Assyrians

Assyrians (Syriac: ܣܘܪ̈ܝܐ, romanized: Sūrāyē / Sūrōyē) are a distinct ethnic group native to Mesopotamia with roots in ancient Assyria. They speak varieties of Neo-Aramaic, a branch of the Semitic language family that replaced Akkadian during the Neo-Assyrian Empire, and largely adhere to Syriac Christianity. Some members of the community identify alternatively as Chaldeans or Arameans, based on religious, regional, and historic traditions.

Assyrians are an indigenous Semitic people of West Asia, with a continuous cultural and linguistic presence spanning over three millennia. They originally spoke Akkadian before gradually adopting Aramaic, which became a lingua franca of the region and was spoken by Jesus of Nazareth. Today, Assyrians speak modern Neo-Aramaic dialects with Akkadian influences, particularly Suret and Turoyo, and adhere to both East and West Syriac rite Christian traditions. Aramaic remains one of the oldest continuously used languages in West Asia, and has influenced regional languages such as Hebrew and Arabic.

The Assyrians were among the first peoples to accept Christianity in the 1st century AD. They are traditionally held to have been evangelised by St. Thomas the Apostle, one of the Twelve Disciples of Jesus Christ, and the disciples St. Addai and St. Mari. They developed and practice a unique East Syriac rite and organised the Church of the East, which would go on to spread Christianity throughout the Asian continent. Assyrians are broadly distinguished into three principal ecclesiastical traditions, divided by liturgy, dialect, theology, and historical development. Namely the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Ancient Church of the East. A number of Assyrians are also a part of the Syriac Catholic Church and the Syriac Orthodox Church, practicing the West Syriac rite. Despite long historical and demographic continuity in Mesopotamia, they remain the only indigenous Middle Eastern Christian group without a sovereign state. Shared historical experiences, including early Christianisation and episodes of persecution, have fostered close ties with neighbouring Armenians.

The Assyrian homeland lies in northern Mesopotamia, encompassing areas along the Zab rivers and spanning parts of modern Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Over the past two centuries, large-scale displacement has led to a diaspora across North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and the Caucasus, driven by genocidal events, ongoing persecution, and conflicts including the Iraq War, the Syrian civil war, and the rise of Islamic State. In the United States, Assyrians have preserved and adapted their cultural identity, with notable communities in Michigan and California. In Australia, notable communities exist in Melbourne and Sydney. Despite constituting a small minority in their ancestral regions, they have played an active role in local defence and governance: militias such as the Nineveh Plain Protection Units participated in the liberation of Assyrian areas in Iraq, while in Syria, Assyrian groups have contributed to the multiethnic Syrian Democratic Forces and autonomous regional administration.

The modern Assyrian ethnonym (Asurāyā/Atorāyā) is closely linked to the self-designations of Aramaic-speaking Christians in Mesopotamia. During the late antiquity period, these communities adopted the term Sūryoyo, an Aramaic adaptation of the Greek Súrios. This term gradually replaced the older Aramaic autonym Armāyā ("Aramean") in literary, liturgical, and vernacular contexts, though both names continued to be used side by side well into the medieval period.