Hakkari

Hakkari also spelled Hakkiari, Hakari, Hakiari, etc., (Syriac: ܚܟܐܪܝ‎ Ḥakkāri, or ܗܟܐܪܝ Hakkāri), was a historical mountainous region lying between the plains of Nineveh to the south of Lake Van,^[1] encompassing parts of the modern provinces of Hakkâri, Şırnak, Van in Turkey and Dohuk in Iraq. During the late Ottoman Empire it was a sanjak within the old Vilayet of Van.

In its long history, the region has come under the rule of the Kardukh, Gutian, Kassit, Hurrian, Mitanni, Urartian, Nayiri, Med and Persian civilizations.^[2] Little is known about the history of the region before Europeans first visited it in the 18th century. It is thought however that the Christian Assyrian concentration dates back to the 14th century when Timurlane occupied Persia and Mesopotamia and persecuted its Assyrian Christian populace, driving them to the safety of the mountains. By the 16th century, the Assyrians disappeared from many cities where they previously thrived, such as in Tabriz and Nisibis. The head of the Church of the East moved from Baghdad to Maragha in Urmia by 1553.^[3] The Assyrians later concentrated in a mountainous triangular region with its head atLake Van and Lake Urmia and Mosul. The Church of the East lost some of its members in the few centuries following the Schism of 1552 to the Chaldean Catholic Church. Those living in Hakkari, however, were unaffected by the disputes and around 1600 the Chaldean Archbishop Shimun IX Dinkha broke away from Rome and moved to Qudshanis in Hakkari where he reintroduced the Shimun line hereditary patriarchy which continued until 1976.

The Patriarch residing in Mar Shalita Church in Qudshanis enjoys both spiritual and political power over his subjects. Since priests were required to remain celibates the patriarchy moved from uncle to nephew.^[3] This system came to be known as Nāṭar Kursyā (ܢܛܪ ܟܘܪܣܝܐ "Guardian of the throne"), and by the 19th century this system was applied to all dioceses of Hakkari.^[4]

The Assyrians formed intricate alliances with neighbouring Kurdish tribes and their Ottoman lords, each tribe was led by a Malik (ܡܠܟ) who also functioned as a military leader during war time.

HAKKARI PRIVATE SECURITY COMPANY