The people of Assyria have an interesting culture and a huge historical heritage that has been preserved for many centuries. Despite the fact that the state of Assyria fell back in the sixth century AD, the nation continues to exist and develop. This, without a doubt, phenomenon deserves to be talked about and known by people. Assyrians - who are they? The answer to this question is not so simple, but we will try to do this in our article.
History of the Assyrian State
The Assyrian power ended its existence in 612, and since then the people called the Assyrians have been living without their own state. If we talk about the historical homeland of the ethnic group, then it is located on the territory of Mesopotamia (now Iraq). One can only imagine what efforts were made by the people of Assyria in order not to assimilate, not to scatter around the world, not to disappear from the map of nationalities. And they did this - the Assyrian people now live in the Caucasus, Tatarstan, Iraq, Turkey, the United States of America and maintain close contact with each other.
Assyrian is a nationality. But at the same time, the representative of the people cannot have the citizenship of Assyria, because such a country simply does not exist today.
Assyrian culture
The culture that the Assyrians keep to this day, was born and functioned even when human civilization was at its source. The Assyrian power lasted about two thousand years, cities were built, administrative infrastructure was created, and taxation functioned. This is one of the richest cultures in the world, because it has a long experience. Many of the achievements that we use were invented or discovered for us, the people of modernity, by the ancient Assyrians.
Writing
Of particular note is the writing of the Assyrians. All knowledge about the life and culture of that time, mankind received thanks to clay tablets. Pictograph (the image of objects, their external form) was originally used. Since drawings as a way of communication took up a lot of time, writing became more and more simplified until it turned into cuneiform writing. Ink of ancient civilizations was clay, and the instrument of writing was a sharp wand planed from wood.
The tiles on which the ancient Assyrians wrote about themselves and the world around them were then dried and burned so that the inscription did not suffer from dampness or time.
It is known that there were schools in Assyria. During the excavation, tablets were found that were identified as “teaching aids for students.” Four years were allotted to study the same writing. And later, it was possible to find out that even in Mesopotamia there was a university, probably the first for mankind. It studied writing, grammar and painting. Unfortunately, tablets with completed homework or lectures were not preserved. Scientists suggest that the tiles were processed with inept hands. And in the end they soured, not having reached to our century unique information about the teaching methodology.
What language do the Assyrians speak?
The Assyrian language is a mixture of East Aramaic dialects that etymologically belong to the family of Semitic-Hamitic languages. This language is spoken not only by the Assyrians who live in Iran, Turkey, Iraq or Syria, but also by immigrants in Russia, the United States. Assyrian literary language formed in the nineteenth century. It was published and published by the press, fiction. Many foreign words are rooted in the language.
Mysterious Assyrians: Religion and Faith
Starting a story about the Assyrian religion makes sense from a biblical legend. It is carefully preserved and honored by the Assyrians. Religion in their place of honor, therefore, the story is known to everyone. Its essence is that one of the sorcerers who came to the newborn Jesus with gifts was an Assyrian by nationality. After making sure that the Messiah was really born into the world, this sorcerer returned to his people and spread the good news that a miracle had happened, and a savior was born in every house.
The Assyrian religion is a special kind of Christianity called Nestorianism. That is what the Assyrians believe. Who are they by religion? It is most correct to call them Christians, only special.
The emergence of Nestorianism
A religious trend arose around the fifth century. The founder is a monk named Nestorius, and later the patriarch of Constantinople. He held this position for four years: from 428 to 431 years. As for Nestorianism as a religion, many features of the teachings of Arius are guessed in it. Recall that the faith of Aria was rejected as heresy at the First Ecumenical Council in 325, since it rejected the concept of Jesus Christ as a divine messenger. Of course, Nestorianism has many dogmatic differences, namely, the positioning of Jesus Christ not as God (Orthodoxy) and not as a person (Aria), but as a creature that had a human face with God inside. The point is that in Jesus Christ there were two principles: divine and human, and they can be easily separated from each other.
In connection with such views on the nature of Jesus Christ, among Nestorians, the image of the mother of the Virgin is also interpreted differently. They call her the Mother of God and are not revered as the Orthodox do. As for the sacraments, they are similar to the traditional ones among the Nestorians: baptism, priesthood, communion, repentance. Plus to all this, sacraments and a sign of the cross are considered sacraments in this faith .
The Assyrian Church uses the liturgies of the apostles Thaddeus and Mark, which were written during their stay in Jerusalem. Services are held in the Old Syriac language. Icons and statues symbolizing saints are not required elements in churches. Celibacy, Assyrian Church not provided for priests involves marriage even after ordination.
Persecution
At the Third Ecumenical Council, Nestorianism suffered the same sad fate as the faith of Arius - he was recognized as heresy. Since then, Nestorians have been living communities, the heads of which are recognized as Catholicos-Patriarchs. In 1968, the teaching was split into two schools, which still exist separately today. The first school is the Assyrian Church, whose center, surprisingly, is located in the United States, Illinois. And the second, the so-called Ancient Church of the East, settled in Baghdad (Iraq).
Twentieth century: Assyrians, who are they today?
The Assyrians began to move to Russian territory after 1918, when it became clear that they would simply be destroyed in Turkey. The reception was organized quite warmly, which was connected with the participation of the nationality in the First World War on the side of the Russian army. In general, the twentieth century was the most bloody for the Assyrians, who were twice drawn into fierce wars with the Turks. At that time, many Assyrians placed their hopes on Russia as the savior of the Christians of the East from oppression, or even complete extermination. They were promised autonomy and broad rights, but when the war ended, the need to fulfill promises also faded into the background.
About half of the Assyrians living in the Russian Empire died in the First World War. A quarter suffered from reprisals several decades later. Then the Second World War, which came to the territory of Russia in 1941, again claimed the lives of many Assyrians, who fought shoulder to shoulder with other nationalities against fascism. And finally, the eviction of the Assyrians to Siberia in 1949 led to the fact that about a third of all immigrants died the next winter due to a lack of warm clothing.
In 1956, they were allowed to return to the Caucasus, to their historical homeland. Where to this day the Assyrians live. Who are they such? Why do they live in Tatarstan, the Caucasus, Iraq, Turkey and America? Where did they run from and why? The answers to all these questions are given by history; now readers also know it.