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From Contributions
to Diaspora:
Assyrians in the
History of Urmia, Iran
Arianne Ishaya, Ph.D.
Editorial Note: This article was presented in
the Middle East Studies Association (MESA)
Conference 2001 in San Francisco in a panel titled
“The Assyrians of Iran: From Contributions to
Diaspora”. This article was published in JAAS Vol.
XVI, NO. 1, 2002.
Setting the
Scene:
As a rural
community around the turn of the 20th
century, the Assyrians of Urmia were unique in their
urban and westernized lifestyle not only in Iran,
but also, perhaps, in many countries of the Middle
East. Urmia also distinguishes itself as one of the
few historical sites that bears some etymological
resemblance to the compound word coinages in
Assyrian Aramaic. It seems to be a compound word,
which in modern Assyrian matches the combination of
the words <ur> “place or city” of water (mia). The
name attests to the antiquity of present-day
Assyrians in the region.
Two thirds of this
community perished during WWI. This brief historical
and ethnographic sketch is to familiarize the reader
with the community on a closer, more personal level
lest we should forget that each time a group
perishes, all of us, as members of the human family,
diminish in stature. The Assyrians were industrious
and the most educated subjects of the region at the
turn of the 20th century, and their
demise deprived the plain of Urmia of a very
productive segment of its population. The
American-educated Assyrians, such as Dr. Isaac Adams
and Joseph Khnanishu, played the role of cultural
operatives through their publications that
introduced the English-reading public to the
culture, literature, and socio-political
institutions of their country, Persia.1
This ethnic profile is based primarily on Assyrian
sources in the form of personal diaries, travel
journals, Assyrian periodicals, and family histories
collected by the author. It is a history from the
perspective of the Assyrians themselves.
Until 1918, at
which time they were uprooted from the region,2
the Assyrians lived in compact villages along the
three rivers of Nazlu, Shahar, and Baranduz. These
rivers flow eastward towards the lake of Urmia from
their sources in the Zagros Mountains bordering
Turkey. Of a total of 300 villages in the region, 60
had exclusively Assyrian population, and another 60
had a mixed Assyrian, Azari Turkish,3
and/or Armenian population.4
The total number of Assyrians in the region, at the
turn of the century, was estimated between 30-35
thousand most of who lived in villages.5
The Assyrian population of the town of Urmia itself
was only 600 people, or about 100 families.6
They lived in the special Christian quarter of the
town. It is estimated that around 1900, 40% of the
population of the region was Christian (Assyrian and
Armenian).7
The uniqueness of the Urmian community was that it
was highly urbanized and westernized. This was
essentially attributed to the presence of various
foreign missions in the region. Actually the
foreign missions would have preferred to be located
in Muslim communities in order to take the Christian
message to them. The Persian government did not
allow them to do so for this very reason. At the
same time, the government was interested in courting
the “English Mullahs”, as its officials used to call
them, in order to obtain better trade or political
concessions from the foreign governments. Moreover,
the royal family in Iran was interested in
familiarizing itself with the western ways of life
through the missionaries. So the Assyrians of Urmia
were a compromise solution to the satisfaction of
all. Thus, their community in Urmia became the
center of rival missionary activities in the
country. Although foreign missions brought
educational opportunities and a measure of
intellectual enlightenment to the Assyrians, they
were a mixed blessing. The privileged position of
the Assyrians made them a subject of envy and
resentment to their Muslim neighbors. The unified
Church of the East became dissected into various
protestant, Russian Orthodox, and Catholic
denominations. Moreover, the younger generation
became alienated from their ethnic traditions and
was trained in skills for which economic
opportunities were scarce.
In 1906 there was a
total of 201 schools with 5,084 Assyrian students in
the region. Considering that Assyrians lived in only
120 villages, the number of schools indicates that
there was more than one school in some villages. The
following is a breakdown of schools administered by
different missionaries and the number of students
accommodated by them:
Schools Students
American Mission 53 1721
Russian Mission 74 1640
Catholic Mission 54 1223
Others 20 5008
With the beginning
of WWI, the rate of literacy among the Assyrians of
Urmia was estimated at 80%.9
This is a remarkably high rate of literacy for the
time even by the standards of an urbanized center in
the West, let alone a rural area in the Middle East.
At the time, there were more Assyrian physicians in
Urmia than all of Iran; Assyrian professionals under
the supervision of the foreign missionaries staffed
all missionary schools, newspapers and hospitals.10
The first mission
school opened in 1836 under the direction of Rev.
Justin Perkins. Prior to that, the native Assyrians
did have a few schools of their own. The one in
Urmia was in the village of Gogtapa where Mougdoussi
(pilgrim) Hormizd had hired a learned Assyrian from
Tyari to educate a number of children there.11
The missionary Perkins was pleased to see the thirst
of the Assyrians for education. He was impressed to
find how fast the children learned to read, write,
and memorize long verses from the Bible. The first
so-called textbooks were in the form of lessons
written on cards. In the absence of notepads,
children used their fingers to do their manuscript
writing arithmetic exercises in small sandboxes. The
first Assyrian teacher was Rev. priest Abraham, the
nephew of Hormizd, who was educated in the
above-mentioned Gogtapa school.12
After learning to read and write, the Assyrian
children began to teach their parents to do so.
In 1843, the American Mission also opened a
college in Seir, a seminary for women called Fiske
Seminary. Later, in 1880 the Mission opened a
medical hospital in Urmia There was also a town
college, called Sardari, which was for the rich and
admitted Jews, Muslims and Christians alike. The
Assyrian schools were open to non-Assyrians, who
could attend with the permission of their parents.
In spite of the fact that at the time the local
Muslim population considered the Christians
religiously unclean and would avoid close
association with them, there is evidence that
non-Assyrians did attend such schools as evidenced
by the graduation reports. For example, the end of
the year report of one school lists a total of 35
students among whom 10 were Muslims and 6 were
Jewish.13
Moreover, there was an all-Muslim school in Urmia
run by Assyrian teachers under the supervision of
Dr. Shedd.
In time, the
curriculum of the American Mission schools became
westernized. In a 1906 issue Kokhva, the sole
Assyrian non-denominational newspaper, published a
report with regards to the graduation ceremony of
the American Mission College and high school
students. While the report praised the high quality
of students’ presentations in foreign languages, it
lamented the total ignorance of these students about
their own history.14
In subsequent reports we read how parents sat
patiently during the graduation ceremonies listening
to the presentations of their sons and daughters in
English and Farsi, not understanding a word of what
was being said. As unlikely as it seems, between
1906-1914, the Assyrians performed Shakespeare’s
Macbeth in the village of Gulpashan, several
plays by Moliere, translated by Kasha Mushi Babella,
in the village of Golpatalikhan where the Catholic
mission had built a large school. Shakespeare’s
Merchant of Venice and several plays by Gogol
(Russian playwright) were staged in the town of
Urmia. Interestingly, men played the role of women
in these plays.15
Kokhva spearheaded
a move to establish a non-denominational school by
the Assyrians themselves where the curriculum would
be under the control of Assyrian educators. Mar Toma
Audo’s grammar book and the arithmetic text by Rabi
Peera Mirza were judged to be superior to translated
books. Eventually, in the winter of 1908, an
independent Assyrian school was established. From
the three plays that this school staged in 1909, it
is obvious that the educational goal was the
emphasis on issues and subjects relevant to the
local Assyrians. In other words, the goal was to
stress the Assyrian values and their overall
philosophy of life. For instance, the first “play”
was a mock-debate between a Western and an Eastern
philosopher each expounding the merits of his own
perspective. The second was a play written by Rabi
Yossip Eskhaq. It was about a family where the wife
pushes her husband to go to Tiflis, work there, and
send money home so that she can have a lifestyle
comparable to that of her neighbor. In Tiflis, the
husband falls prey to the vices of gambling and
drinking and the family is plunged into deeper
poverty. This play must have touched a raw nerve in
the audience as it reflected the harsh realities of
life. The third play depicted a group of young men
whose village is looted by the Kurds. They get
together and make a vow to unite and exonerate their
families by facing the thieves and bringing the loot
back home, which they do.16
Among the nationalist Assyrians was Rabi Benyamin
Arsanis, a writer and a playwright, who wrote
several plays that were staged at different times.
This independent
school did not last very long and had to shut down a
year later. The reason was first; the students were
more interested to learn foreign languages. Second,
the parents preferred the denominational schools
because they were subsidized and therefore cheaper.
Kokhva attributed the failure of the independent
school to the lack of unity and dedication on the
part of Assyrians themselves. So it was back to
dependency on mission schools. And all that the
Assyrian nationalists could do now was to urge the
American Mission schools to postpone foreign
language education until higher school grades. After
the failure of the independent school, a group of
Assyrians formed a drama group. Among their
activities was the staging of a play called Sarah
Tkhumneta and Shamiram which was
performed in several villages in 1914.17
Evidently, the title of the play suggests that the
Assyrians were searching for their historical
roots.
Contrary to the
American Mission, the Catholic Lazarists and the
Anglicans made the teaching of the classical Syriac
and the vernacular mandatory in their schools. The
result was the emergence of a group of Assyrian
Syriac scholars such as Paul Bedjan, Aba Solomon-d-
Tkhuma, Havil Zia d-Mavana, Mir Aziz-d- Khosrava,
Shamasha Yossip de Kelata, and others who
contributed greatly to the field of Syriac studies.18
Mar Toma Audo, the Metropolitan of the Catholic
Mission in Urmia and Salamas since 1892, was a great
scholar who in addition to various publications in
classical Syriac, also authored and translated
several books in modern Assyrian. The majority of
these scholars were murdered during the 1915
massacre, or the 1918 flight.
As to the American
Mission schools, they produced hundreds of doctors,
teachers, preachers, nurses, and other kinds of
professionals. There were almost as many men as
there were women. The first women college graduates
in Urmia were Sanam, Sarah, and Mourassa all of whom
went on to become great educators.19
Many scholars and promising students were lost along
with hundreds of priceless manuscripts and rare
ecclesiastical documents in the ravages of WWI. Such
losses were a great blow to the Assyrians and the
Iranians because they are irreplaceable.
The American
Mission acquired a printing press in 1840 at a time
when printing presses did not exist in all of
Persia. The first Assyrian printer was Yonan of
Charbash. He was selected in 1847 along with a few
other promising seminary students for this post.
Another printer was Ismail. He was a self-taught
man, a very resourceful person. As a carpenter he
made all the furniture of the printing office
together with all the cases and stands. He was a
good pressman, foreman, and was responsible for the
final proofreading. He was a type-founder, and in
short, a jack-of-all-trades.20
From 1840-1852 eighty works were off the press in
both vernacular and classical Syriac, the first
being the Bible. Following the example of the
American Mission, the Catholic, Russian, and
Anglican Missions also acquired printing presses for
their own publications.21
The image of Urmian
Assyrians as an isolated rural community is totally
inaccurate. They were fully aware of world events,
national political developments, and local news
through newspapers and periodicals. From mid 19th
century until the eve of WWI, four denominational
newspapers were published on a, more or less,
regular basis. In 1906 a non-denominational
newspaper was added to the group. Zahrira-d-Bahra
(Ray of Light) started publication in 1849 by the
American Mission. Later, the French Mission
published Qala-d-Shrara (the Voice of Truth)
began publication in1897; the Russian Orthodox
Mission published Urmi Orthodoxeta; and
finally, the Anglican Mission followed suit by
publishing the Assyrian Missionary Quarterly.22
The independent Assyrian periodical was Kokhva (The
Star) founded by Qasha Baba Nwyia-d-Wazirabad, a
scholar and theologian who, after graduating from
Urmia College, had spent nine years in U.S.A. and
had obtained two separate degrees in theology and
science. He coined the subtitle for Kokhva that
reads: “Kokhva, a small lone star in the
horizon.” Although he passed away shortly after
Kokhva began publication, the editorial staff
maintained this publication as the voice of the
nationalist Assyrians. It was published biweekly
from 1906-1918, with interruptions during the war
years. Kokhva had various columns to cover world
news, national political developments, and local
events. It also published articles related to
medicine, literature, sciences, and so on. Examples
of articles that appeared in Kokhva are biographies
on Joan of Arc; Tolstoy, Napoleon Bonaparte, Thomas
Edison; world events such as the Titanic
catastrophe, the San Francisco Earthquake, new
inventions, political developments in Turkey,
Germany, and in the Balkans. There were special
articles on the Assyrian language, history, and a
debate on the name “Assyrian” versus “Suraya” in
several issues. Thus Kokhva kept the Assyrians of
Urmia abreast with the latest developments in the
world.
In the plain of
Salmas, north of Urmia, was located the town of
Khosrava, another Assyrian center of population.
Khosrava served as the headquarters of the Catholic
Mission where it established several schools,
seminaries, and a hospital there. The town had a
mixed population of Assyrians and Armenians
numbering 30,000. The Catholic seminary produced
internationally renowned scholars such as Paul
Bejan. He was a collector of ancient religious and
literary manuscripts. Single-handedly, he edited,
compiled, wrote and published 36 volumes of literary
material in both vernacular and classical Syriac.
Khosrava was called “the little Rome of Persia.” By
1918 there was practically nothing left of the
Catholic Mission in Persia. In one report we read:
“In 1923 in some places the jungle had returned,
full of reptiles, wolves, and savage animals.
Churches, schools and houses were in ruin.
23
Migrant Work:
The various mission
establishments could not offer employment to the
large number of Assyrian men who were receiving
schooling in mission establishments. Literacy and
the presence of foreigners exposed the Assyrians to
the world beyond what they had known as oppressed
peasants. On the other hand, there was the
possibility of engaging in migrant work in Russia,
Europe and even U.S.A. Russia had already separated
Georgia from Persia in 1801. When in 1828, it also
conquered the northern part of Azerbaijan; thus, the
Russian border came very close to the Urmia region.
Hundreds of Assyrian men went to Tiflis and other
border towns in Russia to work as migrant laborers
or engage in trade. Tiflis was the center of
Assyrian migrant laborers who numbered “in the
thousands.” Assyrian contractors hired Assyrians
laborers to work on various construction projects
especially the railroad connecting Julfa to
Alexandropol. Among the notable labor contractors
were Jibrael Aslan, Mirza yohanan of Gouytapa, and
Usta (title for a skilled craftsperson) Alahverdi
Badaloph. The latter is reported to have had 300
workers under his employment most of whom were
Assyrian.24
News came from
U.S.A. that it was possible to earn between
$2:00-$4:00 a day in America if one was a union
member. Since they knew some English, the Assyrian
men became encouraged to go overseas. Kokhva
recorded that in 1907 alone 306 Assyrian men left to
U.S.A.25
Before long, the Assyrian villages had lost the
majority of their able-bodied men. Women began to
complain about what was to become of their
daughters. Editorials appeared in Kokhva expounding
the ills of migrant work. Had Kokhva known that
several years later, the Assyrians abroad would
become the only beacon of hope for the survivors of
holocaust, and would provide the refugees safe
passage to U.S.A., it would, perhaps, have been less
critical of migration. In one issue, Kokhva reported
that 90% of men were living abroad and urged women
to take over men’s work to keep the community
functional. It advised the men abroad to send sewing
machines and fashion patterns so that women,
organized in coops, could operate dressmaking shops.
In 1908, Kokhva kept a record of deaths and weddings
for a year. The totals were 55 weddings and 180
deaths. Kokhva warned that a ratio of three deaths
to one wedding forecast a similar rate of drop in
childbirth, which meant that in a generation the
Assyrians would suffer a sizeable population loss.26
The village of Taka-Ardishay was referred to as an
“all-women” village. Kokhva reported that there were
not enough men to even carry a coffin to the
graveyard. Women had to carry the coffin in a
“gardoon” which was an ox –driven low wagon with no
sides. The women of Taka-Ardishay had also to haul
their grapes to their homes and dry the raisins on
the rooftops instead of the “varazan”, a plastered
slanting platform built in the vineyard for making
raisins. This was because there were no men to stay
in the vineyards overnight to protect the varazans
from thieves.
Migrant work
plagued the Assyrian families in other ways, as
well. In one issue, Kokhva praised a woman who had
refused to resume matrimonial relations with her
husband unless he was checked by a doctor and
declared free from venereal diseases.27
In another issue Kokhva printed a letter an Assyrian
woman sent to her church complaining about men who
return home with foreign wives when Assyrian maidens
are becoming spinsters.
Why did the men
leave their homes and families, and chose to work
overseas? The following are some responses as
elicited from the migrant laborers themselves:
When I came to the United States, U.S. had a big
name in Urmia. You thought you would come here and
see lots of money. But I could hardly find a job.
Finally I found a job as a boss-boy in the same
hotel where my cousin was working. Everybody had
come to earn money and return to Iran. But when the
war started, they figured they better bring their
families over…28
My eldest brother was 28 years old when he came to
America in 1912. No Assyrians went with the
intention of staying. They all went to earn money,
gold, and return, buy farms and vineyards. But the
war changed their plans. I do not think anyone had
gone to stay there.29
I left Iran in 1913. I was barely sixteen. We were a
large youth group. There were four or five from my
village of Shamsha Jiyan; and more were added to the
group from other villages as we went along until
there were 78…So many young men were leaving out of
necessity. We were not able to make a living there.
We did not have enough. We wanted a life of comfort
and plentitude; but the Turks raided our Villages.
they killed and stole our cattle. We were targeted
because our homes were better-finished, more
respectable, people better dressed and fed. But
continuous pillage reduced us to poverty and
destitution. Wanted or not we had to emigrate in
order to support our families. There were not enough
jobs. Just like you see today in Poland and
elsewhere there are no jobs. People are starving.
They flee to other countries. So that was our
condition. My father had left the country in 1903.
He had left in a group too. They wouldn’t travel
alone. My uncle had come to the U.S. earlier. He was
a bricklayer. He had returned to the old country,
and in 1913 when I was leaving for the U.S., he was
coming for a second time.30
Men went to U.S.A.
to make quick money, purchase the farmlands and
vineyards they had worked for generations as
sharecroppers and become freeholders and owners.
Some succeeded, but others never realized this dream
because the menial jobs they did abroad did not
enable them to save enough money to make their
dreams come true; besides, did not have the face to
return home empty-handed either. So their absence
from home became lasted longer. The men lived
frugally; often sharing a room and using the bed
alternately, so that they could save enough and send
“barats” (money gifts) back home. The steady flow of
“barats” to Urmia did help the locals to raise their
standard of living. However, not all of the
hard-earned money reached its destination. As there
was no bank in Urmia, letters and currency were
transferred by “chapars” or courier service. Often
bandits intercepted the courier service and got away
with the money. A more serious problem was the
Kurdish marauders who descended upon the villages
during the harvest season and not only plundered the
crops, but also took away the livestock and robbed
the people of their personal possessions, including
the clothes they were wearing. The Persian
government was too weak to protect its citizens.
Kokhva’s reports provide a statistical base on the
Assyrian villages, and shed some light on the extent
and nature of this problem. A summary sample of the
reports is reproduced below:
Kokhva, vol. 1, no.3 (1906): p. 21:
Kurds have stolen
livestock from suburban villages; 12 homes in
Kizlashiq looted; 5 in Badilbu. A man and a woman
killed. Government forces repelled. The “kokha”
(headman) of the village of Saatlui robbed.
Vol. 1, no. 4, p.30:
In Targavar Harriki Kurds stole 500 sheep and
killed the son of Yaccu.
Vol. 1, no. 5,
p. 37:
Baranduz River villages are destitute from
constant Kurdish depredations.
Vol. 1, no. 13, p.102:
The watchmen the
villagers of Gogtapa hired for protection, turned
out to be thieves who robbed them.
Vol. 1, no. 15, p. 116:
Kurdish attacks on the
increase. 5 Assyrians and Armenians were robbed in
the village of Pakabaglui. The village of Hassar
located above the mission college was looted. The
inhabitants have taken refuge in the American
mission college. Vol. 1, no. 16, p.125:
A famous bandit named Ebad was killed while
pillaging Dizataka.
Vol.1, no. 23, p. 183:
Degala attacked twice. Bandits repelled both times
by village guards. Kurds attacked the Baranduz
villages. Fierce fighting. Six Kurds killed.
Kokhva, vol. 2. no. 1 (1907): p. 8:
Unprecedented peace and
order in Urmia. A contingent of local fighters is
formed in Sangar to protect Targavar from Kurdish
Marauders. Even local Muslims have joined to show
support. Christians are thankful.
Vol. 2, no. 3, p.33:
12 Assyrian villagers
killed in the border fight in Targavar between Kurds
backed by Ottomans.
Vol. 2, no. 4, p. 44:
Ottomans occupy
Targavar. Kokhva is pleasantly surprised to report
that the villagers of Seir petitioned the Ottoman
leader there for justice against the Kurds who had
stolen their herds. Half of the herd was returned to
them by his orders. Kokhva is hopeful that finally
Ottomans might be able to keep the Kurds in check.
Vol. 2, no. 11, p.128:
Robberies and looting
start again. Kurdish bandits plundered both Assyrian
and Turkish villages in Nazlu area. Killed an
Assyrian woman.
Vol. 2, no. 12, p. 139:
Kokhva advises
villagers to arm themselves with guns and post night
watchmen to protect themselves from bandit attacks.
Vol 2, no. 13, p.151:
Ottomans are supporting
the Kurds in border skirmishes. Savoujbulagh
threatened.
Vol 2, no. 15, p. 177:
Baranduz looted. A Christian girl abducted.
Vol 2, no. 23, p. 270:
Ottomans amassing artillery in border area. Kurds
are allied with them. Lower Baranduz villagers have
deserted their homes, and have fled. Persian
governor has set post guards and urges villagers to
return.
Kokhva, vol. 3, no. 9 (1908), p. 104:
Gotoorlui (near Gogtapa) attacked. Inhabitants
fled and scattered.
Vol. 3, no. 10, p. 115:
Taka Ardishay
pillaged.
Kokhva, vol 3. no. 19
(1909), p. 235:
Anzal (northern
district) under Ottoman (Turkish) control.
Vol 3, no. 22, (1908),
p. 258:
Ottoman (Turkish) army
present in Urmia and environs.
Vol. 4, no. 3 (1910),
p. 31:
Kurds in occupation of
Seir and Mar Sarguis. Live off the villagers.
Vol. 4, no. 5, p. 56:
Kurds are targeting Baloolan. Have plundered several
villages.
Kokhva, vol. 4, no. 16,
p. 187:
One girl abducted. A
woman converted to Islam.
Vol. 4. no. 17, p. 198,
210:
Two more girls
abducted. Urmia landlords are attracting pro-Ottoman
Kurds to settle the abandoned villages in Upper
Nazlu, and Shahar Rivers. Local Turkish and Assyrian
peasants worried.
Vol. 4, no. 19, p. 222:
Kurds and local Turkish
bandits target Assyrian villages in Shahar and
Baranduz River. Threat of pillage and killings in
Hassar and Garajalu.
Vol. 4, no. 21, p. 249:
Pillage number one
problem in all of Umia.
Kokhva, Vol. 5, no. 2
(1910), p. 19:
14 Assyrian men in
Khosrabad robbed; the house of one pillaged, wife
killed.
Vol. 5, no. 4, p.
41-42:
Kurds burn down local
Turkish villages.
Skirmish in karasanlui
between Assyrians and Kurdish marauders. 50 head of
cattle taken away.
Dr. Packard’s
friendship with a Kurdish Sheikh pays off. The
Sheikh promises the safety of the village of Seir
from Kurdish marauders, and lifts the tribute he
extracted from them. (p. 103).
Vol. 5, no. 9. p.104:
Ottomans, backed by the Kurds, have occupied Kahriz,
Golunji, and Jamalabad (northern villages). As new
landlords, they have been extracting heavy tribute
from the villagers for three years.
Reports of pillage
diminish at the end of the year 1911. The Russian
military presence and a more vigorous defense of the
borders provided rural areas with a measure of
safety. The inhabitants of some villages who had
been displaced in previous years returned back.
Among them were some Targavar villagers who were
scattered as refugees since the 1907 Turkish
attacks. Of the 94 families From Baloolan 20
resettled their former homes,31
not knowing that worse was awaiting them shortly
after.
1912-1914 The
Era of Prosperity:
After Russia
established its mission station in Urmia in 1898,
Armenians and Assyrians began to purchase the fields
around it, and build luxury homes. Urban development
in this area continued and took momentum in the
years 1912-1914. Well-to-do Assyrians began to
purchase land and build new homes for their own
occupation or as rental property to Russian
families, consular or military personnel. Delgosha
(heart-refreshing.) became the new Christian quarter
in Urmia. Red brick, imported marble and stone slabs
adorned these homes. Almost all contactors,
architects, bricklayers, carpenters, and joiners
that were employed in the building of these homes
were Assyrian. Among the notable architects were
Usta Elia d-Gulpashan, Usta Avraham Ushana
d-Charbash, and Usta Yohanan d-Wazirava. Along with
urban development, Assyrians were also investing
heavily in farmland, vineyards, and orchards. It
looks like there was a concerted effort to buy the
villages and farmlands where Assyrians had toiled as
landless peasants and establish a free holding
community instead. Kokhva reported real estate
purchases on a regular basis. A quick survey
indicates that the heaviest investments were in
all-Assyrian villages. Among the villages that
became wholly or partly Assyrian owned were
Gulpashan, Degala, Gogtapa, Wazirabad, Shamshajian,
Ada, Diza, Kurtapa, and Chamakie. In other villages,
small peasants purchased their own farmlands,
orchards, and were beginning to expand beyond their
own property. City folks also developed a taste for
having an orchard or a vineyard in suburban villages
where they could spend the summer season. So there
were numerous small or medium-sized holdings of this
nature. Real estate prices soared during the prewar
era, but this did not stop the Assyrians from
investing in real estate. In hindsight, it is
painful to read about the families who invested
their wherewithal in farmland and homes they were
going to lose soon after. If it were not for the WWI
uprooting, a sizeable part of Urmia region would
become liberated from the oppressive control of
absentee feudal overlords and would be owned by free
holding farmers.
American style
advertising appeared on the pages of Kokhva
beginning in 1912. Consumerism was taking hold among
the population. Assyrians were opening stores or
stalls in the caravanserai or Middle Eastern style
shopping malls. There were advertisements from
merchants selling home fixtures such as cabinets,
doors, mirrors, and home furnishings imported from
U.S.A., Russia, or Europe (primarily Germany).
Others opened stores to sell watches, bicycle parts,
ladies and men’s wear, cloth, and other imported
goods. Optometrists, dentists, and doctors
advertised the address of their clinics and medical
supplies. Some of the advertisements were in English
which indicates the prevalence of this language
among the population. (See the advertisements in the
following page.) There was also advertising for
European fashions, and instructions on how and where
to wear them. One Assyrian opened a hotel for those
coming from villages to town to have a place to
stay. Another one invested in an “icemaker.” There
is a significant difference in the investment
pattern of Assyrians and Armenians. Possessing
greater capital, Armenians were involved in overseas
trade and were investing in land with mining
reserves, flourmills and building modern style
bazaars (shopping malls).
As early as 1907 the Assyrian, Yossipkhan the
photographer, was showing silent movies or “moving
pictures” in a private home. Tickets were priced
differently according to seating.32
The resourceful people of the Chamakie village had
all their homes connected through a non-electrical
type of telephone, which was made with waxed thick
cotton thread, a tin can open at both ends, one end
of which was covered with a thin sheet of leather.
In the center was a tiny hole, which hooked the wax
thread to the tin “receiver”. Kokhva claimed that
when the thread was manually vibrated, the people at
the next house heard a buzzing sound announcing a
telephone call, and conversations could be carried
on clearly.33
The news of
prosperity in Urmia reached other Assyrian
communities in the Middle East. Kokhva printed a
letter that Rabi Binyamin Arsanis, the head of the
village “motvas,” (associations) had received. It
was from a man writing on behalf of his Assyrian
community in Damascus, Syria. It said, in part:
“5000 Assyrians live in Damascus. After hearing
about the legendary Urmia, we would like to
relocate. We ask permission and your help in
immigrating to Urmia.”34
Due to economic
recession in U.S.A. in 1914, Kokhva urged Assyrians
not to send their sons abroad so that they would not
become a burden on their relatives there. Now the
movement was back home. There were dramatic stories
of men returning home after a long period of absence
and even their wives and sisters could not recognize
them. Again in hindsight it is with apprehension
that one reads about men in groups returning back to
Urmia from U.S.A., Europe, and Russia not knowing
the horrors they would experience shortly after. The
obituary columns of that time become welcome news.
Lucky were those who died and did not witness the
perdition of their families, neighbors, and the
nation.
1915: The Year
of Bondage:
Assyrians call the year of 1915 “the year of
bondage” because it was in the winter of 1915
following the Russian army retreat from Urmia that
Turkish forces together with their Kurdish allies
and local Azari Turkish supporters or opportunists
descended upon the Assyrian and Armenian villages.
The Turkish and Kurdish forces occupied Urmia for 5
months or 18 weeks from January 2, 1915 until May
24, 1915. A detailed history of the holocaust that
followed has been recorded in various sources and
will not be repeated in this paper.35
Only less known facts will be recorded here. The
Christian villages annihilated during the 16-week
occupation were:
18 villages in the Branduz district
16 villages in the Shahar Chai or Urmia district.
14 villages in the Nazlu district.
3 villages in
Targavar.36
In 1917 after a
Russian contingent had retuned to Urmia and the
Turks had retreated, the American Mission under the
direction of Dr. Shedd sent agents to the Urmian
plain to enumerate the surviving Christians and
classify them for purposes of food rations. These
estimates are regarded as the most accurate.
The total Assyrians
of the Urmia region were 3,915 families comprising
15,669 persons. Of these 3,132 were able-bodied,
1350 were orphans, and 1321 were elderly men and
women. The Assyrian mountaineers were 2,850 families
comprising 14,154 persons. Of these 1,991 were
able-bodied, 2,333 were orphans, and 1498 were
elderly men and women. The Assyrians of Sulduz were
108 families comprising 598 persons. Of these 112
were able-bodied, 76 were orphans, and 60 were
elderly men and women. The Assyrians of Baranduz
were 67 families comprising 337 persons. Of these 84
were able-bodied, 60 were orphans, and 35 were
elderly men and women.37
These statistics
reveal that of the 30-35,000-pre-war population of
the plain of Urmia, 50% was lost even before the
final exodus. Of the lost some had taken refuge in
Russia, and the rest were either killed or in
hiding. Another noticeable fact is that the death
toll among the mountaineers was much higher. Of the
original estimated pre war population of 160,000
only 50,000 had made it to the plain of Urmia as
refugees. And in 1917 only 14,154 persons were
alive.
The first holocaust
was to be followed by a second one in the summer of
1918 when the civilian population was left
unprotected again. This time the entire Christian
population, including the Armenians fled south to
join the British forces in Sain Kala, from where
they were taken to Baquba refugee camps.
On the eve of WWI,
all the mission stations in Urmia had packed and
left except for the American and the French. The
French mission was attacked and burnt down, and all
the refugees as well as the clergy were massacred.
The American missionaries risked their lives taking
care of 15,000 traumatized and starving refugees who
had taken shelter in their headquarters.38
The Assyrians who survived the holocaust attest to
the fact that “without the presence f the American
Mission not one Assyrian would have been spared
during WWI.”39
After a period of hiding, Kokhva began
publication in March of 1917. The lead article says:
“The little kokhva (star) bows down to the ground
before the American and French missionaries who
selflessly endangered their own lives and purchased
this nation at a price beyond monetary
calculations.”40
In spite of the
unspeakable atrocities, there were pockets of
Christian and Muslim neighbors who protected one
another during those dark days. Although at the time
the Assyrians were themselves living on rations, in
one report we read that a group of women collected
some food and clothing and carried it to the Kurdish
refugees in town. They had made small bags of
raisins especially for the children.41
Assyrians,
Russians, and the British:
During the WWI
years, the Assyrians were exposed to two different
foreign powers as their “allies” and “protectors”:
The Russian and the British. But the Assyrian
experience is very different concerning these two
protecting forces. The Russians are portrayed in
Assyrian war annals, personal diaries, and memories
as human, friendly, and compassionate. The British,
on the other hand, are described as aloof, haughty,
and exploitative.
The Assyrian
experience with the Russian forces took place during
the first flight in the winter of 1915, when 10,000
Assyrians from the villages near the Russian border
followed the Russian retreating forces. Here is one
of the eyewitness accounts (female respondent):
When the warning came that the Turks and the Kurds
would attack, my uncle who had come from Russia and
had brought a “droga” (a four-wheel cart) with him,
loaded the furniture of three households on it.
(This is how many we were). He put us (the children,
there were 9 of us) on top. We started off towards
the Russian border. On the way, the wheels got stuck
in the mud…My uncle begged the Russian cavalrymen
who were passing by, to snatch the children before
we were massacred by the enemy in pursuit. Those
Russian soldiers were kind. Each picked one of us,
and put us in front of them on the horse and covered
us with their mantle. They fed us their rations
leaving for themselves only so much as not to
starve. At night, they kept us warm. Thus, they took
us across the border into Russia. There we waited
until our uncles and mothers arrived.42
Another respondent: (male)
We fled from Iran to Russia. We fled behind the
retreating Russian troops. I was four, and my sister
was two. My mother took me on her back with my
sister in her arms. But after walking for a couple
of blocks my mother returned and left my sister with
my grandmother, because she could not carry us both.
My grandmother had a house full of furnishings, an
orchard, and a vineyard. She would not part with
them. She thought no one would harm an old woman.
But she was mistaken. All those who remained behind
were killed. I remember vividly, as we were going,
my mother fell face down on the snow while I was on
her back. A Russian Kazak dismounted and put me on
his horse. He helped my mother to her feet. He
carried me on his horse for the rest of the time. On
the way, my mother found a 10-months old baby left
on the snow. She picked him up and brought him along
for the child she had left behind. Now he is a
physician in Chicago.43
The Assyrians came
into contact with the British after the 1918 flight
from Urmia. The following are a few eyewitness
accounts:
In her family history Miriam Youhanan describes an
episode that is worth noting. Her immediate family
who included her husband and their three small
children were among the refugees that fled from
Urmia to Hamadan in the summer of 1918. Her husband
Dr. David Youhanan, a well-known physician educated
in U.S.A., fell ill in Bijar before reaching
Hamadan. So they were unable to continue their trek.
The British had a strong garrison in Bijar. When he
requested medication from the British physicians,
they refused on the ground that their medical
supplies were for the use of the British army. As
his illness got worse, his wife repeatedly pleaded
for medication, or transportation elsewhere. But
the British physicians and officers refused to
provide them with either medication or
transportation knowing full well that he would die
if not helped.44
Other refugees
report that when they reached Hamadan, they were
half-starved and emaciated from the horrible days
they had passed fleeing for their life with the
enemy in pursuit. Yet as soon as they arrived in
Hamadan, the British lost no time using them as
labor force. The men and youth were enlisted for
military duty and women were consigned to break
rocks and sew sacks for the British road
construction project, which was to connect Hamadan
to Baghdad. In his own words a male respondent
mentioned:
We walked the distance to Hamadan under very
difficult circumstances. I have stayed without food
for more than three day. When we reached Hamadan, I
was walking in the bazaar; the British apprehended
me and said that I had to enlist in the army. I was
16 then. They took us to a village. It was very cold
and we were without food or clothing. There were
about 2-3 thousand of us aged 16-25. After a few
weeks I deserted and ran away. The British there
were not able to get provisions. They were giving us
a kind of bread that looked like manure. It was
inedible.45
The Role of
Germany in the Assyrian Holocaust:
The generation of
Assyrians born after WWI was heavily oriented in
literature that emphasized the “British Betrayal of
the Assyrians.” While there is ample documentation
to validate that perspective, the role of Germany in
instigating the holocaust was obscured until
Gabriele Yonan came up with her groundbreaking
research. She revealed the German documents
attesting to the fact that Jihad, the “Holy War,”
was actually made in Germany. In other words, it was
under German instigation that Turkey made the Jihad
an excuse to wipe out thousands of Armenians,
Assyrians and Greeks in Turkey, and to attack a
neutral country like Persia.46
If the role of
Germany was lost to the post-war generation of the
Assyrians, it was not to the Assyrians of the WWI
generation. Although there is no explicit reference
in the Assyrian sources to the role of Germany in
instigating the Jihad, there is clear documentation
of German support of it. Even before the occupation
of the region by the Turks, Kokhva noted that the
Kurds, backed by the Turks, were no longer raiding
the border villages to plunder, but to massacre and
that Germany, as the Turkish ally, was permitting
the holocaust. In the Assyrian sources Emperor
Wilhelm of Germany was portrayed as a “madman,” a
devilish figure, who, with the philosophy of “might
is right,” was ruthlessly permitting his army to
massacre civilians in France as well. There were
reports that Germans were shipping truckloads of
dead soldiers (including their own) to special
factory sites where the cadavers were processed into
different types of lubricants. That the Germans had
sent their generals and officers to train the
Turkish army was interpreted as an outright
colonization act. Surveying foreign newspapers,
Kokhva reported “Now the real Turkish ruler is not
the Sultan, but Germany which like the British did
in India, aims at controlling the government by
controlling the army.”47
In her book “the
Assyrian Holocaust”, Gabriele Yonan makes the
interesting remark that the Holocaust that the
Assyrians, Armenians, and the Greeks experienced is
different from the Jewish holocaust. The difference
is that the Assyrians and for that matter the
Christians had a choice. Had they agreed to
convert to Islam, they would have been spared.
Obviously, based on the following comment by Rev.
Justin Perkins, who first met the Assyrians of Urmia
in 1836, the Assyrians were ready to pay the dearest
price for their Christianity:
American Christians know nothing, in comparison with
the Nestorians, of suffering for the name of
the Lord Jesus. They are habitually called by their
superiors the Muhammedans, unclean infidels
and dogs, and are treated in accordance with those
epithets. Often, their properties, and sometimes
children, are wantonly stripped from them on account
of their attachment to Christianity, while their
renouncement of it would place them at once beyond
the reach of such indignities and sufferings.48
In a 1913, in a war
report on Tkhuma, Kokhva writes:
Of the nine who were killed, three died a martyr’s
death. One was asked to deny Christ and accept
Muhammed “I am fasting and cannot deny my Lord.” He
said. A second was killed for scorning the
suggestion. A woman was shot for professing Jesus
Christ.49
Similar scenes are
recorded in various other accounts.50
Undoubtedly some Assyrians did renounce their
religion to spare their life and that of their
family, but those who did not, and yet survived the
genocide, are the ones that to this day have
maintained their religion, their name, and their
cultural heritage.
Consequences of the WWI Genocide on the
Assyrians:
During WWI the Assyrians, Armenians, and the
Greeks in Ottoman territory were all victims of
state-sponsored horrendous acts of barbarism on the
part of Turks and Kurds. But the case of Assyrians
is of special concern because the genocide has had
irrevocable and far-reaching effects on the present
situation and the future fate of this ethnic group.
Let us examine some of the consequence of the
genocide on the Assyrians:
- Close to two-thirds of the
Assyrian nation perished during WWI uprooting.
Among those especially targeted were the
intellectual and political elite of the nation.
- Unlike the Armenian and
the Greek refugees who were assisted by their
nationals when they were in refugee camps, and
could rejoin fellow-citizens in Armenia and
Greece,51
the Assyrians were uprooted with no chance of
repatriation (except for the Assyrian remaining
of Iran). Despite vigorous pleas on the part of
the Assyrian representatives, the Entente Powers
or the United Nations did not grant the
Assyrians even a settlement with some local
autonomy.
- The traditional political
organization of the Assyrians, which until WWI
had maintained the institutional continuity of
the nation, was so completely shattered that an
effective alternative organization has not been
achieved given the geographically dispersed
condition of the communities in Diaspora. The
reason is the above-mentioned blows snowballed
into a chain of adverse effects.
- The pillage and
confiscation of all the economic assets during
the holocaust, threw the nation into total
bankruptcy. Since then no national recovery in
the form of the establishment of a national fund
has been possible. The Assyrians are still
building their financial base one family at a
time.
Thus while the Armenians and the Greeks have
maintained or attained statehood and are slowly
recovering from the worst effects of the genocide,
(although there can be no recovery from human loss,
especially on a personal level), the Assyrians
remain destabilized. Through a heroic effort and
sheer determination, the destitute Assyrian refugees
of WWI who found shelter in various countries
throughout Europe and the Americas, have everywhere
established socially and economically viable
families. Today, through collaboration with the
Armenians and Greeks, they are renewing their
efforts to set the historical record straight
regarding their plight and their rights as a nation.
Let us hope that the Armenians and the Greeks will
give equal recognition to the Assyrian cause in this
collaborative effort.
[i]
1
See Rev. Isaac Adams, Persia by a Persian
(1900); , Joseph Knanishu About Persia and its
People (1899; reprint, Piscataway,
New Jersey:
Gorgias Press LLC, 2001).
2
Some returned to a few of the former villages after
the war.
3
Azari Turks are indigenous Iranians who have mixed
with Afshar Turks and adopted the Azari dialect.
They are Shi’ite Muslims. Afshar Turks have moved
there from the interior regions of Iran.
4A.
Ishaya (trans.), B. Nikitine, “Family Life among the
Assyro-Chaldeans of the Plain of Urmiah,” JAAS.
7, no. 2 (1993): 53.
5
Curzon gives a higher estimate of 44,000. What is
the reference for Curzon?
6
Rev. Justin Perkins, A Residence of Eight
Years among Nestorian Christians (New York:
Allen, Morrill & Wardwell, publisher, 1843),
9-10; V. Minorsky. Urmiya: Encyclopedia of Islam
(1934), 1032-38.
7
“Urmia,” The Columbia On Line
Encyclopedia.
8
Kokhva vol. I, no. 2 pp. 85-86. (What is the
date for Kokhwa vol.1?)
9
C. Issawi, The Economic History of Iran: 1900-1914,
vol. 1
(1971), 24. (Do you have the name of the publisher
and the city?)
10H.
Murre-van den Berg, “The Missionaries’ Assistants,”
JAAS 10, no. 2 (1996): 10.
11Missionaries
of the A.B.C.F.M, Nestorian Biography
(Boston: Massachusetts Sabbath Schoo Society, 1857.
Reprint, Chicago: Ninveh Press, 1933), 185.
12
Prkins, 250-251.
13
Kokhva, vol. 2 no.1, p.31.
14
Kokhva, vol. 1 no. 1, p. 6. (Is 1906 the
first year of Kokhva?)
15
Kokhva, vol. 2 no. 3, p.19; 1909 vol.3 no.
18, p.152; 1913 vol.7 no. 21, p.247; 1914 vol.8 no.
15 p.174. (vol 2 is 1907, vol 3is 1909? What
happened in 1908? Is the number of volumes quoted
correct?)
16
Kokhva, 1909 vol. 3, no. 13, p. 211.
17
Kokhva, 1914 vol. 9, no. 1 p.2.
18Rev.
S. David, The Assyro-Chaldean History (1923),
141. (Place of publication and name of the publisher
? Most probably Chicago)
19
Y. Baaba. Nineveh, vol. 20 no. 4, p. 8. ( the
title of the article and the year?)
20
Nestorian Biography, 56.
21
Yoab Benjamin, “Assyrian Journalism: A 140-Year
Experience,” JAAS 7, no.2 (1993): 5.
22
Rabi K. Shleemoon, Nineveh 20, no. 3 (date
?): 50-54.
23
E. Vincenzizne, La Chiesa in Iran (The Church in
Iran), JAAS 12, no. 2 (1998): 97-99.
24
Kokhva, vol. 1 no.2 (1906): 16.
25
Kokhva 1908. vol. 2, no. 14, p.180.
(Previously volume 2 was recorded as published in
1907, please clarify)
26
Kokhva 1908. vol. 2. no. 14, p.157.
27
Kokhva, vol. 3, no. 9 (1908): 10.
28
A. Ishaya. Respondent no. 53, Nov. 14, 1981. (Is
this from your dissertataion ? If it is, then your
reference 42 should be here. I will make the changes
if answer is yes)
29A.
Ishaya. Respondent no. 15, Dec. 16, 1981.
30
A. Ishaya, Respondent no.29, Feb. 8, 1982.
31
Kokhva vol.. 8, no. 23 (1914): 270.
32
Kokhva, vol. 2, no. 12 (1907): 144.
33
Kokhva, no. 17 (1917): 130. (Any volume number?)
34
Kokhva, vol. 8, no. 23 (1914): 266-268.
35
See D. Wigram. Our Smallest Ally. 1920; G.
Yonan. Ein Vergessener Holocaust (A Forgotten
Holocaust) (any date and publisher name
for Yonan’s book?); Mary L. Shedd,
The Measure of A Man: TheLife of William Ambrose
Shedd Missinary to Persia. (New York: George H.
Doran Company, 1922);
http://www.nineveh.com
. 1900-1999 A.D. Assyrian History Archives.
36
J. Alichoran, “ Assyro-Chaldeans in the 20th
Century: From Genocide to Diaspora,” JAAS 8,
no. 2 (1994): 50.
37
Kokhva 10, no. 31(1917): 5.
38
The Kurds had orders not (to?) attack the American
Mission because of the great service the American
doctors had rendered their leaders.
39Rev.
S. David, 146.
40
Kokhva 1917. no. 1. P. 4 (is volume 10?)
41
Kokhva 10, no. 18 (1917): 138.
42
A. Ishaya, “Class & Ethnicity in Central California
Valley,” (Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, U.C.L.A.,
1985),158.
43
Ibid., 157.
44
Miriam Youhanan,. An Assyrian Odyssey, ed. Y.
A. Baaba (Alamo, California: Youel A. Baaba Library,
1998), 104-113.
45
A. Ishaya, Class & Ethnicity, 156.
46
Jihad, or the “holy war” gave the Muslims, whether
they were military or civilians, a free hand to
massacre Christian men, women and children
47
Kokhva, 9. no. 7, 167.
48
J. Perkins. Residence of Eight Years in Persia,
(page number?)
49
Kokhva 1913. vol. 7. no. 23. P.270.
50
See W. Wigram in Nineveh. vol. 4, no. s. 1,
3; vol. 5, no. 1; Rev. S. David, 166-169.
51
Gen. H. H. Austin, The Baqubah Refugee Camp
(London: The Faith Press, 1920): 55.
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