Christian Assyrian communities lived between Hakkari and Iraq, in the regions of Garmian, Tiari, and Tkhuma.1 According to the tradition I heard, the tribes could muster tens of thousands of armed men.
Their country was mountainous, with little level ground for farming. They cultivated vines and fruit and wove their clothing from goat hair. Their trousers were broad, their shirts overlapped at the front, and a long woven sash was wrapped around the waist. They wore a tightly woven conical cap called a kula. Their shoes, fastened with woollen cords and suited to mountain walking, were also locally made. The men wore a long braid at the centre of the head.
The Assyrians were deeply religious. The Church of the East was headed by a Catholicos-Patriarch bearing the title Mar Shimun; at that time the office was held by Mar Benyamin Shimun. It passed within the patriarchal family, and its holder lived a celibate, ascetic life. He followed a special diet, and his hair and beard were regarded as holy; members of the community even swore by the hairs of his beard. His sister Surma Khanum likewise never married and was regarded as holy. Their language was a form of Neo-Aramaic, and many emigrated to the United States and sent money home.
After the Assyrians were driven from Hakkari in 1915, many reached the Urmia and Salmas districts of Iran.2 They settled in groups around the town. Mar Shimun made his base at Khosrowa, while others gathered in Golozan, Pataver, Sabra, Ula, and Haftvan.
Local Kurdish leaders regarded the new Christian military presence as a threat to their position. West of the town, authority was held by Ismail Agha Shikak, known as Simko3. He urged the tribal chiefs to unite against the “Jolona.”4
Simko had three brothers who governed villages of their own. Ahmad Agha joined him, while Ali Khan and Moho opposed him. The men of Ali Khan and Moho occupied the town; Simko and Ahmad established themselves to the west. Tension descended into gunfire and a nine-day internal conflict.5
The Russians were still the leading military power in the district, but intervened little in daily affairs. Iranian units were also present, though their authority was weak. We, the Jewish community, were caught between the rival camps.
Simko‘s men entered the Jewish quarter to eat, sleep, and recover their strength. At times twenty fighters and their horses were packed into a single house. The householders had to provide barley and greens for the animals, and rice and chicken for the men; anyone who resisted was beaten. This was how we lived through the nine days of fighting. In the end Ali Khan was taken prisoner and Moho was executed.
Ali Khan‘s camp had suffered many dead and wounded. Captured members of his headquarters were brought before Kurdish religious judges; seven men, including Ali Khan, were sentenced to hang. The execution committee feared killing Simko‘s brother: if their leader regretted the order, they themselves would pay the price.
They therefore executed six men and kept Ali Khan alive. They told Simko the task had been carried out; when he demanded proof, they soaked his brother’s clothes in the blood of the dead and placed them before him.
Simko clutched his head and wept. “Ali Khan bore my father’s name — how could I have killed my brother with my own hands?” When his companions saw that his grief was genuine, they admitted that Ali Khan was alive. Instead of calming, Simko raged at the committee for defying his command.
Ali Khan was brought in crawling on his stomach, a sword held in his mouth. “My elder brother,” he said, “take this sword and kill me yourself.” After a long moment, Simko extended his hand. Ali Khan kissed it, rose to his feet, and kissed his brother. That, at least as the story reached us, was how the affair ended.
- Tiari and Tkhuma were Assyrian tribal districts in the Hakkari mountains. Garmian lies farther south-east in Iraqi Kurdistan, so the diary may be combining several areas of settlement. See Samuel E. Fox, The Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Jilu (accessed 2 September 2026).
- The large-scale displacement from Hakkari began in 1915. External sources confirm that the Jilu people were driven out that year and describe Assyrians from Golozan as displaced during the First World War. Fox, Jilu; Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Simono, Nimrod” (accessed 2 September 2026).
- Original editor’s note: In the Turkish source the name is written ‘Simiko.’
- The identification of “Jolona” with the people of Jilu emerged in a research exchange relayed during the editor’s correspondence with Dr Mordechai (Moti) Zaken; Dr Zaken helped focus the inquiry. Correspondence with Dr Zaken, 15 May 2020 (accessed 2 September 2026).
- Dr Mordechai (Moti) Zaken stressed that this was not a general “Kurdish civil war” but a local conflict between Simko and two of his brothers, lasting nine days according to the diary. The exact year remains unproven; the sequence suggests around 1918. Correspondence, 14 and 30 May 2020.