Tyari

Ţyāré (Syriac: ܛܝܪܐ, Kurdish: Tîyar) is an Assyrian tribe of ancient origins, and a historical district within Hakkari. The area was traditionally divided into Upper and Lower Ţyāré - each consisting of several Assyrian villages.[1][2][3] Before 1915, Ţyāré was home to Christian Assyrians from the Ţyāré tribe as well as a minority of Kurds. Following the Assyrian Genocide, Ţyārāyé, along with other Assyrians residing in the Hakkâri highlands, were forced to leave their villages in Turkey and fled to join their brethren in northern Iraq, and also to northwestern Iran, northeastern Syria, Armenia, Georgia, and to western countries. Very few Assyrians now live in Turkey, and the Hakkâri region has been empty of Assyrians since 1924. The number of Assyrians in Turkey today is less than 30,000.

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Etymology

Ţyāré may be a variation of the ancient "Autiyara".[4] An inscription by the Persian King Darius (521-486 BC) states that his forces defeated one of his enemies in the Assyrian district of "Autiyara" which is probably the Christian Assyrian "Ţiyāré" in the mountains a short distance form Nineveh where until World War I lived Assyrians known as "Ţyārāyé" meaning the people of Ţyāré.

In Classical Syriac the word Ţyāré is the plural form of a sheepfold, or grazing area. Indeed, the Assyrians of Ţyāré were renowned even amongst neighboring Kurds for their yogurt, cheese and other dairy products mostly made from sheep or goat's milk. They were also famous for their textiles, which again were spun and woven from sheep's wool. They also made woolen felt for their characteristic pointed caps, and felt was also used for bedding. These industries have continued to some extent in their new rural settlements in Iraq and Syria. One anecdote mentions that on the flight of Assyrians from Urmia (Iran) to Bakuba (Iraq) in 1918, the Ţyāré Assyrians reached the end of the thousand mile trek with more sheep than when they had originally set out!

Villages

Both Upper and Lower Ţyāré consisted of several villages, thus providing the names of the various clans that resided there.[5]

Some Lower Ţyāré clans:

Some Upper Ţyāré clans:

Clothing

Famous Ţyāré Assyrians

Assyrian Singers

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.aina.org/maps/eastern/map_assyria_amadiya.jpg
  2. ^ http://www.aina.org/maps/chevalier/chevalier8.htm
  3. ^ Assyrian villages in Hakkari Assyrian villages in Hakkari
  4. ^ Olmstead, History of the Persian Empire, University of Chicago Press, 1970, p. 114
  5. ^ Assyrians Of The Van District During The Rule Of Ottoman Turks. M.Y.A . Lilian. 1914.
  6. ^ Brigadier-Gen. H.H. Austin, "The Baqubah Refugee Camp", The Faith Press, london 1920.
  7. ^ Bird, Isabella. "Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, including a summer in the Upper Karun region and a visit to the Nestorian rayahs". John Murray, London. 1891.