Assyrian volunteers

Assyrian volunteers
The flag that was raised by General Agha Petros Elia of Baz, Commander of the Assyrian forces during World War 1
Active	1914–1919
Allegiance	Allies of World War I
Size	20,000+ (At their height)[1] 6,000 (Under the command of Agha Petros and Malik Khoshaba)
Engagements	Middle Eastern theatre of World War I Persian Campaign Suldouze Sauj Bulak Mosul
Commanders
Notable commanders	Agha Petros Malik Khoshaba Mar Shimun Benyamin (Spiritual leader)

The Assyrian volunteers was an ethnic Assyrian military force during WW1, led mainly by General Agha Petros Elia of Baz and several tribal leaders known as Maliks (Syriac: ܡܠܟ) under the spiritual leadership of the Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Shimun Benyamin allied with the Entente Powers described by the English pastor and author William A. Wigram as Our Smallest Ally.^[2]

Background[]

Malik Barkho of Lower Tyareh with his retinue c. 1913

Prior to World War 1, the Assyrian tribes of the Hakkari mountains enjoyed complete and semi-independence, each tribe was led by a Malik (ܡܠܟ) who also functioned as a military leader during wartime. The independent Assyrian mountaineers were referred to as Asiratte or Asherat.^[3]

The country of the independent Assyrian tribes of Tkhuma, Baz, Jelu, Tyari and Diz occupied the upper valley of the Zab River. This country was known as Hakkari. The village of Mellawa marked the border beween the independent and semi-independent tribes.^[3]

The British diplomat James Rich wrote:^[3]

To reach Asia Minor by this route he (the envoy) would have to pass through the wild and inaccessible country of the Chaldean Christian Tribes who, I believe are the only Christians in the East who have maintained their independence against the Mohammedans, to whom they have rendered themselves very formidable. The men are all remarkable for their strength, size and bravery, and it is said to be less safe to pass among them than trhough the Mohamadean tribes. They inhabit the country between Amadia and Julamerk.

In reaction to the Assyrian Genocide and lured by British and Russian promises of an independent nation, as the Assyrians armed themselves and put up resistance Talaat Pasha sent the order to permanently drive them from the Hakkari mountains.^[4]

The Assyrians led by Agha Petros of Bit-Baz tribe and Malik Khoshaba of the Bit-Tyari tribe, fought alongside the Allies against Ottoman forces in an Assyrian struggle for independence. Despite being heavily outnumbered and outgunned the Assyrians fought successfully, scoring a number of victories over the Turks and Kurds. This situation continued until their Russian allies left the war, and Armenian resistance broke, leaving the Assyrians surrounded, isolated and cut off from lines of supply. The sizable Assyrian presence in south eastern Anatolia which had endured for over four millennia was thus reduced significantly by the end of World War I. Between 275,000 and 300,000 Assyrians were estimated to have been slaughtered by the armies of the Ottoman Empire and their Kurdish allies, totaling up to two-thirds of the entire Assyrian population.

Engagements[]

Over the summer of 1915 the Assyrians successfully held off the far larger Ottoman army, Kurdish militia and tribal forces fighting with the Ottomans. The Ottomans, unable to break the Assyrians, then brought in heavy artillery and ammunition that, together with an overwhelming advantage in numbers and supplies, eventually overwhelmed the lightly armed and outnumbered Assyrians. The Russian Army Corps had promised reinforcements, which came too late, leading most of the population of the tribes and districts of Baz, Jilu, Tyari, Tkhuma, Tergawar, Mergawar, Bohtan, Barwari, Amadia and Seert to be massacred, including women, children and the elderly. Churches and monasteries were destroyed or converted into Mosques, livestock and possessions were stolen by the Turks and Kurds, who then occupied the emptied Assyrian towns, villages and farmsteads.Survivors of fighting age joined the Assyrians of northwest Persia, northern Iraq and northeast Syria, including those from Salamas and Urmia to form an Assyrian army, and had a real prospect of fighting with the Russians to evict the Ottoman forces from Persia, and historic Assyria.^[5]

Agha Petros[]

Petros Elia of Baz (Agha Petros)

Assyrian troops led by Agha Petros (saluting) with a captured Turkish banner in the foreground, 1918

Under the command of Agha Petros, the Assyrians had quite a few successful engagements over the Ottoman forces. Most notably at Suldouze where Petros’ 1,500 horsemen overcame the forces of 's (8,000 men).^[6][7] Petros also defeated the Ottomans in a major engagement at Sauj Bulak and drove them back to Rowanduz.^[8][9]

After the invasion of Mosul by the Young Turks, the Assyrian army, led by General Agha Petros, fought intensively and successfully against the Ottoman army and their Kurdish allies, and pushed them out of Mosul and the whole area, leading to Britain's control of the region. The battles are described in detail by surviving letters of Petros and British officials.^[10]

Malik Khoshaba[]

Malik Khoshaba led forces in counterattacks against the far larger Ottoman Army during and after the period known as the Assyrian Genocide with some success. Khoshaba was known for his bravery, cruelty and military capabilities during this time.

The Assyrian forces under the command of Malik Khoshaba and General Agha Petros numbered some 6,000 men, flanked by Allied (mainly Russian) troops. Their task at the time was to hold the front against the Turks who were attempting to advance on the city of Baku, in which they were successful in doing so for seven months (January - July 1918) while surrounded by enemy forces.^[11]

Assault on the Kurdish Fortress of Charah[]

Assyrians attacked the Fortress of Charah on March 16, 1918 after the murder of Mar Shimun.^[12] Simko Shikak, who was responsible for the murder of the Assyrian patriarch Mar Shimun was staying in the fortress. The fortress had never been conquered despite numerous attempts by the Iranian government.^[12] During the battle, Simko was panic stricken after seeing the Assyrians rip apart his forces.^[12] While the battle was going on, Simko managed to flee, abandoning his men.^[12] After one day of fighting, the Kurds were decisively defeated. It is said that the river in Charah was completely red from the dead Shikak fighters.^[12]

After World War 1[]

During the peace conferences in Paris in 1919, the Assyrian delegation asked for a state in Diyarbekir Vilayet and northern Mesopotamia in Iraq, others requested a British protectorate in Upper Mesopotamia, northern Mosul, and Urmia. This was however rejected by Great Britain and the U.S. delegates.^[13] The Assyrians tried to retake the region, but the Turks and Kurds objected to the Assyrians desire to retake their ancestral lands in Hakkari, and an attempt to occupy the region by Agha Petros failed. In 1924 Turkey formally occupied northern Hakkari and expelled the last Christian inhabitants who still remained in the region.^[13]

Death toll[]

The Assyrian delegation at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference and in 1923, at the Lausanne Conference estimated that between 250,000-275,000 Assyrians died during the Assyrian genocide around half the prewar population of 600,000^[14]

References[]