Ashur Bet Sargis (; born July 2, 1949) is an Assyrian singer, composer, guitarist and activist. He became famous in the Assyrian communities worldwide for his nationalistic songs in the 1970s. His career peaked, and became prominent, in the 1990s with five albums released within that decade. His songs usually tend to be

sentimental ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

s and

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

s, although he has made many

folk dance A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, Ritual, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances. Ritual dances ...

music as well. To the contrast of his Assyrian peers in music, Sargis's music is slow and mellow. He is also known for incorporating

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

instruments such as the ''

tambouras The tambouras ( ) is a Greek traditional string instrument of Byzantine origin. It has existed since at least the 10th century, when it was known in Assyria and Egypt. At that time, it might have had between two and six strings. The characteristi ...

'' into his music.

Early career in Iraq

Ashur Bet Sargis was born in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

to an Assyrian family who was originally from

Habbaniyah Al Habbaniyah or Habbaniya (, ''al-Ḥabbānīyah'') is a city 85 km (53 mi) west of Baghdad in Al-Anbar Province, in central Iraq. A military airfield, RAF Habbaniya, was the site of a battle in 1941, during World War II. Lake Habbaniyah is als ...

. He started playing the organ as a teenager at the local Assyrian church. He later began composing nationalistic songs under the influence of established Assyrian musicians such as Evin Aghassi and King Biba, as well as western artists. As Sargis recalls of his early days in the biography written for his album ''Everything So Far'':

Rise to fame

Shortly after the Ba'ath-led revolution of 1968, Sargis fled the unstable political situation in Iraq in 1969, ending up in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. A year later he formed his first band, "East Bird Band", which released its first recording in 1972. He relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1973 and in 1975 released his first LP ''Ashur Sargis Sings for Ancient Assyria'' which contained nationalistic songs like "Roosh Jwanqa" and "Bet Nahren Atrewa", written by Benyamin Mako, as well as several other songs that have since become staples of his catalog and concerts. In 1976, Sargis became the first Assyrian artist to tour overseas when he and his band played three sold-out shows in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Soon afterward he would travel to

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 ...

, which at that time had the second largest population of Assyrians in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, and had long been a large producer of Assyrian music on the record labels that flourished in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

in the days before the

Islamic Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Im ...

. After two weeks of performances there, he returned to Los Angeles to record his third album, ''Sing Me a Lullaby''. He followed it with ''Dance of Victory'' in 1984.

Later years

Sargis is known for his staunch support for Zowaa and has composed several songs for the party.الحركة الديمقراطية الآشورية تحتفل بالذكرى الـ 28 لتأسيسها
, ADM He also returned to Northern Iraq many times where he gave many concerts during Kha b-Nisan, before the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

. He is often featured at Zowaa-sponsored festivals in the

Nineveh Plains Nineveh Plains (, Modern ; ; ) is a region in Nineveh Governorate in Iraq. Located to the north and east of the city Mosul, it is the only Christian-majority region in Iraq and have been a gathering point for Iraqi Christians since 2003. Control o ...

and the

Dohuk Governorate Duhok Governorate (, , ) is a Governorates of Iraq, governorate in the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Its capital is the city of Duhok. It includes Zakho, near the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing with Şırnak Province, Turkey. It borders ...

. Sargis currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Discography

;Studio Albums * 1972 – ''Bet Nahren'' ("''

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

''") * 1975 – ''Ancient Assyria'' ( Atour Atiqa) * 1979 – ''Sing Me a Lullaby'' (Tanili Lay Lay) * 1984 – ''Dance of Victory'' (Riqda d'Ghaliboota) * 1990 – ''Winter Wind'' (Pokha d'Sitwa) * 1992 – ''The Mighty Assyrians'' * 1995 – ''Mirror of Deception'' (Nora Aldyana) * 1996 – ''From a Distant World'' (Ana Lewin Min Daha Dunyeh) * 1998 – ''Immortal Memories'' (Zmaryeta d'Khoba Mtomaya) * 2008 – ''Dashta D'Nineveh'' (Nineveh Plains) * 2016 – ''Nishmi'' (My Breath) * 2020 - ''Tarpa'' (Leaf) ; ;Singles * 2014 – ''Hala Leten'' * 2020 – ''Yalikhtoh Smoqta Zardeh'' * 2022 – ''Prookh Rama Ya Nishra (Remix)'' (Fly High Oh Eagle) * 2023 – ''Shiklow'' * 2023 – ''Tawani'' (My Room) * 2023 – ''Ayni Tosh'yeh'le'' (My Eyes Hid) ;Compilation(s) * 2003 – ''Everything So Far'' (Kol'Mindi Hal Hadyia)

Notes

References

External links

Ashur Bet Sargis
entry at Last.fm
Lyrics from AssyrianLyrics.com

Music pearls of Beth-Nahrin: an Assyrian/Syriac discography
Abboud Zeitoune
Ashur Bet-Sargis Finds Solace in Dashta D’Nineveh
Skokie.net
آشور بت سركيس بين احضان الوطن
Zahrira.net
تأملات في ألبوم آشور بت سركيس دشتا د نينوى
خابور كوم {{DEFAULTSORT:Sargis, Ashur Bet Assyrian musicians Assyrian nationalists American people of Iraqi-Assyrian descent Syriac-language singers 20th-century Iraqi male singers Musicians from Baghdad Iraqi Assyrian people Living people 1949 births Singers from Los Angeles Iraqi emigrants to the United States 21st-century Iraqi male singers Eastern Orthodox Christians from Iraq