Year of the Sword

The Armenian genocide of 1915 has been well documented. Much less known is the Turkish genocide of the Assyrian, Chaldean and Syriac peoples, which occurred simultaneously in their ancient homelands in and around ancient Mesopotamia - now Turkey, Iran and Iraq. The advent of the First World War gave the Young Turks and the Ottoman government the opportunity to exterminate the Assyrians in a series of massacres and atrocities inflicted on a people whose culture dates back millennia and whose language, Aramaic, was spoken by Jesus. Systematic killings, looting, rape, kidnapping and deportations destroyed countless communities and created a vast refugee diaspora. As many as 300,000 Assyro-Chaldean- Syriac people were murdered and a larger number forced into exile. The "Year of the Sword" (Seyfo) in 1915 was preceded over millennia by other attacks on the Assyrians and has been mirrored by recent events, not least the abuses committed by Islamic State. Joseph Yacoub, whose family was murdered and dispersed, has gathered together a compelling range of eye-witness accounts and reports which cast light on this 'hidden genocide.' Passionate and yet authoritative in its research, his book reveals a little-known human and cultural tragedy. A century after the Assyrian genocide, the fate of this Christian minority hangs in the balance.

Joseph Yacoub is Emeritus Professor at the Catholic University of Lyon and the author of several books on minorities and Christians in the Middle East.

Preface Introduction: A Forgotten Genocide? Nation, people and churches On the eve of the massacre The genocide of 1915 Contemporary documentation Ethnocide and extermination Oblivion and its causes An international issue Renewal and memory 1. Witnesses to Genocide A terra incognita? Reporting the genocide Four day-to-day accounts of events in Urmia-Salmas The major witnesses: The Assyro-Chaldeans Syriac testimonies: survivors' stories The missionaries The range of witnesses The British "Blue Book" Some extracts from the "Blue Book" Other international publications The Paris Peace Conference, 1919 International solidarity The national and international press: an essential intermediary Humanitarian aid 2. The Scenes and Acts of the Tragedy A centuries-old persecution The first centuries The Romans The Sassanid Persians Other massacres: from the fourth to the seventh centuries Ottoman antecedents to the 1915 massacres 1895: massacres and pogroms under Sultan Abdul Hamid II 1909: the Young Turk revolution and the policy of Turkification 1915: historic Mesopotamia The Turkish vilayets Overview of the massacres The invasion of Hakkari by Turkish-Kurdish forces Eastern Anatolia Tragedy in Bhotan The Syriacs Syriac humanitarian action Extermination and deportation: the children of the Desert Habiba's story 3. Strategy and Methodology of Eradication The "secret committee" The executioners Methodology of murder Rape Islamization as a means of suppression The example of Hakkari Holy war against the Assyrian Christians Genocide and ethnocide Lamenting a tragedy The massacres and the United Nations 4. After 1915: The Tragedy Continues 1918: from Salmas and Urmia towards Hamadan and Iraq Assyrians at arms The Assyrian Levies The Turkey-Iraq frontier (1925) The diaspora: the US and Britain Fleeing Turkey From Hakkari to Sarcelles From Tur Abdin to Sweden, Germany and Belgium Towards Iraq and Syria: the continuing tragedy Conclusion: Return onto the Stage of History The impact of the diaspora Maintaining memory Iraq: a homeland or safe haven? Appendix: the role of research Bibliography