Description of Villages Affected in the 1960s by Region

The following data illustrates the Assyrian villages affected by the autonomist uprising of 1961–3, including notes on material and cultural significance, and population statistics where known and applicable. Numbers of families or persons reflect the native numbers in all cases (unless otherwise noted), sometimes distinguishing between Nestorian/Assyrian Church of the East and Chaldean/Catholic when known. The villages and towns affected are listed below by province and district.

Arbil Province

Harīr District

Batase

The sister village of Harīr, Batase (sometimes Batas), located in the district of the same name, was home to followers of Mar Shimun, mostly from the Nochiya region, who fled there following the First World War. In 1938, there were fifty-three families (303 persons), along with a variety of livestock and agricultural equipment: 172 goats, 147 sheep, 85 oxen, 33 donkeys, 9 mules, 8 buffalo and 16 ploughs. Prior to its destruction, there were thirty Assyrian households in Batase, with the ancient church of Mar Stephanos as their religious centre. Though not built by its then resident Assyrians, the old Church of the East edifice is testament to previous Assyrian presence in the region. The villagers were attacked and forced out in 1963 by progovernment Kurdish forces, who then resettled the area. Many fled to the major cities or Iran during this time, but none returned.

Darbandoke

Most of the Christian inhabitants of Darbandoke or Derbandok (‘enclosed place’ in Kurdish) are of the Nochiya tribe, though Assyrians of other regions dwelled there as well, alongside a Kurdish population. The village is the birthplace of the Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, Mar Dinkha IV, born in September 1935. It is also the birthplace of Emanuel Kamber PhD, physicist and former secretary general of the Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA). In 1938, fifteen families totalling 108 people lived in the village, along with a variety of livestock (and other animals) and agricultural tools, including 100 sheep, 60 goats, 10 oxen, 5 horses and 5 ploughs. According to most interviewees, the majority of Assyrians lived in relative peace in the region prior to the uprising in the early 1960s.