The Nestorians and their Rituals/Volume 1/Chapter 17
CHAPTER XVII.
I shall now proceed to lay before my readers some account of the political condition of the Coordish and Nestorian tribes inhabiting central Coordistan, and shall endeavour to trace the origin and progress of those internal dissensions among them which in 1843 led to the massacre of the unfortunate Christians. I beg to premise, however, that such notices in the following narrative as tend to attach any blame to the Nestorians were unknown to me previous to my second visit to the Tyari in 1850, when I learned from authentic sources how far their own intestine quarrels had contributed to their slaughter and downfall.
It is difficult at this distance of time, and deprived as we are of any authentic records of that period, to decide with absolute certainty when the Nestorians first took up their abode in that part of ancient Assyria which we now call Central Coordistan. The present descendants of the early settlers know nothing on the subject, and would as readily, I believe, answer a leading question to that effect, and say that their forefathers came from China, as they told Dr. Grant that they had originally been driven from Palestine. Mr. Layard's account agrees with the common tradition preserved among the more intelligent people of the plains, which makes their settlement in the mountains consequent upon the tyranny and oppression exercised towards the Christians of Media and Persia by the sanguinary Tatars.—"After the fall of the Caliphs, the power of the Chaldean [Nestorian] Patriarch in the East rapidly declined. The sect endured persecution from the Tatar sovereigns, and had to contend against even more formidable rivals in the [Roman] Catholic missionaries, who now began to spread themselves over Asia. The first great persecution of the Chaldeans [Nestorians] appears to have taken place during the reign of Kassan, the son of Arghoun, the grandson of Hulaku. But it is to the merciless Tamerlane that their reduction to a few wanderers in the provinces of Assyria must be attributed. He followed them with relentless fury, destroyed their churches, and put to the sword all who were unable to escape to the almost inaccessible fastnesses of the Coordish mountains."[1] This would bring down the arrival of the Nestorian colonies in Coordistan to the middle of the fourteenth century, and I am strongly inclined to believe that previous to that period there were no Christians inhabiting that district. Had it been otherwise we should certainly find some account of them in the more ancient histories of this sect; but among the many catalogues of Nestorian bishoprics still extant there is not one mentioned which answers to any of those now existing in Coordistan proper. Moreover there are no architectural or other monumental records in the mountains which argue in their behalf a greater antiquity of residence than the period generally assigned to them. From the 14th century we may reckon the decay of the literature of the Nestorians, and this circumstance, while it goes to establish that era as the true date of their flight into Coordistan, accounts also for the fact that no author of any repute is known to have sprung up among them.
Thus thrown into the centre of Coordistan, which at that time we can conceive to have been but thinly populated, their own prowess, added to the natural strength of the mountain fastnesses which they occupied, would soon gain for the Nestorians the respect if not the fear of the Coordish tribes. The country itself seems to have had no recognized master, and up to the present day the boundary between Persia and Turkey running through Coordistan is a quæstio vexata which Great Britain and Russia have interposed to decide, and a commission appointed by these two powers is actually engaged in settling the difficulty. These rival claims have no doubt tended to secure to the mountaineers generally their political freedom, whilst the occasional efforts which have been made by the two courts to bring the Coordish chiefs into subjection, have led the latter to unite themselves more closely with their Nestorian neighbours, and to avail themselves of their support in repelling any attempt to rob them of their freedom.
The above account agrees with the traditions prevalent in the mountains, and is confirmed by what is actually known of the form of government which prevailed in this part of Coordistan until within the last few years. The Emeer of Hakkari has been for ages the presiding chief, and the predecessors of Noorallah Beg granted to the Nestorians the rights of clanship, which freed them from tribute, and gave them a voice in the election of the Emeer,[2] and in all the councils of the tribes, on condition that they supplied a certain contingent of armed men for the common defence of the state. All the villages of Tyari enjoyed these privileges with the exception of Asheetha, Zaweetha, and Minyanish, from which the Emeer claimed a regular yearly tribute. Besides this he exacted from these three villages, as well as from all the other Nestorian provinces of central Coordistan Kharaj, a kind of humiliation tax, the same as is annually levied by the Turks from all the Christians of the empire. Some villages, like that of Serspeedho in Lower Tyari, purchased immunity from tribute by the payment of 13,000 piastres (about £120,) for which sum they were admitted to all the rights and privileges of clansmen. When in want of their assistance the Emeer generally abstained from levying the Kharaj upon the Nestorians, but when he foresaw no immediate need of their help, he exacted from them as much as policy suggested, lest by pressing too hard he might raise a resistance which he would have found it difficult to subdue.
In addition to the Emeer the Nestorians had heads of their own, who held under him a dignity nearly allied to that of the old Lairds of the highlands of Scotland, or the Sheikhs of the Bedooeen Arabs. This office, like that of the Emeer, was hereditary, and gave the incumbents certain rights over those villages which were not ranked among the tribes. These chiefs were styled "Meleks," and previous to the outbreak of 1843 the two individuals holding that rank in the Tyari were Melek Barkho of Rawola d'Salabeken, and Melek Ismaeel of Chamba.
The Patriarch had a two-fold authority, in the exercise of which he appears to have been supported by the Hakkari Emeers, until an increasing thirst after power, and a fear lest the Christians might acquire political ascendancy in the mountains, led them to use every effort to undermine it. He was regarded as their spiritual head by all the Nestorians in Persia and Coordistan, and his approbation was sought to sanction any measures of state proposed by the council of the tribes. We have already seen how the present Mar Shimoon exerted this power on the occasion of his visit to Asheetha, and I shall hereafter record how he headed an army of 3,000 men on a warlike expedition beyond the Tyari country.
The Patriarch, moreover, exercised the functions of a civil magistrate: whenever disputes arose between the Christians and Coords of any of the mountain provinces, the litigants were free to decide before what court they would bring their differences, whether before that of Mar Shimoon or the Emeer. A Nestorian, however, dared not, when cited thereto by a Coordish plaintiff, refuse to appear before the tribunal of the latter, from whose sentence there was no appeal. But he might choose the Emeer as his judge in preference to the Patriarch, even when the defendant was also a Nestorian. It is said, that until within the last few years, such an appeal was of rare occurrence, it being considered a crime for a Christian to go to law with a brother Christian before an unbeliever, which sentiment they justly grounded on the injunction of S. Paul (1 Cor. vi. 1—8). I mention the possible exceptions, however, in order to show the superior authority which was exercised by the Coordish chiefs.
In former times it was customary for the Patriarch and Emeer to sit in judgment conjointly whenever disputes arose between a Coord and Nestorian; but this custom ceased after the quarrel which took place betwixt the two people, the particulars of which will presently be recorded.
Part of the Patriarchal revenue, like that of the Bishops, is derived from a Resheeth, or poll tax, amounting to three pence of our money, which is paid him once in three years by all the Christians of his diocese who have attained to manhood. Besides this, he sometimes commutes with pecuniary fines, to be applied to his own use, the much-dreaded sentence of excommunication, which he passes upon those who are found guilty of any grievous crime, whether committed against the laws of the Church or state. An instance of this occurred just before my arrival at Asheetha: Mar Shimoon had fixed the dowry to be paid to the parents of a bride at 200 piastres (about £2.) A father refused to give his daughter in marriage to one who sought her hand for less than 500 piastres, and was accordingly excommunicated for his disobedience. He bore this sentence for a short time, but finding it intolerable relented, and the culprit was restored to the communion of the Church, and to the society of the villagers, for the sum of 100 piastres. Now although the nature of this punishment is ecclesiastical in its name and origin, yet inasmuch as it was awarded to crimes which in other countries are not taken cognizance of by the ecclesiastical courts, and being inflicted and removed at the will of the Patriarch, proves that he exercised a civil as well as spiritual jurisdiction over all such as submitted to his authority.
Another source of the Patriarch's revenue is derived from the Gheweeth, or first-fruits, which the people present every year from the produce of their land to the different churches in his diocese, of which a tenth part is set apart for his private use. This custom, however, does not prevent his receiving directly from the more wealthy, an annual Gheweeth, the amount of which is left to the discretion of the donor.
Prom the above statement, it results that the mountaineers lived in an almost independent state, the only acknowledgment of subjection which the Emeers rendered to the Porte consisting of a nominal tribute of 300 piastres, which they sometimes paid to the Pashas of Van and Amedia, and in return for which they received a robe of investiture. Noorallah Beg had testified his submission in a similar manner, and was confirmed in the authority exercised by his predecessors. The conquests and ambitious designs of Mohammed Pasha, the chief of Rawandooz, whom the Turks, not being able to reduce by force of arms, decoyed to Constantinople, committed to him the government of his native province, and afterwards gave secret orders that he should be poisoned on his return home, which crime was actually perpetrated at Amasia, opened the eyes of the Sultan's ministers, and directed their attention to the political condition of Coordistan generally. Bedr Khan Beg received a decoration at their hands, and Noorallah Beg was more fully and formally recognised as the Emeer of the Hakkari districts. Dr. Grant gives the following account of this latter event, which took place in 1839: "I remained ten days at Van, and had repeated interviews with my old friend Noorallah Beg, the Coordish chief, whom I had cured during my memorable visit to Bash-Kala. … It was gratifying to find him still cherishing the friendly feelings with which he welcomed me; but it remains to be seen how valuable his friendship may yet prove. Changes have occurred which have modified his power, and hereafter the traveller through his heretofore lawless country will have less to fear. It is now placed under Turkish jurisdiction: the chief has bartered his independence for an appointment from the Pasha of Erzeroom, and he was returning, an officer of the Porte, to govern his spirited clans whom he had found too restless to control by his single arm. He also foresaw that the extension of European influence, and the consequent changes occurring in the east, might at no distant day wrest his independence and his country from him. He therefore deemed it wise to make such voluntary overtures as would enable him to retain his station as the immediate head of the Hakkari tribes."[3]
Armed with this new authority, Noorallah Beg soon began to trespass beyond the powers of a feudatory chieftain, and feeling that in case of emergency he might call in the support of the Turks, he regarded with comparative unconcern the disaffection which his new measures were creating among the Christians. He now exacted the Kharaj from all the Nestorians without distinction, and demanded a yearly tribute from the produce of the landed property belonging to many of the churches. His directions to the Coordish tax gatherers were, that in case of any demur in the payment, they should spread their carpets upon the altars, and otherwise defile the temples of the Nestorians; and so great had become his jealousy of the Patriarch's influence, that he threatened to impose a heavy fine upon such villages as should show him more than common respect. He moreover intrigued with the Meleks, and succeeded in attaching them to his party, chiefly by making over to them that portion of the ecclesiastical revenue which was yearly set apart for the use of the Patriarch.
But there is every reason to believe that the Porte, in thus extending for a time the powers of the Coordish chiefs, entertained the design of finally subjecting them to Ottoman rule. The stratagem had so far succeeded in central Coordistan, that the power of the mountaineers was weakened by the dissensions which soon sprang up among them. In furtherance of this political scheme, the Turkish government in 1841 divided the authority, which until then was almost entirely exercised by Noorallah Beg, between two individuals, giving to the latter the district of Bash-Kala, and to his nephew, Suleiman Beg, that of Julamerk. New intrigues were now secretly set on foot by the rival chiefs, and the latter so far succeeded that an attempt was made about this time by the Nestorians to raise him to the dignity of Emeer, and to depose Noorallah Beg. I shall give the narrative of this project and its results as nearly as possible, in the words of Kash' Audishu and Kasha Kena, of Leezan, who took a prominent part in the village councils: "The Emeer of Hakkari had of late years encroached upon the rights of the Christians, and (whether they were sincere or not God only knows,) the Meleks professed to take part with the people, who had determined, if possible, to exterminate him. Accordingly Meleks Barkho and Ismaeel went to Mar Shimoon, who was then at a village not far from Leezan, and made known to him their designs. The Patriarch did all in his power to turn them from their purpose, and told them plainly that he would not be an accomplice in the plot. Finding him inexorable, they modified their plan, and proposed, that as Noorallah Beg had rendered himself obnoxious to the Christians of the mountains, he should be deposed, and Suleiman Beg elected in his stead, in which scheme they could rely upon the co-operation of many of their neighbours the Coords. Seeing that they were not to be turned from their purpose, Mar Shimoon chose the lesser of two evils, and promised to become the medium of communicating to Suleiman Beg the result of their conference, which he did shortly after. In the meantime, however, the affair got wind; but as Noorallah could not hope to overcome them by force of arms, he set new intrigues on foot, and fomented dissensions among the principal confederates. Some months passed away without any strike having been made, when the Meleks and Elders came to Kasha Kena and desired him to write and inform the Patriarch that they had decided to fall upon the Emeer within a few days and destroy him,—that the young and old were ready to join them,—that arms had been provided for those who did not possess them,—and that it was now useless for him to attempt to foil them in their project. On the receipt of this letter. Mar Shimoon sent a confidential messenger to Kash' Audishu, calling him to a consultation. 'Thinking that I might be a long time absent,' said the priest in his narrative, 'I took my ass and gun, and accompanied by one of the villagers set off into the Berwari to fetch a load of salt, which I required for the use of my household. While seated at a short distance from the village a Coord accosted me, and inquired what was going on in the mountains. I accordingly related to him what I knew; whereupon, to my great surprise, he told me that the Nestorian elders had visited the Moollah of that same village a few days before, and had got him to write a letter to Noorallah Beg, to the effect that they gave up the person of their Patriarch into his hands, to do with him as he pleased, and that henceforth they recognised him as their only chief, to which letter all affixed their seals. (Whether this was a blind or not to throw the Emeer off his guard, God only knows.) I went immediately to the Moollah, who assured me that what I had heard was true; so without delay I hurried after Mar Shimoon, who was then at his house at Kochânes. On hearing my report he was at a loss what course to pursue, but finally determined to seek safety in flight, and accordingly set off that same night for Jelu. The night following a party of Noorallah Beg's followers attacked the Patriarchal residence, and burned it with fire. Mar Shimoon remained in Jelu for some months, when a partial reconciliation was effected by Melek Ismaeel, who brought him back to his own house in Dez.'"[4]
This state of things, however, did not remain stationary for any length of time: some of the principal Nestorians held with the Emeer, whilst others espoused the cause of the Patriarch, who at a loss what to do, applied to the Pasha of Mosul, and made known to him the critical position of his people. The Pasha, as we have already seen, itched to have a finger in the affairs of Coordistan, and intrigued to widen the breach between the two contending parties, in the hope that he himself would eventually succeed to the government of the mountains. I have in my possession the copies of twenty letters which he sent to Mar Shimoon about this time, all of which show the exquisite cunning of his deep-laid schemes. As the Patriarch could not read Arabic or Persian, these letters were translated into Syriac by a Jacobite deacon at Mosul, who presented me with the rough drafts of the same after the Pasha's death.
There can be no doubt, that some fear as to the result of this reference to the Turkish authorities on the part of Mar Shimoon, added to his former jealousy of the Patriarchal influence, instigated the Emeer to strengthen his position so as to be able to crush the Christians at a blow. In order to this, he cultivated the friendship and alliance of all the Coordish chiefs in the neighbourhood, and invited to his court all the disaffected. Ali Beg, who with his brother Hadj Asaad Beg, had created a rebellion in Mardeen, and were reduced by Resheed Pasha, and who rebelled again after that the government of that town had been entrusted to him by Mohammed Pasha of Mosul, were both refugees in the Hakkari, under the wing of Noorallah Beg. Ismael Pasha, the ex-governor of Amedia, who had an old grudge against the Nestorians, and who afterwards took an active part in the warlike expeditions against them, was also a frequent visitor there. The cause of this enmity on his part deserves to be related. We have already described this chief as the hereditary Pasha of Amedia, who claimed descent from the Abbaside Caliphs, and whose family was consequently held in high veneration by the Coords. In 1832 the chief of Rawandooz, in his campaign into these parts, ejected him from his fortress, and placed a garrison there under the command of Resool Beg, his brother, to whom he made over a large portion of the province of Bahdinân, which he had seized upon and appropriated. In order to regain possession of his inheritance, Ismael Pasha applied to Mar Shimoon for assistance, who, with the consent of Noorallah Beg, headed a force of 3,000 armed Nestorians, many of whom were priests, and led them as far as the village of Ba-Merni, in the Supna. Just before this, the army of Mohammed Pasha of Mosul, had taken the castle of Daoodia, and a messenger was despatched from thence to Mar Shimoon, informing him that it was the intention of the Pasha of Mosul to take Amedia, and consequently, if the Nestorians followed up their design of re-instating Ismael Pasha in the government of the province, they would be fighting against the Osmanlis. On hearing this, the Patriarch sent a reply, to the effect that they never wished to oppose the Sultan's authority, and that as affairs had taken such a turn, he would contrive a scheme to withdraw from the contest. He accordingly informed Ismael Pasha that it was necessary for him and his troops to celebrate Easter at the church of Arâden, a Nestorian village a few miles distance from Ba-Merni, promising to return as soon as the feast was over. In the dead of the night the Nestorian contingent crossed the Tcah Meteenah, and the day following re-entered the Tyari country. Ismael Pasha never forgot this treachery: for a long time after he was kept under surveillance at Mosul, from whence he escaped to Bedr Khan Beg, with whom, and with Noorallah Beg, he became a joint confederate in all the cruel and sanguinary measures which were afterwards planned and executed upon the unfortunate Nestorians.
Ziner Beg, who had committed so many depredations in the Berwari, and on whose account the Patriarch visited Asheetha, as has already been related, was also a refugee among the Artushii Coords, under the fostering wing of Noorallah Beg.
Fearing to bring down upon themselves the vengeance of the Pasha of Mosul, the Nestorians of Asheetha had listened to the advice of Mar Shimoon, went against this outlaw, and entirely routed his followers. He was afterwards raised to the chief command of Bedr Khan Beg's troops, which he headed in their several attacks upon the Tyari. The circumstance of his having been thwarted and defeated in his designs by the Nestorians, sufficiently accounts for the bitter hatred which he manifested towards them on the occasion of the massacre.
But the most powerful associate of the Hakkari Emeer was Bedr Khan Beg himself. An innate hatred of Christianity, combined with a restless anxiety to prevent as far as possible the extension of Osmanli rule in Coordistan, made this bold and bigoted chieftain a ready confederate against the Nestorians. Had it not been for his powerful co-operation, there is every reason to believe that the attack upon the Tyari would not have been made, or if attempted, would have been successfully met and repulsed by the hardy mountain Christians. I shall now leave these infidel conspirators to ripen their nefarious schemes, whilst I give some farther account of our missionary proceedings at Mosul.
- ↑ Nineveh and its Remains, Vol. I. p. 256.
- ↑ The dignity of Emeer of Hakkari is hereditary in one family, but the choice of the individual who shall assume it belongs to the tribes, who can depose their chief, and substitute a relative in his stead. The same is true of the Emeer of the Yezeedees.
- ↑ The Nestorians; or, the Lost Tribes, p. 104.
- ↑ The burning of the residence of the Patriarch, at Kochânes, was the principal cause of the estrangement existing between him and the Emeer on the occasion of my visit to Asheetha, and the fact itself was referred to in the speech of Deacon Ishâk, as has been recorded in a preceding chapter.