Prior to World War I , the Tkhuma ( Syriac : ܬܚܘܡܐ , romanized : Tkhūmā "Borderland") were one of five principal and semi-independent Assyrian tribes subject to the spiritual and temporal jurisdiction of the Assyrian Patriarch with the title Mar Shimun . The Assyrians claimed the status of a firman of protection from the Caliphate and of an Ottoman millet to preserve their customs and traditions along with the tribes of Jelu , Baz , Tyari , and Deez/Diz, "forming the highest authority under His Holiness Mar Shimun, the patriarch." The Tkhuma Tribe is a tribe of Assyrians that lived in upper Mesopotamia until 1915, when they were dispersed into Persia , Iraq , and Syria during the Sayfo or Assyrian genocide. In 1915, the representative of the Assyrian Patriarch Shimun XX Paulos wrote that the Tkhuma of "many Christian villages" had "been entirely destroyed."
30-779: In 1933, Malik Loco Badawi, the chief of the Tkhuma tribe, from the Royal House of Badawi, went with the chief of the Tyari and 700 armed Assyrians into Syria at the outset of the Simele massacre . The League of Nations took responsibility for the resettlement of the Tkhuma Assyrians, reporting in 1937 that 2,350 Tkhuma had been settled in three villages in Syria. The following villages in Hakkari fell under
60-705: A Plan of Action for promoting exchange and calibration of data and standards pertaining to Tigris river flows was achieved. The consensus, known as the "Geneva Consensus On Tigris River", was reached at a meeting organized in Geneva by the think tank Strategic Foresight Group . In February 2016, the United States Embassy in Iraq as well as the Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi issued warnings that Mosul Dam could collapse. The United States warned people to evacuate
90-495: A higher bed than the Tigris. The Sumerian form was borrowed into Akkadian as Idiqlat and from there into the other Semitic languages (compare Hebrew : חִדֶּקֶל , romanized : Ḥîddéqel ; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic : דיגלת, דיקגלת , romanized: diqlāṯ or diglāṯ ; Classical Syriac : ܕܩܠܬ , romanized: Deqlāṯ , Arabic : دِجلَة , romanized : Dijlah ). Another name for
120-454: A largely desert country. Shallow-draft vessels can go as far as Baghdad, but rafts have historically been needed for transport downstream from Mosul . The Tigris is heavily dammed in Iraq and Turkey to provide water for irrigating the arid and semi-desert regions bordering the river valley. Damming has also been important for averting floods in Iraq, to which the Tigris has historically been notoriously prone following April melting of snow in
150-703: A letter from the Administrative Inspector of Mosul to the Ministry of Interior, on 19 June 1933, Khoshaba , accompanied with Malik Khiyo of Ashitha and Malik Zaia Shams-al-Din of Lower Tyari left from Nohadra to Amadiya against the wishes of the Qaimmaqam who warned Khoshaba that Malik Yaqo was awaiting him on the road with at least 80 armed men. This resulted in the Mustarrif sending Iraqi police to ensure Khoshaba and his companions were not harmed and further drove
180-563: Is 1,750 km (1,090 mi) long, rising in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey about 25 km (16 mi) southeast of the city of Elazığ and about 30 km (19 mi) from the headwaters of the Euphrates. The river then flows for 400 km (250 mi) through Southeastern Turkey before forming part of the Syria-Turkey border . This stretch of 44 km (27 mi) is
210-463: Is an alternative form of Tígrēs ( Τίγρης ), which was adapted from Old Persian 𐎫𐎡𐎥𐎼𐎠 ( Tigrā ), itself from Elamite Tigra , itself from Sumerian 𒀀𒇉𒈦𒄘𒃼 ( Idigna or Idigina , probably derived from *id (i)gina "running water"). The Sumerian term, which can be interpreted as "the swift river", contrasts the Tigris to its neighbour, the Euphrates, whose leisurely pace caused it to deposit more silt and build up
240-680: Is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia , the other being the Euphrates . The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts , before merging with the Euphrates and reaching to the Persian Gulf . The Tigris passes through historical cities like Mosul , Tikrit , Samarra , and Baghdad . It is also home to archaeological sites and ancient religious communities, including
270-746: Is the third of the four rivers branching off the river issuing out of the Garden of Eden . The second mention is in the Book of Daniel , wherein Daniel states he received one of his visions "when I was by that great river the Tigris". The Tigris River is also mentioned in Islam in Sunan Abi Daud 4306. The tomb of Imam Ahmad Bin Hanbal and Syed Abdul Razzaq Jilani is in Baghdad and
300-675: The Assyrian Levies with the rank of major (ܪܒ ܬܪܝ ܡܐܐ), and after his resignation, he tried to join the newly formed Iraqi army, but that did not happen. Yaqo was accompanied by 200 armed men, which was seen as an act of defiance by the Iraqi authorities. His activities caused distress among the Kurds and the Iraqi government started sending troops to the Nohadra region in order to intimidate Yaqo and dissuade Assyrians from joining his cause. According to
330-554: The Assyrian Levies . Malik Yaqo Ismail was born on February 12, 1894, in the village of Chamba'd Malik, Tyari , Hakkari . He married on December 26, 1914, Maryam Youkhana, they eventually had three children, respectively: Uya, born in Iraq in 1929, Zia, born in Iraq in 1932, and Daoud, born in Syria in 1935. During the First World War He participated in many battles as a fighter, and
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#1733085395371360-624: The Hawizeh Marshes . The main channel continues southwards and is joined by the Al-Kassarah , which drains the Hawizeh Marshes. Finally, the Tigris joins the Euphrates near al-Qurnah to form the Shatt-al-Arab . According to Pliny and other ancient historians, the Euphrates originally had its outlet into the sea separate from that of the Tigris. Baghdad , the capital of Iraq , stands on
390-666: The Hittite nominative form) is the Hurrian name of the Tigris River, which was deified. He was the son of Kumarbi and the brother of Teshub and Tašmišu , one of the three gods spat out of Kumarbi's mouth onto Mount Kanzuras . Later he colluded with Anu and the Teshub to destroy Kumarbi ( The Kumarbi Cycle ). The Tigris appears twice in the Old Testament . First, in the Book of Genesis , it
420-631: The Mandaeans , who use it for baptism . In ancient times, the Tigris nurtured the Assyrian Empire , with remnants like the relief of King Tiglath-Pileser . Today, the Tigris faces modern threats from geopolitical instability, dam projects, poor water management, and climate change, leading to concerns about its sustainability. Efforts to protect and preserve the river's legacy are ongoing, with local archaeologists and activists working to safeguard its future. The Ancient Greek form Tigris ( Τίγρις )
450-655: The Ottoman Empire wrote, "The people of Tkhuma put up a great defense on September 27th and 28th [1915]. But while they were building trenches for themselves the Kurds were destroying them with guns. The Turks destroyed... Inner Tkhuma and many other places.". In the early 1930s the Assyrians consisting mainly of Tkhoumnayeh and Tyarayeh successfully defeated the Iraqis in Dairabun killing 33 and wounding 40 including 3 officers while
480-532: The Assyrian village of Dirabun , a clash erupted between the Assyrians and an Iraqi Army brigade. Despite the advantage of heavy artillery, the Iraqis were driven back to their military base in Dirabun . The Assyrians, convinced that the army had targeted them deliberately, attacked an army barracks with little success. They were driven back to Syria upon the arrival of Iraqi aeroplanes. The Iraqi Army lost 33 soldiers during
510-523: The Assyrians suffered significantly less losses. The Iraqis were armed with modern weapons and attack planes given to them by the British while the Assyrians were only equipped with old rifles. Malik Yaqo Malik Yaqo Ismail (February 12, 1894 - January 25, 1974, ( Syriac : ܡܐܠܝܟ ܝܐܩܥ ܝܣܡܐܝܠ) was an Assyrian tribal leader who was a Malik (chief) of the Upper Tyari tribe and a military leader of
540-533: The Assyrians would surely obtain autonomy if the Kurdish revolution succeeded. Mullah Mustafa was very tactful in agreeing to many of Malik Yaqo's proposals. He returned to Iraq on February 26, 1973, at the invitation of the Minister of Interior Saadoun Ghaidan . But the proposals and projects presented to him were more misleading than trying to improve the conditions of the Assyrians in Iraq. As it became clear to him that
570-414: The Iraqi government's offer to arm the Assyrian villages and towns adjacent to the Kurdish region is in order to serve the regime and its goals. It did not focus at all on the interests of the Assyrian people. He passed away on Friday January 25, 1974. He would be the final Malik (Chief) of Upper Tyari tribe . Tigris The Tigris ( / ˈ t aɪ ɡ r ɪ s / TY -griss ; see below )
600-599: The Kurds seek to establish a federal Iraq Then Malik Yako asked him: What about the Assyrians, many of whom are fighting on your side? Barzani admitted this by mentioning Malik Yaqo's nephew Hurmiz Malik Chikko , the Reverend Paul Bidari (a member of the Central Committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party ), the martyr hero Margaret George and others. Mullah Barzani gave him an honorable promise that
630-621: The Tigris used in Middle Persian was Arvand Rud , literally "swift river". Today, however, Arvand Rud ( Persian : اروندرود ) refers to the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, known in Arabic as the Šaṭṭ al-ʿArab . In Kurdish languages , it is known as Ava Mezin , "the Great Water". The name of the Tigris in languages that have been important in the region: ἡ, ὁ Τίγρις, -ιδος , hē, ho Tígris, -idos The Tigris
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#1733085395371660-545: The Turkish mountains. Mosul Dam is the largest dam in Iraq. Recent Turkish damming of the river has been the subject of some controversy, for both its environmental effects within Turkey and its potential to reduce the flow of water downstream. Water from both rivers is used as a means of pressure during conflicts. In 2014 a major breakthrough in developing consensus between multiple stakeholder representatives of Iraq and Turkey on
690-560: The banks of the Tigris. The port city of Basra straddles the Shatt al-Arab. In ancient times, many of the great cities of Mesopotamia stood on or near the Tigris, drawing water from it to irrigate the civilization of the Sumerians . Notable Tigris-side cities included Nineveh , Ctesiphon , and Seleucia , while the city of Lagash was irrigated by the Tigris via a canal dug around 2900 B.C. The Tigris has long been an important transport route in
720-673: The control of the Tkhuma Tribe: Districts or villages outside of the Tkhuma Valley but fell under the jurisdiction of Tkhuma include: It was said that they the Tkhuma Tribe were the best fighters in the West Asia along with the Assyrian tribe of Tyari . Their Muslim neighbors stated that in order to stand a chance they needed to outnumber the Assyrians of Tkhuma or Tyari five to one, and have superior modern weapons. A journalist of
750-402: The fighting while the Assyrian irregulars took fewer casualties. Historians do not agree on who started the clashes at the border. The British Administrative Inspector for Mosul , Lieutenant Colonel R. R. Stafford, wrote that the Assyrians had no intention of clashing with the Iraqis, while the Iraqi historian Khaldun Husry (son of the prominent Arab nationalist Sati' al-Husri ) claims that it
780-668: The first battle he fought as the leader of a group of 50 fighters was against Simko Shikak , the leader of a Kurdish tribe After the martyrdom of Patriarch Mar Benyamin Shimun . He participated in numerous battles during the First World War under the command of his father Malik Ismail II with the Assyrian Volunteers , he had first hand experience from the battles in Hakkari and the exodus to Russian controlled Persia . He resigned from
810-419: The floodplain of the Tigris because between 500,000 and 1.5 million people were at risk of drowning due to flash flood if the dam collapses, and that the major Iraqi cities of Mosul , Tikrit , Samarra , and Baghdad were at risk. In Sumerian mythology , the Tigris was created by the god Enki , who filled the river with flowing water. In Hittite and Hurrian mythology, Aranzah (or Aranzahas in
840-739: The only part of the river that is located in Syria. Some of its affluences are Garzan, Anbarçayi, Batman , and the Great and the Little Zab . Close to its confluence with the Euphrates, the Tigris splits into several channels. First, the artificial Shatt al-Hayy branches off, to join the Euphrates near Nasiriyah . Second, the Shatt al-Muminah and Majar al-Kabir branch off to feed the Central Marshes . Further downstream, two other distributary channels branch off (the Al-Musharrah and Al-Kahla ), to feed
870-563: The split between the factions. On 21 July 1933, more than 600 Assyrians , led by Malik Yaqo, crossed the border into Syria in hope of receiving asylum from the French Mandate of Syria . They were, however, disarmed and refused asylum, and were subsequently given light arms and sent back to Iraq on 4 August. They then decided to surrender themselves to the Iraqi Army. While crossing the Tigris in
900-561: Was Yaqu's men who provoked the army at Dirabun. these clashes would subsequently be a precursor to the Simele Massacre . In November 1969, he came to northern Iraq, accompanied by a delegation from the Assyrian societies in the United States of America, to meet the late leader of the Kurdish revolution ( Mullah Mustafa Barzani ), where Malik Yaqo asked him about the ultimate goal of the Kurdish revolution, and Mullah Barzani replied that
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