Geopolitical Division of Upper & Lower
Tyareh
Firstly, to make it unequivocally clear to those who are confused or want to cast personal, illogically-rooted, doubts on the status of Tyareh; it was a tribe, a culture and a prominent region in Hakkari (southeastern Turkey) recognized as such by Ottomans, British, Russians, Kurds and Persians. The distinct culture of Tyareh, from its clothing to its dialect, its history, its autonomous status and geography are well documented by an innumerable wealth of information written by both foreign and Assyrian authors. So, for those who think that Tyareh was just a "Tribe", my advice is to make a habit of reading a book or two once in a while; engage your brain by learning some objective facts instead of always relying on your subjective, often agenda-driven, impulses of what you personally may think is the case when the situation is dealing with matters of fact and not opinion. Does the region of Upper and Lower Tyareh still exist today? Yes, but it has been under Kurdish control since the Assyrian exodus from Hakkari in 1915; check out the photos taken of Tyareh villages by several Assyrian travelers in their recent trips to Hakkari, including the trip of His Beautitiude Mar Gewargis Sliwa to Hakkari in 2014. Do Tyarayeh (people of Tyareh) still exist today? Yes! In fact, up to 50% of the members of the Assyrian Church of the East are Tyarayeh (both calendars)! Does the culture of Tyareh still exist? Yes! The dialect, clothing, foods and history still live on. As a matter of fact, the distinct clothing of Tyareh known as "Joula D'Tyareyana" were adopted as the national costume of Assyrians.
The vast region of Tyareh was geopolitically divided into an upper and a lower region. It is not certain when this geopolitical schism took place. As time went by, the Upper and Lower regions of Tyareh developed their own tribal political structures known as "Ashirat" with different clans or "Ojakh" within each and a ruling tribal leader known in Assyrian as "Malik." The Malik title was also used interchangeably with the leaders of large and powerful clans that occupied more than one village. For instance, Sheeno Odisho of Upper Tyareh was the Malik of the clan of Dadosh which comprised the villages of Dadosh, Bet Mariggo, Chamikta and Mabuaa situated in the northern sector of Upper Tyareh but he was not the overall Malik of the Upper Tyareh tribe as Malik Ismail II was. Each village was headed by a leader called "Rayis", who was in charge of the local fighters of his village. In turn, the village and clan leaders owed their allegiance to the grand Malik who ruled the entire tribe. In times of war, the clan and village leaders also acted as captains in the Malik's forces.
Political System
The position of the Malik in Tyareh was usually hereditary and stayed within a single family that had ancient lineage and a reputation for leadership. For example, Malik Yaqo D'Malik Ismail of Upper Tyareh came from an ancient family that had ruled Upper Tyareh for over two centuries. It must be emphasized, however, that a nominee for Malik had to be approved by the clans leaders of that tribe before taking leadership. There was also a nominal confirmation or blessing of the chosen Malik by the Assyrian Patriarch but the Tyareh Maliks were strictly elected by their own tribes without any outside interference or influence; this was one of the fundamental elements that made them truly independent or semi-autonomous politically. Although contention for becoming a Malik was rare, it did happen from time to time. In Lower Tyareh, for instance, Malik Khoshaba advanced himself as the overall Malik of Lower Tyareh and thereby contended with Malik Barkho II of Bne Be-Alatha, who's family had ruled Lower Tyareh for centuries. Each side had a large following behind its claim for Malik so both Malik Khoshaba and Malik Barkho II served as leaders of Lower Tyareh concurrently.
Tribal Structure
Like other Assyrian tribes, the tribes of Upper and Lower Tyareh were each comprised of their own clans (known as an Ojakh in Assyrian) and sub-clans (families). Each village, generally, consisted of a single clan (except Ashita), that founded the village itself. A number of clans in each respective tribe founded/occupied more than one village. This common occurrence was due to population growth and economic reasons; a few settlers would move out of their village and establish a new one which would typically be close in proximity to the primary village the clan originated from. In essence, clusters of villages existed in Tyareh who originated from a primary clan and those clusters were bound by blood. To illustrate this, I will use the clan of Dadoshnayeh of Upper Tyareh; Dadoshnayeh founded and resided in the town of Dadosh along the greater Zab river in Upper Tyareh, Hakkari. At different junctures in time, settlers moved out of Dadosh and founded the nearby towns of Mabuaa, Bet Mariggu and Chamikta. Despite the fact that the settlers of those towns used the names of their new towns as a substitute for their clan name (Dadoshnayeh), by clan origins and blood they are nonetheless Dadoshnayeh. Please click on the charts below to view clan information.
Firstly, to make it unequivocally clear to those who are confused or want to cast personal, illogically-rooted, doubts on the status of Tyareh; it was a tribe, a culture and a prominent region in Hakkari (southeastern Turkey) recognized as such by Ottomans, British, Russians, Kurds and Persians. The distinct culture of Tyareh, from its clothing to its dialect, its history, its autonomous status and geography are well documented by an innumerable wealth of information written by both foreign and Assyrian authors. So, for those who think that Tyareh was just a "Tribe", my advice is to make a habit of reading a book or two once in a while; engage your brain by learning some objective facts instead of always relying on your subjective, often agenda-driven, impulses of what you personally may think is the case when the situation is dealing with matters of fact and not opinion. Does the region of Upper and Lower Tyareh still exist today? Yes, but it has been under Kurdish control since the Assyrian exodus from Hakkari in 1915; check out the photos taken of Tyareh villages by several Assyrian travelers in their recent trips to Hakkari, including the trip of His Beautitiude Mar Gewargis Sliwa to Hakkari in 2014. Do Tyarayeh (people of Tyareh) still exist today? Yes! In fact, up to 50% of the members of the Assyrian Church of the East are Tyarayeh (both calendars)! Does the culture of Tyareh still exist? Yes! The dialect, clothing, foods and history still live on. As a matter of fact, the distinct clothing of Tyareh known as "Joula D'Tyareyana" were adopted as the national costume of Assyrians.
The vast region of Tyareh was geopolitically divided into an upper and a lower region. It is not certain when this geopolitical schism took place. As time went by, the Upper and Lower regions of Tyareh developed their own tribal political structures known as "Ashirat" with different clans or "Ojakh" within each and a ruling tribal leader known in Assyrian as "Malik." The Malik title was also used interchangeably with the leaders of large and powerful clans that occupied more than one village. For instance, Sheeno Odisho of Upper Tyareh was the Malik of the clan of Dadosh which comprised the villages of Dadosh, Bet Mariggo, Chamikta and Mabuaa situated in the northern sector of Upper Tyareh but he was not the overall Malik of the Upper Tyareh tribe as Malik Ismail II was. Each village was headed by a leader called "Rayis", who was in charge of the local fighters of his village. In turn, the village and clan leaders owed their allegiance to the grand Malik who ruled the entire tribe. In times of war, the clan and village leaders also acted as captains in the Malik's forces.
Political System
The position of the Malik in Tyareh was usually hereditary and stayed within a single family that had ancient lineage and a reputation for leadership. For example, Malik Yaqo D'Malik Ismail of Upper Tyareh came from an ancient family that had ruled Upper Tyareh for over two centuries. It must be emphasized, however, that a nominee for Malik had to be approved by the clans leaders of that tribe before taking leadership. There was also a nominal confirmation or blessing of the chosen Malik by the Assyrian Patriarch but the Tyareh Maliks were strictly elected by their own tribes without any outside interference or influence; this was one of the fundamental elements that made them truly independent or semi-autonomous politically. Although contention for becoming a Malik was rare, it did happen from time to time. In Lower Tyareh, for instance, Malik Khoshaba advanced himself as the overall Malik of Lower Tyareh and thereby contended with Malik Barkho II of Bne Be-Alatha, who's family had ruled Lower Tyareh for centuries. Each side had a large following behind its claim for Malik so both Malik Khoshaba and Malik Barkho II served as leaders of Lower Tyareh concurrently.
Tribal Structure
Like other Assyrian tribes, the tribes of Upper and Lower Tyareh were each comprised of their own clans (known as an Ojakh in Assyrian) and sub-clans (families). Each village, generally, consisted of a single clan (except Ashita), that founded the village itself. A number of clans in each respective tribe founded/occupied more than one village. This common occurrence was due to population growth and economic reasons; a few settlers would move out of their village and establish a new one which would typically be close in proximity to the primary village the clan originated from. In essence, clusters of villages existed in Tyareh who originated from a primary clan and those clusters were bound by blood. To illustrate this, I will use the clan of Dadoshnayeh of Upper Tyareh; Dadoshnayeh founded and resided in the town of Dadosh along the greater Zab river in Upper Tyareh, Hakkari. At different junctures in time, settlers moved out of Dadosh and founded the nearby towns of Mabuaa, Bet Mariggu and Chamikta. Despite the fact that the settlers of those towns used the names of their new towns as a substitute for their clan name (Dadoshnayeh), by clan origins and blood they are nonetheless Dadoshnayeh. Please click on the charts below to view clan information.