| Chapter 1: | The Homeland and Origin of the Independent Assyrian Tribes of Tiyari and Hakkari |
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Scholars who examined the people on the ground affirmed that there are also monumental and architectural remains throughout the region, which suggest a longer residence of Nestorians in Kurdistan before the Mongol invasion and pre-Islamic era. Maclean and Browne affirmed the existence of pre-Islamic monuments, among which were churches, monasteries, and the geographical names for the mountains, rivers, valleys, and so forth.69
To begin criticizing the theory of refugees, we must understand that the topography of Mesopotamia and Assyria (approximately present-day Iraq) falls into three different zones:
- 1. Zone A: Mountainous, stretching from zone B to the Ararat Mountains on the north, and to the Zagros to the east, as shown in the following sketch.
- 2. Zone B: Rolling, stretching from zone A to a distance of about thirty to fifty kilometres north of Mosul, Arbil, Kirkuk, and Kufri.
- 3. Zone C: A flat region, located to the south of the Hamrin Hills.
