "fundamentals"] is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the In places like Dora, an estimated 90% of Iraq's Assyrian population has either fled or been murdered. ^[36] Incidents such as the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons and the Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy have hit the Assyrian communities directly. The Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy arose from a lecture delivered on 12 September 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI at the University of Regensburg Since the start of the Iraq war, there have been at least 46 Churches and Monasteries bombed. The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign ^[37]

Identity

Further information: East Assyrians, West Assyrians, Chaldean Christians, and Assyrianism

Further information: Muslim Assyrians, Arabization, Turkification, and Kurdification

Assyrian flag (since 1968)^[38]

Assyrians are divided among several churches (see below). The Assyrians are an Ethnic group whose origins lie in what is today Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. "Chaldean people" redirects here For additional information see Chaldea, Babylonia. The term Assyrianism or Assyrian nationalism refers to a variant of Syriac Christian Nationalism, which originated in the 19th century and is The Assyrian people have been subject to Islamisation since the 7th century Muslim conquests. Arabization ( Arabic: تعريب) describes a growing cultural influence on a non-Arab area that gradually changes into one that speaks Arabic and/or Turkification is a term used to describe a process of cultural change in which something or someone who is not a Turk becomes one voluntarily or by force Kurdification is a neologism coined after " Arabization " used to describe a cultural change in which something ethnically non- Kurdish is made to become The Assyrian flag ( Syriac: ܐܬܐ ܕܐܬܘܪ Ata D'Atoor) is the flag that universally represents the Assyrian nation They speak and many can read and write modern Assyrian, a dialect of Neo-Aramaic. Neo-Aramaic, or Modern Aramaic, languages are varieties of Aramaic that are spoken as a Mother tongue in the modern era. ^[39]

In certain areas of the Assyrian homeland, identity within a community depends on a person's village of origin (see List of Assyrian villages) or Christian denomination, for instance Chaldean Catholic. The Assyrian homeland or Assyria ( Assyrian: ܐܬܘܪ or Beth Nahrain refers to a geographic and cultural region in the The following is a list of current Assyrian towns and villages. The Chaldean Catholic Church or the Chaldean Church of Babylon (الكنيسة الكلدانية) is an Eastern particular church of the ^[40]

Today, Assyrians and other minority ethnic groups in the Middle East, feel pressure to identify as "Arabs",^[41][42] and "Kurds". ^[43] Assyrians in Syria, are disappearing as an ethnic group, due to assimilation. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية ^[44]

Neo-Aramaic (sometimes also called "Modern Assyrian"^[45]) exhibits remarkably conservative features compared with Imperial Aramaic,^[46] and the earliest European visitors to northern Mesopotamia in modern times encountered a people called "Assyrians" and men with ancient Assyrian names such as Sargon and Sennacherib. Neo-Aramaic, or Modern Aramaic, languages are varieties of Aramaic that are spoken as a Mother tongue in the modern era. Aramaic is a Semitic language with ^[47][48][49] The Assyrians manifested a remarkable degree of linguistic, religious, and cultural continuity from the time of the ancient Greeks, Persians, and Parthians through periods of medieval Byzantine, Arab, Persian, and Ottoman rule. ^[50]

Assyrian nationalism emphatically connects Modern Assyrians to the population of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The term Assyrianism or Assyrian nationalism refers to a variant of Syriac Christian Nationalism, which originated in the 19th century and is The Neo-Assyrian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 934 BC and ended in 609 BC A historical basis of this sentiment has been disputed by a few early historians,^[51] but receives support from modern Assyriologists like H.W.F. Saggs, Robert D. Biggs and Simo Parpola,^[52][53][54] and Iranologists like Richard Nelson Frye. Assyriology (from Greek grc Ἀσσυρίᾱ Assyriā; and grc -λογία -logia) is the archaeological historical and linguistic study Henry William Frederick Saggs (1920 – 2005 was a Classicist and Orientalist. Robert D Biggs is an Assyriology professor He received his PhD at Johns Hopkins University. Simo Parpola is professor of Assyriology at the University of Helsinki located in Helsinki, Finland. Iranian Studies ( ايران شناسیis an interdisciplinary field dealing with the study of the Iranian cultural region (or the Iranian "cultural continent" Richard Nelson Frye (born c 1920 is an American scholar of Iranian and Central Asian Studies, and Aga Khan Professor Emeritus ^[30][26]

Self-designation

Main article: Names of Syriac Christians

Alqosh, located in the midst of Assyrian contemporary civilization. The various communities of adherents of Syriac Christianity and speakers of Neo-Syriac advocate different terms for ethnic self-designation "Assyrians" Alqosh or Alqush ( Syriac: ܐܠܩܘܫ Arabic: القوش) is one of the most famous Assyrian ( Chaldean

The question of ethnic identity and self-designation is sometimes connected to the scholarly debate on the etymology of "Syria". The question has a long history of academic controversy, but mainstream opinion currently favours that Syria is indeed ultimately derived from the Assyrian term Aššūrāyu. ^[55][26][56]

Rudolf Macuch points out that the Eastern Neo-Aramaic press initially used the term "Syrian" (suryêta) and only much later, with the rise of nationalism, switched to "Assyrian" (atorêta). ^[57] According to Tsereteli, however, a Georgian equivalent of "Assyrians" appears in ancient Georgian and Armenian documents. Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between ^[58] This correlates with the theory of the nations to the East of Mesopotamia knew the group as Assyrians, while to the West, beginning with Greek influence, the group was known as Syrians.

Here are three well-known Greek historians, geographers and philosophers who tell us that the Assyrians (Aššūrāye) were afterwards called Syrians (Sūrāyē) and later on also for (Sūryāyē) by the Greeks and the Western World:

• Herodotus, 484 BC– 425 BC: “The Assyrians went to war with helmets upon their heads made of brass, and plaited in a strange fashion which is not easy to describe. They carried shields, lances, and daggers very like the Egyptian; but in addition they had wooden clubs knotted with iron, and linen corselets. This people, whom the Hellenes call Syrians, are called Assyrians by the barbarians. The Chaldeans served in their ranks, and they had for commander Otaspes, the son of Artachaeus. ”

• Strabo, 1st century AD: “When those who have written histories of the Syrian empire say that the Medes were overthrown by the Persians and the Syrians by the Medes, they mean by the Syrians no other people than those who built the royal palaces in Babylon and Ninus; and, of these Syrians, Ninus was the man who founded Ninus in Aturia, and his wife, Semiramis, was the woman who succeeded her husband and founded Babylon. ”

• Justinus, 3rd century AD: “His successors too, following his example, gave answers to their people through their ministers. The Assyrians, who were afterwards called Syrians, held their empire thirteen hundred years. The last king that reigned over them was Sardanapalus, a man more effeminate than a woman. ”

More recent archaeological findings have added to the debate, attesting to the synonymy between the terms "Assyria" and "Syria", including the Çineköy Inscription. The Çineköy inscription is a Hieroglyphic Luwian - Phoenician bilingual, uncovered from Çineköy Adana Province, Turkey (ancient Cilicia ^[55]

Other studies also support the notion that Assyrians did not completely assimilated; Louise Sweet's study revealed that the Armenian and Assyrian communities remain unassimilated, throughout the centuries. ^[59] The continuous usage of old Assyrian names such as Sargon, Ashur, Ramsen, Ninos, Sanharib in family names still to this day illustrates Assyrian identity continuity over time. Sargon may refer to Persons Sargon of Akkad (Šarrukînu also known as Sargon the Great, Sargon I) Mesopotamian king Ashur (אַשּׁוּר often also transliterated as Asshur to reflect the pointing of Hebrew letter 'ש' ( Shin) in the Masoretic text which doubles the 'ש' was the Ramsen is a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland. Sennacherib ( Akkadian Sîn-ahhe-eriba "(moon god Sîn has replaced (lost brothers for me" was the son of Sargon II, whom he ^[60]

There are many of the Western Syriacs (Sūryāyē) which consider themselves as Western Assyrians (Āṯūrāyē) or Assyrians-Syriacs (Āṯūrāyē-Sūryāyē) other consider themselves as Syriacs (Sūryāyē) or Aramean-Syriac (Ārāmayē-Sūryāyē)

Genetics

DNA analysis that has been conducted by Cavalli-Sforza, Paolo Menozzi and Alberto Piazza, "shows that [Assyrians] have a distinct genetic profile that distinguishes their population from any other population. The Aramean-Syriac people ( Syriac: arc [[arcܣܘܪܝܝܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ ܐܪܡܝܐ]]) are an Ethnic group who are widely Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza (born January 25, 1922) is an Italian population geneticist born in Genoa, who has been a professor at "^[61] Genetic analysis of the Assyrians of Persia demonstrated that they were "closed" with little "intermixture" with the Muslim Persian population. ^[62] Cavalli-Sforza et al. state in addition, "the Assyrians are a fairly homogeneous group of people, believed to originate from the land of old Assyria in northern Iraq," and "they are Christians and are possibly bona fide descendants of their namesakes. C D E ^[61] Regarding the homogeneity of the Assyrian people, according to a recent study by Kevin MacDonald, the Assyrians tend to encourage endogamy. Kevin B MacDonald, (born January 24, 1944) is a professor of Psychology at California State University Long Beach, best known for his Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a social group. Cultures who practice endogamy require marriage between specified social groups classes or ethnicities ^[16]

Culture

Assyrian child dressed in traditional clothes.

Main article: Assyrian culture

Assyrian culture is dictated by religion. Assyrian culture' had brought considerable achievement throughout a long history in their indigenous land The language is tied to the church as well for it uses the Syriac language in liturgy. Festivals occur during religious holidays such as Easter and Christmas. There are also secular holidays such as Akitu (the Assyrian New Year). The Assyrian new year (Assyrian Akitu) lies on April 1. Traditionally falling on the Vernal equinox, it was moved to April 1 when the ^[63]

People often greet and bid relatives farewell with a kiss on each cheek and by saying "Peace be upon you. " Others are greeted with a handshake with the right hand only; according to Middle Eastern customs, the left hand is associated with evil. Similarly, shoes may not be left facing up, one may not have their feet facing anyone directly, whistling at night is thought to waken evil spirits, etc.

There are many Assyrian customs that are common in other Middle Eastern cultures. A parent will often place an eye pendant on their baby to prevent "an evil eye being cast upon it". Spitting on anyone or their belongings is seen as a grave insult.

There are Assyrians that are not very religious yet they may be very nationalistic. Assyrians are proud of their heritage, their Christianity, and of speaking the language of Christ. Children are often given Christian or Assyrian names such as Ashur, Sargon, Shamiram, Nineveh, Ninos, Nimrod, etc. Baptism and First Communion are heavily celebrated events similar to how a Bris and a Bar Mitzvah are in Judaism. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently subjected to vandalism and the insertion of personal opinions In Judaism, Bar Mitzvah ( Hebrew: בר מצוה "one (m to whom the commandments apply" Bat Mitzvah (בת מצוה "one (f When an Assyrian person dies, three days after they are buried they gather to celebrate them rising to heaven (as did Jesus), after seven days they again gather to commemorate their passing. A close family member wears only black clothes for forty days and forty nights, or sometimes one year, as a sign of respect.

Language

Main article: Neo-Aramaic languages

The ancient Assyrian tongue was referred to as the Akkadian language (also called Assyro-Babylonian),^[23] an East Semitic language written in cuneiform script. Neo-Aramaic, or Modern Aramaic, languages are varieties of Aramaic that are spoken as a Mother tongue in the modern era. The Syriac alphabet is a Writing system used to write the Syriac language from around the 2nd century BC. is the reconstructed name of the first letter of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, continued in descended Semitic alphabets as Phoenician Bet, Beth, or Vet is the second letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Gimmel redirects here for the musical group see Gimmel (music group. Dalet ( also spelled Daleth or Daled) is the fourth letter of many Semitic alphabets including Phoenician, Aramaic He is the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac ܗ and Arabic Waw ( also spelled vav or vau) (In Hebrew Vav) is the sixth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic Zayin (also spelled Zain or Zayn) is the seventh letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician 𐤆 Aramaic, Hebrew or H̱et (also spelled Khet, Kheth, Chet, Cheth, Het, or Heth) is the reconstructed name of the eighth letter (also Teth, Tet) is the ninth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Tet, Yodh (also spelled Yud or Yod) is the tenth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Kaph (also spelled Kap or Kaf) is the eleventh letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Lamed or Lamedh is the twelfth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Lamed and Arabic Mem (also spelled Meem or Mim) is the thirteenth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Nun is the fourteenth letter of many Semitic Abjads including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic alphabet ar ن (in Samekh or Simketh is the fifteenth letter in many Semitic alphabets including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic, representing /s/ For the village in Azerbaijan see Əyin. or is the sixteenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Pe is the seventeenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Pei, Persian alphabet Pe pr Tsade (also spelled Ṣādē or Tzadi or Sadhe or Tzaddik) is the eighteenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Qoph or Qop (In modern Hebrew Kuf, Arabic Qāf) is the nineteenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic for the town in Nepal see Resh Nepal Resh is the twentieth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician Shin (also spelled Šin or Sheen) is the twenty-first letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Taw or Tav is the twenty-second and last letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Tav The East Semitic languages constitute one of the three major subdivisions of Semitic languages, the other being West Semitic and South Semitic. After the Assyrian empire expanded westward, Aramaic gradually became the dominant tongue. Aramaic is a Semitic language with ^[23] Aramaic was declared an auxiliary language by King Ashur-nirari V in 752 BC and became a lingua franca under Achaemenid Dynasty of Persia. An international auxiliary language (sometimes abbreviated as IAL or auxlang) or interlanguage is a Language meant for communication between people from Ashur-nirari V was King of Assyria from 755 to 745 BC He was succeeded by Tiglath-Pileser III. A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of ^[31] By the first century AD, Akkadian was extinct. The 1st century was the Century that lasted from 1 to 100 according the Julian calendar. Modern Syriac, however, shares some of its vocabulary, as both are Semitic languages,^[64] and a result of vocabulary remnants from the Akkadian language still being preserved in the modern Syriac language. See Syriac (disambiguation for other uses Syriac (syr ܠܫܢܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ leššānā Suryāyā) is an Eastern Aramaic language The Semitic languages are a Language family whose living representatives are spoken by more than 467 million people across much of the Middle East, ^[65]

Most Assyrians speak a modern form of Syriac,^[66] an Eastern Aramaic language whose dialects include Chaldean and Turoyo as well as Assyrian. See Syriac (disambiguation for other uses Syriac (syr ܠܫܢܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ leššānā Suryāyā) is an Eastern Aramaic language Aramaic is a Semitic language with A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος dialektos) is a variety of a Language that is characteristic of a particular group of Chaldean Neo-Aramaic is a Northeastern Neo-Aramaic language Chaldean Neo-Aramaic is spoken on the Plain of Mosul in northern Iraq, as well as by the Turoyo is a Modern West Syriac language, a dialect of Aramaic. Assyrian Neo-Aramaic is a modern Eastern Aramaic or Syriac language. All are classified as Neo-Aramaic languages and are written using Syriac script, a derivative of the ancient Aramaic script. Neo-Aramaic, or Modern Aramaic, languages are varieties of Aramaic that are spoken as a Mother tongue in the modern era. The Syriac alphabet is a Writing system used to write the Syriac language from around the 2nd century BC. The Aramaic alphabet is an Abjad, a Consonantal Alphabet, used for writing Aramaic. Assyrians also may speak one or more languages of their country of residence.

To the native speaker, "Syriac" is usually called Soureth or Suryoyo. A wide variety of dialects exist, including Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, and Turoyo. Assyrian Neo-Aramaic is a modern Eastern Aramaic or Syriac language. Chaldean Neo-Aramaic is a Northeastern Neo-Aramaic language Chaldean Neo-Aramaic is spoken on the Plain of Mosul in northern Iraq, as well as by the Turoyo is a Modern West Syriac language, a dialect of Aramaic. Being stateless, Assyrians also learn the language or languages of their adopted country, usually Arabic, Armenian, Persian or Turkish. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language The Armenian language (hy հայերեն լեզու hajɛɹɛn lɛzu —, conventional short form) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. In northern Iraq and western Iran, Kurdish is widely spoken. The Kurdish language (Kurdish Kurdî or کوردی is a term used for the language spoken by Kurds.

Recent archaeological evidence includes a statue from Syria with Assyrian and Aramaic inscriptions. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Aramaic is a Semitic language with ^[67] It is the oldest known Aramaic text.

Religion

Assyrians became Christians during the first century AD,^[52] though not until during the third century had they all become Christians. ^[28] Some Assyrians also claim that their ancestors became Christians during the lifetime of Jesus. ^[68] Jesus spoke of "Men of Nineveh", repenting from their old sins; this refers to when the prophet Jonah visited the Assyrian capital Nineveh:

The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. Nineveh ( Akkadian: Ninua; Aramaic: ܢܝܢܘܐ Hebrew נינוה Nīnewē; Arabic نينوى Naīnuwa) According to the Hebrew Bible ( Tanakh / Old Testament) and Qur'an, Jonah (; Arabic: يونس, Yunus or According to the Hebrew Bible ( Tanakh / Old Testament) and Qur'an, Jonah (; Arabic: يونس, Yunus or

– Luke 11:32, King James Version

Many members of the following churches consider themselves Assyrian. Ethnic identities are deeply intertwined with religion, a legacy of the Ottoman Millet system. Millet is an Ottoman Turkish term for a Confessional community in the Ottoman Empire. The group is traditionally characterized as adhering to various churches of Syriac Christianity and speaking Neo-Aramaic languages. Syriac Christianity is a culturally and linguistically distinctive community within Eastern Christianity. Neo-Aramaic, or Modern Aramaic, languages are varieties of Aramaic that are spoken as a Mother tongue in the modern era. It is subdivided into:

• adherents of the East Syrian Rite, formerly also called Nestorian Assyrians
  • adherents of the Assyrian Church of the East & Ancient Church of the East, also called East Assyrians or Assyrians. The East Syrian Rite is also known as the Chaldean Rite, Assyrian Rite, or Persian Rite although it originated in Edessa. The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (ܥܕܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܘܫܠܝܚܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܪ̈ܝܐ ‘Ittā Qaddishtā wa-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi The Ancient Church of the East separated from the Assyrian Church of the East, after Mar Shimun XXIII the patriarch of Assyrian Church of the East made reforms which
  • adherents of the Chaldean Catholic Church, also called Chaldean Christians or Chaldean Assyrians. The Chaldean Catholic Church or the Chaldean Church of Babylon (الكنيسة الكلدانية) is an Eastern particular church of the
• adherents of the West Syrian Rite, also called Syriac Assyrians, and formerly also Jacobites. The West Syrian Rite (also Jacobite, after Jacob Baradaeus) is the rite used by many Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholic churches
  • adherents of the Syriac Orthodox Church, also called West Assyrians, Assyrians-Syriacs or Syriacs
  • adherents of the Syriac Catholic Church, also called West Assyrians, Assyrians-Syriacs or Syriacs

A small minority of Assyrians accepted the Protestant Reformation in the 20th century, possibly due to British influences, and is now organized in the Assyrian Evangelical Church, the Assyrian Pentecostal Church and other Protestant Assyrian groups. The Syriac Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Middle East with members spread throughout the world The Syriac Catholic Church, or Syrian Catholic Church is a Christian church in the Levant having The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time The twentieth century of the Common Era began on The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Assyrian Evangelical Church is a Presbyterian denomination in the Middle East. Pentecostalism is a renewalist religious movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the Baptism

Based on the following Bible passage, many Assyrians hold apocalyptic beliefs regarding the future of their nation:^[69]

In that day there shall be a way from Egypt to the Assyrians, and the Assyrian shall enter into Egypt, and the Egyptian to the Assyrians, and the Egyptians shall serve the Assyrian. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin In that day shall Israel be the third to the Egyptian and the Assyrian: a blessing in the midst of the land, Which the Lord of hosts hath blessed, saying: "Blessed be my people of Egypt, the work of my hands Assyria, and Israel my inheritance. "

– Isaiah 19:23-25

Sports

Main article: Assyriska Föreningen

--Assyrian sport--

Music

Main article: Assyrian music

Assyrian music is divided into three main periods: ancient music written in Ur, Babylon and Nineveh; a middle period of tribal and folkloric music; and the modern period. Assyriska Föreningen is a Swedish Assyrian based football club based in Södertälje. Assyrian music is divided into three main sections or periods Ur ( Sumerian:urim; Akkadian: ?) is modern Tell el-Mukayyar, Iraq, and was a city in ancient Sumer. Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq Nineveh ( Akkadian: Ninua; Aramaic: ܢܝܢܘܐ Hebrew נינוה Nīnewē; Arabic نينوى Naīnuwa) Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous

Dance

Main article: Assyrian folk dance

Assyrian Folk Dances are dances that are performed throughout the world by Assyrians, mostly on occasions such as weddings. Assyrian Folk Dances are Dances that are performed throughout the world by Assyrians, mostly on occasions such as weddings

Art

Main article: Assyrian art

An Assyrian artistic style distinct from that of Babylonian art which was the dominant contemporary art in Mesopotamia, began to emerge c. See also History of architecture Assyria flourished from the Old Assyrian period in the Middle Bronze Age until the Neo-Assyrian Empire 1500 B. C. and lasted until the fall of Nineveh in 612 BC. The characteristic Assyrian art form was the polychrome carved stone relief that decorated imperial monuments.

Cuisine

Main article: Assyrian cuisine

Assyrian cuisine is very closely related to other Middle Eastern cuisines, predating both Arab and Turkish cuisine. Assyrian Cuisine is similar to other Middle Eastern cuisines However it predates both Arab and Turkish cuisine in Western Asia Cuisine (from French cuisine, "cooking culinary art kitchen" ultimately from Latin coquere, "to cook" is a specific set The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. Arab cuisine is defined as the various regional cuisines spanning the Arab World from Iraq to Morocco to Somalia to Yemen, and incorporating Turkish cuisine is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and It is also similar to Armenian, Persian and Greek cuisine. Given the history of the Armenian people, the cuisine of Armenia and of the Armenians in the Armenian Diaspora is representative of the cuisine of the Mediterranean Persian cuisine or the cuisine of Iran is diverse with each province featuring dishes culinary traditions and styles distinct to their regions The Greek cuisine ( Greek: Ελληνική Κουζίνα is Greece's traditional Cuisine, a typical Mediterranean cuisine Contemporary It is believed that Assyrians invented baklava in the eighth century BC. Baklava is a rich sweet Pastry featured in many Cuisines of the former Ottoman, Arab, and Iranian countries The 8th century BC started the first day of 800 BC and ended the last day of 701 BC. ^[70]

Institutions

Political parties

• Assyria Liberation Party
• Assyrian Democratic Movement
• Assyrian General Conference
• Assyrian Patriotic Party
• Assyrian Socialist Party
• Assyrian Universal Alliance
• Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party
• Chaldean Democratic Union
• Mesopotamia Freedom Party
• Shuraya

Other institutions

• Ashur TV
• Assyriska
• Ishtar TV
• AssyriaSat (KBSV)
• Suroyo TV
• Suryoyo Sat
• Zinda Magazine

See also

Assyrian people

Culture

Music

Language

(Assyrian • Chaldean • Turoyo)

Cuisine

Dance

Religion

Clothing

Villages

• Assyrian Independence
• Assyrian homeland
• Assyrian nationalism
• Assyrian genocide
  • Simele massacre
• Assyrian diaspora
• Iraqi minorities
  • Refugees of Iraq
  • Assyrians in post-Saddam Iraq‎
• List of Assyrian tribes
• List of Assyrians
• List of Assyrian settlements
• Muslim Assyrians
• Maronites

References

Further reading

• Andersson, Stefan (1983). Assyrierna - En bok om präster och lekmän, om politik och diplomati kring den assyriska invandringen till Sverige (in Swedish). Falköping: Tiden. ISBN 9155029132.  
• Aprim, Fred (2005). Fredrick A Aprim is an Assyrian author and activist He was born in the city of Kirkuk (the ancient Assyrian city of Arrapha) located in Northern Assyrians: The Continuous Saga (in English). United States: Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 1413438563. OCLC 58448793. The OCLC Online Computer Library Center is according to its website a "nonprofit membership computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purpose  
• Benjamin, Yoab. "Assyrians in Middle America: A Historical and Demographic Study of the Chicago Assyrian Community" (in English) (PDF) Vol. 10 (No. 2). Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies. Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies is an Academic journal published by various Assyriologists and other academics focusing on the history of the Assyrian people  
• BetGivargis-McDaniel, Maegan (2007). Assyrians of New Britain (in English). Arcadia Publishing. Arcadia Publishing is an American publisher of Local history. ISBN 0738550124. OCLC 156908771. The OCLC Online Computer Library Center is according to its website a "nonprofit membership computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purpose  
• Donabed, Sargon; Donabed, Ninos (2006). Assyrians of Eastern Massachusetts (in English). Arcadia Publishing. Arcadia Publishing is an American publisher of Local history. ISBN 0738544809. OCLC 70184669. The OCLC Online Computer Library Center is according to its website a "nonprofit membership computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purpose  
• MacDonald, Kevin (2004-07-29). Kevin B MacDonald, (born January 24, 1944) is a professor of Psychology at California State University Long Beach, best known for his "Socialization for Ingroup Identity among Assyrians in the United States" (in English).  
• Parpola, Simo (2004). Simo Parpola is professor of Assyriology at the University of Helsinki located in Helsinki, Finland. "National and Ethnic Identity in the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Assyrian Identity in Post-Empire Times" (in English) (PDF). Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies Vol. Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies is an Academic journal published by various Assyriologists and other academics focusing on the history of the Assyrian people 18 (No. 2).  

External links

• Assyrian people, Britannica Online
• A virtual Assyria: Cyberland
• A virtual Assyria: Christians from the Middle East
• Traditional Assyrian Costumes
• Assyrian Iraqi Document Projects
• Who Are Assyrians?