View source for Assyrian people

[[File:Assyrians celebrating Assyrian New Year (Akitu) year 6769 (April 1st 2019) in Nohadra (Duhok) 45.jpg|thumb|Assyrians celebrating Assyrian New Year (Akitu) in Nohadra (Duhok), Iraq]]
'''Assyrians''', also known as '''Syriacs''', '''Arameans''', are a [[Christianity|Christian]] [[ethnic group]] whose origins remain in what is today northern [[Iraq]], northwestern [[Iran]], southeastern [[Turkey]], and more recently northeastern [[Syria]]. They claim descent from ancient [[Assyria]], a civilization that once existed in northern [[Mesopotamia]] from 2600 BC.

==History==
The Assyrians became [[Christian]] in the [[Roman Empire]] 1st to the 3rd centuries in [[Syria]] and Assyria. Along with the [[Arameans]], [[Armenians]], [[Greeks]], and [[Nabataeans]], they were among the first people to practice [[Christianity]].<ref name= "RP">{{cite book| last= Etheredge| first= Laura|title=Iraq| url= https://archive.org/details/iraq0000unse_f9x6|year=2011|publisher=[[Rosen Publishing]] |isbn= 9781615303045| page=[https://archive.org/details/iraq0000unse_f9x6/page/72 72]}}</ref> During the [[Muslim conquest]] in the 6th century, Assyrians became second-class citizens, and those who fought back [[Arabization]] and conversion to [[Islam]] were affected by strong religious, ethnic, and cultural discrimination. They also did not enjoy the same political rights as Muslims.<ref>{{cite book| first= Clinton | last= Bennett | year= 2005 | title= Muslims and Modernity: An Introduction to the Issues and Debates | publisher= Continuum International Publishing Group | pages= 162, 163 | isbn=0-8264-5481-X | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NY7RzLXR79wC |access-date= 2012-07-07}}</ref> 
[[File:Southwestern part of the Sasanian Empire.jpg|thumb|Map of  Asōristān (226–637 AD)]]
In the 7th century, Mesopotamia began to see the arrival of [[Arab people|Arabs]], [[Kurds]] and other [[Iranian peoples]], and then [[Turkic peoples]]. Assyrians were set apart and then slowly became a minority in their own homeland, bit they remained in large numbers in Upper [[Mesopotamia]] as late as the 14th century. The city of Assur was still in use by Assyrians until the mid-14th century, when Turco-[[Mongols|Mongol]] ruler [[Timur]], a Muslim, carried a mass murder against Assyrians in the name of Islam. The Assyrian population was then greatly lessened in its homeland.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.assur.de/Themen/Stadtgeschichte_Engl/body_stadtgeschichte_engl.html |title=History of Ashur |work= Assur.de |access-date=12 June 2012}}</ref>

The Assyrians suffered a number of religiously- and culturally-driven slaughters throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, such as from Kurdish emirs and the [[Ottoman]]s. The notable event was the [[Assyrian genocide]], which was committed by the Ottomans during the [[First World War]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LsaJPgAACAAJ|title=Our Smallest Ally; Wigram, W[illiam] A[inger]; A Brief Account of the Assyrian Nation in the Great War. Introd. by General H.H. Austin|last=Wigram|first=William Ainger|date=1920|publisher=Soc. for Promoting Christian Knowledge|language=en}}</ref><ref>Naayem, Shall This Nation Die?, p. 281</ref>

Most recently, the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] by the [[United States]] and its allies, and the [[Syrian civil war]] since 2011 have forced out much of the remaining Assyrian community from its homeland because of ethnic and religious persecution at the hands of [[Islamic terrorism|Islamic terrorist]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Bathification of Iraqi Society |url=http://www.cpa-iraq.org/regulations/20030516_CPAORD_1_De-Ba_athification_of_Iraqi_Society_.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509145453/http://www.cpa-iraq.org/regulations/20030516_CPAORD_1_De-Ba_athification_of_Iraqi_Society_.pdf |archive-date=9 May 2008 |access-date=2022-02-10 |website=}}</ref>

==Culture==
===Language===
Assyrians speak modern languages of [[Aramaic]], but many also speak [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and [[Farsi]] depending on what country they came from. Those in the diaspora speak the national language of that country, which is typically [[English]], [[Germany|German]], [[Swedish language|Swedish]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]], or [[French language|French]]. Assyrians remaining in [[Iraqi Kurdistan]] may speak or understand [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Aramaic language |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aramaic-language | encyclopedia= Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref>

===Religion===
[[File:Assyrian cuisine in Geznakh.jpg|thumb|Assyrian cuisine]]
Assyrians belong to many [[Christian denominations]], such as the Syriac [[Orthodox Church]], which has over 1 million members around the world, the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]], with about 600,000 members,<ref>J. Martin Bailey, Betty Jane Bailey, Who Are the Christians in the Middle East? p. 163: "more than two thirds" out of "nearly a million" Christians in Iraq.</ref> the [[Assyrian Church of the East]], with an estimated 400,000 members,<ref>{{cite web |title=Adherents.com |url=http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_41.html#303 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031001183203/http://adherents.com/Na/Na_41.html#303 |archive-date=October 1, 2003 |access-date=2013-09-18 |publisher=Adherents.com}}</ref> and the [[Ancient Church of the East]], with some 100,000 members. A few Assyrians have accepted [[Protestantism]]. There are some [[Atheism|atheist]] Assyrians, but they still associate with some denomination.<ref>{{cite conference| url = https://globalization.osu.cz/publ/beyond_globalisation.pdf#page=71| title = Assyrian Ethnic Identity in a Globalizing World| first = Artur| last = Boháč| year = 2010| editor1-first=Přemysl| editor1-last=Mácha| editor2-first=Vincenc| editor2-last=Kopeček| book-title = Beyond Globalisation: Exploring the Limits of Globalisation in the Regional Context| publisher = [[University of Ostrava]]| location = [[Ostrava]]| page = 71| isbn = 978-80-7368-717-5| quote = Although there are some atheists among Assyrians, they are usually associated with specific communities based on the adherence to a concrete religious sect. | language = en}}</ref>

===Music===
Assyrian music is a mixture of traditional folk music and western modern music genres: [[pop music]], [[soft rock]], and also[[electronic dance music]]. Instruments that are traditionally used by Assyrians include the zurna and davula, but they now also include guitars, pianos, violins, and synthesizers (keyboards and electronic drums.

===Dance===
Assyrians have many traditional dances, which mostly for special occasions like weddings. Assyrian dance is a mix of both native and general [[Near East|Near Eastern]] elements. Assyrian [[Folk dance|folk dances]] are mainly made up of [[circle dance]]s that are danced in a line that is usually curved, where the dancers vine around the dancehall. The most common form of Assyrian folk dance is khigga, which is commonly danced as the bride and the groom are welcomed into the wedding reception.

===Food and drink===
Assyrian food is similar to that of other [[Middle East|Middle Eastern]] cuisines and is rich in [[Grain|grains]], [[meat]], [[Potato|potatoes]], [[cheese]], [[bread]], [[tomatoes]], [[barley]], [[herbs]], [[spices]], as well as [[Herb|herbs]], fermented [[dairy]] products, and [[pickle]]s. [[Rice]] is given with every meal with a stew put over it. 

[[Tea]] is a popular drink.

==Identity==
[[File:FlagofAssyria.svg|thumb|Assyrian flag (since 1968)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/assyria.html |title=Assyria |publisher=Crwflags.com |access-date=2008-11-16| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081012054550/http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/Flags/assyria.html| archive-date= 12 October 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>]]
Historically, the region of [[Assyria]] was a [[Melting point|melting pot]] of many peoples that included [[Sumer]]ians, [[Urartu|Urartian]]s, [[Hurrian]]s, [[Babylonian]]s, [[Akkad]]ians, [[Amorite]]s, [[Arameans]], [[Jews]], and [[Hittites]]. Assyrians are likely now a mixture of those ancient groups, which generally mixed with their neighbors.<ref>William F. Ainsworth, Travels and Researches in Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Chaldea and Armenia (London 1842), vol. II, p. 272, cited in John Joseph, The Modern Assyrians of the Middle East (BRILL 2000), pp. 2 and 4</ref> 

The Assyrian identity was  thennot based on an ethnic background. In fact, Assyrians did not become an ethnic group until they became Christian in the 1st century AD. It is only then that they became more closer to one other because of their religion.<ref>Certrez, Donabed, and Makko (2012). The Assyrian Heritage: Threads of Continuity and Influence. Uppsala University. pp. 288–289. {{ISBN|978-91-554-8303-6}}.</ref>

Today, some Assyrians call themselves Aramean, Syriac or Chaldean for religious, geographic and tribal reasons.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hays |first=Jeffrey |title=ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS, CHALDEANS AND JACOBITES {{!}} Facts and Details |url=https://factsanddetails.com/world/cat55/sub392/entry-5794.html |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=factsanddetails.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hanish |first=Shak |date=2008-03-22 |title=The Chaldean Assyrian Syriac people of Iraq: an ethnic identity problem |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&issn=10604367&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA240186433&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs |journal=Digest of Middle East Studies |language=English |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=32–48|doi=10.1111/j.1949-3606.2008.tb00145.x }}</ref> Assyrians and other minority ethnic groups in the Middle East feel pressure to call themselves "Arabs,"<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.meforum.org/article/558|title=Iraqi Assyrians: Barometer of Pluralism|author=Jonathan Eric Lewis|journal=Middle East Forum|date=June 2003|access-date=18 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aina.org/releases/20070416140021.htm |title=Arab American Institute Still Deliberately Claiming Assyrians Are Arabs |publisher=Aina.org |access-date=2008-11-16}}</ref> "Turks," or "Kurds."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aina.org/news/20061120133220.htm |title=In Court, Saddam Criticizes Kurdish Treatment of Assyrians |publisher=Aina.org |access-date=2008-11-16}}</ref>

==Homeland==
[[File:Assyria Map.jpg|thumb|The Assyrian homeland in what is now northern Iraq]]
[[File:Assyrian world population.png|thumb|Assyrian world population.<br>
{{legend|#440055|more than 500,000}}
{{legend|#aa00d4|100,000 - 500,000}}
{{legend|#dd55ff|50,000 - 100,000}}
{{legend|#eeaaff|10,000 - 50,000}}
{{legend|#F9D6FE|less than 10,000}}]]
The Assyrian homeland includes the old cities of [[Nineveh]] ([[Mosul]]), Nuhadra (Dohuk), Arrapha/Beth Garmai (Kirkuk), Al Qosh, Tesqopa and Arbela ([[Arbil, Iraq|Arbil]]) in Iraq; Urmia in Iran; and Hakkari (a large region that comprises the modern towns of [[Yüksekova]], [[Hakkâri]], Çukurca, Şemdinli and Uludere), [[Edessa]]/Urhoy (Urfa), [[Harran]], Amida ([[Diyarbakır]]) and Tur Abdin (Midyat and Kafro), in Turkey.<ref>Wigram, W.A., "The Ashiret Highlands of Hakkari (Mesopotamia)," Royal Central Asian Society Journal, 1916, Vol. III, pg. 40. – The Assyrians and their Neighbors (London, 1929)</ref>

===Subgroups===
There are three main Assyrian subgroups: Eastern, Western, and Chaldean.
* The Eastern subgroup historically lived in Hakkari in the northern [[Zagros Mountains]], the Simele and Sapna Valleys in Dohuk, and parts of the Nineveh and Urmia Plains. Its members speak Northeastern Neo-Aramaic dialects and are religiously diverse,<ref name="Minahan 2002, p. 209">[[#Minahan|Minahan 2002]]{{Broken anchor|date=2024-05-30|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=#Minahan|reason= }}, p. 209</ref> some being Protestant.<ref>{{cite book|last=Vander Werff|first=Lyle L. |title=Christian mission to Muslims: the record : Anglican and Reformed approaches in India and the Near East, 1800–1938|publisher=William Carey Library|year=1977|series=The William Carey Library series on Islamic studies|pages=[https://archive.org/details/christianmission0000vand/page/366 366]|isbn=978-0-87808-320-6|url=https://archive.org/details/christianmission0000vand|url-access=registration}}</ref> 
* The Chaldean subgroup is similar the Eastern subone and is often likened with the followers of the Chaldean Catholic Church<ref name='BBC'>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7271828.stm |title=Who are the Chaldean Christians? |date=March 13, 2008 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=March 26, 2010}}</ref> though not all Chaldean Catholics identify as Chaldean.{{sfn|Nisan|2002|p=x}}{{sfn|Travis|2010|p=238}} Its members are traditionally speakers of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic dialects, but there speak Turoyo, a Central Neo-Aramaic language. In Iraq, Chaldean Catholics live in the western Nineveh Plains villages of Alqosh, Batnaya, Tel Keppe and Tesqopa, in the Nahla valley, and in Aqra.<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-religion-turkey-christians-factbox/factbox-christians-in-turkey-idUSTRE50L08O20090122 FACTBOX: Christians in Turkey]</ref>
* The Western subgroup historically lived in Tur Abdin<ref>The Middle East, abstracts and index, Part 1. Library Information and Research Service. Northumberland Press, 2002. Page 491.</ref><ref>Central Asia and the Caucasus: transnationalism and diaspora. Touraj Atabaki, Sanjyot Mehendale. Routledge, 2005. Page 228.</ref> and speaks mainly Turoyo.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Šlomo Surayt |url=https://textbook.surayt.com/en/Online%20Course/0 |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=textbook.surayt.com}}</ref> Most are part of the West Syriac Rite churches<ref name="Minahan 2002, p. 209"/> such as the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch and the Syriac Catholic Church. Besides the original Assyrian village, Tur Abdin, there were also large populations in the towns of Diyarbakır, Urfa, Harput, and Adiyaman.

===Diaspora===
Many Assyrians have gone to the [[Caucasus]], [[Canada]], the [[United States]], [[Australia]], and [[Northern Europe]] during the past century. Thousands more live in Assyrian [[diaspora]] communities in the former [[Soviet Union]], [[New Zealand]], [[Syria]], [[Jordan]], and [[Lebanon]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aina.org/news/20160721201009.htm|title=Falling for ISIS Propaganda About Christians|website=www.aina.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aina.org/articles/dtcitaic.htm|title=Documenting The Crisis In The Assyrian Iranian Community|author=Eden Naby}}</ref>

Outside of the homeland, most Assyrians live in [[Sweden]] (100,000),<ref name="Demographics of Sweden">[http://www.eurfedling.org/Sweden.htm Demographics of Sweden], Swedish Language Council "Sweden has also one of the largest exile communities of Assyrian and Syriac Christians (also known as Chaldeans) with a population of around 100,000."</ref> [[Germany]] (100,000),<ref name="Erzdiözese">{{cite web|url=http://www.sokad.de/index.php/erzdioezese |title=Erzdiözese |access-date=18 February 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150305015143/http://sokad.de/index.php/erzdioezese |archive-date=5 March 2015 }}</ref> the United States (80,000),<ref name="Data Access and Dissemination Systems DADS 2">{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_1YR_S0201&prodType=table|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212055845/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_1YR_S0201&prodType=table|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 February 2020|title=American FactFinder – Results|authors=Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS)|access-date=18 February 2015}}</ref> and Australia (70,000).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0~2016~Main%20Features~Cultural%20Diversity%20Article~20 |title=CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN AUSTRALIA, 2016 |publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]] |date=27 June 2017 |access-date=27 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709233002/http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0~2016~Main%20Features~Cultural%20Diversity%20Article~20 |archive-date=9 July 2017 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==Script==
[[File:Assyrian-Alphabet3.svg|thumb|Assyrian alphabet (ʾEsṭrangēlā)]]
Assyrians mostly use the Syriac script, which is written from right to left. It is one of the [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] [[abjad]]s that come directly from the [[Aramaic alphabet]] and share similarities with the [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]], [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]], and [[Arabic alphabet]]s.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/578972/Syriac-alphabet | title=Syriac alphabet | encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online | access-date=June 16, 2012}}</ref> Many Assyrian people also use the [[Latin alphabet]], especially in [[social media]], for its ease.

The oldest sort of the alphabet is the ''{{transliteration|sem|ʾEsṭrangēlā}}'' script.<ref>[[William Hatch (theologian)|Hatch, William]] (1946). ''An album of dated Syriac manuscripts''. Boston: The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, reprinted in 2002 by Gorgias Press. p. 24. {{ISBN|1-931956-53-7}}.</ref> Even though it is no longer used as the main script for writing Syriac, it has been reused again the 10th century, and was added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in September 1999. 

The East Syriac dialect is usually written in the ''{{transliteration|sem|Maḏnḥāyā}}'' type of the alphabet, which is known as a "modern" simpler type. 

The West Syriac dialect is normally written in the ''{{transliteration|sem|Serṭā}}'' form of the alphabet. Most of the letters come from ʾEsṭrangēlā but are simplified.<ref>[[Eberhard Nestle|Nestle, Eberhard]] (1888). ''Syrische Grammatik mit Litteratur, Chrestomathie und Glossar''. Berlin: H. Reuther's Verlagsbuchhandlung. [translated to English as ''Syriac grammar with bibliography, chrestomathy and glossary'', by R. S. Kennedy. London: Williams & Norgate 1889. p. 5].</ref>

== Genetics ==
Late-20th-century [[DNA]] investigation by [[Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza|Cavalli-Sforza]], Paolo Menozzi, and Alberto Piazza shows that Assyrians have a distinct genetic profile, which separate, the population from any other.<ref name="assyrianfoundation.org">{{Cite web|url=http://www.assyrianfoundation.org/genetics.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000816235456/http://www.assyrianfoundation.org/genetics.htm|url-status=dead|title=Dr. Joel J. Elias, Emeritus, University of California, The Genetics of Modern Assyrians and their Relationship to Other People of the Middle East|archive-date=August 16, 2000}}</ref> Genetic study of the Assyrians of [[Persia]] shows that they were "closed," with little mixture with the Muslim [[Persians]] and that an single Assyrian's genetic makeup is comparatively close to that of the Assyrian population as a whole.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Akbari M.T. |author2=Papiha Sunder S. |author3=Roberts D.F. |author4=Farhud Daryoush D. | year = 1986 | title = Genetic Differentiation among Iranian Christian Communities | journal = American Journal of Human Genetics | volume = 38 | issue = 1| pages = 84–98 |pmid=3456196 |pmc=1684716 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1= Luigi Luca |last1=Cavalli-Sforza|author-link=Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza |first2=Paolo |last2=Menozzi|first3= Alberto |last3=Piazza|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FrwNcwKaUKoC |title=The History and Geography of Human Genes|page= 243|isbn=978-0691087504|year=1994|publisher=Princeton University Press }}</ref> The genetic information goes well with history that religion played a big role in keeping the Assyrian population's separate identity during the Christian era.<ref name="assyrianfoundation.org"/>

In a 2006 study of the [[Y chromosome]] DNA of six regional [[Armenian people|Armenian]] populations, including Assyrians and Syrians, researchers found that the Semitic people (Assyrians and Syrians) are very different from one another.<ref name="Iran and the Caucasus">{{Cite web |url=http://www.rau.am/downloads/publ.kafedr/episkoposyan_medbiolog/Yepiskoposian_I%26C_06.pdf |title=Yepiskoposian et al., Iran and the Caucasus, Volume 10, Number 2, 2006, pp. 191–208(18), "Genetic Testing of Language Replacement Hypothesis in Southwest Asia" |access-date=2021-05-10 |archive-date=2015-10-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017200047/http://www.rau.am/downloads/publ.kafedr/episkoposyan_medbiolog/Yepiskoposian_I%26C_06.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> A 2008 study on the genetics of "old ethnic groups in Mesopotamia," including 340 people from seven ethnic communities such as Assyrian, Jewish, [[Zoroastrian]], Armenian, [[Turkmen people|Turkmen]], and the [[Arab people|Arab]]s in Iran, Iraq, and [[Kuwait]] found that Assyrians were more ethnically alike compared than all other ethnic groups that were sampled in the study.<ref name="pubmed.gov">{{cite journal | pmid =  18505046 | doi=10.3378/1534-6617(2008)80[73:VODVAA]2.0.CO;2 | volume=80 | issue=1 | title=Variation of DAT1 VNTR alleles and genotypes among old ethnic groups in Mesopotamia to the Oxus region | url =  https://archive.org/details/sim_human-biology_2008-02_80_1/page/73 | date=Feb 2008 | journal=Hum Biol | pages=73–81 | quote = The relationship probability was lowest between Assyrians and other communities. [[Endogamy]] was found to be high for this population through determination of the heterogeneity coefficient (+0,6867), Our study supports earlier findings indicating the relatively closed nature of the Assyrian community as a whole, which as a result of their religious and cultural traditions, have had little intermixture with other populations. | last1=Banoei | first1=M. M. | last2=Chaleshtori | first2=M. H. | last3=Sanati | first3=M. H. | last4=Shariati | first4=P | last5=Houshmand | first5=M | last6=Majidizadeh | first6=T | last7=Soltani | first7=N. J. | last8=Golalipour | first8=M | s2cid=10417591 }}</ref>

A 2011 study from the Armenian National Academy of Sciences showed that Assyrians are genetically far from Arabs and are closer to other populations of the Near East and the [[South Caucasus]].<ref>Cinnioğlu C., King R., Kivisild T., et al. Excavating Y-chromosome haplotype strata in Anatolia. Hum. Genet., 114, 127-148, 2004.</ref> It was also shown that Assyrians are closely related to the people of [[Syunik Province|Syunik]] and [[Karabakh]] in [[eastern Armenia]] and are far from all Arab groups, which belong to a different group.<ref>Quintana-Murci L., Krausz C., Zerjal T., et al. Y-chromosome lineages trace diffusion of people and languages in
Southwestern Asia. Am. J. Hum. Genet., 68, 537-542, 2001.</ref>

A 2017 study focusing on the genetics of Northern Iraqi groups was found that Iraqi Assyrians and Iraqi [[Yazidis]] were closer together but far from the other Northern Iraqi populations and largely in between the West Asian and Southeastern European populations. According to the study, modern Assyrians and Yazidis from northern Iraq may have a stronger relationship to the original genetic stock of the Mesopotamian people.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dogan|first1=Serkan|title=A glimpse at the intricate mosaic of ethnicities from Mesopotamia: Paternal lineages of the northern Iraqi Arabs, Kurds, Syriacs, Turkmens and Yazidis|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=12|issue=11|pages=e0187408|date=3 November 2017|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0187408|pmid=29099847|pmc=5669434|bibcode=2017PLoSO..1287408D|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Related pages==
* [[Assyria]]
* [[Assyrian genocide]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Assyrian people| ]]
[[Category:Mesopotamian people]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in the Middle East]]
[[Category:Semitic peoples]]