Cilovluq

The **Cilovluq genocide** refers to the mass murder and genocide of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani Turks, Kurds, and other Muslims in the West Azerbaijan province of Iran, during the year of 1918. The killings took place in major cities like Urmia, Salmas, and Khoy, and were carried out by Assyrian and Armenian militias that were mostly under the command of general Agha Petros.

The Iranian eyewitness and historian Ahmad Kasravi estimated that over 130,000 Muslims were killed during this genocide, other sources estimate that 200,000 to 500,000 Muslims lost their lives; this number made up almost 15 percent of the population of Iranian Azerbaijan at the time. The killings came to an end when Ottoman forces finally defeated the Assyrian and Armenian militias, entering Urmia on 31 July 1918. The manpower of the Iranian Assyrians alone numbered around 25,000, while the Jilu Assyrians who arrived in Urmia also had around 25,000 manpower.

## Etymology

The term "Cilovluq" comes from the word "Cilo" or "Jilo", the name of an Assyrian tribe. The name of this tribe was used by the local Muslims to refer to the Assyrian Christian militia that was active in Iranian Azerbaijan at the time, since it was largely made up of Jilu Assyrians who migrated from Hakkari to Urmia.

## Assassination of Mar Shimun

The assassination of the Assyrian patriarch Shimun XIX Benyamin by the Kurdish leader Simko Shikak further escalated the massacres, and provoked the deadliest and most chaotic phase of Cilovluq. Outraged by the assassination of Mar Shimun, the Assyrian militias unleashed a "campaign of terror" against the local Muslims; on the first day alone, around 200 to 300 Kurds and Turks were killed as Assyrians looted and robbed Muslim homes and villages. It is estimated that as many as 10,000 to 15,000 Azerbaijani Turks and Kurds were massacred in the city of Urmia. Simko's act of treachery also caused an immediate Anti-Kurdish pogrom in Urmia, where the Assyrians slaughtered 500 Kurdish refugees. The general Agha Petros mobilized two Assyrian columns in pursuit of Simko, but failed to capture him in the end. To make up for this failure, the Assyrians continued to burn Kurdish villages and slaughter their inhabitants.

According to the Iranian military general and author Hassan Arfa, after learning about Mar Shimun's death, the Assyrians attacked the innocent Azeri people in Urmia, killing men, women, and children without distinction. The Assyrian forces later occupied Salmas, and expelled the Azeris of the city after having committed a terrible slaughter of the innocent population.

## Aftermath

The Christian refugees of Assyrians and Armenians who numbered between 70,000 to 80,000 people, faced an exodus and left Urmia shortly before the Ottoman Turks occupied the city in hopes of meeting with the British forces in Hamadan. The Assyrian and Armenian refugees continued to plunder and kill Muslims during their journey, leading to retaliatory attacks against the refugees.

## See also

- Armenian genocide
- Sayfo
- Agha Petros

## References

az:Cilovluq
tr:Jilowlug

## Infobox (civilian attack)

- **title**: Cilovluq Genocide
- **image**: Burial of Muslims after Cilovluq.jpg
- **image size**: 300
- **caption**: Burial of those killed in Cilovluq, Urmia.
- **location**: Qajar Iran, West Azerbaijan province
- **date**: February 1918 - July 1918
- **type**: Genocide, Mass murder, Looting,  Religious persecution, Forced migration
- **fatalities**: 130,000–500,000
- **victims**: Azerbaijanis, Kurds
- **perpetrators**: Assyrian people, Assyrian and Armenians, Armenian militias
- **motive**: Islamophobia, Anti-Kurdish sentiment, Anti-Turkish sentiment, Christianization, Ethnic hatred
- **numparts**: ≈50,000 soldiers