Sayfo; Village of Beth Debe

Village of Beth Debe

Beth Debe (Badibe) is village situated on the summit of Mount Izlo, positioned to the northeast of the major city of Nisibin

When the events of Sayfo broke out in 1915, Beth Debe, became a significant center of Syriac Orthodox resistance on Mount Izlo. At the commencement of the Sayfo genocide, the village was inhabited by approximately forty Syriac Orthodox families. As neighboring settlements were targeted, the population of Beth Debe was reinforced by refugees, including twenty families from Sederi and twenty families from Kharabe-Mishka, alongside displaced persons from the surrounding Nisibin district. The villagers received advanced intelligence regarding an impending attack from Sarokhano Agha, a leader within the Chelebi faction of the Haverkan Kurdish confederation, who also supplied the inhabitants with weapons and ammunition to facilitate their defense.

The siege of Beth Debe occurred in early August 1915 and involved a coalition of Kurdish tribal perpetrators, specifically the Hajo, Ali Batte, Doman, Chumaran, Dayre, Surgechi, Bunusra, Omaran, and Alike tribes. These tribal forces were supported by the Nisibin militia under the command of Lieutenant Qaddur Bey. The Syriac defenders utilized pre-constructed barriers and were bolstered by the arrival of one hundred armed men sent as reinforcements from the Mor Malke monastery. Intense combat continued for fifteen days and nights, during which eighteen Syriac Christians were killed, while the Kurdish casualties were estimated at thirty. Following the retreat of the Kurdish forces in mid-August, coinciding with the holiday of Saint Mary, the Syriac inhabitants of Beth Debe relocated to the Mor Malke monastery to seek further sanctuary.

The village and its residents continued to participate in regional defensive actions throughout the autumn of 1915. In September, a force of approximately nine hundred Syriacs led by the local warrior Shemun Malke of Beth Debe launched a retaliatory attack on the village of Mharkan. This military action was targeted at Yusef Hajo to avenge his perceived betrayal and failure to protect Christian populations as previously promised. Additionally, Beth Debe was documented as a destination for Christian children from the village of M'are who were moved by their parents in a desperate attempt to avoid impending massacres. Following the end of the 1915 massacres, the broader area remained unstable; specifically, the Mor Malke monastery, where many Beth Debe survivors had fled, was subsequently destroyed during fighting between the Turkish army and Kurdish groups between 1924 and 1928.