Assyrians

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Related to Assyrians: Babylonians, Hittites, Chaldeans, Assyrian Empire

Assyrians

Aisor (Aturai, as they call themselves), a people living in Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and the United States, and in the USSR and some other European countries. The total population is over 1 million (22,000 in the USSR in 1959). The modern Assyrian (Neo-Syriac) language belongs to the Hamito-Semitic family of languages. Religious Assyrians are Christians (mostly Nestorians). Most Assyrians are farmers. In some eastern countries Assyrians retain remnants of the tribal structure. In the USSR, most Assyrians live in cities. They regard themselves as descendants of the ancient Assyrians, and a substantial number of them retain many ancient customs, traditions, and cultural elements.

REFERENCES

Matveev, K. P. (Bar-Mattai), and I. I. Mar-Iukhanna. Assiriiskii vopros vo vremia i posle pervoi mirovoi voiny (1914–1933). Moscow, 1968.
Wigram, W. A. The Assyrians and Their Neighbors. London, 1929.

K. P. MATVEEV

References in periodicals archive ?

The Assyrians have a rich history that includes their founding of the oldest Christian church.

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Though Assyrians are the indigenous people of Iraq, they are now either being victimized and killed, or being driven out of their homeland.

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Local Assyrians, he tells me, have their own community, their own culture, and their own church.

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Babylon's comeback as a regional power begins when a leader named Nabopolassar takes control and fights off the Assyrians.

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Assyrians need security, so we need a legal army within the Iraqi army to protect ourselves," said Michael Benjamin of the Assyrian Democratic Movement.

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In addition to complex relief carving, the Assyrians were known for creating stunning gold jewelry and ornaments.

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Like most of the Assyrian cities, Ashur was sacked in 612 BC when the ferocious and warlike Assyrians were finally overwhelmed by the combined forces of Babylonians and Medes.

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Robert Taft, a liturgist and expert on Eastern Christianity, says an obscure recent Vatican ruling on intercommunion among Assyrian Christians is "perhaps the most significant decision to come out of the Holy See in a half-century.

Ruling on inter-communion sends signals: vatican decision on Assyrian liturgy emphasizes meaning rather than exact wording. (World)

As far as she is concerned, the Christian Assyrians and Chaldeans, which constitute a very small number of religious minorities and whose history has been intermingled with the missionaries, have not played a dynamic role in the modern Iranian nation-state.

Religious Minorities in Iran

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Assyrian town of Tel Tamar in Khabour, Syria, has been the focus of ISIL attacks again.