Altıntaş, Midyat

Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Infobox Turkey place Altıntaş (Template:Langx;Template:Sfnmp Template:Langx)Template:Efn is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Midyat, Mardin Province in Turkey. The village is inhabited by Syriacs and Kurds of the Dermemikan tribe.Template:Sfnmp The village had a population of 214 in 2021. It is located in the historic region of Tur Abdin.Template:Sfnp

In the village, there are churches of Mor Azozoyel, Our Lady, Mor Yohannon, and of Mor Abrohom.Template:Sfnp

Etymology

The Turkish name of the village comprises two words, "altın" ("gold" in Turkish) and "taş" ("stone" in Turkish), therefore Altıntaş translates to "gold stone".Template:Sfnp The Syriac name of the village is derived from "kefr" ("village" in Syriac).Template:Sfnp

History

Emperor Anastasius I Dicorus (Template:Reign) is credited with the construction of a church at Kfarze (today called Altıntaş), under the supervision of the craftsmen Theodosius and Theodorus, in a manuscript dated to 1592, however the historian Andrew Palmer argues this was fabricated to add historicity.Template:Sfnp The church of Mor Azozoyel was likely constructed in the late 7th century AD.Template:Sfnp The church of Mor Azozoyel was constructed by 934/935 (AG 1246) at the latest, as indicated by an inscription at the church commemorating the construction of an outdoor oratory (Template:Langx) in that year.Template:Sfnp The Monastery of Mor Moses near Kfarze was constructed by AD 1085.Template:Sfnp There was also a monastery of Mar Iliyya (Elijah) the Bassi near the village.Template:Sfnp

Kurds looted the church of Mor Azozoyel in 1416 and an icon of the church's patron saint was lost.Template:Sfnp The Kurdish rebels Yezdanşêr and Mas'ud Beg attacked Kfarze in 1855, severely damaging the church of Mor Azozoyel and killing many of the village's inhabitants, including four priests and monks.Template:Sfnp The monk Barsoum of Kfarze was counted amongst the residents of the Mor Gabriel Monastery in 1877.Template:Sfnp The village was visited by the British archaeologist Gertrude Bell in 1909 and 1911.Template:Sfnp In 1914, Kfarze was inhabited by 350 Syriacs, as per the list presented to the Paris Peace Conference by the Assyro-Chaldean delegation.Template:Sfnp They adhered to the Syriac Orthodox Church.Template:Sfnp The Kurdish families at Kfarze belonged to the Ismail clan.Template:Sfnp

Amidst the Sayfo, the Syriacs at Kfarze held a council to decide on a course of action after receiving news of the outbreak of massacres and whilst some argued in favour of arming themselves, most trusted the Ottoman government's assurances of safety.Template:Sfnp However, Kurdish plans to massacre the Syriacs were leaked and after word had been sent to ‘Ayn-Wardo, armed men arrived and fought off the Kurds to allow the villagers to flee.Template:Sfnp Although many villagers survived the attack and reached safety at ‘Ayn-Wardo, others went to the Muslim villages of Dermuske and Kafsange and were taken hostage.Template:Sfnp The villagers at Dermuske were freed by 300 armed Syriacs in an attack that captured the Kurdish leader Abdulrahman’s sister, who was exchanged for the 86 hostages who were held at Kafsange and the surviving villagers of Kfarze subsequently remained at ‘Ayn-Wardo for the remainder of the First World War.Template:Sfnp

Part of the nave vault of the church of Mor Azozoyel collapsed during the First World War or immediately after, and was restored in 1936.Template:Sfnp There were 1177 residents in 1960.Template:Sfnp By 1966, 775 Turoyo-speaking Christians in 130 families inhabited Kfarze and were served by one church.Template:Sfnp A significant number of the village's Syriac population emigrated abroad to Germany, Belgium, and France in the late 20th century.Template:Sfnp

Demography

The following is a list of the number of Syriac families that have inhabited Kfarze per year stated. Unless otherwise stated, all figures are from the list provided in Eastern Christianity, Theological Reflection on Religion, Culture, and Politics in the Holy Land and Christian Encounter with Islam and the Muslim World, as noted in the bibliography below.Template:SfnpTemplate:Efn

• 1915: 100/160Template:Sfnmp
• 1966: 130
• 1978: 68
• 1979: 64
• 1981: 42
• 1987: 27
• 1995: 12
• 1997: 12
• 2005: 12Template:Sfnp
• 2013: 11–12Template:Sfnp

The following is a list of Kurdish families that have inhabited Kfarze per year stated:

• 1915: 70Template:Sfnp
• 2005: 35–40Template:Sfnp
• 2013: 23Template:Sfnp

Notable people

• Severus of Kfarze, abbot of Qartmin (Template:Fl.).Template:Sfnp
• Dionysius David, Syriac Orthodox metropolitan bishop of Qartmin and Beth Risha (Template:Reign).Template:Sfnp
• Basil Behnam, Syriac Orthodox maphrian of Tur Abdin (Template:Reign).Template:Sfnp
• Yuhanna Awgen, Syriac Orthodox metropolitan bishop of Qartmin (Template:Reign).Template:Sfnp
• Julius Simon, Syriac Orthodox metropolitan bishop of the Monastery of the Cross (Template:Reign).Template:Sfnp
• Cyril Zaytun Sawar, Syriac Orthodox metropolitan bishop of the Monastery of the Cross (Template:Reign).Template:Sfnp
• Dionysius Isa Gürbüz, Syriac Orthodox Patriarchal Vicar of Switzerland & Austria (Template:Born-in)

References

Notes Template:Notelist Citations