Assyrian people
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{{Infobox Assyrians}}
The '''Assyrians''' are an [[ethnic group]] whose origins lie in what is today [[Iraq]], [[Iran]], [[Turkey]] and [[Syria]].<ref name="MacDonald">*{{cite journal
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| title = Socialization for Ingroup Identity among Assyrians in the United States
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| publisher = Paper presented at a symposium on socialization for ingroup identity at the meetings of the International Society for Human Ethology, Ghent Belgium
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| quote = Based on interviews with community informants, this paper explores socialization for ingroup identity and endogamy among Assyrians in the United States. The Assyrians have lived as a linguistic, political, religious, and ethnic minority in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey since the fall of the Assyrian Empire in 612 B.C. Practices that maintain ethnic continuity in the United States include language and residential patterns, ethnically based Christian churches characterized by unique holidays and rites, and culturally specific practices related to life-cycle events and food preparation. The interviews probe parental attitudes and practices related to ethnic identity and encouragement of endogamy. Results are presently being analyzed.
}}</ref> Many have migrated to the [[Caucasus]], [[North America]] and [[Western Europe]] during the past century.
Hundreds of thousands more have not assimilated but live in [[Assyrian diaspora]] and [[Refugees of Iraq|Iraqi refugee]] communities in [[Europe]], the former [[Soviet Union]], [[the United States]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Syria]], [[Jordan]], and [[Lebanon]]. [[Persecution]] in the wake of the [[First World War]] and breakup of the [[Ottoman Empire]] resulted in a significant diaspora. Other contributing events included the [[Iranian Revolution|Islamic revolution in Iran]],<ref>{{cite web
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|title = Documenting The Crisis In The Assyrian Iranian Community
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}}</ref> the [[Simele massacre]] in Iraq, and the [[Assyrian genocide]] in what is today Turkey.
The latest event to affect the Assyrian community is the [[Iraq War|war in Iraq]]; of the one million or more Iraqis reported by the [[United Nations]] to have fled, nearly forty percent (40%) are Assyrian, although Assyrians comprise only three to five percent of the Iraqi population.<ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=Assyrian Christians 'Most Vulnerable Population' in Iraq |url=http://www.christianpost.com/article/20061205/23863.htm |work= |publisher=The Christian Post |id= |pages= |page= |date= |accessdate=2006-12-05 |quote= }}</ref><ref name="Assyrian Report on CWN">{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=Iraq's Christian community, fights for its survival |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaNG6OF3pQE |work= |publisher=Christian World News |id= |pages= |page= |date= |accessdate= |quote= }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=U.S. Gov't Watchdog Urges Protection for Iraq's Assyrian Christians |url=http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070314/26312_U.S._Gov't_Watchdog_Urges_Protection_for_Iraq's_Assyrian_Christians.htm |work= |publisher=The Christian Post |id= |pages= |page= |date= |accessdate=2007-12-31 |quote= }}</ref>
==History==
{{Main|History of the Assyrian people}}
The Assyrian people are descended from the population of the ancient [[Assyrian Empire]], which itself emerged from the [[Akkadian Empire]] founded by [[Sargon of Akkad]].<ref>Early History of Assyria, By Sidney Smith, [[University of Michigan]], 1928</ref><ref name="All Empires Chart">[http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=AE_Chart Chart of World Kingdoms, Nations and Empires - All Empires<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref name="Akkadian Language Britannica Encyclopaedia"/> [[Kings of Assyria|Assyrian kings]] conquered [[Aramaeans|Aramaean]] tribes and assimilated them into the Assyrian empire,<ref>Parpola, National and Ethnic Identity in the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Assyrian Identity in Post-Empire Times
== Headline text ==
. pp. 8-9</ref><ref>see e.g. [[Jewish Encyclopedia]], s.v. ''[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1698&letter=A&search=Aramaic Aram]''.</ref><ref name="Richard Nelson Frye Syria and Assyria">{{cite journal
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| author = [[Richard Nelson Frye|Frye, R. N.]]
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| year = 1992
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| title = Assyria and Syria: Synonyms
| journal = [[Journal of Near Eastern Studies]]
| volume = Vol. 51
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| pages = pp. 281–285
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}} pp. 281-285</ref> and their language, [[Aramaic]], accordingly supplanted the native [[Akkadian language]],<ref name="Akkadian Language Britannica Encyclopaedia"/><ref>{{cite web |first= |last= |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=The History of Ancient Mesopotamia |url=http://www.suffragio.it/suffragio/viaggi/assiri%20e%20ittiti.htm |work= |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |id= |pages= |page= |date= |accessdate= |quote=By this time the process of "Aramaicization" had reached even the oldest cities of Babylonia and Assyria. }}</ref><ref name="Assyrians after Assyria Akkadian to Aramaic">{{cite web |first=Simo |last=Parpola |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=Assyrians after Assyria |url=http://www.nineveh.com/Assyrians%20after%20Assyria.html |work=[[Assyriologist]] |publisher=Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies, Vol. XIII No. 2, |id= |pages= |page= |date=1999 |accessdate= |quote=Distinctively Assyrians names are also found in later Aramaic and Greek texts from Assur, Hatra, Dura-Europus and Palmyra, and continue to be attested until the beginning of the Sasanian period. These names are recognizable from the Assyrian divine names invoked in them; but whereas earlier the other name elements were predominantly Akkadian, they now are exclusively Aramaic. This coupled with the Aramaic script and language of the texts shows that the Assyrians of these later times no longer spoke Akkadian as their mother tongue. In all other respects, however, they continued the traditions of the imperial period. The gods Ashur, Sherua, Istar, Nanaya, Bel, Nabu and Nergal continued to be worshiped in Assur at least until the early third century AD; the local cultic calendar was that of the imperial period; the temple of Ashur was restored in the second century AD; and the stelae of the local rulers resemble those of Assyrian kings in the imperial period. It is also worth pointing out that many of the Aramaic names occurring in the post-empire inscriptions and graffiti from Assur are already attested in imperial texts from the same site that are 800 years older. }}</ref> due in part to the mass relocations enforced by Assyrian kings of the [[Neo-Assyrian period]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Richard |last=Hooker |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=Mesopotamia, the Assyrians, 1170-612, The Assyrian Period |url=http://www.wsu.edu:8000/~dee/MESO/ASSYRIA.HTM |work= |publisher=Washington State University |id= |pages= |page= |date= |accessdate= |quote= }}</ref> However, the modern [[neo-Aramaic]] language spoken by modern Assyrians, is quite heavily infused with ancient Akkadian language.
The modern Assyrian identity is therefore believed to be a [[miscegenation]], or [[ethnogenesis]], of the major ethnic groups which inhabited [[Assyrian homeland|Assyria-proper]], which were, for the most part, Assyrian, and to some extent, Aramaean.<ref name="Richard Nelson Frye Syria and Assyria YouTube">{{cite web |first= |last= |authorlink= |author=[[Richard Nelson Frye|Frye, Richard N.]] |coauthors= |title=Assyria and Syria: Synonyms |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KesgkBziUs |work=PhD., Harvard University |publisher=[[Journal of Near Eastern Studies]] |id= |pages= |page= |date=1992 |accessdate= |quote=The ancient Greek historian, Herodotus, wrote that the Greeks called the Assyrians, by the name Syrian, dropping the A. And that's the first instance we know of, of the distinction in the name, of the same people. Then the Romans, when they conquered the western part of the former Assyrian Empire, they gave the name Syria, to the province, they created, which is today Damascus and Aleppo. So, that is the distinction between Syria, and Assyria. They are the same people, of course. And the ancient Assyrian empire, was the first real, empire in history. What do I mean, it had many different peoples included in the empire, all speaking Aramaic, and becoming what may be called, "Assyrian citizens." That was the first time in history, that we have this. For example, Elamite musicians, were brought to Nineveh, and they were 'made Assyrians' which means, that Assyria, was more than a small country, it was the empire, the whole Fertile Crescent. }}</ref> By the 5th century BC, "Imperial Aramaic" had become ''[[lingua franca]]'' in the [[Achaemenid Empire]].<ref name="imperial aramaic">[http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0073-0548%28195512%2918%3A3%2F4%3C456%3AADOTFC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-F&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePage Aramaic Documents of the Fifth Century B. C. by G. R. Driver]</ref>
The Assyrian people are believed to have descended from the ancient Assyrians of [[Mesopotamia]] ([[Aramaic]]: ''Bet-Nahrain'', "''the land of the rivers''"), who, in the 7th century BC, controlled a vast [[empire]] which stretched from [[Egypt]] and [[Anatolia]], across the ''land between two rivers'', to western [[Iran]]. Tradition maintains that the history of the Assyrian people stretches back over 6,500 years, to the dawn of Mesopotamian [[civilization]].<ref name="Mesopotamian Religion">[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9110693/Mesopotamian-religion Britannica Online: Mesopotamian religion]</ref> Culturally and linguistically distinct from, although quite influenced by, their neighbours in the [[Middle East]] - the [[Arabs]], [[Persian people|Persians]], [[Kurdish people|Kurds]], [[Turkish people|Turks]], and [[Armenian people|Armenians]] - the Assyrians have endured much hardship throughout their recent history as a result of religious and ethnic [[persecution]].<ref>Parpola, National and Ethnic Identity in the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Assyrian Identity in Post-Empire Times, pp. 21</ref><ref name="Everyday">{{cite web
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The most significant recent persecution against the Assyrian population was the [[Assyrian genocide]], which occurred at the onset of the [[First World War]]. This led to a large-scale resettlement of the Assyrian people in countries such as [[Syria]], [[Iran]] and [[Iraq]], as well as other neighbouring countries in and around the Middle East.<ref>Assyrians: The Continuous Saga - Page 40 by Frederick A. Aprim </ref>
==Demographics==
{{see|List of Assyrian settlements}}
[[Image:Assyrianadministartedareasuggestion2005.jpg|thumb|250px| Assyrians in Iraq account for a slight majority in two Ninewa counties, [[Tel Kaif]] and [[Al-Hamdaniya]].]]
Assyrian populations are distributed between the [[Assyrian homeland]] and the [[Assyrian diaspora]]. There are no official statistics, and estimates of the total number of Syriac Christians vary greatly, between less than one and more than three million, mostly due to the uncertainty of the number of Assyrians in [[Iraq]] (since the 2003 [[Iraq war]] in significant but unknown numbers dislocated to [[Syria]]). The diaspora population accounts for roughly 300,000 people,{{Fact|date=October 2007}} the largest diaspora community in the Near East being in [[Jordan]], and the largest oversea communities found in the [[United States]] and in [[Sweden]]. The main demographic subdivision is along geographic as well as linguistic and denominational lines, the three main groups
being:
*the [[Western Assyrians|"Western Assyrians" or "Jacobite"]] group of [[Turkey]], [[Syria]], [[Iraq]], and eastern [[Anatolia]] ([[Syriac Orthodox Church]] & [[Syriac Catholic Church]]);
*the [[Eastern Assyrians|"Eastern Assyrians" or "Nestorian"]] group of northern [[Iraq]], eastern Anatolia, and [[Iran]] ([[Assyrian Church of the East]] & [[Ancient Church of the East]]);
*the [[Chaldean Christians|"Chaldean Christians" or "Chaldean Assyrians"]] group of northern [[Iraq]], [[Iran]], and eastern [[Anatolia]] ([[Chaldean Catholic Church]]);
In northern Iraq, Assyrians are concentrated in the [[Ninewa]] and [[Dahuk Governorate|Dahuk]] governorates. Assyrian settlements in northwestern Iran are located in the [[West Azarbaijan Province]], those of northeastern Syria in the [[Al-Hasakah]] province. Assyrians of Turkey's [[Southeastern Anatolia Region, Turkey|Southeastern]] and [[Eastern Anatolia Region, Turkey|Eastern Anatolia]] have mostly moved to the diaspora.
===Iraq War===
{{main|Assyrians_in_Iraq#Post-Saddam_Iraq|l1=Assyrians in Post-Saddam Iraq}}
Since the [[Iraq War]] starting in 2003, there has been a massive persecution of Assyrians in Iraq, mostly by [[Islamic fundamentalism|Islamic extremists]]. In places like [[Dora]], an estimated 90% of Iraq's Assyrian population has either fled or been murdered.<ref>{{cite news
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Incidents such as the [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons]] and the [[Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy]] have hit the Assyrian communities directly. Since the start of the [[Iraq war]], there have been at least 46 Churches and Monasteries bombed. <ref>[http://www.aina.org/news/20080107163014.htm Church Bombings in Iraq Since 2004<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Identity==
{{see|Muslim Assyrians|Assyrianism|Arabization|Turkification|Kurdification}}
[[Image:FlagofAssyria.svg|thumb|[[Assyrian flag]] (since 1968)<ref>[http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/assyria.html Assyria<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>]]
Assyrians are divided among several churches (see below). They speak and many can read and write modern Assyrian, a dialect of [[Neo-Aramaic]].<ref>Florian Coulmas, The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems 23 (1996)</ref>
In certain areas of the [[Assyrian homeland]], identity within a community depends on a person's village of origin (see [[List of Assyrian villages]]) or Christian denomination, for instance [[Chaldean Catholic]].<ref>[http://www.friesian.com/notes/note-n.htm Note on the Modern Assyrians]</ref>
Today, Assyrians and other minority ethnic groups in the Middle East, feel pressure to identify as "Arabs",<ref>[http://www.meforum.org/article/558 Iraqi Assyrians: A Barometer of Pluralism]</ref><!--Already stated above (¶5): Assyrians formed about 5% of Iraq's population before the start of the Iraq War, but since then many have emigrated, mostly to Syria.--><ref>[http://www.aina.org/releases/20070416140021.htm Arab American Institute Still Deliberately Claiming Assyrians Are Arabs<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and "Kurds".<ref>[http://www.aina.org/news/20061120133220.htm In Court, Saddam Criticizes Kurdish Treatment of Assyrians<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Assyrians in [[Syria]], are disappearing as an ethnic group, due to assimilation.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-29952/Syria#404105.hook Britannica Online: Syria :: Ethnic groups]</ref>
[[Neo-Aramaic]] (sometimes also called "Modern Assyrian"<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.everyculture.com/Africa-Middle-East/Assyrians.html
|title = Assyrians
|quote = so called by e.g. Andrew Dalby, Dictionary of Languages: The definitive reference to more than 400 languages (2004): 32; Dr. J. F. Coakley, "The First Modern Assyrian Printed Book," Journal of the Assyrian Academic Society, vol. 9 (1995) }}, Eden Naby & Michael E. Hopper eds., The Assyrian Experience: Sources for the study of the 19th and 20th centuries: from the holdings of the Harvard University Libraries (with a selected bibliography) (Cambridge, MA: Harvard College Library, 1999)</ref>) exhibits remarkably conservative features compared with [[Imperial Aramaic]],<ref>J.G. Browne, ‘‘The Assyrians,’’ Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 85 (1937)</ref> and the earliest European visitors to northern Mesopotamia in modern times encountered a people called "Assyrians" and men with ancient Assyrian names such as Sargon and Sennacherib.<ref>George Percy Badger, The Christians of Assyria Commonly Called Nestorians (London: W.H. Bartlett, 1869)</ref><ref>J.F. Coakley, The Church of the East and the Church of England (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992), pp. 5, 89, 99, 149, 366–67, 382, 411</ref><ref>Michael D. Coogan, ed., The Oxford History of the Biblical World (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), 279</ref> The Assyrians manifested a remarkable degree of linguistic, religious, and cultural continuity from the time of the ancient Greeks, Persians, and Parthians through periods of medieval Byzantine, Arab, Persian, and Ottoman rule.<ref>Fred Aprim, Assyrians: The Continuous Saga (Philadelphia: Xlibris, 2004); ‘‘Parthia,’’ in The Cambridge Ancient History: The Roman Republic, 2nd ed., vol. 3, pt. 2 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 597–98; Patricia Crone and Michael Cook, Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980), 55–60; ‘‘Ashurbanipal and the Fall of Assyria,’’ in The Cambridge Ancient History: The Assyrian Empire, vol. 3 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1954), 130–31; A.T. Olmstead, History of the Persian Empire (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948), 168; Albert Hourani, Minorities in the Arab World (London: Oxford University Press, 1947), 99; Aubrey Vine, The Nestorian Churches (London: Independent Press, 1937); Flavius Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, trans. William Whiston (1737), bk. 13, ch. 6, http://www.ccel.org/j/josephus/works/ant-13.htm; Simo Parpola, ‘‘National and Ethnic Identity in the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Assyrian Identity in the Post-Empire Times,’’ Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies 18, 2 (2004): 16–17; Simo Parpola, ‘‘Assyrians after Assyria,’’ Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies 12, 2 (2000): 1–13; R.N. Frye, ‘‘A Postscript to My Article [Assyria and Syria: Synonyms],’’
Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies 11 (1997): 35–36; R.N. Frye, ‘‘Assyria and Syria: Synonyms,’’ Journal of the Near East Society 51 (1992): 281–85; Michael G. Morony, Iraq after the Muslim Conquest (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984), 336, 345; J.G. Browne, ‘‘The Assyrians,’’ Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 85 (1937)</ref>
[[Assyrian nationalism]] emphatically connects Modern Assyrians to the population of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]].
A historical basis of this sentiment has been disputed by a few early historians,<ref>{{cite web
|first=Sidney
|last=Smith
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|title=Early History of Assyria to 1000 B.C.
|url=http://www.nineveh.com/Assyrians%20after%20Assyria.html
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|quote=The disappearance of the Assyrian people will always remain a unique and striking phenomenon in ancient history. Other, similar kingdoms and empires have indeed passed away but the people have lived on... No other land seems to have been sacked and pillaged so completely as was Assyria. }}</ref> but receives support from modern [[Assyriologists]] like [[H.W.F. Saggs]], [[Robert D. Biggs]] and [[Simo Parpola]],<ref name="H.W.F. Saggs">Saggs, [[The Might That Was Assyria]], pp. 290, “The destruction of the Assyrian empire did not wipe out its population. They were predominantly peasant farmers, and since Assyria contains some of the best wheat land in the Near East, descendants of the Assyrian peasants would, as opportunity permitted, build new villages over the old cities and carry on with agricultural life, remembering traditions of the former cities. After seven or eight centuries and various vicissitudes, these people became Christians.”</ref><ref>{{cite journal
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| title = My Career in Assyriology and Near Eastern Archaeology
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}} pp. 10, “Especially in view of the very early establishment of Christianity in Assyria and its continuity to the present and the continuity of the population, I think there is every likelihood that ancient Assyrians are among the ancestors of modern Assyrians of the area.”</ref><ref>Parpola, National and Ethnic Identity in the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Assyrian Identity in Post-Empire Times, pp. 22</ref> and [[Iranologists]] like [[Richard Nelson Frye]].<ref name="Richard Nelson Frye Syria and Assyria YouTube"/><ref name="Richard Nelson Frye Syria and Assyria"/>
===Self-designation===
{{main|Names of Syriac Christians}}
[[Image:Iraqvillagealqosh.JPG|thumb|left|200ppx|[[Alqosh]], located in the midst of Assyrian contemporary civilization.]]
The question of ethnic identity and self-designation is sometimes connected to the scholarly debate on the [[Syria (etymology)|etymology of "Syria"]]. The question has a long history of academic controversy, but mainstream opinion currently favours that ''Syria'' is indeed ultimately derived from the Assyrian term '''''Aššūrāyu'''''.<ref name="Rollinger"/><ref name="Richard Nelson Frye Syria and Assyria"/><ref>Parpola, National and Ethnic Identity in the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Assyrian Identity in Post-Empire Times, pp. 16</ref>
Rudolf Macuch points out that the Eastern Neo-Aramaic press initially used the term "Syrian" (''suryêta'') and only much later, with the rise of nationalism, switched to "Assyrian" (''atorêta'').<ref>Rudolf Macuch, ''Geschichte der spät- und neusyrischen Literatur'', New York: de Gruyter, 1976.</ref> According to Tsereteli, however, a [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] equivalent of "Assyrians" appears in ancient Georgian and Armenian documents.<ref>Tsereteli, ''Sovremennyj assirijskij jazyk'', Moscow: Nauka, 1964.</ref> This correlates with the theory of the nations to the East of Mesopotamia knew the group as Assyrians, while to the West, beginning with Greek influence, the group was known as Syrians.
Here are three well-known Greek historians, geographers and philosophers who tell us that the '''Assyrians''' ('''''Aššūrāye''''') were afterwards called '''Syrians''' ('''''Sūrāyē''''') and later on also for ('''''Sūryāyē''''') by the Greeks and the Western World:
*'''Herodotus, 484 BC– 425 BC:''' “The Assyrians went to war with helmets upon their heads made of brass, and plaited in a strange fashion which is not easy to describe. They carried shields, lances, and daggers very like the Egyptian; but in addition they had wooden clubs knotted with iron, and linen corselets. This people, whom the Hellenes call Syrians, are called Assyrians by the barbarians. The Chaldeans served in their ranks, and they had for commander Otaspes, the son of Artachaeus.”
*'''Strabo, 1st century AD:''' “When those who have written histories of the Syrian empire say that the Medes were overthrown by the Persians and the Syrians by the Medes, they mean by the Syrians no other people than those who built the royal palaces in Babylon and Ninus; and, of these Syrians, Ninus was the man who founded Ninus in Aturia, and his wife, Semiramis, was the woman who succeeded her husband and founded Babylon.”
*'''Justinus, 3rd century AD:''' “His successors too, following his example, gave answers to their people through their ministers. The Assyrians, who were afterwards called Syrians, held their empire thirteen hundred years. The last king that reigned over them was Sardanapalus, a man more effeminate than a woman.”
More recent archaeological findings have added to the debate, attesting to the synonymy between the terms "Assyria" and "Syria", including the [[Çineköy Inscription]].<ref name="Rollinger">{{cite journal
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| title = The terms “Assyria” and “Syria” again
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Other studies also support the notion that Assyrians did not completely assimilated; Louise Sweet's study revealed that the [[Armenian people|Armenian]] and Assyrian communities remain unassimilated, throughout the centuries. <Ref>Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East. Vol. I: Cultural Depth and Diversity." New York: The Natural History Press, 1970. page 77</ref> The continuous usage of old Assyrian names such as [[Sargon]], [[Ashur]], [[Ramsen]], [[Ninos]], [[Sanharib]] in family names still to this day illustrates Assyrian identity continuity over time.<Ref>"Minorities in the Middle East: A History of Struggle and Self-expression" By Mordechai Nisan. Page 181.</ref>
===Genetics===
Late 20th century DNA analysis conducted by [[Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza|Cavalli-Sforza]], [[Paolo Menozzi]] and [[Alberto Piazza]], "shows that [[Assyrians]] have a distinct genetic profile that distinguishes their population from any other population."{{Fact|date=June 2008}} Genetic analysis of the Assyrians of Persia demonstrated that they were "closed" with little "intermixture" with the Muslim Persian population.<ref>M.T. Akbari, Sunder S. Papiha, D.F. Roberts, and Daryoush D. Farhud, ‘‘Genetic Differentiation among Iranian Christian Communities,’’ American Journal of Human Genetics 38 (1986): 84–98</ref> Cavalli-Sforza [[et al.]] state in addition, "[T]he Assyrians are a fairly homogeneous group of people, believed to originate from the land of old Assyria in northern Iraq," and "they are Christians and are possibly [[bona fide]] descendants of their namesakes."{{Fact|date=June 2008}} Regarding the homogeneity of the Assyrian people, according to a recent study by [[Kevin B. MacDonald|Kevin MacDonald]], the Assyrians tend to encourage [[endogamy]].<ref name="MacDonald"/>
==Culture==
[[Image:Assyrianclothes23.jpg|thumb|Assyrian child dressed in traditional clothes.]]
{{main|Assyrian culture}}
Assyrian culture is dictated by religion.{{Fact|date=March 2008}} The language is tied to the church as well for it uses the Syriac language in liturgy.{{Clarifyme|date=March 2008}} Festivals occur during religious holidays such as Easter and Christmas. There are also secular holidays such as [[Akitu]] (the Assyrian New Year).<ref>[http://www.assyrianconference.com/ashur/002.htm The Assyrian New Year]</ref>
People often greet and bid relatives farewell with a kiss on each cheek and by saying "Peace be upon you." Others are greeted with a handshake with the right hand only; according to Middle Eastern customs, the left hand is associated with evil. Similarly, shoes may not be left facing up, one may not have their feet facing anyone directly, whistling at night is thought to waken evil spirits, etc.{{Fact|date=March 2008}}
There are many Assyrian customs that are common in other Middle Eastern cultures. A parent will often place an eye pendant on their baby to prevent "an evil eye being cast upon it".{{Fact|date=February 2008}} Spitting on anyone or their belongings is seen as a grave insult.
There are Assyrians that are not very religious yet they may be very nationalistic. Assyrians are proud of their heritage, their Christianity, and of speaking the language of Christ. Children are often given Christian or Assyrian names such as Ashur, Sargon, Shamiram, Nineveh, Ninos, Nimrod, etc. Baptism and First Communion are heavily celebrated events similar to how a [[Bris]] and a [[Bar Mitzvah / Bat Mitzvah|Bar Mitzvah]] are in Judaism. When an Assyrian person dies, three days after they are buried they gather to celebrate them rising to heaven (as did Jesus), after seven days they again gather to commemorate their passing. A close family member wears only black clothes for forty days and forty nights, or sometimes one year, as a sign of respect.{{Fact|date=March 2008}}
===Language===
{{main|Neo-Aramaic languages}}
{{Syriac alphabet}}
The ancient Assyrian tongue was referred to as the [[Akkadian language]] (also called '''Assyro-Babylonian'''),<ref name="Akkadian Language Britannica Encyclopaedia">[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9005290/Akkadian-language#62711.hook Britannica Online: Akkadian language]</ref> an [[East Semitic languages|East Semitic language]] written in [[cuneiform script]]. After the Assyrian empire expanded westward, [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] gradually became the dominant tongue.<ref name="Akkadian Language Britannica Encyclopaedia"/> Aramaic was declared an [[auxiliary language]] by King [[Ashur-nirari V]] in 752 BC{{Fact|date=August 2007}} and became a [[lingua franca]] under [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid Dynasty of Persia]].<ref name="imperial aramaic"/> By the [[1st century AD|first century AD]], Akkadian was extinct. Modern [[Syriac]], however, shares some of its vocabulary, as both are [[Semitic languages]],<ref name="Akkadian words">[http://www.aina.org/articles/akkadianwords.html Akkadian Words in Modern Assyrian]</ref> and a result of vocabulary remnants from the Akkadian language still being preserved in the modern Syriac language.<ref name="Kaufman">Kaufman, Stephen A. (1974),The Akkadian influences on Aramaic. University of Chicago Press</ref>
Most Assyrians speak a modern form of [[Syriac language|Syriac]],<ref>The British Survey, By British Society for International Understanding, 1968, page 3</ref> an [[Aramaic language#Modern Eastern Aramaic|Eastern Aramaic language]] whose [[dialect]]s include [[Chaldean Neo-Aramaic|Chaldean]] and [[Turoyo language|Turoyo]] as well as [[Assyrian Neo-Aramaic|Assyrian]]. All are classified as [[Neo-Aramaic languages]] and are written using [[Syriac alphabet|Syriac script]], a derivative of the ancient [[Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic script]]. Assyrians also may speak one or more languages of their country of residence.
To the native speaker, "Syriac" is usually called ''Soureth'' or ''Suryoyo''. A wide variety of dialects exist, including [[Assyrian Neo-Aramaic]], [[Chaldean Neo-Aramaic]], and [[Turoyo language|Turoyo]]. Being [[stateless]], Assyrians also learn the language or languages of their adopted country, usually [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Armenian language|Armenian]], [[Persian language|Persian]] or [[Turkish language|Turkish]]. In northern Iraq and western Iran, [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]] is widely spoken.
Recent archaeological evidence includes a statue from [[Syria]] with [[Akkadian language|Assyrian]] and [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] inscriptions.<ref>[http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0006-0895(198222)45%3A3%3C135%3AASFSWA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1 A Statue from Syria with Assyrian and Aramaic Inscriptions]</ref> It is the oldest known Aramaic text.
===Religion===
{| align="right" style="background:transparent; text-align:center;"
| [[Image:Chaldean.jpg|90px]]</tr>
| [[Image:Assyrian Church of the East Symbol.JPG|170px]]</tr>
| [[Image:شعار الكنيسة.jpg|155px]]</tr>
|}
Nearly all Assyrians became Christians during the first century AD,<ref name="H.W.F. Saggs"/> Many Assyrians are able to trace their Christian ancestry back to the lifetime of Jesus.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/rn/religionreport/stories/2007/1937124.htm The Religion Report - 30 May 2007 - Christian Minorities in the Islamic Middle East : Rosie Malek-Yonan on the Assyrians<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Jesus spoke of "Men of [[Nineveh]]", repenting from their old sins; this refers to when the prophet [[Jonah]] visited the Assyrian capital Nineveh:
{{quotation
|The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of [[Jonah|Jonas]]; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
|[http://www.bible.cc/luke/11-32.htm Luke 11:32, King James Version]
}}
Many members of the following churches consider themselves Assyrian. Ethnic identities are deeply intertwined with religion, a legacy of the Ottoman [[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|Millet system]].
The group is traditionally characterized as adhering to various churches of [[Syriac Christianity]] and speaking [[Neo-Aramaic languages]]. It is subdivided into:
*adherents of the [[East Syrian Rite]], formerly also called '''Nestorian Assyrians'''
**adherents of the [[Assyrian Church of the East]] & [[Ancient Church of the East]], also called '''East Assyrians''' or '''Assyrians'''.
**adherents of the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]], also called '''Chaldean Christians''' or '''Chaldean Assyrians'''.
*adherents of the [[West Syrian Rite]], also called '''Syriac Assyrians''', and formerly also '''Jacobites'''.
**adherents of the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]], also called '''West Assyrians''', '''Assyrians-Syriacs''' or '''Syriacs'''
**adherents of the [[Syriac Catholic Church]], also called '''West Assyrians''', '''Assyrians-Syriacs''' or '''Syriacs'''
A small minority of Assyrians accepted the [[Protestant Reformation]] in the 20th century, possibly due to [[United Kingdom|British]] influences, and is now organized in the [[Assyrian Evangelical Church]], the Assyrian [[Pentecostal]] Church and other Protestant Assyrian groups.
Based on the following [[Bible]] passage, many Assyrians hold [[Apocalypse|apocalyptic]] beliefs regarding the future of their nation:<ref>[http://www.pawcreek.org/articles/pna/TheRebirthOfTheAssyrians.htm Assyria in Prophecy]</ref>
{{quotation
|In that day there shall be a way from Egypt to the Assyrians, and the Assyrian shall enter into Egypt, and the Egyptian to the Assyrians, and the Egyptians shall serve the Assyrian. In that day shall Israel be the third to the Egyptian and the Assyrian: a blessing in the midst of the land, Which the Lord of hosts hath blessed, saying: "Blessed be my people of Egypt, the work of my hands Assyria, and Israel my inheritance."
|[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bible_%28King_James%29/Isaiah#Chapter_19 Isaiah 19:23-25]
}}
===Sports===
Assyrian Clubs:
* [[Assyrian SC]] - Iraqi football Club established in 1955 and renamed to Al-Tamouz in 1974, they won the [[Iraq FA Cup]] once in 1959/1960. <ref>[http://www.rsssf.com/tablesi/iraqcuphist.html Rsssf.com]</ref>
* [[Assyriska Föreningen]]
===Music===
{{main|Assyrian music}}
Assyrian music is divided into three main periods: ancient music written in [[Ur]], [[Babylon]] and [[Nineveh]]; a middle period of tribal and [[Folk music|folkloric music]]; and the modern period.
===Dance===
{{main|Assyrian folk dance}}
Assyrian Folk Dances are dances that are performed throughout the world by Assyrians, mostly on occasions such as weddings.
===Art===
{{main|Assyrian art}}
An Assyrian artistic style distinct from that of Babylonian art which was the dominant contemporary art in Mesopotamia, began to emerge c.1500 B.C. and lasted until the fall of Nineveh in 612 BC. The characteristic Assyrian art form was the polychrome carved stone relief that decorated imperial monuments.
===Cuisine===
{{main|Assyrian cuisine}}
Assyrian [[cuisine]] is very closely related to other [[Middle East]]ern cuisines, predating both [[Arab cuisine|Arab]] and [[Turkish cuisine]]. It is also similar to [[Armenian cuisine|Armenian]], [[Persian cuisine|Persian]] and [[Greek cuisine]]. It is believed that Assyrians invented [[baklava]] in the [[8th century BC|eighth century BC]].<ref> [http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/Baklava.htm History of Baklava], [http://www.turkishculture.org/pages.php?ChildID=310&ParentID=11&ID=50&ChildID1=310 Turkish Culture: Baklava], [http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2006/05/baklava_war_int.php Baklava War Intesifies], [http://www.natashascafe.com/html/baklava.html Baklava]</ref>
==Institutions==
===Political parties===
*[[Assyria Liberation Party]]
*[[Assyrian Democratic Movement]]
*[[Assyrian General Conference]]
*[[Assyrian Patriotic Party]]
*[[Assyrian Socialist Party]]
*[[Assyrian Universal Alliance]]
*[[Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party]]
*[[Chaldean Democratic Union]]
*[[Mesopotamia Freedom Party]]
*[[Shuraya]]
===Other institutions===
*[[Ashur TV]]
*[[Assyriska]]
*[[Ishtar TV]]
*[[KBSV|AssyriaSat (KBSV)]]
*[[Suroyo TV]]
*[[Suryoyo Sat]]
*[[Zinda Magazine]]
==See also==
{{Assyrian people}}
*[[Assyrian Independence]]
*[[Assyrian homeland]]
*[[Assyrianism|Assyrian nationalism]]
*[[Assyrian Genocide|Assyrian genocide]]
**[[Simele massacre]]
*[[Assyrian diaspora]]
*[[Iraqi minorities]]
**[[Refugees of Iraq]]
**[[Assyrians in post-Saddam Iraq]]
*[[List of Assyrian tribes]]
*[[List of Assyrians]]
*[[List of Assyrian settlements]]
*[[Muslim Assyrians]]
*[[Maronites]]
==References==
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{{reflist|3}}
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==Further reading==
*{{cite book
| last = Andersson
| first = Stefan
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| title = Assyrierna - En bok om präster och lekmän, om politik och diplomati kring den assyriska invandringen till Sverige
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| year = 1983
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| publisher = Tiden
| location = Falköping
| language = Swedish
| isbn = 9155029132
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*{{cite book
| author = [[Frederick A. Aprim|Aprim, Fred]]
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| title = Assyrians: The Continuous Saga
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| location = United States
| language = English
| isbn = 1413438563
| oclc = 58448793
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*{{cite journal
| quotes =
| author = [[Yoab Benjamin|Benjamin, Yoab]]
| date =
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| title = Assyrians in Middle America: A Historical and Demographic Study of the Chicago Assyrian Community
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| volume = Vol. 10
| issue = No. 2
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| publisher = [[Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies]]
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*{{cite book
| author = BetGivargis-McDaniel, Maegan
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| title = Assyrians of New Britain
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| isbn = 0738550124
| oclc = 156908771
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*{{cite book
| author = Donabed, Sargon
| authorlink =
| coauthors = Donabed, Ninos
| editor =
| others =
| title = Assyrians of Eastern Massachusetts
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| isbn = 0738544809
| oclc = 70184669
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*{{cite journal
| quotes =
| author = [[Kevin B. MacDonald|MacDonald, Kevin]]
| date = 2004-07-29
| year =
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| title = Socialization for Ingroup Identity among Assyrians in the United States
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*{{cite journal
| quotes =
| author = [[Simo Parpola|Parpola, Simo]]
| date =
| year = 2004
| month =
| title = National and Ethnic Identity in the Neo-Assyrian Empire and Assyrian Identity in Post-Empire Times
| journal = [[Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies]]
| volume = Vol. 18
| issue = No. 2
| pages =
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| url = http://www.jaas.org/edocs/v18n2/Parpola-identity_Article%20-Final.pdf
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*{{cite book
| author = [[Rosie Malek-Yonan|Malek-Yonan, Rosie]]
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| editor = Monica Malek-Yonan
| others =
| title = The Crimson Field
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| edition = First
| series =
| date =
| year = 2005
| month = September
| publisher = Pearlida Publishing
| location = USA
| language = English
| isbn = 0-9771873-4-9
| oclc = 2005906414
| doi =
| id =
| url = http://www.thecrimsonfield.com
| pages = 568
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==External links==
*[http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-39620/Assyrian Assyrian people, Britannica Online]
*[http://www.visarkiv.se/mmm/media/assyrien/cyber-e.htm A virtual Assyria: Cyberland]
*[http://www.visarkiv.se/mmm/media/assyrien/religi-e.htm A virtual Assyria: Christians from the Middle East]
*[http://www.christiansofiraq.com/assyriancostumoc96.html Traditional Assyrian Costumes]
*[http://www.zindamagazine.com/iraqi_documents/earliestchurches.html Assyrian Iraqi Document Projects]
*[http://www.zindamagazine.com/iraqi_documents/whoareassyrians.html Who Are Assyrians?]
{{Assyrian communities}}
{{Ethnic groups in Iran}}
{{Syriac Christianity}}
<!--Categories-->
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