Assyrians in Iran
Encyclopedia
Assyrians in Iran was a thriving community, but was diminished from around 200,000 prior to the Islamic Revolution in Iran to a mere 50,000.
In addition to Assyrian communities found in major urban centers such as Tehran
, there are also Assyrian villages in the area of Urmia
in northern Iran. http://countrystudies.us/iran/58.htm
Assyrians are a Semitic
people who speak Syriac
an Aramaic
dialect and are Eastern Rite
Christians. They are the descendants of the ancient Mesopotamians.
Assyrians are entitled to one reserved seat in the Iranian Parliament
, that was procured by George Malek-Yonan
. The seat is currently occupied by Yonathan Betkolia (elected in 2000, reelected in 2004
).
There were about 200,000 Assyrians
in Iran
at the time of the 1976 census. Many emigrated after the revolution in 1979, but at least 50,000 were estimated still to be living in Iran in 1987.
Assyrians have a long history in Iran. During the Neo Assyrian Empire (911-608 BC), much of western Iran (including Media
, Persia, Elam
and Gutium
) was subject to Assyria. After the fall of the Assyrian Empire, Assyria was ruled by Persia from 539 BC. Assyrians have possibly existed in north western Iran for many thousands of years.
The traditional home of the Assyrians
in Iran is along the western shore of Lake Urmia from the Salamas area to the Urmia plain.. During World War I, Ottoman forces and Kurdish tribes along the Iranian-Turkish border stepped up attacks on the Assyrians
both in the mountains and on the rich plains. In 1914 alone they attacked dozens of villages and drove off all the inhabitants of the district of Gawar. The Assyrians
armed themselves, and for a time successfully repelled further attacks under the leadership of Agha Petros
, and were successful enough to seize control of much of the Urmia region, defeating Ottoman Forces and their Kurdish and Azeri allies. However lack of ammunition and supplies, due mainly to the withdrawal of Russia from the war, and the collapse of allied Armenian forces led to their downfall. Massively outnumbered, surrounded, undersupplied and cut off, the Assyrians suffered terrible massacres. By the summer of 1918 virtually the entire remaining Assyrian population that survived the pillage and murder inflicted on them. fled the area. Local Kurds and Turks (Azari) took the opportunity of the last phases of World War I that had pitted Russian and Ottoman armies against each other, to rob Assyrian homes, carry off young women, and leave those remaining destitute. The critical murder that sowed panic in the Assyrian community came when Kurdish militias, under Agha Ismail Simko, assassinated the Patriarch, Mar Benyamin Shimon, on March 3, 1918 under the pretext of inviting him to negotiations. The Assyrians led a force to avenge this act, however despite defeating a Kurdish force, Simko escaped.
In addition to Assyrian communities found in major urban centers such as Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, there are also Assyrian villages in the area of Urmia
Urmia
- Demographics :According to official census of 2006, the population of Urmia is about 871,204.- Language :The population of Urmia is mainly Azerbaijani people, with Kurdish, Assyrian Christian, and Armenian minorities...
in northern Iran. http://countrystudies.us/iran/58.htm
Assyrians are a Semitic
Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...
people who speak Syriac
Syriac language
Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...
an Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
dialect and are Eastern Rite
Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity comprises the Christian traditions and churches that developed in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Northeastern Africa, India and parts of the Far East over several centuries of religious antiquity. The term is generally used in Western Christianity to...
Christians. They are the descendants of the ancient Mesopotamians.
Assyrians are entitled to one reserved seat in the Iranian Parliament
Majlis of Iran
The National Consultative Assembly of Iran , also called The Iranian Parliament or People's House, is the national legislative body of Iran...
, that was procured by George Malek-Yonan
George Malek-Yonan
George Malek-Yonan is an Assyrian international attorney, politician and champion athlete. Rosie Malek-Yonan, his daughter, is an actress, author, and human-rights activist.-Biography:...
. The seat is currently occupied by Yonathan Betkolia (elected in 2000, reelected in 2004
Iranian Majlis election, 2004
The Iranian parliamentary elections of February 20 and May 7, 2004 were a victory for Islamic conservatives over the reformist parties. Assisting the conservative victory was the disqualification of about 2500 reformist candidates earlier in January.-Background:...
).
History
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
at the time of the 1976 census. Many emigrated after the revolution in 1979, but at least 50,000 were estimated still to be living in Iran in 1987.
Assyrians have a long history in Iran. During the Neo Assyrian Empire (911-608 BC), much of western Iran (including Media
Medes
The MedesThe Medes...
, Persia, Elam
Elam
Elam was an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran. Elam was centered in the far west and the southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of Khuzestan and Ilam Province, as well as a small part of southern Iraq...
and Gutium
Gutium
The Gutians were a tribe that overran southern Mesopotamia when the Akkadian empire collapsed in approximately 2154 BC....
) was subject to Assyria. After the fall of the Assyrian Empire, Assyria was ruled by Persia from 539 BC. Assyrians have possibly existed in north western Iran for many thousands of years.
The traditional home of the Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
in Iran is along the western shore of Lake Urmia from the Salamas area to the Urmia plain.. During World War I, Ottoman forces and Kurdish tribes along the Iranian-Turkish border stepped up attacks on the Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
both in the mountains and on the rich plains. In 1914 alone they attacked dozens of villages and drove off all the inhabitants of the district of Gawar. The Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
armed themselves, and for a time successfully repelled further attacks under the leadership of Agha Petros
Agha Petros
Petros Elia of Baz , better known as Agha Petros, was an Assyrian military leader during World War I.- Early years :...
, and were successful enough to seize control of much of the Urmia region, defeating Ottoman Forces and their Kurdish and Azeri allies. However lack of ammunition and supplies, due mainly to the withdrawal of Russia from the war, and the collapse of allied Armenian forces led to their downfall. Massively outnumbered, surrounded, undersupplied and cut off, the Assyrians suffered terrible massacres. By the summer of 1918 virtually the entire remaining Assyrian population that survived the pillage and murder inflicted on them. fled the area. Local Kurds and Turks (Azari) took the opportunity of the last phases of World War I that had pitted Russian and Ottoman armies against each other, to rob Assyrian homes, carry off young women, and leave those remaining destitute. The critical murder that sowed panic in the Assyrian community came when Kurdish militias, under Agha Ismail Simko, assassinated the Patriarch, Mar Benyamin Shimon, on March 3, 1918 under the pretext of inviting him to negotiations. The Assyrians led a force to avenge this act, however despite defeating a Kurdish force, Simko escaped.
Religious communities
- Assyrian Church of the EastAssyrian Church of the EastThe Assyrian Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East ʻIttā Qaddishtā w-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi d-Madnĕkhā d-Āturāyē), is a Syriac Church historically centered in Mesopotamia. It is one of the churches that claim continuity with the historical...
- Assyrian Church of the East's Holy Synod
- Chaldean Church of BabylonChaldean Catholic ChurchThe Chaldean Catholic Church , is an Eastern Syriac particular church of the Catholic Church, maintaining full communion with the Bishop of Rome and the rest of the Catholic Church...
- Assyrian Evangelical ChurchAssyrian Evangelical ChurchThe Assyrian Evangelical Church is a Presbyterian church in the Middle East that attained a status of ecclesiastical independence from the Presbyterian mission in Iran in 1870.There are several Assyrian Evangelical churches in the diaspora, e.g...
- Assyrian Pentecostal ChurchAssyrian Pentecostal ChurchThe Assyrian Pentecostal Church , in , began in villages across the Urmia region in Iran, and spread to the Assyrians living in the adjacent cities. The current church's doctrine and tradition is a continuation of the spiritual revival movements that took place in Western Iran during the 1930s...
Churches
- Holy Mary (Mart Maryam) Church - UrmiaUrmia- Demographics :According to official census of 2006, the population of Urmia is about 871,204.- Language :The population of Urmia is mainly Azerbaijani people, with Kurdish, Assyrian Christian, and Armenian minorities...
- 1st c. - St. Cyriacus (Mar Kuryakus) Church - Urmia - 18th c.
- Holy Mary (Mart Maryam) Church - Urmia - CharBakhsh - 5th c.
- Holy Gabriel (Mar Gabriel) Church - Urmia - Ordushahi - 19th c.
- St. Shalita (Mar Shalita) Church - Urmia - Shirabad - 19th c.
- St. Joseph (Mar Yozef) Church - Urmia - Shirabad - 1897
- St. Sarkis (Mar Sargiz) Church - 5 km SW of Urmia - Seir - 5th c.
- Holy Zion (Mar Sehyon) Church - 8 km E of Urmia - GolpashanGolpashanThe Assyrian Christian village of Golpashan is located in the Western Azerbaijan province in Iran. It is located on the western shore of Lake Urmia....
- St. George (Mar Gevargiz) Church - 8 km E of Urmia - Golpashan - 1905
- Holy Mary (Mart Maryam) Church - 8 km E of Urmia - Golpashan
- Sts. Peter-Paul (Mar Petros-Paulos) Church - 10 km E of Urmia - 8th c. - believed to be built by BukhtishuBukhtishuBakhtshooa Gondishapoori were Persian Nestorian Christian physicians from the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries, spanning 6 generations and 250 years. Some of them served as the personal physicians of Caliphs. Jurjis son of Bukht-Yishu was awarded 10,000 dinars by al-Mansur after attending to his malady...
- Holy Mary (Mart Maryam) Church - 32 km E of Urmia - Mavana
- St. Daniel (Mar Danial) Church - 25 km N of Urmia - Nazlu River - 5th c. - destroyed in World War I, rebuilt
- St. John (Mar Yokhnah) Church - 45 km N of Urmia - Jamalabad - 5th c.
- St. John (Mar Yokhnah) Church - 24 km N of Urmia - Adeh - 1901
- St. Sabrisho (Mar Sabrisho) Church - 30 km N of Urmia - Mushiabad - 1880
- St. George (Mar Gevargiz) Church - 35 km N of Urmia - Sepurghan - 1830
- St. John (Mar Yokhnah) Church - 40 km N of Urmia - Gavilan - 5th c.
- St. John (Mar Yokhnah) Church - 40 km N of Urmia - Gavilan - 19th c.
- St. Thomas (Mar Toma) Church - 30 km W of Urmia - Balulan - 7th c.
- St. Cyriacus (Mar Kuryakus) Church - SalmasSalmasSalmas is a city in and the capital of Salmas County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 79,560, in 19,806 families....
- Kohneshahr - 12th c. - St. James (Mar Yakob) Church - Salmas - Kohneshahr - 19th c.
- St. Khinah (Mar Khinah) Church - Salmas - Sarna
- Holy Mary (Mart Maryam) Church - Salmas - Savera
- Vank - 2 km S of Salmas - Khosrowabad - 5th c. - The Holy CrossTrue CrossThe True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a Christian tradition, are believed to be from the cross upon which Jesus was crucified.According to post-Nicene historians, Socrates Scholasticus and others, the Empress Helena The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a...
of Jerusalem was kept here for a while. - St. Sarkis (Mar Sargiz) Church - 2 km S of Salmas - Khosrowabad - 1869
- St. George (Mar Gevargiz) Church - 2 km S of Salmas - Khosrowabad - 1845
- Church - 12 km SW of Salmas - Akhtekhaneh - 1890
- St. Sarkis (Mar Sargiz) Church - 2 km S of Salmas - Khosrowabad - 1869
- Holy Mary (Mart Maryam) Church - SehnaSanandajSanandaj , also Romanized as Senneh and Sinneh) is a city in and the capital of Kurdistan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 311,446, in 81,380 families....
- St. George (Mar Gevargiz) Church - TeheranTehranTehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
(Bagh-e-Shah) - 1962 - Holy Mary (Mart Maryam) Church - Teheran (Sarbaz St.) - 1978
- St. Joseph (Mar Yozef) Church - Teheran (Forsat St.) - 1950
- Holy Virgin Church - Teheran (Appadana St.)
- Chaldean Catholic Chapel - Eslamshahr Catholic Cemetery - 1967
- St. Thomas (Mar Toma) Church - Teheran (Amirabad) - 1967
- Assyrian Brotherhood Church - Teheran (ShahrAra St.)
Famous Assyrians from Iran
- Andre AgassiAndre AgassiAndre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
- Assyrian-Armenian Tennis player - Ramona AmiriRamona AmiriRamona Rina Amiri is an Iranian Canadian woman of Assyrian and Persian heritage who won the Miss World Canada contest in 2005....
, Miss World Canada 2005 - Mike Agassi, OlympicOlympic GamesThe Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
boxerBoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and father of Andre AgassiAndre AgassiAndre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game... - George Malek-YonanGeorge Malek-YonanGeorge Malek-Yonan is an Assyrian international attorney, politician and champion athlete. Rosie Malek-Yonan, his daughter, is an actress, author, and human-rights activist.-Biography:...
, procured a seat in the Iranian Parliament for Assyrians - Rosie Malek Yonan, actor, author and activist
- Evan Agassi, music artist
- BukhtishuBukhtishuBakhtshooa Gondishapoori were Persian Nestorian Christian physicians from the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries, spanning 6 generations and 250 years. Some of them served as the personal physicians of Caliphs. Jurjis son of Bukht-Yishu was awarded 10,000 dinars by al-Mansur after attending to his malady...
family - Famous physicians in the Middle Ages
- The following are Assyrians from the Sanaya region
- Mar Youhannan Semaan Issayi, Archbishop of Assyro-Chaldean Metropolitan Tehran
- Dr. Estiphan Panoussi, Professor, Researcher , Linguist
- Albert Bavi, General Manager of Power & Water, Tehran Division
- Paul CaldaniPaul CaldaniPaul Caldani , is a musician, radio personality, Assyrian scholar, and author of non-fictional Iranian folk tales. He was born on May 25, 1949, in Sanandaj, Iran....
, Composer, Writer, Music Researcher - Dr. Younan Nowzaradan,M.D., F.A.C.S. General and Vascular surgeon,specializing in laparoscopic roux-en-Y gastric bypass.
- Dr. Philip Nowzaradan, M.D. A Family Doctor, Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine
- Fred Khachik, Chemist ,Research scientist,professor .
- Cyrus Adari , M.D., Researcher.
- Villard Salibi, Designer, Artist
- Henry Oshana Shirabadi,Teacher of physics.
See also
- Armenian-Iranians
- Christians in Iran
- Ethnic minorities in IranEthnic minorities in IranThis article focuses on ethnic minorities in Iran and their related political issues.-Overview:Iran is an ethnically diverse country, and interethnic relations are generally amicable. Persians form the majority of the population...
- List of Assyrian settlements
- Religious minorities in Iran
- Official Website of the Assyro-Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Iran