| Chapter 1: | The Homeland and Origin of the Independent Assyrian Tribes of Tiyari and Hakkari |
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5. Villages of the Independent Assyrian Tribes
Tiyari
Before the various westerners began visiting the homeland of the Assyrian tribes after 1839, there was no detailed information or statistics regarding the conditions in their country. Until Dr. Grant arrived in November of 1839, and then Dr. William Ainsworth in June 1840, the tribes’ country was completely unknown to the outside world. Alongside his deep involvement in the political affairs of the tribes and the region at large, Grant observed the related issues concerning the general conditions of the people and their country, and he was the first to reveal them to the outside world in much details. The next year, Ainsworth, the envoy of the archbishop of Canterbury, produced additional information, in particular a survey of the provinces and villages. His mission opened the first chapter in British-Assyrian relations, which led eventually to the establishment of a permanent British vice-consulate at Mosul.
Christian Rassam, who accompanied Ainsworth on this visit to the homeland of the independent tribes, was shortly after appointed as British vice-consul at Mosul. An Assyrian native of the Chaldean Church who came from a prominent Christian family in Mosul, he served as a link between Great Britain and his nation.
To understand the extent and nature of the tribes and their country, as well as the rest of Mar Shimun’s followers, it is important to examine Ainsworth’s account and compare it with those written by others. The region that came under the direct focus of various interested western powers was dotted with towns, villages, and pre-Islamic monuments that showed that it had been inhabited by the Assyrian people from the dawn of history. The settlements formed a largely homogenous ethnic, linguistic, and religious extension to those of Tiyari and Hakkari. The Syriac-speaking people who inhabited the territory of ancient Assyria were the only survivors of Assyria and Babylonia.52 Speaking about the district of Amadia, Layard stated,