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The Maintenance of Modern Syriac in Iran, After the Flight of Assyrians from Urmi in 1918, to 2007

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The Maintenance of Modern Syriac in Iran, After the Flight of Assyrians from Urmi in 1918, to 2007 ARAM, 21 (2009) 193-213. doi: 10.2143/ARAM.21.0.2047093 THE MAINTENANCE OF MODERN SYRIAC IN IRAN, AFTER THE FLIGHT OF ASSYRIANS FROM URMI IN 1918, TO 2007 Dr. ROBERT PAULISSIAN (Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies) BACKGROUND The Syriac1 language was the official and liturgical language of the Church of the East propagated from the Near East to the Far East and Southeast Asia. This was not only the language of the church but also the spoken language of a large number of Assyrian Christian communities spread throughout that evangelized area. With numerous massacres, continuous persecutions, and forced conversions the Church of the East lost a significant number of followers and many of those Syriac speaking communities disappeared or became isolated. Perhaps the fatal blow came at the end of 14th century (1390–1400) AD with the rising power of Timur Lang (known in the West as Tamerlane). This sworn enemy of Chris- tianity, called the “Scourge of God” decimated the Christian communities in his path and in the process destroyed all the churches, monasteries, libraries, and Christian educational institutions. A small number of Assyrians taking refuge in the inaccessible mountains of the Hakkarri region of southwestern Turkey survived the massacres and near-total annihilation. This supposed “refuge” proved to be not very secure, placing Assyrians under constant pressure from the Kurdish tribes and their Ottoman masters. For over 400 years, these people lived in relative isolation, regressing cultur- ally toward illiteracy. However, these mountaineer tribes had a certain advan- tage of being semi-independent because of their isolation. In contrast, life for the Assyrians living in the plains of Urmi2 and Salamas, existing as “dhimmis” under fiefdom rules was intolerable. A description of these deplorable living conditions is beyond the scope of this treatise, but has been documented else- where by Western travelers and missionaries. 1 In this presentation, Assyrian and Modern Syriac language will be used interchangeably. 2 The name Urmi has been spelled and pronounced differently as Urmia, Urmiah, Urumia, Uroomieh, Ooroomiah and Urumiyeh. Here the name Urmi, as used by Assyrians will be used. In 1934 Reza Shah Pahlavi changed the name Urumiyeh to Rezaiyeh after his own name. The Assyrians never adopted this new name and thus, retained the name Urmi in all their writings in Syriac. After the revolution and establishment of Islamic Republic, the name officially was changed back to Urumiyeh. 1675-08_Aram21_11_Paulissian.indd 193 21/04/10 11:42 194 THE MAINTENANCE OF MODERN SYRIAC IN IRAN Fortunately, the sad plight of the Assyrians was destined to somewhat improve. The arrival of Western missionaries and their selfless dedication to bringing educational and spiritual enlightenment to the Assyrian communities halted the decline and caused a revival in these communities. American missionaries arrived in Urmi between 1834–1835 followed by Catholics, Anglicans, Russian Orthodox and various Protestant missions. At their first arrival, the American missionaries reported that among the approxi- mately 125,000 Nestorians (Church of the East adherents), only 40 males and one female were able to read Classical Syriac. There was no writing in ver- nacular dialect, there were no books, no schools, and the majority of people did not understand the church services performed in Classical Syriac. One of the first tasks undertaken by the American missions was to reduce the vernacular dialect to writing, set up a printing press, establish elementary/ intermediate schools and later charter a college and medical school. The first periodical in Iran “Zahrira d}Bahra,” was first published in the Assyrian lan- guage in 1849 and continued until World War I. Other missions also organized schools, managed printing presses and published periodicals (i.e., the Catholic “Qala d}shrara” and Russian Orthodox “Urmi Ortodoxetta”). The first Assyrian school (and also the first modern school of any kind in Iran) was established on January 18, 1836 with seven students.3 By 1906, the secular and independent Assyrian bi-weekly periodical “Kokhva”4 reported a total of 201 schools in the plains of Urmi and Salamas with 5084 students enrolled. This educational progress caused the Assyrians to become the most highly literate group among all the majority and minority populations in Iran.5 According to Charles Issawi, “An estimate made by Soviet observers in 1920’s shows that the Assyrian community had a highest rate of literacy (80% both men and women) among all the ethnic groups in Iran.”6 In comparison as late as 1977 only about 37% of the adult population in Iran was literate.7 Further information regarding the contribution of missionaries to Iran, particularly to Assyrians, is available elsewhere.8 3 John Elder, History of the American Presbyterian Mission to Iran, 1834-1960 (Tehran: Literature committee of the Church Council of Iran, n.d. 1962?), 11. 4 Kokhva, vol. 1 no. 10 (November 1906): 85-86. 5 Elder, 96. 6 Charles Issawi, The Economic History of Iran: 1800-1914 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971), 24. 7 Richard F. Nyrup, Iran: A Country Study (Washington DC: American University Press, 1978), 98. 8 Arthur Judson Brown, “One Hundred Years: A history of the Foreign Missionary Work of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., With some Account of Countries, Peoples, and the Policies and Problems of Modern Missions” (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1936); John Joseph, The Modern Assyrians of the Middle East: Encounters with Western Christian missions, archeologists, and colonial powers (Leiden: Brill, 2000); John Elder, History of the American Presbyterian Mission to Iran, 1834-1960 (Tehran: Literature committee of the Church 1675-08_Aram21_11_Paulissian.indd 194 21/04/10 11:42 R. PAULISSIAN 195 This educational and literary prosperity was short-lived, coming to a tragic end with the outbreak of World War I. In July of 1918, Assyrians were forced to leave Urmi caused by factors including: jealousy and hostility of the local population, a Jihad declared by Ottoman Turkey against Christians, continual persecution and massacres by Kurdish warlords encouraged by their Ottoman masters. Assyrians left their homes, villages, churches and schools and fled on foot. Dr. Richard Cottom, professor of political science at the University of Pittsburgh who served as a political officer in 1950’s at the American Embassy in Iran, eloquently described the event: “Because of their location on the Turkish border and in the midst of Kurdish vil- lages, the Assyrians suffered even more from the Turkish and Turkish – inspired Kurdish raids than did the Armenians. Their suffering became so severe that they despaired of ever again living in peace in Urmia, and a large number fled toward Iraq and British protection. More than one-half are said to have perished on the journey. The story of their flight is one of those human tragedies that cries for a great novelist to record.”9 The majority of Assyrians walked over 700 kilometers on inhospitable roads with the enemy in pursuit to Hamadan, Iran to gain the protection of the British Army. The able-bodied men were recruited as militias or served in support of military actions. The older men, women and children were put to the task of grinding rocks to surface roads from Hamadan to Kermanshah, Iran and from there to Ba{quba northwest of Baghdad in Mesopotamia, where they were settled in tent camps. (See Figure 1) The period to be discussed in the remainder of this treatise covers a period of approximately 90 years between 1918 and 2007 and is divided into three historical stages: 1. The flight of Assyrians in July 1918 to the time of the forced abdication of Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1941. 2. The period of the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (1941 to 1979). 3. The revolution and establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the present (1979–2007). In each of these periods, socioeconomic and political factors significantly affected the opportunities for educational instruction in the Assyrian language, literature and cultural activities. The specific areas of educational activities needed to maintain the language included: Council of Iran, n.d.); Robin E. Waterfield, Christians in Persia: Assyrians, Armenians, Roman Catholics and Protestants (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1973); J. F. Coakley, The Church of the East and the Church of England: A History of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Assyrian Mission (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992); and H. L. Murre-Van Den Berg, From a Spoken to a Writing Language: The Introduction and Development of Literary Urmia Aramaic in the Nineteen Century (Leiden, 1999). 9 Richard W. Cottom, Nationalism in Iran (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1979), 82. 1675-08_Aram21_11_Paulissian.indd 195 21/04/10 11:42 196 THE MAINTENANCE OF MODERN SYRIAC IN IRAN 1. Schools or private classes for instruction of Classical or mainly Modern Syriac 2. Printing and publication of books in Modern Syriac 3. Periodicals published in Syriac or bilingually in Syriac and the Persian language (Farsi) 4. Music, Theater and Art In covering these three periods the situation in relevant cities will be dis- cussed separately. FIRST PERIOD, 1918–1941 The years between 1918 and 1941 were the most difficult period with regards to political, economic, social and educational welfare of the Assyrian people in Iran. Assyrians became a nation of refugees for a period of time, losing every- thing and becoming completely dependent on the charity and welfare of others. They moved from town to town and country to country, each time with a loss of their meager assets. This continued displacement and struggle for survival did not allow the Assyrians to gain the resources to regroup, establish schools, and pub- lish books or periodicals for many years. Despite these socio-economic hardships, a number of dedicated men and especially women became proactive, struggled to organize orphanages, schools and offered private classes to teach the Assyrian language in the various cities where Assyrian refugees found temporary shelter.
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