Mar Shimun XVII Abraham (also Simon XVII Abraham or Auraham, 1800/01– 1861) served as the
Catholicos-Patriarch of the Church of the East from c. 1820 to 1861.
He led the church from
Qodshanis, (modern
Konak, Hakkari) in southeastern
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 ...
, and tried to maintain good relations with local
Ottoman authorities. In 1843, he was faced with renewed hostilities from
Kurdish warlords, who attacked many Christian villages and killed 10,000 men, taking away women and children as captives, and forcing Patriarch to take refuge in
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 ...
. He is buried in the Church of Mar Shalita in Turkey. He also bravely resisted the
Kurdish warlords, most prominent resistance being against the Kurdish Nurullah Beg in 1841, where Nurullah unsuccessfully tried to subdue the
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 ...
who Shimun led.
References
Sources
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External links
Official site of the Assyrian Church of the East
1861 deaths
Patriarchs of the Church of the East
Assyrians from the Ottoman Empire
19th-century bishops of the Assyrian Church of the East
Year of birth uncertain
{{Assyrian-Church-East-clergy-stub