Assyrians in Syria

Assyrians in Syria
ܣܘܪ̈ܝܝܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܐ (Syriac)
Assyrian people Syria
Assyrian Christian baptism in Syria
Total population
200,000-877,000 (pre-Syrian civil war)[1][2][3] [4][5]
Regions with significant populations
Al-Hasakah Governorate, Damascus, Homs, Aleppo
Languages
Neo-Aramaic and North Mesopotamian Arabic
Religion
Syriac Christianity[6]

Assyrians in Syria (Syriac: ܣܘܪ̈ܝܝܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܐ, Arabic: الآشوريون في سوريا) also known as Syriacs are an ethnic and linguistic minority that are indigenous to Upper Mesopotamia, the north-eastern half of Syria. Syrian-Assyrians are people of Assyrian descent living in Syria, and those in the Assyrian diaspora who are of Syrian-Assyrian heritage.

They live primarily in Al-Hasakah Governorate, with a significant presence in Hasakah city and the cities of Qamishli, Malikiyah, Ras al-Ayn, and Qahtaniyah, as well as in Tell Tamer and nearby villages. Some have migrated to Damascus and other western cities beyond the border of their indigenous Mesopotamia at the Euphrates River.[7][8] They share a common history and ethnic identity, rooted in shared linguistic, cultural and religious traditions, with Assyrians in Turkey, Assyrians in Iraq and Assyrians in Iran, as well as with the Assyrian diaspora.[9]

Historically the related Arameans of Maalula and Jubb'adin in Southwestern Syria were sometimes included under the term 'Assyrians', although those two particular Aramean communities in Syria speak Western Neo-Aramaic, in contrast to the Northeastern Neo-Aramaic spoken by Assyrians proper.

Another difference between the two related communities is that Assyrian identity in Syria (as in Iraq) is usually seen as inseparable from being Christian and even adhering to specific churches. In contrast, Aramean identity can also encompass Muslim Arameans, as in the case of the Arameans of Jubb'adin and the pre-Syrian civil war village (now destroyed) of Al-Sarkha (Bakhah). The inhabitants of both of these villages are overwhelmingly Muslim, although the historical evidence suggests that they have only been Muslim since some point in the 1700s.

  1. ^ "Prior to the start of the war in Syria, it is estimated that the country was home to approximately 200,000 ethnic Assyrians" [1] at Syria: Assyrian Policy Institute
  2. ^ "The Assyrian population in Iraq, estimated at approximately 200,000, constitutes the largest remaining concentration of the ethnic group in the Middle East." [2] at Assyrian Policy Institute's Erasing the Legacy of the Khabour: Destruction of Assyrian Cultural Heritage in the Khabour Region of Syria
  3. ^ "Syria's Assyrians threatened by extremists". Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  4. ^ Turkey-Syria deal allows Syriacs to cross border for religious holidays "An estimated 25,000 Syriacs live in Turkey, while Syria boasts some 877,000."
  5. ^ Shoup, John A. (2018), "Syria", The History of Syria, ABC-CLIO, p. 6, ISBN 978-1440858352, Syria has several other ethnic groups, the Kurds... they make up an estimated 9 percent...Turkomen comprise around 4-5 percent. of the total population. The rest of the ethnic mix of Syria is made of Assyrians (about 4 percent), Armenians (about 2 percent), and Circassians (about 1 percent).
  6. ^ "Syria - Christians, Armenians and Assyrians". Minority Rights Group International. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  7. ^ "IS entführt mindestens 90 Christen in Syrien". Die Welt (in German). 24 February 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  8. ^ "ISIS Attacks Assyrian Villages in Syria, 4 Killed, Dozens Captured, Churches Burned Posted". Assyrian International News Agency. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  9. ^ Hooglund (2008), pp. 100–101.