Back الآشوريون والسريان والكلدان في تركيا Arabic Асирийци в Турция Bulgarian Aramäer in der Türkei German Ασσύριοι στην Τουρκία Greek Orang Asiria di Turki ID Arameeërs in Turkije Dutch Türkiye Süryanileri Turkish
ܣܘܪܝܝܐ ܕܛܘܪܩܝܐ (Syriac) | |
|---|---|
  | |
 Turkish Assyrian Christians in Cevizağacı, Beytüşşebap | |
| Total population | |
| 25,000[1] ~600,000 (diaspora) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Mainly Istanbul Cities of Hakkâri, Mardin and Yüksekova Southeastern Anatolia Region (historically) | |
| Languages | |
| Suret, Surayt, Turkish | |
| Religion | |
| Syriac Christianity |
Assyrians in Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye Süryanileri, Syriac: ܣܘܪܝܝܐ ܕܛܘܪܩܝܐ) or Turkish Assyrians are an indigenous Semitic-speaking ethnic group and minority of Turkey who are Eastern Aramaic–speaking Christians, with most being members of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Chaldean Catholic Church, Assyrian Pentecostal Church, Assyrian Evangelical Church, or Ancient Church of the East.
They share a common history and ethnic identity, rooted in shared linguistic, cultural and religious traditions, with Assyrians in Iraq, Assyrians in Iran and Assyrians in Syria, as well as with the Assyrian diaspora.[2] Assyrians in such European countries as Sweden and Germany would usually be Turoyo-speakers or Western Assyrians,[3] and tend to be originally from Turkey.[4]
The Assyrians were once a large ethnic minority in the Ottoman Empire, living in the Hakkari, Sirnak and Mardin provinces, but, following the Sayfo (1915, also known as the Assyrian genocide), most were murdered or forced to emigrate to join fellow Assyrians in northern Iraq, northeast Syria, and northwest Iran. Most of those who survived the genocide and stayed in Turkey left the country for Western Europe in the 2nd half of the 20th century, due to conflicts between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Turkish Land Forces. As of 2019, an estimated 18,000 of the country's 25,000 Assyrians live in Istanbul.[5] According to Yusuf Çetin, Spiritual Leader of the Syriac Orthodox Community, as of 2023, there are 25,000-30,000 Assyrians in Turkey, including 17,000 to 22,000 in Istanbul,[6] most of them in Yeşilköy, where the new Mor Ephrem Syriac Orthodox Church was inaugurated on 8 October 2023.[7]
- ^ "2018 U.S. Department of State International Religious Freedom Report: Turkey". Archived from the original on 2020-04-25. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ Hooglund (2008), pp. 100–101.
- ^ B. Furze, P. Savy, R. Brym, J. Lie, Sociology in Today's World, 2008, p. 349
- ^ Lundgren, Svante (15 May 2019). The Assyrians: Fifty Years in Swedenq. Nineveh Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-91-984101-7-4.
- ^ DHA, Daily Sabah with (2019-01-10). "Assyrians community thrives again in southeastern Turkey". Daily Sabah. Archived from the original on 2019-01-10. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ "Cumhuriyetin ilk kilisesi açılıyor… Süryani Ruhani Lideri'nin ilk röportajı CNN Türk'te". www.hurriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 2023-10-06. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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