Assyrians, Kurds, and Ottomans: Intercommunal Relations on the Pe ...

Thus Stevens headed to Mosul, joining Kamali Effendi en route, and together they opened a new chapter in the affairs of the Assyrian tribes. Britain expressed to the Turkish government its concern about the well being of its Assyrian fellow Christians, denounced their persecution, and demanded their protection. The Porte’s attention was called to Britain’s humane treatment of the Muslims under her direct rule in India, which the Turks were urged to follow. The Foreign Office asked the ambassador to exert pressure on the sultan’s government and to make it clear that the continuance of British support to the Turks depended on their good treatment of their Christian subjects.²⁰

The Mission of Kemal Effendi and Stevens

Stevens began his mission in Mosul by establishing early contacts with the patriarch Mar Shimun as well as with Bedr Khan Beg and other concerned parties. From his new location, he began to carry out his new duty of dealing with the Assyrian crisis and enabling Great Britain to play a major role in the general affairs of the region. Accordingly he wrote to Canning informing him of his efforts to liberate the captives as being the most pressing issue.

In his first report, Stevens wrote that Rassam had succeeded in liberating sixty of the captives and that there were some five hundred more in al Jazirah where Bedr Khan Beg lived. Those were over and above the ones sold as slaves in distant places such as Baghdad, Diarbekir, and Aleppo. Kemal Effendi’s efforts had helped to free some of the captives held in Bedr Khan’s headquarters and surrounding locations, and he hoped that Kemal Effendi would manage to free some more who were held in regions under Bedr Khan’s control.²¹ He further acquainted Canning with his activities, stating,