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Tel Isqof (Tel Eskof or Tel Skuf) (Syriac: ܬܠܐ ܙܩܝܦܐ Tilla Zqeepa; Arabic: تللسقف) is an Assyrian town, with a population of 7,000 most of whose inhabitants are members of the Chaldean Catholic Church.[1] It is located in in northern Iraq located approximately 19 miles (about 28 kilometres) north of Mosul.
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The name Tel Isqof is of Aramiac origin "Tilla Zqeepa" meaning the "Standing Hill" in reference to the hill next to it that contains the ruins of an ancient town. The people of Tel Isqof are called Tesqopnayee [tis-kohp-na-ey] (singular: Tisqopnayah) (Syriac: ܬܣܩܘܦܢܝܐ) (Arabic: تللسقوفي).
Tel Isqof is not mentioned in Thomas of Marga's Book of Governors (c.840) or any of the other early monastic histories of the Church of the East, and may well have been founded as late as the Seljuq period, perhaps in the eleventh century. It is first mentioned as a Nestorian Christian village in a thirteenth-century poem by the Nestorian writer Giwargis Warda. This poem describes its sack by a raiding band of Mongols in November 1235 and the destruction of its church of Mar Yaʿqob the Recluse.[2]
Tel Isqof was subject to many attacks by the Mongol barbarians, the worst among them was the massacre of 1436 when they attacked her, killing thousands of its inhabitants and burning its crops and churches forcing the rest of the inhabitants to flee to the mountains. In 1508 Tel Isqof was attacked again by the Mongols, just as they attacked Tel Keppe, Alqosh and the Monastery of Rabban Hormizd. Tel Isqof was also attacked by the army of Nader Shah in 1743 during his march on Mosul.
The people of Tel Isqof speak Syriac an Neo-Aramaic dialect as their first language; however, Arabic is their second language which is used in their schools.
Tel Isqof used to be famous for making pottery and used to be the main source for providing it to Mosul and its surroundings. Unfortunately, this industry was left to die after Tel Isqof children moved into more modern jobs. Aside of pottery, farming and raising cattle have always been the main source of income for the people of Tel Isqof.
Tel Isqof has two churches, St. Jacob's Church which was built during the 13th century and St. George's Church, rebuilt in 1955. The most important archeological remains in Tel Isqof are those east of town where St. Ephrem Monastery used to be. Currently, its location is used as the village's cemetery. St. Ephrem who built this monastery was a monk who lived during the tenth century. This monastery was rebuilt in 1403 with money from the people of Tel Keppe. In the churches of Tel Isqof are over 26 historical Syriac inscriptions. The oldest among them is dated 1698. Also, in the Museum of Berlin are kept three inscriptions written in Tel Isqof during the 19th century. Moreover, in 1988 next to the hill of Tel Isqof, the people of Tel Isqof found a very old cave with some human remains and tools. An expedition was sent by the Iraqi government to explore the site; however, they didn't publicize their findings.
In Tel Isqof there is a Pre-school, two elementary schools (one for boys and one for girls), and a middle-high school. These schools provide the required education for students between the ages of 4 and 18.
The modern day Tel Isqof has become modernized in everything. There are coffee shops, restaurants, motels, markets, auto repair shops, jewelry shops, and many other things that did not exist before.
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