Embedded Files
Beshiriyeh: Syriac Persecution and Genocide
The district of Beshiriyeh (also spelled Beshiri, Bshiriyye, Zarjel) was a significant Syriac Orthodox enclave located east of city of Diyarbakir in the Diyarbakir vilayet. This region was part of the eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire, where Syriac Christians predominantly lived alongside Armenians. The Syriac Orthodox Church had a well-established presence in the area, with Beshiri being the seat of a bishopric, Mor Quryaqos, Dera Kera.
Before the Sayfo, the administrative capital, Almedina, had 200 Syriac families residing in it. The surrounding kaza (district) was home to 4,690 Syriacs in 27 villages, with an additional 2,000 Syriacs in 15 villages in the nearby Bafaya nahiya (sub-district). Notably, Syriacs and Armenians living in the Beshiri kaza were reported to be wholly Kurdish speakers.
During the Sayfo, which means "sword" and signifies massacres, the Syriac Orthodox in Beshiri endured severe persecution, massacres, and deportations. The Diyarbakir province, which encompassed Beshiri, was singled out as one of the areas that experienced the "most systematic and organized massacres". The Sayfo was characterized as an "ethno-religious cleansing" driven by a pan-Turkish ideology that viewed non-Muslim populations, including Syriacs, as a threat to Ottoman unity. Unlike Armenians, the Syriac people were generally not accused of any wrongdoing; their persecution stemmed simply from their distinct religion and ethnicity.
In the autumn of 1914, Beshiri faced extensive attacks by Rama and Hazini Kurdish groups. The district governor (kaymakam) was replaced due to his passivity in response to these events. At one point, an official from Almadia took 70 Christian captives from Beshiri to Sa’diye, where they were executed at a cliff overlooking the Tigris River.
In the Beshiri plain, many villages inhabited by Syriac Orthodox Christians were deported and massacred. A local Muslim sub-governor attempted to defy Constantinople's orders by refusing to participate in the massacres, but his "noble decision cost him his life, he was arrested and massacred."
According to the Syriac Orthodox Church's patriarchal assessment for the 1919 peace conference, 77,963 Syriac Orthodox Christians were killed in the Diyarbakir vilayet, a total that encompasses the victims from Beshiri. The Sayfo led to the extermination of more than two-thirds of the overall Syriac population across different churches, along with the destruction of many dioceses, churches, monasteries, and centuries-old cultural heritage. The conflict also resulted in the disappearance of numerous archaic Arabic dialects spoken by Syriac Christians in regions like Diyarbekir. The Sayfo is regarded as a "decisive break" in the history of the Syriacs in the Ottoman Empire.
Page updated
Report abuse