History of Genocide Committed against the Assyrian people

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http://www.aina.org/martyr.html

612 B.C.
A combined force of Medes, Scythians, and Babylonian sieged Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and felled the city within three months. It is unknown how many Assyrians died in this final battle of the Assyrian Empire, but the losses must have been considerable.

107 A.D.
The Parthian king Xosroes murders the second bishop of Arbela (modern Arbil) in the buffer state of Adiabene. The state was invaded soon after by the Romans in 115 A.D. and named "Assyria". (The chronicle of Arbela, translation by Mingana 1907)

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The persecution under king Shapur lasted for forty years, and it was very severe. The following is a description of the massacres that took place on Good Friday, A.D. 339:

". . .The first 'Firman' of persecution was issued, ordering all Christians [Assyrians] to pay double taxes, expressly as a contribution to the cost of a war in which they were taking no share, the Catholicos being ordered to collect the same. The special order may have been a kind of test for Mar Shimun, but there was nothing unusual in the government thus dealing with the melet through its recognized head. In any case, Shimun refused to obey the order, on the double ground that his people were too poor, and that tax collecting was no part of a bishop's business. On this it was easy to raise the cry, 'he is a traitor and wishes to rebel'; and a second Firman was issued, ordering his arrest and the general destruction of all Christian churches. Shimun was arrested at Seleucia, the Court being then at Karka d'Lidan (i.e., Susa), and in the leisurely fashion characteristic of Eastern justice, was allowed to collect his flock and to take a last farewell of them, before being conducted, with several colleagues, to what all foresaw would be his death. All gathered to receive the solemn blessing which a contemporary writer has preserved for us: 'May the Cross of our Lord be the protection of the people of Jesus; the peace of God be with the servants of God, and establish your hearts in the faith of Christ, in tribulation and in ease, in life and in death, now and forever more." The story of his martyrdom has been told by able writers, to whom we may refer for the moving tale of Shimun's interviews with the king; of the fall, penitence and triumph of Gushtazad the eunuch; of the offer of freedom, both for himself and for his melet, made to the Catholicos, if he would consent to adore the sun but once; and of the personal appeal of the King to him to yield, by memory of their friendship. The last scene took place outside Susa, on the morning of Good Friday, 339; when the Catholicos, five bishops, and about one hundred clergy sealed their testimony together, Shimun being last to die. To him it was given to die for both of the two noblest causes for which a man may lay down his life -- for his faith in God, and for his duty to his people." (An Introduction to the History of the Assyrian Church, P. 64)

The Greek historian Sozomen says of the above incident:

"When, in course of time, the Christians increased in number, assembled as churches, and appointed priests and deacons, the Magi became deeply incensed against them. The Jews were likewise offended. They therefore brought accusations before Shapur, the reigning King, against Shimun, who was then metropolitan of Seleusa and Ctesiphon, the royal cities of Persia, and charged him with being friends of the Caesar of the Romans, and with communicating the affairs of the Persians to him. Shapur believed these accusations, and at first imposed intolerably oppressive taxes upon the Christians. He appointed cruel men to exact these taxes, hoping that by being deprived of the necessities of life, and by the atrocity of the tax-gatherers, they might be compelled to abjure their religion-for this was his aim. Afterwards, however, he commanded that the priests and ministers of God should be slain with the sword. The churches were demolished, their vessels were deposited in the Treasury, and Shimun was arrested as a traitor to The Kingdom and religion of the Persians. In this way the Magi, with the cooperation of the Jews quickly destroyed the house of prayer. Shimun was arrested, bound with chains, and brought before the King. There he showed clearly the excellence and firmness of his character; for when Shapur commanded that he should be led away to the torture, he did not fear, and refused to prostrate himself. The King, greatly exasperated, asked why he did not prostrate himself, as he had done formerly. Shimun replied that he had not formerly been led away bound, in order that he might abjure the truth of God. When he had finished speaking, the King commanded him to worship the sun. He promised, as an inducement, that he would bestow gifts upon him, and raise him to honor; but on the other hand he threatened that, if he did not comply, he would destroy him and the whole body of the Christians as a punishment. When the King found that promises and menaces were alike unavailing he remanded him in prison. The following day, which happened to be the sixth day of the week, and likewise the day on which, because it came immediately before The festival of the resurrection, the annual memorial of the Passion of the savior is celebrated, The King issued orders for the decapitation of Shimun; for he had been again brought to the palace from the prison, and he had reasoned most boldly with Shapur on points of doctrine, and had expressed a determination never to worship either the King or the sun. On the same day, a hundred other prisoners were ordered to be slain. Shimun saw their execution, and last of all he was put to death. Among the victims were bishops, presbyters, and other clergy of different grades."
(Patriarch, Shah, and Caliph, pp. 25.)

When Shapur died, in 379, the persecutions, for the most part, died with him. The forty years of terror saw 16,000 Assyrians, whose names were known and recorded, killed, and an immense number of Assyrians whose martyrdom was unrecorded

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448 A.D.
One of the most horrifying massacres occurred in the year 448, in modern day Kirkuk. The King Yasdegerd II began a wave of persecution of Assyrians (and Armenians, in Azerbaijan) throughout Persia. A massacre of ten bishops and 153,000 clergy and laity took place, ". in several consecutive days of slaughter on the mound of Karka d'Bait Sluk (Kirkuk). Local tradition still asserts that the red gravel of the hillock was stained that color by the martyrs' blood, and the martyrium built over the bodies remains to this day." (Introduction to the History of the Assyrian Church, pp. 138). The place where this massacre occurred, to this day, bears the name of the Persian executioner, who was led by the sight of the endurance and faith of the people he was butchering to believe that their faith must truly be from God, and who joined them in their confession, and fate -- Tamasgerd was baptized in his own blood (ibid, pp. 139).

November, 519 A.D.
Early in the sixth century a young Jewish king rose to power in the Kingdom of Himyar (present day Yemen). This king, Yusuf As'ar, began a brutal massacre of the Assyrians who were living in that kingdom. These massacres did not escape the attention of the rest of the Assyrians; the martyrdoms in one town, Najran, particularly caught the attention of the public. Here are some descriptions:

The Burning of the Church
"The Jews amassed all the martyrs' bones and brought them into the church, where they heaped them up. They then brought in the priests, deacons, subdeacons, readers, and "sons and daughters of the covenant", and laymen and women as well -- whose names we shall give at the end of our letter. They filled the church up from wall to wall, some 2000 persons according to the men who came from Najran; then they piled up wood all around the outside of the church and set alight to it, thus burning the church along with everyone inside it. Some other women who had not been seized at the time, on seeing the church in flames with priests and "members of the covenant" inside, rushed to the church calling out to one another, "Come, friends, that we may take pleasure in the fragrant offering of the priests." Thus they rushed into the fire themselves and were burnt alive.

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Khusraw Parviz destruction, 615-628 A.D.
Because of suspicions that the Monophysite Assyrians living under the Persian reign of Khusraw Pavriz may be communicating with the Syrian orhtodox church of the west, Pavriz maintained a persecution campaign which lasted till his death in 628 A.D. During this campaign, many monasteries near the royal court were destroyed.(Nau, "Ahoudemmeh," p.54, 75.)

In his thirtieth year (620), thirteen Christians were imprisoned in Adiabene (Modern Arbil and surroundings) for five years and then in 625, crucified at the bridge marking the border of Beth Garme. At about the same time, a bishop by the name of Nathaniel was crucified for writing a polemic against the Magians.
(Chabot, "Chastete,," p.37, 39-40,256,258. Also Hoffmann, "Persiscer Martyrer" , p. 119,121.)

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650 A.D.
Many monks and ascetics were killed by the army of Sa'd along the Byzentine border, especially in the monastery called "The daughters of Five Churches" at Ra's Ayn (in modern Syria). (Michael G. Morony, Iraq after the Moslem Conquest, 1984, P. 379, Also J.B. Chabot, CSCO, Scr. Syri 56, Louvain, 1937)

661-680 A.D.
During the Patriarchate of Mar Gewargis I, the Ummayad Caliph Muawiyyah demanded gold from the Patriarch. The Patriarch refused and was imprisoned. The Christians were persecuted and their churches were destroyed.

686-701 A.D.
During the Patriarchate of Mar Khnanishu I, the Caliph Abd al-Malik imprisons and tortures the Patriarch and places another bishop in his place. Abd al-Malik was the first to insist on the collection of the poll tax from the Christians.

737 A.D.
The Caliph Mahdi decrees that all churches built since the Muslim conquest be destroyed. Over 5000 Christians from Halab were forced to accept Islam or death.

852-858 A.D.
During the Patriarchate of Mar Theodosius, the caliph Mutawakkil persecuted the Christians. He imprisoned the Patriarch on the false suspicion of spying for the Byzantines, and he decreed that the Christians should wear special badges as a sign of degradation.

873 A.D.
The famous Assyrian physician and translator, Hunayn Bar Iskhaq, was executed by the order of Caliph Mutawakkil.

884-892 A.D.
During the Patriarchate of Mar Youhannan III a mob of Arabs attacked and plundered the monastery of Dakil Ishu.

987-1000 A.D.
During the Patriarchate of Mar Mari, the Arabs of Baghdad rioted against the Christians and destroyed the church of Mart Maryam and the monastery of Dakil Ishu.

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1014 A.D.
During the reign of Caliph Qadir, the Muslims sacked the houses of the Christians in Baghdad, and destroyed and burned down many of their churches. The Caliph, at the same time, destroyed the church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem, and other churches in the same city. The Caliph ordered the town criers or heralds in each place to announce that, according to the will of the ruler, all his subjects should embrace his religion. The Christians and the Jews who did so should be rewarded; if they resisted, and did not change their religion, they should be punished. They were not allowed to have rings on their right hand, nor ride on a horse (only on donkeys). If they disregarded the order, their whole property was forfeited to the state, and they were expelled from the country. Many Christians emigrated to the Roman territory, others embraced Islam, but a great number remained and defied the ordinance. They wore crosses of gold and silver around their neck to show their religion. The Caliph ordered that every Christian who wore a cross of gold or silver should have it exchanged for a wooden one, weighing 4 pounds. If they resisted, they should be put to death.

1020-1025 A.D.
During the Patriarchate of Mar Ishuyabh IV, Kurds attacked Edessa and carried of 3000 captives.

1072-1092 A.D.
During the Patriarchate of Mar Abdisho II, the soldiers of Sultan Toghrel Beg sacked the monastery of Kamul and killed 20 monks.

1231 A.D.
Mar denosios Saliba II murdered during a Kurdish attack in Tur Abdin, Turkey. Mar Denosios preached the Syriac orthodox theology in Bartilla, Iraq untill he was above 80 years old. (Habib Hanona, The Church of the East in the Nineveh Plain, 1991, P. 130)

1258 A.D.
Although Hulaku Khan spared the Christians of Baghdad when he sacked the city, he was persuaded by some Arabs that the Assyrians of Tikreet were disloyal. Consequently, one of every twenty men was put to death and his children were taken prisoner.

1261 A.D.: The coming of the Kurds
Thousands of Assyrians flee the Nineveh plains villages of Bartillah, Bakhdida (Qaraqosh), Badna, Basihra, Karmlis towards Arbil to escape the overwhelming numbers of Kurds who were ordered by King Salih Isma'il to emigrate from the mountains of Turkey to the Nineveh plains. The villages were looted and thousands who did not reach Arbil were butchered by the newcomers. The nuns' monastery in Bakhdida (Qarqosh) was invaded and it's inhabitants were brutally massacered. (Bar Hebraius, Summary of the History of the lands, Arabic edition P. 492-497)

1268 A.D.
The sultan of Egypt seized Antioch, in Syria, in the month of June. All men were killed, churches torn down and many children carried into captivity. Mar Khnanishu, bishop of Gazarta, was sent to prison and condemned to death. He was stoned to death and his body was hanged on the gates of the city.

1285 A.D.
Arabs and Kurds attack Arbela, killing, looting and destroying the houses of the Assyrian inhabitants. Isa Bar Mokates (an Assyrian), the governor of Arbela, is hung by his feet and burned alive.

1288 A.D.
According to the 12th century Bar Hibraius, a battle took place among the Kurds and Tatars near the village of Bakhdida (Qaraqosh). At its end, the kurds chose 12 of the bravest and best looking young men from the village and killed them to show their strength and secure their presence. (Bar Hebraius, Syriac Civic History, Arabic edition P. 516)

1289 A.D.
Kurds attack over 70 Assyrian towns. Over 500 men are killed and 1000 children are carried away into captivity.

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1295 A.D.
Kazan Khan, a mongol ruler, orders the demolition of churches in Mesopotamia. Mar Yabhalaha, Patriarch of the Assyrian Church, is imprisoned and tortured by Arabs; the church of Mar Shalita is destroyed. Here is a description of how the Holy Patriarch was treated: The Catholicos [Patriarch] was buffeted the whole night long by those who had seized him. And in respect of the venerable men who were with him, the Arabs tied some of them up naked with ropes; others cast aside their apparel and took to flight, and others cast themselves down from high places and perished. And they suspended the Catholicos by a rope, head downwards, and they took a cloth used for cleaning and they put ashes in it, and tied it over his mouth, and one prodded him in the breast with a skewer, saying, 'abandon this faith of yours so that you will not die; become a Muslim and you shall be saved'. And then a great tumult took place, and the peoples of the Arabs came with a great rush to destroy the great church of Mar Shalita, the holy martyr, and they destroyed it.

1297 A.D.
Ala Al-Din, son of Jaja, a mongol, marches against the city of Amedia in Assyria and conducts massacres, burns churches, and carries away over 12,000 Assyrians into captivity.

1310 A.D.
Arabs, with the help of the Mongols, capture Arbela and massacre all of the inhabitants that could not be sold as slaves. Here is a description of the event:"'And they [Assyrians] went out at daybreak on the Sabbath, with their sons, and daughters, and wives, without any weapon, and without a sword, and without a knife, and when the wicked people of the Arabs saw that they had come down, they were filled with a fierce passion, and they drew their swords, and they slew them from the greatest of them to the least, without pity and without fear". Of those who held out in the fortress: "Famine vanquished them completely! Widows stretched out their hands and wept, and there was none to bind up what was broken. And there was absolutely no one to bury the dead. Who was there who had strength enough to dig a grave? Orphans died on the dung heaps. Others fell down dead in their houses and dried up, and others hurled themselves down from the wall, and those [Arabs] who were below received them on their swords, and hacked them to pieces. Their visages are blacker than ashes, and they cannot be recognized. Their skins have shrunk on their bones, and have dried up, and become like wood. Far happier are those who have been slain by the sword than those who have been slain by hunger".

1324 A.D.
The Bakhdida (Qaraqosh) village is attacked Many homes as well as, 4 churches were burnt. (Habib Hanona, The Church of the East in the Nineveh Plain, 1992, P. 139)

1361 A.D.
Mar Gregorios Bit Qinaya who was exiled from Bartillah, Iraq moves to Baghdad where he was killed. (Isaac Armalah, Abna' Al-Zamaan, Lebanon, 1924, P. 43)

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The origins of the Assyrian mountaineers in the inaccessible Hakkari region, as well as the disappearance of the Christians of Central and Northern Asia can be attributed to the coming of that scourge of humanity, Timur, known in the West as Timurlane, a corruption of "Timurlenk" (Timur the Lame). He "was a fanatical Muhammadan," says John Stewart, "who was bitterly opposed to everything Christian. . .he pitilessly harassed Christians who would not renounce their faith."

A Turkish tribal leader who claimed decent from Genghis Khan, Timur established his power in 1369 by usurping Chagatni Khan in Samarkand. By 1380, he had directed his armies to Persia. Thirteen years later, he established his reign over Mesopotamia and Persia. After taking the city of Isfahan he ordered the construction of pyramids of over 70,000 human heads, and on the ruins of Baghdad his army built a pyramid of 90,000 heads. The Assyrian Christian city of Tikrit was besieged for weeks by an army of 72,000. As soon as it fell to Timur's army the entire city was devastated with its inhabitants killed.

Timur continued to march north and plundered and murdered thousands of Christians on the way. When all was done, the Assyrian Christian empire was left in ruins, with their Church of the East pushed back to Assyria and its mountains. "Christianity received no support from the feeble Il-Khans of the 14th century, and though details are wanting, it is quite certain that the Christians were cruelly persecuted; the goods of their merchants were confiscated, their churches were destroyed, and those who refused to accept Islam and could not escape were slain. . .

Before the end of the 14th century Christians had practically ceased to exist in Persia, Central Asia, and China. In 1392-93, Timurlane captured Baghdad, and nameless atrocities were committed by his soldiers in the city; the Christians who managed to escape fled for their lives to the mountains of Kurdistan and the districts near Mosul." (The Monks of Kublai Khan, pp. 91-92)

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1578 A.D.
A kurdish force of 10,000 attacked the Assyrian city of Urmi [in Iran], and killed, looted and carried off over 1000 Assyrian prisoners. Soon after this, the Turkish Pasha of Rawandoz sacked the villages of Alqosh and Tel Kepe, and pillaged the monastery of Rabban Hormizd, killing many monks and one bishop.


1743-1790 A.D.
A kurdish force under the leadership of Tahmaz Nadr Shah attacks of the Christians in the region. Many monks were murdered and monasteries damaged such as the famous Assyrian Dair Mar Behnam (located 4 miles away from the ancient city Nimrod), Dair Mar Elia, Dair Mar Oraha, and Dair Mar Mikhael (all are a few miles from the ancient Nineveh). (F.. John Feye, Assyrien Christien, Part 2, P. 591)

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October, 1829
The Kurdish leader, Rwandez, made an alliance with mayor Sifdeen against the Assyrians. He did not harm the Assyrians of Alqush and pursued those of the Syriac Orthodox Church. After crossing the Tigris, they assaulted every church and neighboring village. Among the well-known victims are:

Reverend Shimun
Deacon Abd Ishou
Deacon Murad, who was slaughtered while praying
Deacon Bahnam, along with his 80 young students

The first village that was attacked was Bit-Zabda, where 200 men were killed. Subsequently, the Kurds stormed the Asfas village, first slaying the leader, Deacon Rais Arabo, and then Reverend Aziz. Eighty children fleeing to a nearby valley were attacked and murdered by the pursuing Kurds. The young girls of the village were unclothed. The attractive girls were enslaved while the others were shot on-site. The notebooks of fleeing victims were torn and flung out of houses and churches into the streets. The attackers then moved to Nisibin (on the border of Turkey and Syria) and repeated similar atrocities.
(Gorgis, Deacon Asman Alkass, Jirah Fi Tarikh Al-syrian, Trans. Subhi Younan. 1980. pp. 14).

1832 A.D.
The prince of Rawandoz (almirgur) attacked the Rabban Hurmiz monastery on the 25th of March, 1832. The Mardin born Monk Gibrael Danbo was brutally murdered. ( Father Dr. Yosif Habbi, 'Dair Rabban hurmiz', Baghdad, 1977, pp. 27).

1842 A.D.
Badr Khan Bey, A Hakkari Kurdish Amir, combined with other Kurdish forces led by Nurallah, attacked the Assyrians, intending to burn, kill, destroy, and, if possible, exterminate the Assyrians race from the mountains. The fierce Kurds destroyed and burned whatever came within their reach. An indiscriminate massacre took place. The women were brought before the Amir and murdered in cold blood. The following incident illustrates the revolting barbarity: the aged mother of Mar Shimun, the Patriarch of the Church of the East, was seized by them, and after having practiced on her the most abominable atrocities, they cut her body into two parts and threw it into the river Zab, exclaiming, "go and carry to your accursed son the intelligence that the same fate awaits him." 50,000 thousand Assyrians were massacred, and as large a number of woman and children were taken captive, most of whom were sent to Jezirah to be sold as slaves, to be bestowed as presents upon the influential Muslims.
(Death of a Nation, pp. 111-112).