"Fellow Sufferers of Genocide" (continued) - Tessa SAVVIDIS-HOFMANN

Tessa Savvidis-Hofmann's article "'Fellow Sufferers of Genocide' (continued)" is devoted to a little-studied aspect of the destruction of the Christian population of the Ottoman Empire in 1914–1918 — the tragedy of the Aramean-Assyrian peoples, whose fate often remains overshadowed by the Armenian genocide, although it unfolded in parallel and, in many respects, synchronously with it.

Introduction and Source Base

The author notes that Aramaic-speaking Christians — the indigenous population of the territory between Mesopotamia and Iran — have historically been divided into a western branch (the Syriac Orthodox Church) and an eastern branch (the Assyrian Church of the East). A distinctive feature of their genocide is that the violence extended even into the territory of neutral Iran. The article systematizes primary sources: testimonies collected by Abdulmesih Qarabashi, testimonies of Patriarch Mar Shimun d'Beth Khenno, the monk Isḥaq Armalto, as well as the collection "Sayfo," Sébastien de Courtois's dissertation, and Lord Bryce's British "Blue Book." Among the synthesizing studies, the works of Gabriele Yonan, Anahit Khosroeva, and David Gaunt stand out.

Chronology of Events in Iran and the Ottoman Empire

The author reconstructs the sequence of the tragedy:

• the occupation of Iranian Azerbaijan by Ottoman forces in 1914–1915 and the destruction of about 70 villages near Lake Urmia;
• mass executions of hostages in Urmia, including the Assyrian bishop Mar Dinkha;
• the massacre in Gulpashan and Salmas under the command of Tahsin Cevdet Bey;
• the killing of the male population of Gawar and the village of Tel Mozilt;
• the massacre in Siirt, which claimed around 60,000 Christians of various denominations;
• the flight of tens of thousands of Assyrians into Iran and then into Iraq, accompanied by mass death of refugees en route and in the Baquba camp.

Key Point

Particular attention is paid to testimonies concerning the ambiguous behavior of the local Muslim population: alongside the direct participation of regular Turkish troops and irregular Kurdish formations in the mass killings, there are recorded instances of Christians being protected by individual Kurdish chieftains, Persian governors, and Turkish officers. This is confirmed both by the reports of American missionaries and by materials from the British "Blue Book."

Conclusion

The author concludes that the genocide of the Arameans/Assyrians constituted a coordinated policy of the Ottoman authorities, carried out with the active participation of Kurdish formations and part of the local population. Despite wartime military cooperation with the Assyrians, Great Britain to this day does not acknowledge responsibility for the fate of its weakest ally. The article emphasizes that the region where the Church of the East originated is today entirely devoid of its flock, and that the material heritage of Assyrian Christian culture has been subjected to systematic destruction.