Tkhuma Tribe
Encyclopedia
Prior to World War I, the Tkhuma were one of five principal Assyrian Tribes subject to the spiritual and temporal jurisdiction of the Assyrian Patriarch with the title Mar Shimun
.
The Assyrians claimed the status of a firman of protection from the Arab Caliphate
and of an Ottoman millet
to preserve their customs and traditions along with the tribes of Jelu, Baz, Tyari, and Deez/Diz, "forming the highest authority under His Holiness Mar Shimun, the patriarch." The Tkhuma Tribe is a tribe of Assyrians
that lived in upper Mesopotamia
until 1915, when they were dispersed into Persia, Iraq
, and Syria
during the Assyrian Genocide
. In 1915, the representative of the Assyrian Patriarch Mar Shimun
, named Paul Shimmun wrote that the
Tkhuma of "many Christian villages" had "been entirely destroyed." A journalist of Ottoman
Turkey
wrote that: "The people of Tkhuma put up a great defense on September 27th and 28th [1915]. But while they were building trenches for themselves the Kurds were destroying them with guns. The Turks destroyed ... Inner Tkhuma and many other places.". In 1933, Malik Loco, the chief of the Tkhuma Tribe, went with the chief of the Tiyari tribe and 700 armed Assyrians into Syria, at the outset of the Simele Massacre
. The League of Nations
took responsibility for the resettlement of the Tkhuma Assyrians, reporting in 1937 that 2,350 Tkhuma had been settled in three villages in Syria.
Mar Shimun
Mar Shimun may refer to any of the following Patriarchs of the Church of the East:* Mar Simeon Barsabae, also known as Mar Shimun Bar Sabba'e Mar Shimun may refer to any of the following Patriarchs of the Church of the East:* Mar Simeon Barsabae, also known as Mar Shimun Bar Sabba'e Mar Shimun may...
.
The Assyrians claimed the status of a firman of protection from the Arab Caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
and of an Ottoman millet
Millet
The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
to preserve their customs and traditions along with the tribes of Jelu, Baz, Tyari, and Deez/Diz, "forming the highest authority under His Holiness Mar Shimun, the patriarch." The Tkhuma Tribe is a tribe of Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
that lived in upper Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
until 1915, when they were dispersed into Persia, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
during the Assyrian Genocide
Assyrian genocide
The Assyrian Genocide refers to the mass slaughter of the Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac population of the Ottoman Empire during the 1890s, the First World War, and the period of 1922-1925...
. In 1915, the representative of the Assyrian Patriarch Mar Shimun
Mar Shimun
Mar Shimun may refer to any of the following Patriarchs of the Church of the East:* Mar Simeon Barsabae, also known as Mar Shimun Bar Sabba'e Mar Shimun may refer to any of the following Patriarchs of the Church of the East:* Mar Simeon Barsabae, also known as Mar Shimun Bar Sabba'e Mar Shimun may...
, named Paul Shimmun wrote that the
Tkhuma of "many Christian villages" had "been entirely destroyed." A journalist of Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
wrote that: "The people of Tkhuma put up a great defense on September 27th and 28th [1915]. But while they were building trenches for themselves the Kurds were destroying them with guns. The Turks destroyed ... Inner Tkhuma and many other places.". In 1933, Malik Loco, the chief of the Tkhuma Tribe, went with the chief of the Tiyari tribe and 700 armed Assyrians into Syria, at the outset of the Simele Massacre
Simele massacre
The Simele Massacre was a massacre committed by the armed forces of the Kingdom of Iraq during the systematic targeting of Assyrians in northern Iraq in August 1933...
. The League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
took responsibility for the resettlement of the Tkhuma Assyrians, reporting in 1937 that 2,350 Tkhuma had been settled in three villages in Syria.