Malik Yaqo
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Malik Yaqo Ismail (February 12, 1894 – January 25, 1974, ( Syriac: ܡܐܠܝܟ ܝܐܩܥ ܝܣܡܐܝܠ) was an Assyrian tribal leader who was a
Malik Malik (; ; ; variously Romanized ''Mallik'', ''Melik'', ''Malka'', ''Malek'', ''Maleek'', ''Malick'', ''Mallick'', ''Melekh'') is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and Arabic, and as mlk in Northwest Semitic d ...
(chief) of the Upper Tyari tribe and a military leader of the Assyrian Levies.


Early life

Malik Yaqo Ismail was born on February 12, 1894, in the village of Chamba'd Malik, Tyari, Hakkari. He married on December 26, 1914, Maryam Youkhana, they eventually had three children, respectively: Uya, born in
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 ...
in 1929, Zia, born in Iraq in 1932, and Daoud, born in
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
in 1935.


Military career

During the
First World War 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 ...
He participated in many battles as a fighter, and the first battle he fought as the leader of a group of 50 fighters was against
Simko Shikak Ismail Agha Shikak (, ), also known as Simko (, ; 1887–1930), was a Kurds, Kurdish chieftain of the Shekak (tribe), Shekak tribe. He was a nationalist warlord who controlled significant land and led thousands of Kurdish rebels who defeated th ...
, the leader of a Kurdish tribe After the martyrdom of Patriarch Mar Benyamin Shimun. He participated in numerous battles during the First World War under the command of his father Malik Ismail II with the Assyrian Volunteers, he had first hand experience from the battles in Hakkari and the exodus to
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
controlled
Persia 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 ...
. He resigned from the Assyrian Levies with the rank of
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
(ܪܒ ܬܪܝ ܡܐܐ), and after his resignation, he tried to join the newly formed Iraqi army, but that did not happen.


Simele Massacre

Yaqo was accompanied by 200 armed men, which was seen as an act of defiance by the Iraqi authorities. His activities caused distress among the Kurds and the Iraqi government started sending troops to the Nohadra region in order to intimidate Yaqo and dissuade Assyrians from joining his cause. According to a letter from the Administrative Inspector of Mosul to the Ministry of Interior, on 19 June 1933, Khoshaba, accompanied with Malik Khiyo of Ashitha and Malik Zaia Shams-al-Din of Lower Tyari left from Nohadra to
Amadiya Amedi or Amadiye (; ; ) is a town in the Duhok Governorate of Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It is built on a mesa in the broader Great Zab river valley. Amedi is known for its celebrations of Newroz. Etymology According to ibn al-Athir, the Ar ...
against the wishes of the Qaimmaqam who warned Khoshaba that Malik Yaqo was awaiting him on the road with at least 80 armed men. This resulted in the Mustarrif sending Iraqi police to ensure Khoshaba and his companions were not harmed and further drove the split between the factions.


Battle of Dirabun

On 21 July 1933, more than 600
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 ...
, led by Malik Yaqo, crossed the border into Syria in hope of receiving asylum from the
French Mandate of Syria The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (; , also referred to as the Levant States; 1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate founded in the aftermath of the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, concerning the territories ...
. They were, however, disarmed and refused asylum, and were subsequently given light arms and sent back to Iraq on 4 August. They then decided to surrender themselves to the Iraqi Army. While crossing the
Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...
in the Assyrian village of Dirabun, a clash erupted between the Assyrians and an Iraqi Army brigade. Despite the advantage of heavy artillery, the Iraqis were driven back to their military base in Dirabun. The Assyrians, convinced that the army had targeted them deliberately, attacked an army barracks with little success. They were driven back to Syria upon the arrival of Iraqi aeroplanes. The Iraqi Army lost 33 soldiers during the fighting while the Assyrian irregulars took fewer casualties. Historians do not agree on who started the clashes at the border. The British Administrative Inspector for
Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...
, Lieutenant Colonel R. R. Stafford, wrote that the Assyrians had no intention of clashing with the Iraqis, while the Iraqi historian Khaldun Husry (son of the prominent
Arab nationalist Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...
Sati' al-Husri) claims that it was Yaqu's men who provoked the army at Dirabun. these clashes would subsequently be a precursor to the Simele Massacre.


Political life

In November 1969, he came to northern Iraq, accompanied by a delegation from the Assyrian societies in the United States of America, to meet the late leader of the Kurdish revolution ( Mullah Mustafa Barzani), where Malik Yaqo asked him about the ultimate goal of the Kurdish revolution, and Mullah Barzani replied that the Kurds seek to establish a federal Iraq Then Malik Yako asked him: What about the Assyrians, many of whom are fighting on your side? Barzani admitted this by mentioning Malik Yaqo's nephew Hurmiz Malik Chikko, the Reverend Paul Bidari (a member of the Central Committee of the
Kurdistan Democratic Party The Kurdistan Democratic Party (), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the ruling Political party, party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Government. It was founded in 1946 in Mahabad in Iranian Kurdistan. ...
), the martyr hero Margaret George and others. Mullah Barzani gave him an honorable promise that the Assyrians would surely obtain autonomy if the Kurdish revolution succeeded. Mullah Mustafa was very tactful in agreeing to many of Malik Yaqo's proposals. He returned to Iraq on February 26, 1973, at the invitation of the Minister of Interior Saadoun Ghaidan. But the proposals and projects presented to him were more misleading than trying to improve the conditions of the Assyrians in Iraq. As it became clear to him that the Iraqi government's offer to arm the Assyrian villages and towns adjacent to the Kurdish region is in order to serve the regime and its goals. It did not focus at all on the interests of the Assyrian people. He passed away on Friday January 25, 1974. He would be the final
Malik Malik (; ; ; variously Romanized ''Mallik'', ''Melik'', ''Malka'', ''Malek'', ''Maleek'', ''Malick'', ''Mallick'', ''Melekh'') is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and Arabic, and as mlk in Northwest Semitic d ...
(Chief) of Upper Tyari tribe.


Books

* Assyrians and The Two World Wars


See also

* Malik Ismail II * Battle of Dayrabun * 1924 Kirkuk massacre * Battle of Charah * Assyrian Levies


References

{{Reflist 1894 births 1974 deaths