Golpashan was an Assyrian Christian town located on the western shore of

Lake Urmia Lake Urmia is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan in Iran, and west of the southern portion of the Caspian Sea. At its greatest extent, it was the largest lake in th ...

. The town was once one of the most prosperous towns in Urmia plains but was destroyed and abandoned in 1918. The site is now occupied by the village of Gol Pashin.

History

It is not known exactly when

Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...

first settled in Golpashan but they did found the village. They have continuously inhabited the land since pre-recorded history. This village played a dramatic part in the

Assyrian genocide The Sayfo (, ), also known as the Seyfo or the Assyrian genocide, was the mass murder and deportation of Assyrian/Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan province by Ottoman forces and some Kurdish tribes during ...

during and after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It was attacked in February 1915 by units of the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

. Another attack in 1918 by bands 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 ...

destroyed the settlement completely.

Churches

Golpashan has at least three main churches: * Mar Sehyon (St. Zion)

Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East (ACOE), sometimes called the Church of the East and officially known as the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, is an Eastern Christianity, Eastern Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian denomin ...

* Mar Gewargis Assyrian

Chaldean Catholic Church The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular church (''sui iuris'') in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is ...

* St. Mary

Assyrian Evangelical Church The Assyrian Evangelical Church is a Presbyterian church in the Middle East that attained a status of ecclesiastical independence from the Presbyterian mission in Iran in 1870. Members Its members are predominantly ethnic Assyrians, an Easter ...

People from Golpashan

* Eden Naby Assyrian historian.

Notes

References

* . {{Coord missing, West Azerbaijan province Former populated places in West Azerbaijan province Assyrian communities in Iran Mass murder in 1915 Places of the Sayfo Ghost towns in Iran 1918 disestablishments in Iran Populated places disestablished in 1918

History

Churches

People from Golpashan

See also

Notes

References