- published: 21 Dec 2014
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Assyrians in Iraq are those Assyrians (also known as Chaldo-Assyrians) still residing in the country of Iraq. They are (along with the Mandeans) the indigenous people of Iraq, descending from the ancient Mesopotamians, in particular from the Akkadian peoples (Assyrians and Babylonians) and the Aramean tribes who intermingled with them from the 10th century BC onwards. Assyria existed as an independent state and sometimes empire in what is today Iraq from the 23rd century BC to the end of the 7th century BC, and then as an occupied but named entity (Athura, Asuristan, Assyria, Adiabene) until the late 7th century AD. Assyrians are a Semitic people who speak evolutions of the ancient eastern Aramaic dialects that have existed in Iraq since 1200 BC, and follow Eastern Rite Christianity which first appeared in the region in the 1st century AD, in particular the Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church and Ancient Church of the East. The vast majority of Iraqi Christians are ethnic Assyrians.
Iraq (/ɪˈræk/ or i/ɪˈrɑːk/; Arabic: العراق al-‘Irāq); officially the Republic of Iraq (Arabic:
جمهورية العراق (help·info) Jumhūriyyat al-‘Irāq), is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.
Iraq borders Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Jordan to the southwest and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south. Iraq has a narrow section of coastline measuring 58 km (36 mi) on the northern Persian Gulf. The capital city, Baghdad is in the center-east of the country.
Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run through the center of Iraq, flowing from northwest to southeast. These provide Iraq with agriculturally capable land and contrast with the steppe and desert landscape that covers most of Western Asia.
Historically, Iraq was the center of the Abbasid Arabic Islamic Empire. Iraq has been known to the west by the Greek toponym 'Mesopotamia' (Land between the rivers) and has been home to continuous successive civilizations since the 6th millennium BC. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is often referred to as the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of writing, law and the wheel. At different periods in its history, Iraq was the center of the indigenous Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Abbasid empires. It was also part of the Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires, and under British control as a League of Nations mandate.
The Assyrian Fighters of North Iraq
Assyrian Genocide, Christians of Iraq facing extinction part (1) Church Attacks, Bombings in Iraq
ANCIENT ASSYRIANS of northern IRAQ - Assyrian folk music
Mardean Isaac's lecture on 'The Future of Assyrians in Iraq and Syria', Oxford University, 05/06/15
Assyrian Song Iraq Christians الاشوريين الاشوريون
Christian City Under Siege: The Battle for Iraq (Dispatch 5)
Iraq Anthem In Assyrian
Former US soldier joins militia to defend Christian faith in Iraq
Genocide of Assyrian Christians in Iraq Continues in Syria
Protests to support Assyrians in Iraq "Help to establish A Save Zone In Iraq"