Tel Keppe ( ', ', alternatively spelled Tel Kaif, Tilkepe, or Telkef) is a town in northern

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 ...

. It is located in the

Nineveh Governorate Nineveh Governorate (; , ) is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people as of 2003. Its largest city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of a ...

, less than 8 mi (13 km) northeast of

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 ...

.Welcome to Tel Keppe at ChaldeansOnline http://www.chaldeansonline.org/telkeppe/ The people who descend from the village of Tel Keppe are ethnic

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 are indigenous to the village and 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 ...

. The majority of Assyrians from the village adhere to the

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 ...

, and due to its influences, many Telkepnayeh hold a strong Chaldean identity.

Etymology

The name Tel Keppe ( Syriac: ܬܸܠ ܟܹܐܦܹܐ) is of Assyrian Aramaic origin and derives from the words ''til'' meaning "hill of", and ''kēpē'' meaning "stones". Therefore, the town's name translates to "hill of stones".

History

The first reliable reference to the town is written in the book ''The History of Mosul'', by Abu Zakaria Azidi. The book was released in 945 AD and he wrote about the history of Mosul, in which he referenced the town of Tel Keppe. Zakaria also mentioned a different author from the year 749 AD, who also mentions the village Tel Keppe as one of the Mosul's many

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

s. In 1508, Tel Keppe was sacked by

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

. In 1743, Tel Keppe was looted and burned by the armies of the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

leader

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

. This event took place within the context of the siege of Mosul, in which the Persian army suffered heavy casualties and resorted to looting the surrounding towns to have some semblance of victory. In 1833, the town was once again sacked, this time by the

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

governor 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 ...

who also sacked the town of

Alqosh Alqosh (, , , alternatively spelled Alkosh, Alqoš, or Alqush) is a town in the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq, a sub-district of the Tel Kaif District situated 45 km north of the city of Mosul. The inhabitants of Alqosh are Assyrian peopl ...

Occupation by ISIS

On 6 August 2014, the town was captured by the

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

(ISIS), along with the nearby Assyrian towns of

Bakhdida Qaraqosh (; (official name), or , also known as al-Ḥamdāniyya or Qara-Qūš; a Turkic placename meaning "Black Bird") is an Assyrian city in the Nineveh Governorate, of Iraq located about southeast of the city of Mosul and west of Erbil a ...

Bartella Bartella (; ) is a town that is located in the Nineveh Plains in northern Iraq, about east of Mosul. Bartella was liberated from ISIL control on October 20, 2016 by Iraqi Special Operations Forces along with the Nineveh Plain Protection Units a ...

and

Karamlesh Karamlesh (, ; also spelled ''Karemlash'', ''Karemles'', ''Karemlish'', etc.) is a town in northern Iraq located less than south east of Mosul. It is surrounded by many hills that along with it made up the historical Assyrian city of Kar-Mulliss ...

which were also overrun by ISIS militants during their August 2014 northern Iraq offensive.Barack Obama Approves Airstrikes on Iraq, Airdrops Aid
/ref> Upon entering the town, ISIS looted the homes and removed the crosses and other religious objects from the churches. The cemetery in the town was also later destroyed. Soon after the beginning of the Battle of Mosul, Iraqi troops advanced on Tel Keppe, but the fighting continued into 2017. Iraqi forces recaptured the town from ISIS on 19 January 2017. In 2017, Salman Esso Habba of the "Christian Mobilization" militia – a part of the

Popular Mobilization Forces The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF; ), also known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iranian-backed paramilitary umbrella group that operates within Iraq. Although formally and legally part of the Iraqi Armed Forces and reportin ...

– warned the Arabs to leave, claiming that Tel Keppe's homes belonged only to Assyrians in the town, MEMO reported Wednesday. He also said that Christians’ homes and rights could not be taken away. Five years after the liberation of Tel Keppe and most of the indigenous Assyrian population is yet to return, mostly due to the presence of the non-local Babylon Brigades militia. The majority of the towns inhabitants either fled to large cities, or fled Iraq as a whole. Very few Assyrians returned or had any plans to return.

Arabization

Tel Keppe has faced

Arabization Arabization or Arabicization () is a sociology, sociological process of cultural change in which a non-Arab society becomes Arabs, Arab, meaning it either directly adopts or becomes strongly influenced by the Arabic, Arabic language, Arab cultu ...

since the late 1970s under the rule of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

began moving to Tel Keppe, while Assyrians began moving to the larger cities in

, mainly

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 ...

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

and

. The Northern Iraq Offensive by

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

made things even worse for the

. After Tel Keppe was invaded, most

fled to

and the

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous Federal regions of Iraq, federal region of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurds, Kurdish-majority governorates of Arabs, Arab-majority Iraq: Erbil Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Governorate ...

or fled Iraq entirely, causing more Arabs to settle in the town. The contested security between the

Peshmerga The Peshmerga () are the internal security forces of Kurdistan Region. According to the Constitution of Iraq, regional governments are responsible for "the establishment and organization of the internal security forces for the region such as p ...

and the Shia paramilitary force PMU and presence of Arab-dominated militias in the

has prevented the return of thousands of Tel Keppe residents. Tel Keppe has a majority Arab

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

population as of 2021.

Climate

Tel Keppe has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

(''BSh'') with extremely hot summers and cool, damp winters, typical to the Nineveh Plains.

Demographics

In 1768, the town had a recorded population of 2,500. Due to plague and other disasters, the population was around 1,500 in 1882, rising to 2,500 again by 1891. In 1923, the population was recorded as 14,000. In 1933, the population numbered around 10,000. As a result of

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

from the town to Baghdad and the

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 ...

, the population shrunk to 7,108 by 1968. The district of Tel Keppe was approximately 50%

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

in the mid 1900s, the town of Tel Keppe remaining almost exclusively Assyrian with a population of 6,600 inhabitants. Throughout the late 20th century, the town experienced non-native population growth from the arrival of Arabs, who established residence throughout the town and became the majority after ISIS. By the turn of the century, the population had swelled to close to 30,000.Smith, Natalie Jill. "Ethnicity, Reciprocity, Reputation and Punishment: An Ethnoexperimental Study of Cooperation among the Chaldeans and Hmong of Detroit (Michigan)" (PhD dissertation).

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, 2001. p. 61. UMI Number: 3024065. Some families who settled in Tel Keppe are: * Asmar and Abso from

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

* Karmo and Mengeshnayeh from Saart * Dinha/Joja, Shalal, and Abro from Ashitha (

Tyari Tyari () is an Assyrian tribe and a historical district within Hakkari, Turkey. The area was traditionally divided into Upper Tyari (''Tyari Letha'') and Lower Tyari (''Tyari Khtetha'')–each consisting of several Assyrian villages. Both Upper ...

) * Ma’arouf and Qoryaqos from

Tal Afar Tal Afar (, ; ) is a city in the Nineveh Governorate of northwestern Iraq, located west of Mosul, east of Sinjar Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

* Jolagh from

* Nasfo from

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

* Saba and Kharkhar from

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 ...

* Twaini from

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 ...

* Orou from Sanna, Iran * Jammo, Kassab, and Manni from Bashbetha * Jibaya and Kthawe from

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 ...

* Talya from

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

* Qasha Giwargis from Quchanis, Turkey * Qarbo from Jazirat Ibn Omar * Bizzi from al-Karaj * Qashat from

Sinjar Sinjar (; , ) is a town in the Sinjar District of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. It is located about five kilometers south of the Sinjar Mountains. Its population in 2013 was estimated at 88,023, and is predominantly Yazidi. History ...

Tel-Kepnayeh today

Starting in the 1980s, and especially after the

1991 Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

and 2003 US invasion of Iraq, many

Chaldean Catholics The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic particular church ('' sui iuris'') in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is headed by the Chaldean Patriarchate. Employing in its liturgy the East Syri ...

from Tel Keppe fled to other countries, primarily the

. They set up their lives there with new churches and business for their families. By 2001, many Tel-Kepnayeh had moved to major cities in Iraq such as

.Smith, Natalie Jill. "Ethnicity, Reciprocity, Reputation and Punishment: An Ethnoexperimental Study of Cooperation among the Chaldeans and Hmong of Detroit (Michigan)" (PhD dissertation).

, 2001. p. 62. UMI Number: 3024065.

Assyrian diaspora in United States

Many

Chaldean Catholic The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic particular church ('' sui iuris'') in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is headed by the Chaldean Patriarchate. Employing in its liturgy the East Syri ...

Assyrians in the

Metro Detroit Metro Detroit is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and over 200 municipalities in the Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the officia ...

area trace their origins to Tel Keppe. According to the estimates of a priest of Tel Keppe's Sacred Heart Chaldean Rite Catholic Church, there were 10,000 worshippers in the late 1950s, which later decreased to 2,000 around 2004. He said: "Many people don’t want to go from here; they cry that they have to go… but you almost have to leave these days because your family probably already is in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

."Arab, Chaldean, and Middle Eastern Children and Families in the Tri-County Area
"
Archive
''From a Child's Perspective: Detroit Metropolitan Census 2000 Fact Sheets Series''.

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

. Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2004. p. 2/32. Retrieved on November 8, 2013.

Culture

Tel Keppe was historically the center of the

community in Iraq. Each family residing in Tel Keppe had one or more plots of farming land located outside Tel Keppe. The land produced

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

and

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

, and animals raised there included

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

s and

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

. Natalie Jill Smith, author of "Ethnicity, Reciprocity, Reputation and Punishment: An Ethnoexperimental Study of Cooperation among the Chaldeans and Hmong of Detroit (

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

)", wrote that in the reports of the village "everyone was related" and that marriage tended to occur between two people from the same village.

Notable Tel-Kepnayeh

Deceased

Maria Theresa Asmar Maria Theresa Asmar (1804–c. 1870) was a Chaldean author, foremost known for her book ''Memoirs of a Babylonian Princess'', which consists of two volumes and 720 pages. This book was composed some time in the early nineteenth–century, describi ...

, author and explorer, born in 1806. Published her memoir "Babylonian Princess" in English in 1844 *

Tariq Aziz Tariq Aziz (, , 28 April 1936 – 5 June 2015) was an Iraq, Iraqi politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq from 1979 to 2003 and Minister of Foreign Affairs (Iraq), Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1983 ...

(1936–2015) Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister and a close advisor of President

. He studied English at

Baghdad University The University of Baghdad (UOB) (, also known as Baghdad University) is a public research university in Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the ...

and later worked as a journalist, before joining the

Ba'ath Ba'athism, also spelled Baathism, is an Arab nationalist ideology which advocates the establishment of a unified Arab state through the rule of a Ba'athist vanguard party operating under a revolutionary socialist framework. The ideology is ...

Party in 1957 * Emmanuel III Delly: Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church (1927–2014) * George Garmo,

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the

Archeparchy of Mosul from 14 September 1980 until his death on 9 September 1999 and the Pastor of the Mother of God Parish in Southfield, MI. * Yusuf Malek, one of the leaders of the Assyrian movement in Iraq during the 1930s. Author of "

The British Betrayal of the Assyrians ''The British Betrayal of the Assyrians'' is a book published in 1935 written by Yusuf Malek. As Malek was an Assyrian who fought alongside the British during World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November ...

" * Joseph II Marouf: Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church (1667–1713)

Living

José Murat Casab José Murat Casab (; born October 18, 1947) is a Mexican politician and a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party. He was Governor of Oaxaca and is a Diputado Federal elected from the ranks of Alliance for Mexico of Institutional Revol ...

: Former governor of

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

; President of the

Mexican Senate The Senate of the Republic (), constitutionally the Chamber of Senators of the Honorable Congress of the Union (), is the upper house of Mexico's bicameral Congress. It currently consists of 128 members, who serve six-year terms. History A b ...

; and President of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

* Mar Ramzi Garmou: Archbishop of

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. ...

–

for the Chaldean Catholic Church *

Alejandro Murat Hinojosa Alejandro Ismael Murat Hinojosa (born August 4, 1975) is a Mexican politician affiliated with Morena. He was elected Governor of Oaxaca in 2016 as a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party and took office from December 1, 2016, to Novem ...

: Son of

and current governor of the State of Oaxaca * Mar Ibrahim Namo Ibrahim: Bishop Emeritus of the Chaldean Catholic Church for the Eastern United States *

FaZe Rug Brian Rafat Awadis (born November 19, 1996), better known as FaZe Rug, is an American YouTuber who produces vlogs, challenges, gaming videos, and pranks on YouTube. He is a co-owner of FaZe Clan. Early life Brian Rafat Awadis was born on Novemb ...

: Famous Youtuber, Part of the FaZe clan

External links

9 Minute Neo-Aramaic Documentary

References

{{Authority control Assyrian communities in Iraq Populated places in Nineveh Governorate District capitals of Iraq Nineveh Plains