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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 TYPOLOGY OF THE HISTORICAL ASSYRIAN CHURCHES IN

NADEREH SHOJADEL

Faculty Member, ’s Cultural Heritage Research Center.

Received: 14 March 2020 Revised and Accepted: 8 July 2020

ABSTRACT Assyrians that were called Nestorians till the 18th century constituted a tribe that spoke Assyrian language, a branch of Semitic languages’ family, and followed Christianism. Iran’s Assyrians resided Western Province, especially the city of Urmia. Since no research has been so far conducted regarding the Assyrian churches in Iran, the present study aims at investigating and typological evaluation of the Assyrian churches in Urmia, capital of Western Azerbaijan Province. To do so, 12 cases of Urmia’s historical churches have been selected and subjected to investigation in terms of the historical epoch, elements and architectural properties. The result of the analyses indicated that Urmia’s Assyrian churches can be divided in historical regards into two sets belonging to the middle centuries and 18th and 19th centuries. The first set which presents the primary pattern of the Assyrian churches includes simple volumes and rectangular single-vessel plans with eastern- western stretching. Altar is located on the eastern edge of the plan and there are one or two rooms behind the altar with entrance being situated on the southern edge thereof. The second set of the studied churches belong to 18th and 19th centuries. These samples have been generally constructed or reconstructed by the American and European missioners and, without following the pattern of the second set (and following the pattern of the western churches), they have been constructed in a triple-vessel and cruciform pattern by brick or adobe. Amongst the studied cases, Nana Maryam Church (eastern ’s church) could not be placed in any of the above categorizations. The preliminary structure of Nana Maryam Church belongs to the early Gregorian centuries but, since the existent structure is unique in terms of the plan’s pattern and does not share any of its features with those of the study sample volume as evidenced in the comparative studies, it seems that the determination of a historical epoch for the existent structure needs more exploration and further studies.

KEYWORDS: typology, churches’ architecture, Assyrian, Nestorian

INTRODUCTION Geographically, Assyrians have been scattered in the north of , southeast of Turkey, northeast of Syria and northwest of Iran till the recent centuries. During the past Gregorian centuries, many of the Assyrians have migrated to the other spots of the world, including Caucasus, North America, Europe and Australia. Assyrians dwell various cities in Iran but the largest number of them currently reside , Urmia and ; however, the highest number of the historical churches can be found in Urmia and Salmas, particularly the former. So far, the studies performed on Iran’s churches have been devoted to Armenian ones and the Assyrian churches and the investigation of their patterns and their historical and architectural properties has been neglected. The present study has been conducted with the objective of investigating and achieving the typology of the Assyrian churches in Urmia and its peripheral villages. Since the architectural attributes of every clan and nation stem from its culture especially the history and religion in regard of the religious buildings, the present study tries investigating the historical and religious background of Iran’s Assyrians. Then, selecting 12 case studies from the various historical epochs, the author will investigate the plan’s pattern, the structural components as well as the other properties of them. Following the extraction of the typology and introducing and analyzing the study sample volume, a typological study will be carried out and efforts will be made to find answers to each of the following questions: - To what historical epoch do Urmia’s Assyrian churches belong? - What pattern do the Assyrian churches from each historical epoch follow? - What spaces are the Assyrian churches from each historical epoch consisted of and what are their structural properties? - In what types can Urmia’s Assyrian churches be divided?

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 Study Background: No research has been so far conducted regarding Iran’s Assyrian churches except an article that the present study’s author has published under the title of “a comparison of the Armenian and Assyrian churches in Western Azerbaijan Province” in the issuance no.44 of the seasonal journal of Payman. Study’s Theoretical Foundation: Church: the Persian term “Kelisa” [church] has been derived from the Greek term “Ekklesia” which means group or association (Achtemeier, 1996, p.183). In English, the large and small churches are differently termed; the large ones are called churches and the small ones are called chapels that are usually considered as prayer rooms (New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2003, p.382). The term “church” serves two common functions. The first meaning of church includes the “assembly of the Christian believers”. In this use which is very much prevalent in the new testament, the term “church” is used to point to the whole society of Christians (Christendom) and/or a group of Christians living in a region. In the second sense, the term “church” refers to a building wherein Christians’ worshipping and ritual affairs are done. Of course, this use which is very much prevalent nowadays has never been applied in new testament. The world’s churches are of different types in terms of their inclinations towards various sects, their geographical positions, historical epochs and so forth. However, the thing that is very much common between the churches is the existence of an altar on the eastern edge and an opposite hall which is the place of the worshippers’ establishment.

Typology Defined: As a concept, type refers to a class or set of people or a group of objects that have certain common features making them distinct from the other people or the other groups of things. In fact, typology is an effort for placing a collection of complex objects inside a regular system for achieving more generality in line with recognition and planning (Zaker Haghighi et al, 2009, p.106). The first denotation of typology is a visual meaning. Match is the first scale offered for typology and agreed by most of the specialists and it means that there might be many similarities between two things but they are not one (Rabi’ei, 2013, p.9). Typology is the comparative study of the objects in an artificial environment for dividing them into distinct types. This study can be done from the perspective of the physical properties or other aspects of the objects (Pourmohammadi, 2012, p.14). Typological classification can be carried out based on various factors in regard of the nature of the studied samples. For example, in the typological classification of the architectural artworks that constitute the present study’s subject, typological classification will be performed based on scale, function, historical epoch, geometry, orientation, decorations and so forth. The typological instruments are also different. Based on the study’s sample volume and the subject of typology, models, researcher’s observations, researcher’s inferential interpretations, researcher’s inferential analysis, researcher’s logical reasoning, software-based analyses and others can be enumerated amongst the typological instruments (Me’emarian, 2017, p.46). The followings are the factors that have constituted the present study’s typological scale of the Assyrian Churches in Urmia: Historical epoch Plan’s pattern Spaces in the periphery of the altar Bell tower Entrance position Roof cover Masonry used Light absorbance

Geographical Position: Urmia, the capital city of west Azerbaijan, is located in the west side of Urmia Lake and it has drawn the attentions of the prehistoric nations more than the other spots in Iran with the existence of numerous ancient hills in this region that compete with the oldest hills in Mesopotamia, Minor Asia and Iranian Plateau being proofs to this claim. On the other hand, attribution of Zoroaster to Urmia as his homeland and this that one or two of the apostles of Jesus Christ (may Allah hail on him) who had gone to Bayt Al-Haram on his highness’s birthday have been buried in Urmia signify that the city has been one of the religious and scientific centers in 5261based on his ق.م the distant past. Professor Zabih Behruzi estimates that Zoroaster has been born in researches and studies and, this way, the history of urbanism in Urmia dates back to 0444.

Assyrians’ Historical Background:

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 In the first millennium BC, the , Urartu and communities of the region like Scythians and Gimeris were engaged in actions and reactions in respect to the authority and undertakings of Assyrian Empire and it was the time of the Mesopotamia’s rule (Zarrinkoub, 1985, p.74). Assyrians seized the power in Mesopotamian territory during 13th hegira century but they were not newcomers rather they were the oldest residents of Mesopotamia and, in this regard, superior to all of the people who had dominated it during the past two thousand years. In a clay plate left from the 8th century BC, there is a list of more than a hundred and sixteen Assyrian king (from three periods of old, middle and new Assyria). Of course, this does not mean that Assyria has always had a sovereign rather, quite conversely, they have independently ruled the land in the course of their long life only in a short period of time. Assyria and Nineveh have been repeatedly under the domination of the foreign governments and Akkadians and Sumerians have frequently occupied Nineveh … The powerful Assyrian empire could not resist against the unification of Medes and Scythians that had been threatening their realm from long ago and finally perished in 1216 (Majidzadeh, 2002, p.145). There is no exact date for the residence and settlement of this tribe in Iran. But, a part of the residents of Iran’s northwestern regions have been probably forced to migrate to Mesopotamia during the wars between Medes and Assyria and a part of Assyrians were coerced subsequently to move to the spots in the periphery of Urmia Lake (see also Piotrovsky, 1969, p.29). The most important period of Assyrians’ attacks on Iran is at the time of Tigat Plisar III in 1344. Plisar started practicing particular policies about the newly occupied lands. For the first time, he was guiding the people of the conquered territories to the non-residential lands under his own command and replaced them by other individuals from Assyrian territory (Diakonov, 1966, p.245). During the first Gregorian century, Christianity reached Mesopotamia and the first churches were constructed therein during 49 to 87. Iranians were made familiar with the new creed [] during the mid-3rd century. In this period, Parthians were still leaning back on the throne and, though Zoroastrianism was the common religion of the time, the Parthian rulers did not show any enmity towards the newly entering religion [Christianism]. It was in the light of this freedom that Christian churches were established in various spots in Iran (Miller, 1931, p.270). Christianity could enter Iran through two regions: west, i.e. the current Iraq, or Mesopotamia and northwest, i.e. Armenia (Nafisi, 1964, p.18). Apparently, one of the twelve apostles, named Toma, came to Iran for preaching about Christianism (Miller, 1931, p.66). Assyrians believe that Edy and Mary, two of the 72 disciples of Christ (PBUH), have come to Iran in addition to Toma. As for the activities of these apostles in various regions, there is not much information at hand. We do not know if Toma has succeeded in preaching and winning followers in this region or not. Christianism’s growth was slow in pre-Islam Iran. Some realize lingual differences as the reason for this issue. Before the appearance of Messiah, the language of a vast part of the then world was Greek. This helped the apostles to perform their preaching in various lands in this language (Miller, 1931, p.12). After Iranians accepted Islam, many things were said about Christian Assyrians. Islam treated Christians better than Zoroastrian magi because they were realized as the followers of the prophet before the great prophet His Highness Muhammad (may Allah bestow him and his sacred progeny the best of His regards). In this period, Christians were free to convert to Islam or pay tributes (Hekmat, 1966, p.248). This relative peace provided a chance of progress for Christians in Iran. Under the umbrella of being the fellows of the divine book, Christians engaged in expanding their knowledge. During the period of Baghdad’s caliph, there was good relationships between Christians who were familiar with Syriac and Greek languages, with the caliphs. It was in the same period that Christians seized the opportunity to go to the adjacent and even distant lands like China, Mongolia and Tataristan and preach Christianity there (Nafisi, 1964, pp.15&16). During the caliphate of Omar, all the Assyrians in Kufa were forced to migrate to the islands and southern coasts of Persian Gulf. And, in this way, a large number of Assyrians settled down in the southern plains of Iran. This glorious period lasted till the Mongols’ invasion of Iran. Genghis Khan destroyed the important dwelling places of Iran’s Christians such as Samarqand, Bukhara, Marv, and Neishabur. To him, Christian and Muslim did not differ. Some of the Mongol kings exhibited peaceful behaviors towards Christians but these periods were very transient and volatile. Ghazan Khan destroyed the Christians’ chapels in Iran in 1295 (Miller, 1931, p.324). Amir Tamerlane, as well, used to force Christians to convert to Islam by the power of sword. These calamities exerted subtle effects on Christianism. The Christianism’s decline and stagnation period approximately began in this period in such a way that there were a few Assyrians still practicing Christianism in the western regions of Iran. And, in the other spots of Iran, there was no trace of the former highly crowded bishop dwellings. These catastrophes caused a huge segregation amongst Iran’s Christians. Iranians who were still separate from the Roman church till that time once again noticed this church’s power and magnificence. Some of the Christians joined the roman church in 1555 and became the so-called Catholics. Since then, these groups became known as Chaldeans (Hekmat, 1966, p.252).

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 The last wave of the Assyrians’ migration to Iran was in the 20th century and it occurred during the early years of WWI and it was the time that Ottomans massacred and Assyrians in Turkey and forced the Assyrian nomads to migrate towards , Salmas and Urmia following the acquisition of a permit from Iran’s crown prince. Based on the evidence and documents obtained from the historical morgues and churches, it can be generally stated that the Assyrians’ settlement in Iran has been interlaced with the history of this territory. The truth is that Assyrians had become part of Iran’s nation following the downfall of the empire in Mesopotamia and shared a destiny with the people of this land (Iran’s Assyrians). At present, Assyrians are scattered in 25 countries around the globe. Approximately, they reach 3.5 million persons in population. Nowadays, Iraq is the most important Assyrian-dwelling country which accommodates about 1.5 million of the Assyrians. Syria and US have the next positions in this regard, respectively; and, having a population of 50 thousand Assyrians, Iran is in the ninth rank. The most important Assyrian-dwelling cities are Urmia, Salmas and Tehran. Considering the above-presented descriptions, there is still this ambiguity that whether the Assyrians living in Iran are actually the very survivors of Assyrian Empire or they have become famous with such a name for their mere sharing of their language with that empire? Naturally, there is no pure race of this ethnicity. It is quite likely that the Christians from the other regions have migrated to this land and/or the Assyrians of this region have migrated to the other cities of Iran; however, the Assyrians residing western Azerbaijan realize themselves as the inheritors of Assyria’s great civilization and culture.

Assyrians’ Religious Background: Assyrians residing the northwest of Iran follow Nestorian sect. Nestorians are the followers of the originally Greek-Levantine Nestorius who reached the archbishop position of Constantine in 428. Having new ideological beliefs that were substantially pertinent to Christological studies, Nestorius caused the emergence of controversies that were intensified with the involvement of Alexandria and Rome’s churches and Nestorius was deposed inn a general Ephesus assembly in 431 and, since then, such kinds of beliefs were ascribed to his name. After these controversies, Nestorians were exiled from the Roman empire for being realized as heretics and they were incumbently obliged to migrate to Iran’s kingship land (Hushangi, 2010, p.21). During Sassanids, Nestorians accounted for most of Iran’s Christians (Shipman, 2004, p.67). The pressure by the formal Constantinople church on the followers of the other Christian churches was increased to the extent that they started winning the support of Iran wherein various Christian sects were enjoying a greater peace and comfort (Kolsenikov, 2010, p.147). Shamaun Beit Arshami, the historian, has stated that Barsuma, Agha, Ma’ana, Johannes, Paul, the son of Qaqay, Pussy, Abraham and Narsi who were all amongst the teachers in Odesa started migrating to Iran after the death of Hiha (bishop of Odesa) in 457 and the Iranians’ catholic Baboy welcomed them; so they remained in the center of Iran’s bishop. Barsuma (a disciple of Hiha) spent all his efforts on turning Nestorians’ scattering into gathering as well as on making Nestorianism the formal creed of Iran’s church (Oliery, 1976, p.91). After the advent of Islam, it was during the third hegira century and with the establishment of the central Nestorian church in Baghdad that Nestorians started attending and gaining a particular influence in the royal court of the Abbasid caliphs and playing a considerable role in cultural, social and political issues. The blossoming period of the Nestorian church was counteracted by the Mongols’ invasion during the 7th hegira century in such a way that, in the interval between the 9th and 13th hegira century, Nestorians were out of the eyes’ range of sight (Hushangi, 2010, p.21). Since then, sanctification and communion rituals have been exercised amongst the Assyrians. Communion which is also called Edy or Tadeusz rituals is being presently practiced in the same original form. All of the religious (Assyrian) rites are slowly written in a language with which Jesus Christ spoke (Beth Kellya Yunathen, 1980, p.34). During the mid-18th century, the European and American missioners entered Iran and each started preaching the branch of Christianity it believed in. Americans and English were protestant and French were catholic. As for Iran, Americans dispatched their preachers to the Nestorian Christians in Azerbaijan so that Christianism can gradually find its way to the whole Asia (Hajianpour, 2016, p.20). In 1881, a delegation was dispatched by the bishop of England’s Canterbury to Azerbaijan. This delegation addressed Nestorians with such a title as Assyrians (Vine, 1937, p.179 cited in Hajianpour). The religious and preaching activities by the American missioners did not end in any change in Nestorianism in this period but the road was paved for the conversion of a large number of Nestorians during the later years. It is worth mentioning that Urmia’s Nestorians started converting to Protestantism in large numbers since 1846 and it is reminded under the title of 1846’s revival period (Perkins, 1861, p.163 cited in Hajianpour). However, a large number of the Assyrians who were still practicing their own Nestorian beliefs and had not joined the abovementioned creeds used the term “the eastern Assyria church” to mention their church.

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 Eastern Assyria Church which is also known as Nestorian church features a background different from that of the western church and even the eastern area’s churches. However, although the Assyrians dwelling Iran have risen up from a different ground, they are very much similar to the other Iranians in terms of culture in such a way that most of Assyrians realize their Iranian race as being superior to their Assyrian ethnicity (Sarmas, 1965, p.21 cited in Sajjadpour, 2004, p.102).

Identification of the Study Cases: As it was mentioned, Iran is in the ninth rank of the world in terms of the number of Assyrians residing it. The most important Assyrians-dwelling cities are Urmia, Salmas and Tehran. In Urmia and its peripheral villages, there are tens of Assyrian churches. In this study and in order to typologically study Urmia’s Assyrian churches. 12 case studies from Assyrian churches in Urmia have been selected as introduced in the following table with their names, positions, ages and plans; then, each of the samples has been briefly investigated. (In all of the maps, the upper side of the page is considered as north).

K,io;;;;;

Row Building’s Position Age Plan name

Nana Maryam Khayyam Street, Early Gregorian 1 Church Urmia centuries

Mar Serkis 2 Seer Village, Urmia Sassanids’ era Church

Kelisa Kandy Village, within a Petros Poles 8th Gregorian 3 10-kilometer Church century distance from the southeast of Urmia

Johudlar Daghi Mar Yaqus 4 Neighborhood, Sassanids Church Urmia

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Balolan Village, Mar Toma within a 60-km 5 Sassanids Church distance from west of Urmia

Golan Village, Mar within a 50-km 6 Johanna(Golan) Sassanids distance from north Church of Urmia

Jamal Abad Village Mar Johanna within a 50-km 7 Church (Jamal Sassanids distance from north Abad) of Urmia

Aadeh Village Mar Johanna within a 25-km 19th Gregorian 8 (Aadeh) Church distance from the century northeast of Urmia

Ordushahi Village Mar Gabriel within a 17-km 18th or 19th 9 Church distance from the Gregorian century south of Urmia

Ordushahi Village Mar Sabishu’e within a 17-km 18th or 19th 10 Church distance from the Gregorian century south of Urmia

Sepurghan Village Mar Georges within a 34-km 18th Gregorian 11 (Sepurghan) distance from century Church northeast of Urmia

Golparchin Village Mar Georges within a 10-km 18th or 19th 12 Church distance from the Gregorian century southeast of Urmia

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Brief Investigation of the Study Cases: Nana Maryam Church: Nana Maryam Church is positioned inside Urmia. According to the Assyrians’ historical narrations and resources, this religious building is one of the oldest and most important edifices belonging to Iran’s Assyrians because, based on the historical texts, three of Zoroastrian magi who had forecasted the birth of His Highness Jesus (may Allah hasten his honorable reappearance) traveled to Jerusalem and, upon being informed about the birth of that divine prophet, transformed this place that was a into a church hence the aforementioned church’s construction dates back to the early Gregorian centuries but, because no archaeological explorations and excavations have been carried out about the history of this building’s existent structure and there is no written historical document at hand regarding this issue at present and its plan pattern differs from the patterns of all the other historical Assyrian churches, no assertion can be made about the exact date of the existent structure’s construction. This building has a plan with an external 17m×15m dimension and the pattern of its internal spaces are not at all similar to those of the other cases studied herein. The internal spaces incorporate a series of nested spaces. After an entrance space in the southwestern edge of the plan, 2.7m×3.3m in dimension, and upon passing through a rectangular space with a 10m×2.4m in dimension (wherein historical gravestones can be seen), one can make his or her way into the church’s main hall through a vestibule. The altar room is situated in the eastern edge of this space. There is also another ancillary space in the southern edge of the altar that opens thereto through another antechamber. There are also three nested spaces in the southern edge of the plan and they can be accessed through the yard. The constructional materials used in this building are stone and brick. The spaces’ covering roofs and ceilings are domes and circular arches. In the past decades, a covering part resembling gable roof has been attached for protecting the building.

Mar Serkis (Seer) Church: This church is situated at the foot of Seer Mountain in a village with the same name in the southwestern suburbs of Urmia. According to the narrations, Serkis, a saint from the early 4th century, has been one of the commanders of Roman army. Many of the Iranian churches belonging to Armenians and Assyrians have been given the name of this saint. According to its method of architectural designing and based on the narrations by Assyrian historians, this building belongs to Sassanid era and it has been constructed during the time of Khosrow II in coincidence with Iran’s victory over Romans by his order. Assyrians go on pilgrimage to this historical church every year during summer. Mar Serkis Church has a rectangular plan with a 16.5m×10.5m dimension and stone is the only masonry used for its construction. The building’s plan shows its eastern-western stretch and the building’s entrance is located on the southern edge of the plan. One can enter the prayer hall through this entrance. This hall has a plan with a 9.5m×4.5m dimension and a tall 7-meter roof with a pointed arch and it has been constructed by stone on thick stone walls. The church’s altar is situated on the eastern edge of the hall and it is three steps lower in respect to the hall’s surface; there is also a small room behind the altar that can be accessed through the hall. The second hall of church has been constructed with a 9.5m×3m dimension and the same roof cover parallel to the previous hall and it can be accessed through the first hall. This hall also has an altar in the eastern edge and a room behind the altar. The church lacks the architectural decorations.

Petros Poles Church: Petros Poles Church is situated within an 8-km distance from the east of Urmia in Kelisa Kandy Church. Petros is one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ and Poles, as well, is the name of the most important preachers during the early Christianism era. The studied church is called Petros Poles following the name of these two saints. The construction of Petros Poles Church is attributed to Hakim Bakhtishu’e who was a physician practicing Nestorianism and speaking Assyrian language in the royal court of Abbasid caliphs. He has been the private doctor of Ja’afar Barmaki, Harun Al-Rashid and Ma’amun and a member of Bakhtishu’e Family which has been one of the scientist families working in Jondi Shapour University (see also Islamic Culture and the medical arts, US national library of medicine). Due to ascription of the church to Hakim Bakhtishu’e and also its comparison with the similar examples, it can be stated that the church dates back to 8th century. The building’s plan is composed of two parts, namely an original part and an appended part. The original part of the plan is rectangular and 17m×5.6m in dimension. The plan has been stretched east-westward and stone is the masonry used in its construction. The altar is 3-steps lower in contrast to the space’s surface and it has been constructed in the eastern edge with the entrance being in the southern edge of the plan. The cover of the original hall’s roof is made of stone and in the form of circular and pointed arches. There is also a room with a

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 square plan and 4.7m dimensions and dome covering behind the altar. Use has been made of square-to-octagon transformations along with triangular-to-square cornering for the covering of this square plan. These cornering works are amongst the distinct and beautiful characteristics of the building. In the southern edge of the plan’s initial core, there are spaces, including entrance, two rooms and roof-access stairs, that have been added to the building during the later periods and, considering the pointed arches used in this section as well as the façade of the entry gate which has been decorated with vaults, the attached part possibly dates back to Ilkhanate Era. The outward appearance of the church has been covered during historical periods with thick stratified walls. In 2008, explorations were carried out to gather information about the building’s construction and reconstruction during various historical periods and clay works belonging to the medieval centuries till Timurids and Safavids’ eras were discovered. The initial core of the building lacks architectural decorations and the vaulted ornaments can be exclusively observed in the attached part of the building.

Mar Jacob Church: Mar Jacob Church (or in Azari language Martyaqous) is in the suburbs of Urmia at the foot of a short mountain named Johudlar and it is currently surrounded by the residential units after the development of the city and construction of the residential buildings. Considering the church’s form and the simplicity of its plan and its comparison with the similar examples, it seems that this building belongs to Sassanid era. This building features a small plan with a 11m×6m dimension and an east-westward stretch; the entrance is in the southern edge and the altar is in the eastern edge with a small room, 1.5m×4m in dimensions. Stone is the masonry used in the building’s walls and the cover of the spaces’ roofs and ceilings is circular arches made of brick. The church lacks architectural decorations.

Mar Toma (Balolan) Church: Mar Toma Church is situated in Balolan Village within a 60-km distance from the west of Urmia on the border strip between Iran and Iraq. This church has been called so following the name of Mar Toma, one of Jesus Christ’s 12 apostles. According to the architectural style and its comparison with the similar samples, including Urmia’s Mar Serkis Church, this church’s construction dates back to Sassanids’ era. Balolan’s Mar Toma Church has a rectangular plan with a 17.5m×8.5m dimension and stone is the only masonry used in its construction. The plan is stretched east-westward and the building’s entrance is positioned in the southern edge. The altar is placed three steps lower to the ground level in the eastern edge and there are two nested rooms behind it. The roofs of the main hall and the rooms behind the altar are covered using circular arches made of stone. The main hall has a small skylight in the western edge and one of the rooms behind the altar also has a small skylight in the southern edge. At present, the church’s floor is one meter lower in contrast to the surface outside it and the church lacks architectural decorations.

Mar Johanna (Golan) Church: Mar Johanna Church (or Mart Kheneh in Assyrian language) has been positioned within a 50-km distance from north of Urmia in the vicinity of Golan Village. This church has been called so following the name of his highness Johannes, one of the 12 apostles of His Highness Jesus and, based on the written materials of the Assyrians’ religious books and according to the building’s architectural style, the building’s construction dates back to Sassanids’ Era. Golan’s Mar Johanna Church has a rectangular plan with a 9.7m×5.8m dimension and stone is the only constructional material used therein. The plan features an east-westward stretch and the building’s entrance is in the southern edge. The altar is two steps below the ground level in the eastern edge and there are two nested rooms behind it. The roofs of the main hall and the rooms behind the altar are covered by circular arches made of stone. The building’s light absorbance is limited to a small skylight in one of the rooms behind the altar. At present, the church’s floor is a little lower in contrast to the ground level outside the church. The church lacks the architectural decorations.

Mar Johanna (Jamal Abad) Church: Mar Johanna Church (or in Assyrian language Mart Kheneh) is situated within a 50-km distance from north of Urmia in Jamal Abad Village. There are two historical churches in this village: one of them has been constructed more recently and belongs to Armenians (Surp Nishan Church) and Mar Johanna Church which belongs to Assyrians. This church has been called so following the name of his highness Johannes, one of the twelve apostles of His Highness Jesus. It can be stated in a comparison with the similar examples that the church’s construction dates back to Sassanids’ era. This building has a rectangular plan with a 6m×10m dimension and stone is the only masonry used in the walls and the roof. The roofs of the main hall and the rooms behind the altar are covered by circular arches along with pointed arches.

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 Mar Johanna (Aadeh) Church: Mar Johanna Church (Mart Kheneh in Assyrian language) is situated within a 25-km distance from the northeast of Urmia in Aadeh Village. This church has been called so following the name of his highness Johannes, one of the twelve apostles of His Highness Jesus and, in comparison to the other buildings with the same age, the church’s construction dates back to 18th or 19th century. This building has a plan with a 10m×20m dimension and features basilic patterns; there are four wooden columns with stone bases that divide the plan into three vessels covered by wooden flat roofs. The altar is situated along with a room, 4.2m×8.5m in dimension, behind it in the eastern edge and the entrance is positioned along with a three-storey bell tower in the western edge of the plan. In the body of the three northern, southern and eastern edges, there are windows installed for letting light in. Stone is the masonry used in the foundation and plinths and columns’ bases and brick has been used in the rest of the sections; roofs have been mostly made of wood. The building’s decorations are limited to the partial brick-laying in the outward appearance of the edifice.

Mar Gabriel (Ordushahi) Church: Mar Gabriel Church (Malkheh Joril Church in Assyrian language) has been situated within a 17-km distance from the south of Urmia in Ordushahi Village. Mar Gabriel is the name of the angel announcing the good news of Jesus Christ’s birth to her highness Maryam and this church has been named after him. It can be stated in a comparison with the other buildings of the same age that this church’s construction dates back to 18th or 19th century. The church has a plan, 11m×18.5m in dimension and its internal spaces have been divided into three vessels by six brick-made columns. The roof’s cover in the middle vessel is made of brick and in the form of ogee arch [with arch being coated) but flat in the two lateral vessels with part of this section being collapsed and destroyed. The distance between the middle vessel and the lateral vessels has been connected through the use of ogee arches (Khanmohammadi, 2016, p.2). The altar and a room behind it (with brick-laid dome roof) are installed in the eastern edge with the building’s entrance being situated in the southern edge. In the three northern, southern and western edges, there are windows installed for letting light in. Stone is the masonry used in the foundation and plinths and column’s bases and brick and adobe have been used in the rest of the sections. The building’s decorations are limited to simple layers of brick on the internal and external facades.

Mar Sabrishu’e (Ordushahi) Church: Mar Sabrishu’e Church (Mar Surishu’e in Assyrian language), as well, is positioned within a 17-km distance from the south of Urmia in Ordushahi Village. This church has been called after the catholic (Jathliq) Sabrishu’e. He was the same catholic who made No’man Ibnn Monzar convert to Christianism during Sassanids (history of Islam, Fayyaz, p.29 cited in Dehkhoda Dictionary). In comparison to the other buildings of the same age, the church’s construction dates back to 18th or 19th century. The church has a plan with a 10m×16.5m dimension and its internal spaces have been divided into three vessels by four brick-made columns. The altar has been installed along with three nested rooms (with brick-made dome covering) behind it in the eastern edge and the building’s entrance is in the southern edge. In the three northern, southern and western edges, there are windows installed for letting light in. Stone is the masonry used in the foundation and plinths and column’s bases and brick and adobe have been used in the rest of the sections. The building’s decorations include brick-laying in the façade, especially on the building’s transom.

Mar Georges (Sepurghan) Church: Mar Georges Church is located within a 34-km distance in the northeast of Urmia in Sepurghan Village. According to the inscription existent in the building, the church’s construction dates back to 18th century. The church has a basilic and cruciform plan, 22m×12.7m in dimension, and its main hall has been divided into four brick-made vessels using circular columns. The altar (along with three nested rooms behind it) has been positioned in the eastern edge and the building’s entrance has been placed along with a three-storey bell tower in the western edge. There are also two ancillary entry gates in the northern and southern wings of the cruciform plan. Stone is the only masonry used in the foundation, plinths and columns’ bases and brick has been used in the rest of the sections; the roof’s cover is made of wood. The roof of the middle room behind the altar is circular arch in form. The building’s decorations include brick-laying of the façade.

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 Mar Georges (Golparchin) Church: There are three Assyrian Churches, namely Mar Georges, Maryam and Mahivan, situated within a 10-km distance from the southeast of Urmia in Golparchin Village and their construction dates back to 19th century (Qajar Era). Mar Georges Church is placed on the side of the main route to the village. This building has a rectangular plan with a 16m×6.8m dimension and an east-westward stretch. The altar is located in the eastern edge and the entrance and the bell tower are positioned on the southern edge of the plan. The church’s altar is a room with an 8.6m×3m dimension and it is one step below the ground floor and has an arched roof, 3m in width, and opens into the prayer hall. Inside this room, the main position is one step below the ground floor. Masonry used in the main section of the building is adobe and wooden beams and gable covering in roof and brick in the bell tower section. The building’s internal façade has been coated with gypsum and the external façade has been coated with clay mixed with straw.

Cover of Cover of Church’s Plan’s Entrance Bell Altar’s the Masonry Row the altar name pattern position tower status prayer used room’s roof hall’s roof In the Her In the eastern Highness Circular 1 - southern Lacks edge with Dome Stone Maryam, arch edge a room Urmia behind it Altar of Single- each hall vessel Circular In the in the Mar Serkis with two Circular and 2 southern Lacks eastern Stone (Seer) prayer arch pointed edge edge with halls in arches a room parallel behind it In the Circular In the eastern Single- and 3 Petros Poles southern Lacks edge with Dome Stone vessel pointed edge a room arches behind it In the In the eastern Mar Jacob Single- Circular Circular 4 southern Lacks edge with Dome Church vessel arch arch edge a room behind it In the Circular In the eastern Mar Toma Single- Circular and 5 southern Lacks edge with Stone (Balolan) vessel arch pointed edge two rooms arches behind it In the Circular In the eastern Mar Johanna Single- Circular and 6 southern Lacks edge with Stone (Golan) vessel arch pointed edge two rooms arches behind it Mar Johanna In the Single- Circular Circular 7 (Jamal southern Lacks Lacks Stone vessel arch arch Abad) edge In the Basilic In the eastern Mar Johanna 8 (triple- southern Has edge with Flat Flat Brick (Aadeh) vessel) edge a room behind it Basilic In the In the Mar Gabriel Dome and Brick and 9 (triple- southern Lacks eastern Dome (Ordushahi) vault adobe vessel) edge edge

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 In the eastern In the Mar edge with Circular 10 southern Lacks Dome Brick Sabrishu’e three arch edge rooms behind it In the In the eastern Basilic western edge with Circular 11 Sepurghan and Has Flat Brick edge with three arch cruciform bell tower rooms behind it In Basilic In the Mar Georges southern Brick and 12 (triple- Has eastern Flat Flat (Golparchin) edge with adobe vessel) edge bell tower

It can be stated in the first place in an evaluation of the study cases and investigation of the above table and comparative examination of the study cases that Nana Maryam Church (eastern Assyria church) cannot be compared with any of the other specimens. The preliminary context of Nana Maryam Church in Urmia dates back to the early Gregorian Centuries but, since the existing context is unique in terms of the plan’s patterns and it has been found in the comparative studies that it shares none of its features with any of the study samples, it seems that the determination of the historical period of its existing context needs more exploration and further studies. It was found out in the investigation of the other study cases that they can be divided into two sets in terms of the age and historical period: 1) The first set includes churches attributed to Sassanids’ Era (5th to 7th Centuries) till the 8th century. Mar Serkis in Seer, Mar Jacob, Mar Toma in Balolan, Mar Johannes in Golan and Mar Johannes in Jamal Abad fall in this set. In between, Mar Serkis Church has been constructed by the order of Khosrow II’s wife as stated in Assyrian narrations. The historical resources are reflective of the idea that despite the pressures by the Sassanid kings on the Christians, especially Nestorians, during the three periods of Yazdegerd I, Ohrmazd IV and , the governing political and social statuses have been in favor of Iran’s Nestorians. Based on the documents presented by the assembly of Seleucid bishops, Yazdegerd ordered the reconstruction of all the temples that had been destroyed by his forefathers in the entire empire with utmost glory and all the individuals who had been tortured and pursued and imprisoned for faith in God were freed. The priests and the heads and members of the church could travel wherever they wanted fearlessly and with complete freedom (Godard, 1992, p.161; cited in Hajbari, 2012, p.160). Investigation of the history of Christianism in Iran shows that Sassanid government had endowed freedom to Christians but it had not taken any measures for authentication of this religion alongside Iran’s formal religion. Considering the above descriptions, Khosrow I was the first person who started thinking about Iranizing Christianity against Rome’s Christianism (Hajbari, 2012, p.160). Khosrow I’s religious policy, particularly his interest in Christianism might have been the reason for his condemnation by the Zoroastrian resources (Darya’ei, 2004, p.53). Tendency towards the creation of eternal relics made Sassanid architects use stone as a masonry resistant against destructions for construction of governmental and religious buildings. The method of using stone had undergone a lot of changes during 400 years. The biggest change that had occurred in the interval between the downfall of Achaemenids and advent of Sassanids was the transformation of the columns and horizontal beams’ stabilization through the application of load-bearing walls and arched roofs ( Mohammadpour, 2013, p.36). Considering the above historical and architectural interpretations and comparing this set’s churches with the Sassanid buildings that had been constructed using stone masonry, including Bishabur Palace, ’s Throne Collection and Khark’s Nestorian churches, the assumption holding that the churches of this set belong to Sassanid Era is strengthened. Amongst the churches from this set, only Petros Poles Church belongs to the early hegira centuries (8th Gregorian century) and it has been investigated in this set for the continuation of the properties and obedience of the patterns of the Sassanid Era’s churches. The plan of this set was generally in the form of a single-vessel prayer hall with an altar on the eastern edge (but several steps below the ground floor) and a room behind the altar. In between, though following this pattern, Mar Serkis Church has two parallel single-vessel prayer halls with separate altars and one room behind each of them.

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 The cover of the prayer hall’s roof is in the form of circular arch in all of these churches. The cover of the roof for the room behind the altar in Petros Poles Church is dome-like and it is circular arch in the other five samples. The entrance of all the samples in this set is situated in the southern edge and stone is the most frequently applied constructional material. The light absorbance of this set of churches is very limited and solely through orifices in the eastern, western and southern fronts. 2) The second set includes churches belonging to 18th and 19th Gregorian centuries. The long interval between the first and the second historical periods brings testimony to the stagnation and decline of Assyrians’ social status in Iran in the course of history as mentioned in the discussions on the historical background. However, Nestorians still kept on preserving their own beliefs in the course of Islamic periods in such a way that when Colonel Gaspar De Ruville came to Iran during 1812-1813, he was wondering why there are many Nestorian Christians in Iran, especially in the west thereof (De Ruville, 1958, p.125). The churches from the second set, namely Mar Johannes (Aadeh), Mar Gabriel (Ordushahi), Mar Sabrishu’e (Ordushahi), Mar Georges (Sepurghan) and Mar Georges (Golparchin) Churches, belong to 18th and 19th centuries. The plan patterns of the cases studied in this set have undergone transformation into basilic (triple-vessel) form. Altar is positioned on the eastern edge. There is one room behind the altar in three of the study cases and three rooms in two of the study cases. The roof cover of these rooms does not follow a special pattern and it is flat in two of the cases, dome-like in two other cases and circular arch in one of them. In all of these samples, the internal spaces of the plan have been divided into three vessels using two rows of columns. The plan is cruciform only in one of the cases (Sepurghan). The cover of the main hall’s roof, as well, is flat in three of the cases and brick-made vault in two of the cases. In three of the churches from this set, bell tower has also been used. The building’s entrance that has been placed only in the southern edge in the samples of the first set is in the southern or western edge in these samples. These samples’ light absorbance is through wider openings installed on all fronts. The changes in the Assyrian churches’ patterns in this historical period have been brought about by the American and European missioners’ constructions or reconstructions hence they have been influenced by the western churches’ patterns (for more information, please see Hajianpour, 2016). The most substantial constructional materials used in the samples from this period are brick and adobe for their more availability in this historical period.

CONCLUSION:

It can be concluded in an investigation and analysis of the architectural properties of the Assyrian churches that were amongst the present study’s sample volume that the Assyrian churches in Urmia belong to two historical periods: churches from the 5th to 8th centuries and the churches belonging to 18th and 19th centuries. The churches from the first set have stretched plans featuring single-vessel and very simple volumetric patterns and they have been constructed following the Sassanids’ architectural designing using stone; the roof cover is stone-made arches installed on thick piers. The churches from this set have been built with a simple style lacking any complexity in plan and devoid of any sort of decorations. Such a simplicity is expressive of the idea that these churches have been built as plain buildings for the believers’ worshipping under the conditions of pressure on Christians during Sassanid Era and in short periods of this era that the Nestorians enjoyed relative freedom; in the later periods, as well, the grounds are yet to be set for the perfection of architecture and decoration of Iranian Assyrian churches. This historical period coincides with an epoch wherein Christianism has been accepted in Roman Empire as the formal religion and their churches’ patterns are forming and evolving in this period. The second set includes churches belonging to 18th and 19th Gregorian centuries. The long interval between the first and the second historical periods brings testimony to the stagnation and decline of Assyrians’ social status in Iran in the course of history as mentioned in the discussions on the historical background. However, Nestorians still kept on preserving their own beliefs in the course of Islamic periods in such a way that when Colonel Gaspar De Ruville came to Iran during 1812-1813, he was wondering why there are many Nestorian Christians in Iran, especially in the west thereof (De Ruville, 1958, p.125). The Assyrian churches built in this historical period have triple-vessel () plan as well as concomitant cruciform and triple-vessel plans made using brick and adobe. Such an architectural element as bell tower has been added to the churches built in this period with light-absorbance being increased more by constructing openings and installing windows on all fronts. The reason for the changes that have been brought about in the Assyrian churches in this period is the construction or reconstruction of these churches’ buildings by American and European missioners hence the effect of the patterns of the western churches (for more information, please see Hajianpour).

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 19, 2020 The present study has been conducted in the area of Assyrian churches in Urmia County and it is suggested that the Assyrian churches in the other regions of Iran should be also studied. It is evident that a more perfect typology of the Assyrian churches in Iran can be obtained in case that further researches are carried out.

REFERENCES

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