Mir Muhammad Campaign Against Assyrians

**Attacks on Assyrian communities by Mir Muhammad of Rawanduz** refers to a series of military actions and raids carried out by forces of the Soran Emirate under Muhammad Pasha of Rawanduz during the early 19th century in northern Mesopotamia.

These events, recorded in various contemporary and later historical sources, involved attacks on Assyrian Christian villages, monasteries, and religious institutions in areas including Alqosh, the Rabban Hormizd Monastery, and parts of Hakkari.

## Background
The Mîr Muhammad Campaign Against Assyrian Christians was a series of attacks carried out by Kurdish forces in northern Mesopotamia during the early 19th century. The campaign was part of the efforts of Kurdish emirates, particularly the Soran Emirate and Rawanduz, to consolidate power and influence in the region.In 1808, the Assyrian Gabriel Dambo (1775-1832) revived the abandoned monastery, rebuilt it, collected a number  of pupils vowed to poverty and celibacy, and installed there a seminary. At first this initiative was opposed by Yohannan VIII Hormizd, then Archbishop of Mosul, even if it was supported by the patriarchal administrator Augustine Hindi. Patriarch Joseph Audo, before he was appointed the bishop of Mosul, was himself a monk of Rabban Hormizd monastery.
In 1838, the Kurds of Soran attacked the Rabban Hormizd Monastery and Alqosh, apparently thinking the villagers were Yazidis responsible for the murder of a Kurdish chieftain, and killed over 300 Chaldean Catholics, including Gabriel Dambo, the refounder of the monastery, and other monks.
and in the 1843 the Kurds started to collect as much money as they could from Christian villages, killing those who refused: more than ten thousand Christians were killed and the icons of the Rabban Hormizd monastery defaced.Historians estimate more than 10,000 Christians were killed in the wider region, and around 1,000 manuscripts at Rabban Hormizd Monastery may have been destroyed.The church property was looted

**1820** the Chaldean monastery of Rabban Hormuzd near Mosul was twice plundered by the famous Mir Kor of Rawanduz. During these attacks, the chapels were desecrated and turned into stables and kitchens, valuable items were looted, several monks were killed, and many surviving Syriac manuscripts were destroyed or burned.

In 1834, Kor attempted to subdue the Assyrian Christians of Lower Tyari but was defeated near the village of Lezan. This defeat influenced Ottoman perceptions of the emirate and led them to plan its subjugation.

Gabriel Dambo was murdered in 1832 by soldiers of Muhammad Pasha. In 1838, the Soran Emirate attacked the Rabban Hormizd Monastery and Alqosh, killing hundreds of Assyrian Chaldeans. In 1843, Kurdish forces demanded payments from Christian villages; those who refused were killed, and monastery icons were defaced.

## Timeline of Key Attacks
* 1828 – Mosa Pasha, governor of Amadiya, attacked Alqosh and set fire to Rabban Hormizd Monastery.
* 1831 – Soran Emirate forces attacked Alqosh, killing nearly 300 villagers.
* 1832 – Muhammad Pasha of Rawanduz attacked Alqosh, killing over 600 inhabitants.
* 1840 – Rasul Beg, Mira Koor's brother, repeated the attack.
* 1843 – Kurdish forces collected money from Christian villages; those who refused were killed, and Rabban Hormizd Monastery was damaged.

## References