İdil
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İdil (, or ''Beth Zabday'', , ) is a city and seat of the
İdil District İdil District is a district of the Şırnak Province of Turkey. The seat of the district is the town of İdil and the population was 77,105 in 2021. Its area is 1,148 km2. The district was formed in 1937. The western part of the district ...
of the
Şırnak Province Şırnak Province (, ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province in Turkey in the Southeastern Anatolia Region. Şırnak Province was created in 1990, with areas that were formerly part of the Siirt Province, Siirt, Hakkâri Province, Hakkâri and Mardin ...
in
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. It is located in the historical region of
Tur Abdin Tur Abdin (; ; ; or ) is a hilly region situated in southeast Turkey, including the eastern half of the Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the Syria–Turkey border, border with Syria and famed since Late Antiquity for ...
. The town had a population of 30,271 in 2021 and is composed of
Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
of the Domanan, Dorikan, Harunan, Meman and Omerkan tribes. The town was once home to a large number of Assyrians/Syriacs, however, only a few families remain today. In the city, there is a
Syriac Orthodox The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The church upholds the Mia ...
Church of the
Mother of God ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-bearer ...
(, ).


History

Azakh (today called İdil) is identified as the town of Ashikhu, or Asiḫu, which is earliest attested in an administrative note from the governor's archive at
Tell Halaf Tell Halaf () is an archaeological site in Al-Hasakah in northeastern Syria, a few kilometers from the city of Ras al-Ayn near the Syria–Turkey border. The site, which dates to the sixth millennium BCE, was the first to be excavated from a N ...
, during the reign of
Adad-nirari III Adad-nīrārī III (also Adad-nārārī, meaning "Adad (the storm god) is my help") was a King of Assyria from 811 to 783 BC. Family Adad-nīrārī was a son and successor of king Shamshi-Adad V, and was apparently quite young at the time of hi ...
, King of Assyria, in the late 9th and early 8th century BC. Azakh was later conflated with the neighbouring city of Bezabde, and led to its alternative Syriac name Beth Zabday.


Ottoman Empire

Muhammad Pasha, Emir of
Rawandiz Rawandiz () is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, located in the Erbil Governorate in Soran, Iraq, Soran district, close to the Iran–Iraq border, borders with Iran and Iraq–Turkey border, Turkey. It is only 7 km from the city center ...
, took advantage of the disruption caused to the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
by the Egyptian Muhammad Ali's invasion of Syria in 1831–1832 to expand his realm, and besieged Azakh in 1834. The emir surrendered, however, upon the arrival of a large Ottoman army under the leadership of Reşid Mehmed Pasha. The village was attacked again later by
Bedir Khan Beg Bedir Khan Beg (Kurmanji: ''Bedirxan Beg'', ; 1803–1869) was the last Kurds, Kurdish Mir (title), Mir and mütesellim of the Bohtan, Emirate of Botan. Hereditary head of the house of Rozhaki whose seat was the ancient Bitlis Castle and descen ...
, Emir of Bohtan, in 1847, resulting in the death of Cyril George, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Azakh, a priest, and eight congregants.


Defense of Azakh

At the beginning of the 20th century, the village had a population of 1000, and was inhabited by Arabic-speaking
Syriac Orthodox The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The church upholds the Mia ...
and Syriac Catholic Christians, some of whom emigrated to Brazil in 1914. Amidst the
Sayfo The Sayfo (, ), also known as the Seyfo or the Assyrian genocide, was the mass murder and deportation of Assyrian people, Assyrian/Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan province by Ottoman Army ...
, in July 1915, refugees from the villages of Esfes, Kefshenne, Kufakh, Babqqa, and Khaddel fled to Azakh. The village was subsequently attacked by Kurdish tribesmen from mid-August until their withdrawal on 9 September. An expeditionary force of approximately 8000 Ottoman soldiers and Kurdish auxiliaries, led jointly by Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter and Ömer Naci, was diverted from its original task to conduct anti-Russian operations in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
to besiege Azakh, and arrived in late October. Scheubner-Richter refused to involve Germans in the siege, and the first attack began on 7 November. After subsequent attacks, and an Syriac counter-attack on 14 November, the Turkish army retreated on 21 November.


Republic of Turkey

The village became the seat of a bucak (subdistrict) of
Cizre Cizre () is a city in the Cizre District of Şırnak Province in Turkey. It is located on the river Tigris by the Syria–Turkey border and close to the Iraq–Turkey border. Cizre is in the historical region of Upper Mesopotamia and the cultura ...
in 1924. In the following year, a number of villagers emigrated to Brazil, at which time 100 Syriacs were deported from Azakh. In the aftermath of the failure of the Kurdish Sheikh Said rebellion, the Turkish government enacted oppressive measures, thus in 1926 the inhabitants of Azakh were accused of complicity in the rebellion, and of possession of arms received from the British government. The Turkish authorities alleged that the village's men had served in the British
Iraq Levies The Iraq Levies (Commonly known as the Assyrian Levies) was a majority Assyrian force, and the first Iraqi military force established by the British in British controlled Iraq. The Iraq Levies originated in a local armed scout force raised durin ...
on the basis of the discovery of British rifles and permits to carry arms in English and Arabic in Azakh. The population was thus disarmed after the arrival of 1500 Turkish soldiers, and 257 or 357 men from Azakh and neighbouring villages, including notables and three priests, were accused of treason, arrested, and imprisoned at
Cizre Cizre () is a city in the Cizre District of Şırnak Province in Turkey. It is located on the river Tigris by the Syria–Turkey border and close to the Iraq–Turkey border. Cizre is in the historical region of Upper Mesopotamia and the cultura ...
. The Syriacs of Azakh were deemed unsuitable for
Turkification Turkification, Turkization, or Turkicization () describes a shift whereby populations or places receive or adopt Turkic attributes such as culture, language, history, or ethnicity. However, often this term is more narrowly applied to mean specif ...
by the Turkish government, and as a result aimed to exterminate those who had survived the genocide, whereby those who had been arrested were beaten and denied food whilst imprisoned. They were later transferred to
Midyat Midyat (, , , ) is a municipality and district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,241 km2, and its population is 120,069 (2022). In the modern era, the town is populated by Kurds, Mhallami Arabs and Assyrians. The old Estel neighborho ...
, where most were released in August 1926, whilst notables remained imprisoned, who were transferred to
Harpoot Harpoot () or Kharberd () is an ancient town located in the Elazığ Province of Turkey. It now forms a small district of the city of Elazığ. p. 1. In the late Ottoman period, it fell under the Mamuret-ul-Aziz Vilayet (also known as the Harpu ...
until eventually released after five more months. Syriacs from Azakh emigrated to Ain Diwar and
Al-Malikiyah Al-Malikiyah (; ; ) also known as Derik, is a city in northeastern Syria and the center of an administrative district belonging to Al-Hasakah Governorate. The district constitutes the northeastern corner of the country, and is where the Syrian ...
in northeastern Syria in the early 1930s after the construction of French military bases. The village was elevated to district in 1937, upon which it was officially renamed İdil. The village was inhabited by 3500 Syriacs in 1964. As a result of the Cypriot crisis of 1963-1964, Syriacs of İdil were the victim of anti-Christian riots. The village was exclusively populated by Syriacs until the mid-1970s; this was in part due to the prohibition of sale of property to Muslim Kurds by Mayor Şükrü Tutuş. Efforts to encroach on the Syriac population resulted in the construction of social housing for Kurds in the village, who consequently amounted to 10% of the population, and the election of Abdurrahman Abay, chief of the Kurdish Kecan tribe, as mayor in 1979 with the aid of the Turkish authorities, including the military commander, judge, and district governor. Abay alleged that he received congratulations via telegram from
Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar es-Sadat (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until Assassination of Anwar Sadat, his assassination by fundame ...
, President of Egypt, for the "Muslim conquest of Idil". This led the Syriac population to decline in the 1970s and 1980s. After their forced eviction by the Turkish army on 20 November 1993, a number of Syriac refugees from Hassana fled to İdil. On 9 January 1994, Melke Tok, priest of Miden, was abducted whilst en route from İdil to Bsorino. The priest was later released after negotiations, and attested that, whilst in captivity, he was buried alive and pressured into converting to Islam. The murder of former mayor Şükrü Tutuş on 17 June 1994 led the remaining Christian population of several hundred people to seek asylum in Western Europe, and was followed by the Kurdish repopulation of the village. Syriacs later returned, but by 2015 only 50 inhabited the city. The eruption of violence in early 2016 led all but two Syriacs to flee İdil, as well as an estimated three thousand people, and a curfew was imposed on 16 February. The Turkish army began operations in the city on 18 February and claimed to have killed at least 47 PKK militants by 25 February. The curfew was partially lifted on 31 March and the refugees returned to İdil, including at least four Syriac families. In late July 2019, Syriac properties in the district were struck by suspected arson attacks. As of September 2020, only 23 Syriacs inhabit İdil.


Government

The town is divided into the six neighbourhoods of Aşağı, Atakent, Turgut Özal, Yeni and Yukarı.


Mayors

Mayor Mehmet Muhdi Arslan and deputy mayor Nevin Girasun were suspended on 20 September 2016 following their arrest in August on suspicion of aiding and abetting the PKK, and Kaymakam (district governor) Ersin Tepeli was appointed as trustee on the following day.


Notable people

*Jacques Behnan Hindo (b. 1941), Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Al-Hasakah-Nisibis.


References

Notes Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Idil Tur Abdin Populated places in İdil District Assyrian communities in Turkey Kurdish settlements in Mardin Province Places of the Sayfo Populated places in ancient Upper Mesopotamia District municipalities in Turkey