Tel Keppe

Tel Keppe
ܬܠ ܟܐܦܐ
Tel Keppe
Coordinates: 36°29′22″N 43°7′9″E / 36.48944°N 43.11917°ECoordinates: 36°29′22″N 43°7′9″E / 36.48944°N 43.11917°E
Country Iraq
Governorate Ninawa
Municipality Tel Kaif
Government
  Mayor Basim Ballu
Population (2010)[1]
  Total 40,000
  Tel Kepe received a large influx of Assyrian refugees following the 2003 Iraq War

Tel Keppe (also spelled Tel Keipeh) (Classical Syriac: ܬܠ ܟܐܦܐ Tal Kepe, Arabic: تل كيف Tal Kaif), is one of the largest historically Assyrian towns in northern Iraq. Its name means "Hill of Stones" in Syriac. It is located in the Ninawa Governorate, less than 8 miles north east of Mosul. [2]

History

Historically the population Tel Kepper stayed at about 12,000 residents. From 1976 to 2001, the population was 30,000.[3]

On 6 August 2014, the town was taken over by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), along with nearby Assyrian towns Bakhdida, Bartella and Karemlash.[4] As of 8 March 2015, it is inhabited only by Arabs and ISIS militants.

Tel Keppnias Today

Starting in the 1980s and especially after the 1991 Gulf War and 2003 Invasion of Iraq, many Assyrians from Tel Keppe fled to many countries, but primarily the United States. They set up their lives there with new churches and business for their families. [5] By 2001 many from Tel Keppe had moved to major cities in Iraq such as Baghdad or Mosul.[6]

In The United States

As of 2004 many of the Assyruan in Metro Detroit trace their origins to Tel Keppe. According to the estimates of a priest of Tel Keppe's Sacred Heart Chaldean Rite Catholic Church, there were 10,000 worshipers in the late 1950s and this decreased to 2,000 around 2004. He said that "Many people don’t want to go from here; they cry that they have to go… But you almost have to leave these days because your family probably already is in Detroit."[7]

Elsewhere

Tel Keppnias also fled to the neighboring countries of Syria and Iran. Many others also left to other countries including Sweden, France, other European Countries and Australia.

Culture

Tel Keppe historically was the center of the Chaldean Catholic community of Iraq. Each family residing in Tel Keppe had one or more plots of farming land located outside of Tel Keppe. The land produced barley and wheat, and animals raised there included goats and sheep. Natalie Jill Smith, author of "Ethnicity, Reciprocity, Reputation and Punishment: An Ethnoexperimental Study of Cooperation among the Chaldeans and Hmong of Detroit (Michigan)", wrote that in the reports of the village "everyone was related" and that marriage tended to occur between two people from the same village.[3]

Famous Tel Keppnias

There are and have been many famous Tel Keppnias in the United States, within Iraq, and elsewhere.

Deceased

Living

See also

References

  1. هل كانت تلكيف بلدة آشورية قديمة؟, فؤاد يوسف قزانجي
  2. Welcome to Tel Keppe at ChaldeansOnline http://www.chaldeansonline.org/telkeppe/
  3. 3.0 3.1 Smith, Natalie Jill. "Ethnicity, Reciprocity, Reputation and Punishment: An Ethnoexperimental Study of Cooperation among the Chaldeans and Hmong of Detroit (Michigan)" (PhD dissertation). University of California, Los Angeles, 2001. p. 61. UMI Number: 3024065.
  4. Barack Obama Approves Airstrikes on Iraq, Airdrops Aid
  5. Welcome to Tel Keppe at ChaldeansOnline http://www.chaldeansonline.org/telkeppe/
  6. Smith, Natalie Jill. "Ethnicity, Reciprocity, Reputation and Punishment: An Ethnoexperimental Study of Cooperation among the Chaldeans and Hmong of Detroit (Michigan)" (PhD dissertation). University of California, Los Angeles, 2001. p. 62. UMI Number: 3024065.
  7. "Arab, Chaldean, and Middle Eastern Children and Families in the Tri-County Area." (Archive) From a Child's Perspective: Detroit Metropolitan Census 2000 Fact Sheets Series. Wayne State University. Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2004. p. 2/32. Retrieved on November 8, 2013.
  8. Joseph II (Chaldean Patriarch)
  9. Yusuf Malek
  10. http://www.aina.org/books/bbota.pdf
  11. http://www.freep.com/article/20140624/NEWS05/306240154/Michael-George-Chaldean-Melody-Farms-obituary
  12. http://www.theoaklandpress.com/obituaries/20140624/chaldean-community-mourns-death-of-patriarch-melody-farms-owner-michael-george
  13. http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Issa-Dabish/1467225644
  14. https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?v=info&expand=1&nearby&id=119855844766093&refid=17