This people is one of the oldest on our planet. For seventeen centuries, the great Assyrian kingdom terrified many countries of the Ancient World. Since the 7th century BC, the Assyrian empire ceased to exist, and since then those who were also called the Syrians, Aysors or Nazran have no state of their own. However, their descendants to this day keep the traditions of past generations wherever they live.
Seven hundred years of war
The huge Assyrian kingdom arose from a small "alum Ashur" (translated from Aramaic - "city" or "community of Ashur") in the north of Mesopotamia. After several centuries of peaceful existence, the Assyrians began to gradually advance on the territory of their neighbors, and these successful campaigns not only added lands to Ashur, but also greatly raised the patriotic spirit of the population.
By the 8th century BC, the Assyrian army was a formidable force, replenished by regular conscription, with the same type of equipment and strict division according to ranks and types of troops. As a result of military victories, the territory of the Assyrian kingdom has grown enormously: during its heyday it included the lands of modern Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Israel and Syria. The kings of Assyria did not know leniency towards the conquered peoples, the conquered territories were mercilessly plundered, burned to the ground, and many prisoners were taken from there. They say that slaves in Assyria at that time cost negligible - the soldiers easily gave them for food and drink in taverns. And since in endless battles the kingdom drew wealth and labor, Assyria fought continuously for nearly seven centuries.
Gardens of Babylon and the Flood
However, it would be wrong to consider Assyria a state occupied only by war. King Tiglatpalasar I, glorified by victories, who, by his own admission, had no rivals in battle and conquered "42 countries with their kings", was also a caring owner of his lands. He erected palaces and temples, brought rare trees and shrubs from the conquered territories to the "lands of Ashurov", which adorned the gardens and parks of his homeland, built roads and filled the state storehouses with grain to the brim. Another king named Ashurbanapal is no less famous - he left to posterity a library of 30,000 clay tablets with legislative acts, historical works, traveller's notes, medicinal reference books and even dictionaries of foreign words.
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The history and mythology of Assyria is so rich that many subjects were shamelessly borrowed from them. For example, the story of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon recorded by the Greeks is nothing more than a legend. A queen with a similar name - Shammuramat - really ruled the Assyrian lands at the beginning of the 9th century BC, and it is quite possible that she gave the order to arrange beautiful gardens. And in the Old Testament, you can find the legend of the Flood, which also has Assyrian roots. Tradition tells about the wrath of the gods, who decided to destroy overbearing people. But the water god Ea decided to give the good and pious Utnapishtim a chance for salvation and advised a mortal to build an ark. He followed the advice, survived himself and saved households, servants and animals.
Millennia without a home
No matter how great and powerful the Assyrian Empire was, it existed only until the 7th century BC, and then collapsed under the blows of the Medes and Babylonians. Since then, the Assyrians have lived on the territory of the Arab Caliphate, and later in the Ottoman Empire and Persia. Only at the end of the 19th century, under the terms of the Russian-Persian peace treaty, the Christians of Persia (to whom the Assyrians belonged) were able to move to live in the Russian Empire. By the beginning of the 20th century, Aysor (another name for the Assyrians) diasporas lived throughout Russia, including St. Petersburg and Moscow. They completely settled down in a new place, but the world community did not abandon its attempts to restore the Assyrian statehood. At the Paris Peace Conference, which summed up the results of the First World War, a project arose to create a "new Assyria", similar tohow Israel was later created. Unfortunately or fortunately, the project remained on paper, as well as the later proposals to settle the Aisors in Africa or South America.
According to statistics, there are approximately four million Assyrians in the world today. Aysor communities can be found in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Russia, the United States, and some other countries. They are helped to preserve their national identity by their common confession (Christianity, mainly of the Nestorian persuasion) and the fact that they still speak one common language - New Aramaic, akin to the one that Jesus Christ once preached.
From magic to faith and back
As already mentioned, the vast majority of Assyrians are Christians. An old legend tells of how they stopped worshiping the ancient pagan gods. One of the kings, by the name of Avgar, once fell ill with leprosy and suffered greatly from this terrible disease. He asked Jesus to heal him, but he was busy preaching among the Jewish people and could not come to Abgar personally. Upon learning of this, the royal servants painted a portrait of Christ. And as soon as Abgar looked at the image of the Son of God, he was miraculously healed. After the recovery of the sovereign, as the legend says, his subjects accepted Christ's faith and did not betray it. True, the Assyrians introduced some specific features to Christianity. For example, in their language there is no concept of "Theotokos", instead, the mother of Jesus is called Mart Markam (from Aramaic - "Mrs. Mary"). Apparentlyas a result of a long coexistence with the Muslim world (where the image of a person is prohibited), icons may be missing in churches, and you will not see the crucified Christ on the cross. For the rest, the Assyrians observe the traditions of Christian worship.
Interestingly, along with the Christian faith, magical customs that originated in ancient times have been preserved in the Aysor communities. The most respected elders cherish as the apple of their eye Kharashut - small books with notes on occult practices - and resort to them when nothing else can help the Assyrian. It is said that the spells and rituals described in Kharashuta were once written in cuneiform on clay tablets by the priests of the kingdom of Ashur, and some of them can allegedly change the world we are used to beyond recognition.
Blue beads are extremely popular among the Assyrians, which are considered the best protection against the evil eye and various damage. They are worn on small children, brides and even pets. And in order to find out the fate of a person, the Assyrians use ancient numerological fortune-telling. Each letter of the alphabet in it corresponds to a certain number. If you add up the meanings of the letters that make up the name, and then divide the amount by the secret magic number, you can learn a lot about what awaits the fortuneteller in the near and distant future.
Come to our ball
In addition to the common religion and language, the daily everyday life of their community plays a significant role in the preservation of their traditions by the Assyrians. The patriarchal Aysor communities have preserved their own code of honor, and they include postulates, some of which, unfortunately, have lost their former value in the modern world. A worthy person among the Assyrians is one who is able to commit a bold act, especially for the general benefit. The ability to tell the truth is no less appreciated, even where it has to be defended. At the same time, it is prescribed to avoid gossip and idle chatter, to be generous, to respect women and the elderly. Those who possess these qualities enjoy authority within the community.
Assyrian families, as well as communities, have always adhered to patriarchal rules. The man is the breadwinner and head of the family, the woman is the keeper of the hearth. Until recently, Assyrians forced to work were considered women with a difficult fate: after all, this meant that there was no one to take care of the poor, even from among distant relatives.
Aysors and the laws of hospitality have been keeping for a long time, and they concern both the hosts and the guests. “Together with the guest, happiness and joy enter the house,” says an old proverb. Therefore, the owner must accept the visitor as if his arrival is a happy event, must show generosity and friendliness. There are rules for guests: they must observe moderation in food and drink, in no case intrude into the affairs of the hosts and not sit too long during visits. The Assyrians especially widely celebrate folk and religious celebrations - balls (from Aramaic - "holiday"). On such days, it is customary to call into the house and feed everyone to the full, be it even a stranger. It is from the word "ball" that the well-known expression "treat yourself to a ball" (that is, for nothing) came about.
Inhabitants of the Assyrian communities, young and old, do everything possible so that the traditions of their ancestors do not just disappear into oblivion, but are fully revived and become a reliable support for future generations.
Ekaterina KRAVTSOVA