Tel Keppe: Difference between revisions

| leader_name = [[BasimRaad Bello]]Naser

'''Tel Keppe''' ({{lang-syr|ܬܸܠ ܟܹܐܦܹܐ}} ''{{transltransliteration|syr|Tel Kepe}}'', {{lang-ar|تل كيف}} ''{{transltransliteration|syr|Tall Kayf}}'', alternatively spelled '''Tel Kaif''', '''Tilkepe''', or '''Telkef''') is an [[Assyrians in Iraq|Assyrian]]a town in northern [[Iraq]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Institute |first=Assyrian Policy |date=2018-08-09 |title=Mayor of Tel Keppe Reinstated After Unlawful Dismissal by KDP |url=https://www.assyrianpolicy.org/post/mayor-of-tel-keppe-reinstated-after-unlawful-dismissal-by-kdp |access-date= |website=Assyrian Policy Institute |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McDonald |first=Shalle' |date=2016-03-31 |title=Assyrian Christians' Mideast fate tied to world powers' agendas, expert says |url=https://www.jns.org/assyrian-christians-mideast-fate-tied-to-world-powers-agendas-expert-says/ |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=JNS.org |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Totiyapungprasert |first=Priscilla |title='He was never afraid': Remembering the Gilbert liquor store owner who died of COVID-19 |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/dining/2020/09/23/salim-sam-hanna-gilbert-convenient-mart-owner-dies-covid-19/5765107002/ |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=The Arizona Republic |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Poulson |first=Stephen C. |title=Patterns of Violence Directed against Civilians in Small Ethnic Enclaves during War in Iraq (2003–2009) |date=2017-01-01 |url=https://doi.org/10.1108/S0163-786X20170000041014 |work=Non-State Violent Actors and Social Movement Organizations |volume=41 |pages=77 |series=Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change |publisher=Emerald Publishing Limited |doi= 10.1108/S0163-786X20170000041014|isbn= 978-1-78714-191-9|access-date=}}</ref> It is located in the [[Nineveh Governorate]], less than 8&nbsp;mi (13&nbsp;km) northeast of [[Mosul]].<ref name=":0">Welcome to Tel Keppe at ChaldeansOnline http://www.chaldeansonline.org/telkeppe/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719115025/http://www.chaldeansonline.org/telkeppe/ |date=2011-07-19 }}</ref>

The name Tel Keppe ([[Syriac language|Syriac]]: ܬܸܠ ܟܹܐܦܹܐ) is of [[Suret language|Assyrian Aramaic]] origin and derives from the words ''teltil'' meaning “hill of”, and ''keppekēpē'' meaning “stones”. Therefore, the town’s name translates to “hill of stones”.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Coghill |first=Eleanor |title=The Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Telkepe |pages=235 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Spurlock |first=Charles |title=From the Tigris to the Rouge An Exploratory Study of Chaldean Gendered Ethnicity and Gender Transition |publisher=Michigan State University. Department of Sociology |year=2010 |pages=3 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Zaken |first=Mordechai |url=https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/12929182 |title=Jewish subjects and their tribal chieftains in Kurdistan: a study in survival |date=2007 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-474-2212-9 |series=Jewish identities in a changing world |location=Leiden ; Boston |pages=7 |language=en |oclc=646789877}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ibrahim |first=Raymond |date=2015-12-30 |title=Muslims "Have Nothing Whatsoever to do with Terrorism" |url=http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7132/muslims-have-nothing-whatsoever-to-do-with-terrorism |access-date=2022-10-01 |website=Gatestone Institute |language=en}}</ref>

The first reliable reference to the town is written in the book ”The History of Mosul”, by Abu Zakaria Azidi. The book was released in 945 AD and he wrote about the history of Mosul, in which he referenced the town of Tel Keppe. Zakaria also mentioned a different author from the year 749 AD, who also mentions the village Tel Keppe as one of the Mosul’s many [[Suburb|suburbssuburb]]s.

=== Occupation by ISILISIS ===

On 6 August 2014, the town was taken overcaptured by the [[Islamic State]] (ISIS), along with the nearby Assyrian towns of [[Qaraqosh|Bakhdida]], [[Bartella]] and [[Karamlesh]].<ref name="online.wsj.com">[https://online.wsj.com/articles/iraqi-militants-seize-christian-villages-1407404503 Barack Obama Approves Airstrikes on Iraq, Airdrops Aid]</ref> Upon entering the town, ISIS looted the homes and removed the crosses and other religious objects from the churches. The Christian cemetery in the town was also later destroyed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-pack/aiding-the-assyrians-figh_b_7069066.html|title=Aiding the Assyrians Fight Against ISIS|date=2015-04-15|website=The Huffington Post|access-date=2016-05-02}}</ref>

Soon after the beginning of the [[Battle of Mosul (2016)|Battle of Mosul]], Iraqi troops advanced on Tel Keppe, but the fighting continued into 2017.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Alkhshali|first1=Hamdi|last2=Smith-Spark|first2=Laura|last3=Lister|first3=Tim|title=ISIS kills hundreds in Mosul area, source says|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/22/middleeast/iraq-isis-mosul/|access-date=22 October 2016|publisher=CNN|date=22 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Iraqi residents flee Islamic State-held town of Tel Keyf|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GXGjEXpd4k |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/1GXGjEXpd4k |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|website=[[YouTube]]|publisher=[[Reuters]]|access-date=12 January 2017|date=10 January 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Iraqi forces recaptured the town from ISILISIS on 19 January 2017.<ref name="griffis">{{cite web|last1=Griffis|first1=Margaret|title=Militants Execute Civilians in Mosul; 101 Killed Across Iraq|url=http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2017/01/19/militants-execute-civilians-in-mosul-101-killed-across-iraq/|website=[[Antiwar.com]]|access-date=20 January 2017|date=19 January 2017}}</ref>

5 years after the liberation of Tel Keppe and most of the indigenous [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] population is yet to return, mostly due to the presence of the non-local [[Babylon Movement|Babylon Brigades]] militia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Contested Control: The Future of Security in Iraq's Nineveh Plain |url=https://www.assyrianpolicy.org/contested-control |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=Assyrian Policy |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.assyrianpolicy.org/post/mayor-of-tel-keppe-reinstated-after-unlawful-dismissal-by-kdp |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=www.assyrianpolicy.org|title=Mayor of Tel Keppe Reinstated After Unlawful Dismissal by KDP |date=9 August 2018 }}</ref> The majority of the towns inhabitants either fled to large cities, or fled Iraq as a whole.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fear and Renewal; A Town is Liberated from ISIS {{!}} Free Burma Rangers |url=https://www.freeburmarangers.org/2017/02/22/fear-and-renewal-a-town-is-liberated-from-isis/ |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=www.freeburmarangers.org}}</ref> Very few Assyrians returned or had any plans to return.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iraq's Stolen Election: How Assyrian Representation Became Assyrian... |url=https://www.assyrianpolicy.org/iraqs-stolen-election |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=Assyrian Policy |language=en}}</ref><ref name="unherd.com">{{Cite web |date=2019-12-25 |title=For Iraq's Christians, this year might be their last |url=https://unherd.com/2019/12/for-iraqs-christians-this-year-might-be-their-last/ |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=UnHerd |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Tel Keppe has faced [[Arabization]] since the late 70’s under the rule of [[Saddam Hussein]].<ref>{{Cite web |datename=2019-12-25 |title=For Iraq's Christians, this year might be their last |url=https://"unherd.com"/2019/12/for-iraqs-christians-this-year-might-be-their-last/ |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=UnHerd |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Poulson |first=Stephen C. |title=Patterns of violence direct against civilians in small ethnic enclaves during war in Iraq (2003-2009) |url=https://www.jmu.edu/socanth/_files/Ethnic%20Enclaves%20Violence.pdf}}</ref> [[Arabs]] began moving to Tel Keppe, while Assyrians began moving to the larger cities in [[Iraq]], mainly [[Baghdad]], [[Basra]] and [[Mosul]].<ref name="Tel Keppe in the Past and Today">{{Cite web cn|date=22August May 2017 |title=Tel Keppe in the Past and Today |url=https://www.theodysseyonline.com/tel-keppe-in-the-past-and-today2024}}</ref> The [[Northern Iraq offensive (August 2014)|Northern Iraq Offensive]] by [[ISIS]] made things even worse for the [[Persecution of Assyrians by ISIL|Assyrians]]. After Tel Keppe was liberated, most [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] fled to [[Baghdad]] and the [[Kurdistan Region]] or fled Iraq entirely, causing more Arabs to settle in the town. The contested security and presence of Arab-dominated militias in the [[Nineveh Plains]] has prevented the return of thousands of Tel Keppe residents.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.assyrianpolicy.org/post/mayor-of-tel-keppe-reinstated-after-unlawful-dismissal-by-kdp|title = Mayor of Tel Keppe Reinstated After Unlawful Dismissal by KDP|date = 9 August 2018}}</ref> Tel Keppe has a majority Arab [[Muslims|Muslim]] population as of 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncregister.com/news/death-by-emigration-two-years-after-isis-catholics-are-still-fleeing-iraq|title=Death by Emigration: Two Years After ISIS, Catholics Are Still Fleeing Iraq|date=27 March 2020 }}</ref>

Tel Keppe was historically the center of the [[Chaldean Catholics|Chaldean Catholic]] community in Iraq. Each family residing in Tel Keppe had one or more plots of farming land located outside Tel Keppe. The land produced [[barley]] and [[wheat]], and animals raised there included [[Goat|goatsgoat]]s and [[sheep]]. Natalie Jill Smith, author of "Ethnicity, Reciprocity, Reputation and Punishment: An Ethnoexperimental Study of Cooperation among the Chaldeans and Hmong of Detroit ([[Michigan]])", wrote that in the reports of the village "everyone was related" and that marriage tended to occur between two people from the same village.<ref name=SmithNJp61 />

* [[Tariq Aziz]], born Mikhail Yuhanna (1936–2015 ) Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister and a close advisor of President [[Saddam Hussein]]. He studied English at [[Baghdad University]] and later worked as a journalist, before joining the [[Ba'ath]] Party in 1957

* [[Yusuf Malek]], one of the leaders of the Assyrian movement in Iraq during the 1930s. Author of "[[The British Betrayal of the Assyrians]]"<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.aina.org/books/bbota.pdf|title=The {{BareBritish URLBetrayal PDFof The Assyrians|website=aina.org Yusuf Malek|access-date=March9 May 20222024}}</ref>