Anti-Assyrian sentiment

Anti-Assyrian sentiment or Assyrophobia is a form of racism or other negative feelings in reference to the hatred of or prejudice toward Assyrians.

Throughout history, the events that have taken place against Assyrians have primarily been as a result of their predominant religion, Christianity (Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Syriac Catholic Church). As one of the only ethnic groups adhering to Christianity in the Middle East, they have faced reoccurring waves of persecution ever since their conversion to Christianity en masse in the first to third centuries C.E. Assyrophobic events have typically taken place in areas which Assyrians are indigenous to—northern Iraq, southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, and northeastern Syria—but are not limited to solely these areas. Some Assyrophobic hallmarks have been events such as the persecutions under Sassanian rule in Persia, the Timuric invasions of the 14th century, the Assyrian Genocide, and the Simele Massacre.

Etymology

The word is a combination of the prefix "Assyro" from "Assyrian" and the suffix "phobia."

History

Under Shapur II (339-379 C.E.)

Upon the Roman Empire's conversion to Christianity, the Assyrians, as Christians, under the Persian Empire were branded as disloyal and were accused as supporting the Romans from within Persia. When the Persians lost a war with Rome, Shapur, in anger, turned to the Assyrians as the reason for losing the war. Assyrians were then forced to pay higher taxes; this also applied to the Bishop of the Church of the East, Mar Shimun Bar Sabbae, who refused to pay the tax. Branded a traitor, all Assyrian churches were to be destroyed and all clergy, to be killed. Another order was sent stating that all Christians were to be imprisoned and killed. Bar Sabbae was executed in Gundeshapur, Persia, and the forty years of persecutions under Shapur, beginning in 339 C.E., against Christians, would soon begin.

It is reported that at least 16,000 Assyrian Christians were massacred during those forty years; this number, however, is thought to have been an underestimate.

Following the persecutions under Shapur II, Persia was severely lacking physicians, as most of them were Assyrians and had been massacred during the persecutions.

Under Bahram V (420-438 C.E.)

Bahram continued the persecutions of his father, Yazdegerd II. In one instance, an Assyrian courtier, known as James (Yaqu) the "dismembered," had his limbs cut off one-by-one upon revealing to Bahram he was a Christian.

Under Yazdegerd II (438-457 C.E.)

Initially tolerant of Assyrian Christians, as they preached throughout the empire and as some ethnic Persian nobles converted from Zoroastrianism to the Church of the East, Yazdegerd soon grew angry at the growing influence of Assyrian Christianity. Under his reign, 153,000 Assyrians were massacred solely in one city, Kirkuk.

Under al-Mutawakkil (847-861 C.E.)

As one of the first caliphs of the Abbasid Caliphate, Assyrians hoped that, in comparison to their situation under the Sassanians, the new rule would usher in an era of stability; however, their hopes were soon crumbled. Theodosius, the Patriarch of the Church of the East, was accused by al-Mutawakkil of conspiring with the Romans against the Caliphate. Soon after, al-Mutawakill imprisoned Theosdius, called for the destruction of the monastery of Dorqoneh and countless other Assyrian churches, forced Assyrians to halt services, and did not allow Christians to ride horses. In addition to taxing their houses, to mock and humiliate Assyrian Christians, al-Mutawikkil decreed that pictures of Satan were to be placed above their houses.

At one instance, during a funeral procession of Arabs, a rock, whom a beggar on the street said came from the direction of a convent, was hurled at the group; an Assyrian clergyman from the convent, Mar Anush, was beheaded by the group and his head was paraded around Baghdad. In Daquq, Iraq, its governor falsely accused Assyrian Christians of "hav[ing] thrown the head of a pig into a mosque" and incited a massacre of Assyrians.

Under al-Qadir (991-1031 C.E.)

In 1015, the Caliph of Baghdad, al-Qadir, ordered all Assyrians to accept Islam, leading some Assyrians to flee to Roman-controlled areas. Assyrians that did not flee were forced to "wear large wooden crosses, weighing four pounds, around their necks." However, after a large time of persecution, al-Qadir changed his mind and allowed Assyrians to return.

Later, an Arab man, after failing to steal a piece of land belonging to an Assyrian church in Baghdad, carried the dead body of another Arab man throughout the streets of Baghdad, accusing the Assyrians of having murdered the man. This pogrom led to Arabs massacring local Assyrians, plundering stores, robbing the church and setting it, along with 500 Assyrians who had taken refuge in it, on fire.

Under Timur (1370–1405 C.E.)

During the 14th century, Timur was set on exterminating the Assyrian Christians, destroying their churches, massacring inordinate amounts of Assyrians, and forcing them to convert to Islam.

The Massacres of Badr Khan (1842–1843 C.E.)

Over 10,000 Assyrian civilians of Hakkari were massacred by Kurdish emirs.

The Massacres of Diyarbakır (1895)

− The Ottoman Empire's Army massacred over 25,000 Assyrians.

The Assyrian Genocide

Nearly 300,000 Assyrians were massacred by the Ottoman Army alongside Armenians in the Armenian Genocide.

The Simele Massacre

The Iraqi Army systematically targeted Assyrian civilians in northern Iraq to be massacred.

Modern Times

In the 21st century, manifestations of Assyrophobia not only continue on a religious and ethnic basis, but have also grown to seeing Assyrians as having a connection to the Western world.

The 2011 Dohuk riots

In December 2011, in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk, Assyrian-owned businesses, homes, and churches were targeted, set on fire, and destroyed.

Assyrian man beaten to death

In September 2013, in the city of Al-Thawrah, Syria, an Assyrian man was with his two Muslim friends. A group of Syrian rebelsapproached the man and his friends, and questioned the religion of the men. When the rebels learned the that the Assyrian man was Christian, they let his Muslim friends go and violently clubbed the Assyrian man to death.

The Sadad massacre

Over 30 Assyrian civilians were found to be massacred in mass graves in the town of Sadad in Syria.

The destruction of Ancient assyrian artifacts

In 2014, pictures surfaced online showing the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant desecrating and destroying nearly 3,000 year-old Assyrian statues. The statues were said to be stolen from a small town, Tell Ajaja, in the Al-Hasakah Governorate.

The expulsion of Assyrians from Mosul

In May 2014, hundreds of Assyrians living in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul reported that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was not only expelling them from the city, but also preventing them from selling their homes. The Nineveh Operation command stated that realtors who were selling Assyrian-owned houses were being murdered.

References

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