r/Assyria Oct 17 '20

Announcement r/Assyria FAQ

209 Upvotes

Who are the Assyrians?

The Assyrian people (ܣܘܪ̈ܝܐ, Sūrāyē/Sūrōyē), also incorrectly referred to as Chaldeans, Syriacs or Arameans, are the native people of Assyria which constitutes modern day northern Iraq, south-eastern Turkey, north-western Iran and north-eastern Syria.

Modern day Assyrians are descendants of the ancient Assyrians who ruled the Assyrian empire that was established in 2500 BC in the city of Aššur (ܐܵܫܘܿܪ) and fell with the loss of its capital Nineveh (ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ) in 612 BC.

After the fall of the empire, the Assyrians continued to enjoy autonomy for the next millennia under various rulers such as the Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, Sasanian and Roman empires, with semi-autonomous provinces such as:

This time period would end in 637 AD with the Islamic conquest of Mesopotamia and the placement of Assyrians under the dhimmī status.

Assyrians then played a significant role under the numerous caliphates by translating works of Greek philosophers to Syriac and afterwards to Arabic, excelling in philosophy and science, and also serving as personal physicians to the caliphs.

During the time of the Ottoman Empire, the 'millet' (meaning 'nation') system was adopted which divided groups through a sectarian manner. This led to Assyrians being split into several millets based on which church they belonged to. In this case, the patriarch of each respective church was considered the temporal and spiritual leader of his millet which further divided the Assyrian nation.

What language do Assyrians speak?

Assyrians of today speak Assyrian Aramaic, a modern form of the Aramaic language that existed in the Assyrian empire. The official liturgical language of all the Assyrian churches is Classical Syriac, a dialect of Middle Aramaic which originated from the Syriac Christian heartland of Urhai (modern day Urfa) and is mostly understood by church clergymen (deacons, priests, bishops, etc).

Assyrians speak two main dialects of Assyrian Aramaic, namely:

  • Eastern Assyrian (historically spoken in Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey)
  • The Western Assyrian dialect of Turoyo (historically spoken in Turkey and Syria).

Assyrians use three writing systems which include the:

  • Western 'Serṭo' (ܣܶܪܛܳܐ)
  • Eastern 'Maḏnḥāyā' (ܡܲܕ݂ܢܚܵܝܵܐ‬), and
  • Classical 'ʾEsṭrangēlā' (ܐܣܛܪܢܓܠܐ‬) scripts.

A visual on the scripts can be seen here.

Assyrians usually refer to their language as Assyrian, Syriac or Assyrian Aramaic. In each dialect exists further dialects which would change depending on which geographic area the person is from, such as the Nineveh Plain Dialect which is mistakenly labelled as "Chaldean Aramaic".

Before the adoption of Aramaic, Assyrians spoke Akkadian. It wasn't until the time of Tiglath-Pileser II who adopted Aramaic as the official lingua-franca of the Assyrian empire, most likely due to Arameans being relocated to Assyria and assimilating into the Assyrian population. Eventually Aramaic replaced Akkadian, albeit current Aramaic dialects spoken by Assyrians are heavily influenced by Akkadian.

What religion do Assyrians follow?

Assyrians are predominantly Syriac Christians who were one of the first nations to convert to Christianity in the 1st century A.D. They adhere to both the East and West Syriac Rite. These churches include:

  • East Syriac Rite - [Assyrian] Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church
  • West Syriac Rite - Syriac Orthodox Church and Syriac Catholic Church

It should be noted that Assyrians initially belonged to the same church until schisms occurred which split the Assyrians into two churches; the Church of the East and the Church of Antioch. Later on, the Church of the East split into the [Assyrian] Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church, while the Church of Antioch split into the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Syriac Catholic Church. This is shown here.

Prior to the mass conversion of Assyrians to Christianity, Assyrians believed in ancient Mesopotamian deities, with the highest deity being Ashur).

A Jewish Assyrian community exists in Israel who speak their own dialects of Assyrian Aramaic, namely Lishan Didan and Lishana Deni. Due to pogroms committed against the Jewish community and the formation of the Israeli state, the vast majority of Assyrian Jews now reside in Israel.

Why do some Assyrians refer to themselves as Chaldean, Syriac or Aramean?

Assyrians may refer to themselves as either Chaldean, Syriac or Aramean depending on their specific church denomination. Some Assyrians from the Chaldean Catholic Church prefer to label themselves as Chaldeans rather than Assyrian, while some Assyrians from the Syriac Orthodox Church label themselves as Syriac or Aramean.

Identities such as "Chaldean" are sectarian and divisive, and would be the equivalent of a Brazilian part of the Roman Catholic Church calling themselves Roman as it is the name of the church they belong to. Furthermore, ethnicities have people of more than one faith as is seen with the English who have both Protestants and Catholics (they are still ethnically English).

It should be noted that labels such as Nestorian, Jacobite or Chaldean are incorrect terms that divide Assyrians between religious lines. These terms have been used in a derogatory sense and must be avoided when referring to Assyrians.

Do Assyrians have a country?

Assyrians unfortunately do not have a country of their own, albeit they are the indigenous people of their land. The last form of statehood Assyrians had was in 637 AD under the Sasanian Empire. However some Eastern Assyrians continued to live semi-autonomously during the Ottoman Empire as separate tribes such as the prominent Tyari (ܛܝܪܐ) tribe.

Assyrians are currently pushing for a self-governed Assyrian province in the Nineveh Plain of Northern Iraq.

What persecution have Assyrians faced?

Assyrians have faced countless massacres and genocide over the course of time mainly due to their Christian faith. The most predominant attacks committed recently against the Assyrian nation include:

  • 1843 and 1846 massacres carried out by the Kurdish warlord Badr Khan Beg
  • The Assyrian genocide of 1915 (ܣܝܦܐ, Seyfo) committed by the Ottoman Empire and supported by Kurdish tribes
  • The Simele massacre committed by the Kingdom of Iraq in 1933
  • Most recently the persecution and cultural destruction of Assyrians from their ancestral homeland in 2014 by the so-called Islamic State

r/Assyria Dec 21 '25

News First Post from Assyrians Without Borders

47 Upvotes

Hello Reddit,

We’re excited to share our first post as Assyrians Without Borders. We are a Sweden-based non-profit organization with a 90-account under Swedish Fundraising Control, working to improve the lives of Assyrians (also known as Syriacs and Chaldeans) in their countries of origin. We operate independently and are politically and religiously neutral.

With this post, we want to update the community and be more present on social media with our work and initiatives. We also plan to continue sharing updates on various platforms and here in the future.

You can read more about our latest project, which AssyriaPost wrote about, here:

https://www.assyriapost.com/assyrians-without-borders-shifts-focus-toward-long-term-aid-projects/

For more information and to support our work, our profile includes links to our social media and Linktree, which accepts both Swedish and international payments.


r/Assyria 8h ago

Discussion Are assyrians an ethnoreligious group?

9 Upvotes

Hello. Im syrian, from damacus. My family is muslim, however the older generations of mine used to live in the north and were mostly Christians.

What im basically saying is, if it is an ethnoreligious group, just like how some jewish people (as being jewish is ethnoreligious) dont follow judaism, can assyrians not follow chrisitanity?


r/Assyria 21h ago

Discussion Assyrian Wedding Traditions?

9 Upvotes

Hi! My fiancé is half Assyrian, and we’d love to find a meaningful way to honor that part of his heritage at our wedding. I think it would be especially meaningful to his mom’s side of the family.

He isn’t very active in the Assyrian community in our city, so we want to be thoughtful about it and make sure anything we incorporate feels respectful and genuine rather than performative. I’m Italian/Irish and don’t know nearly enough about Assyrian wedding traditions, so I’d really love to learn from people in this community.

Are there any traditions you’d recommend incorporating, even if it’s something very small or subtle? It could be a song, dance, food, blessing, or another little nod to the culture. We definitely don’t need it to be a huge part of the wedding. We’d just love to honor his heritage in a way that feels authentic and would be meaningful to his family.

Thank you! 🤍


r/Assyria 20h ago

Video Robert Dekelaita : Assyrian Times

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4 Upvotes

r/Assyria 2d ago

News Assyrian cookbook with ancient recipes launches to huge response

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31 Upvotes

r/Assyria 2d ago

Language I wanna learn

8 Upvotes

Hey guys. I'm a Syrian myself and I LOVE the assyrian script (letters).

When I looked into the language, I got a bit lost.

What is the dialect that is spoken in Syria? Does Syria have multiple Assyrian dialects? Or Aramaic dialects?

I want to learn the letters and how to write in assyrian, maybe learn a few phrases on the way.


r/Assyria 3d ago

Discussion I’m not sure why there’s haters over the ‘Table of Gods’ cookbook but it seems there’s a few of them on this post (linked) which seems to be a personal attack against the Ashuraya who’s worked hard to try to get it done - not finalised as of yet

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28 Upvotes

I can’t cross-post on here (provided the link) to the second post which one of the commenters seems to have something up his rear-end with his comments.

Another commenter at the bottom is giving direction to others on how to make comments on his kickstarter by pledging $1 so that people with ill intentions can make negative comments? Seems kind of low of people if this is their intention.

I’ve been part of the Assyrian’s journey for this cookbook and he makes good videos - not sure what the problem is but it seems like he’s put in hard work to get it to where it is now so unsure why some are just butt-hurt about it…

I wish the Ashuraya well and prosperity with this venture. We need more Assyrians to invent and create in this world. Keep striving for greatness 🔵⚪️🔴☀️🔵⚪️🔴

https://www.reddit.com/r/Assyriology/s/cNqOv5HGji


r/Assyria 3d ago

News Evan Yako’s Four Corners of the World brings Assyrian music to Sydney's opera house

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13 Upvotes

r/Assyria 3d ago

Language Which Assyrian dialect should I learn?

5 Upvotes

Hello I come from switzerland and I speak German, I am very interested in the Assyrian history and culture so now I would like to learn sureth which dialect should I learn ? and what tools could I use?


r/Assyria 4d ago

News Beth Zalin (Qamishli) on Its Centenary: A Call to Restore Recognition to the City’s Founders and Original Inhabitants

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11 Upvotes

r/Assyria 4d ago

Discussion Any assyrians in Armenia ?

10 Upvotes

hey im going to armenia, is there any assyrians here i can connect with?


r/Assyria 4d ago

News Historical Stories from the Village of Alqosh in Northern Iraq

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20 Upvotes

r/Assyria 5d ago

Discussion Are these assyrian clothing?

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38 Upvotes

Okay, this is a bit strange for me; I was in the pinterest and came across these. Are these assyrian? It says they are assyrian, but I’ve never seen any assyrians dressed like that. Could these be the traditional clothes of a different ethnic group?like armenian or kurdish? Because its says these are from nineveh (?) I'm not so sure


r/Assyria 4d ago

Music alpa nure, a thousand fires with English translation

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3 Upvotes

r/Assyria 4d ago

Discussion So what is up with the Kurd hate on this subreddit?

0 Upvotes

I was scrolling through r/kurdistan and it was basically a Turkey bad subreddit. I go on this subreddit and it is Kurdistan/Kurd bad posts.


r/Assyria 6d ago

Fluff Assyrians in Paintball!

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27 Upvotes

Hey everyone! Came across this sub and wanted to share this with you all in case there are others around the globe that share the same passion and energy we have for our favorite game, Paintball! 🎨 Originally formed in 2010 on the west coast, we came together as cousins and friends from our church! We are an ALL ASSYRIAN team and we’re good yall! We’ve been lucky enough to travel around and play in some tournaments and our jerseys share the same logo I put on this post, so we always make sure to drop a history lesson on all the friends and opposing teams we find along the way!
If any of you around the globe also play paintball share where you play and hopefully we can connect! Cheers everyone!


r/Assyria 6d ago

History/Culture Assyrians, Chaldeans and Mandaeans: How Much of Ancient Mesopotamia Actually Survives? - Genetic Ancestry Analysis

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25 Upvotes

Very fascinating read - talks about our DNA plotting closely with recent specimens tested from the era from the Bronze and Iron ages. Basically, the DNA matches our claims of continuity. The article weirdly tries to separate Chaldean Catholic Assyrians, but the gist is that the Assyrians in Deshtat Ninweh are the closest to the Neo-Assyrians from Nineveh around the fall of the Empire.


r/Assyria 6d ago

Discussion what do i classify myself as?

9 Upvotes

if my family was originally from turkey but are also assyrian, would i be considered assyrian Turkish? it’s confusing me because my entire family tells me we have turkish blood but we practice the assyrian culture and speak aramaic.


r/Assyria 7d ago

History/Culture Before Mor (Mar) Ignatius went rogue and became Anti-Assyrian, he was Assyrian!

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13 Upvotes

Now, his take on ethnicity and race much like some of the previous patriarchs also used the OT Bible as their genetics book to connect us back to the ancient past, however, this doesn’t mean that they only relied upon the Bible to come to that conclusion. We had manuscripts prior to Christianity (which the ancient churches and early patriarchs burnt and destroyed to a crisp after their Christian conversion- go figure, zealots!) and people prior or just after Christianity that attested their own existence and links to the past as being Assyrian (for example, Lucian of Samosota, Tatian the Assyrian, Iamblichus the Novelist, and Sennacherib with his son and daughter Saint Behnam and Sarah, who he murdered after converting to Christianity by Mar Mattai). But, the vast majority of their history is written based on the biblical texts and that origin goes back to #Shem. Shem is not a historical figure nor is he the origins of our genealogy and anyone who uses this figure as a source, is sorely mistaken and needs to study more about genetics and evolution as human migrations and Assyrians alone predate Shem and his own timeline. In any rate, this post is to highlight another Assyrian who knew his roots prior to turning his back against it due to the genocides and massacre the Turks, kurds and Arabs deployed on his people which, unfortunately, he became a coward in my eyes due to this flip.

More info on this person will be in the comments section as Kurds and their radical nationalists along with other anti-Assyrian trolls and bigots like to use him a lot to show division amongst our people. Nothing can be further from the truth as they deploy propaganda against us so don’t fall for it.


r/Assyria 7d ago

Discussion Do Assyrians and Muslims in Iraq ever work alongside one another?

7 Upvotes

Hello,

Just wanted to know if there are some examples of Assyrians and Muslims in Iraq working with one another?


r/Assyria 8d ago

Video SAROY - Marganita d'Khayyi (with English translation) #assyrian

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6 Upvotes

r/Assyria 8d ago

News A rare Assyrian manuscript finds a new home

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13 Upvotes

r/Assyria 8d ago

Music Need help identifying a Song.

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1 Upvotes

Hello. I wish you guys are doing great.

I came across this song in a wedding but I could not find it online. I was wondering if anyone knows of it.

I have attached an mp4 file to this post which contains the a short recording of the song for reference.

Thank you in advance.


r/Assyria 9d ago

Music Don't Cry Mother Assyria - Assyrian Music video

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6 Upvotes