Assyrian people

Assyrians

Sūrāyē / Suryoye / ʾĀṯōrāyē / ʾĀšōrāyē
Ethnic flag used by most Assyrians
World distribution of the Assyrian diaspora
Total population
3.3–5+ million[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Regions with significant populations
Assyrian homeland:	Numbers can vary
Iraq	139,623[8]
Syria	200,000–877,000 (pre-Syrian civil war)[9][10][11][12]
Turkey	25,000[13]
Iran	7,000–17,000[14]
Assyrian diaspora:	Numbers can vary
United States	600,000[15][16][17]
Sweden	150,000[18]
Germany	70,000–100,000[19][20]
Jordan	30,000–150,000[21][22]
Australia	61,000 (2020 est.)[23]
Lebanon	50,000[24]
Netherlands	25,000–35,000[25]
Canada	19,685[26]
France	16,000[27]
Greece	6,000[28]
Austria	2,500–5,000[29][30]
Russia	4,421[31]
United Kingdom	3,000–4,000[32]
Georgia	3,299[33][34]
Palestine	1,500–5,000[35][36]
Ukraine	3,143[37]
Italy	3,000[38]
Armenia	2,755[39]
New Zealand	1,497[40]
Israel	1,000[41]
Denmark	700[42]
Kazakhstan	350[43]
Languages
Neo-Aramaic languages (Suret, Turoyo), Classical Syriac (liturgical), Akkadian (in antiquity), Sumerian (in antiquity)
Religion
Predominantly Syriac Christianity Minority: Protestantism, Islam and Judaism

Assyrians^[a] are an indigenous ethnic group native to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians descend directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from other Mesopotamian groups, such as the Babylonians, they share in the broader cultural heritage of the Mesopotamian region.^[44][45] Modern Assyrians may culturally self-identify as Syriacs, Chaldeans, or Arameans for religious, geographic, and tribal identification.^[46][47]

Assyrians speak Aramaic, specifically dialects such as Suret and Turoyo, which are among the oldest continuously spoken and written languages in the world. Aramaic was the lingua franca of West Asia for centuries and was the language spoken by Jesus. It has influenced other languages such as Hebrew and Arabic, and, through cultural and religious exchanges, it has had some influence on Mongolian and Uighur. Aramaic itself is the oldest continuously spoken and written language in the Middle East, with a history stretching back over 3,000 years.^{[48][49][50][51]}

Assyrians are almost exclusively Christian,^[52] with most adhering to the East and West Syriac liturgical rites of Christianity.^[53][54] Both rites use Classical Syriac as their liturgical language. The Assyrians were among the early converts to Christianity, along with Jews, Arameans, Armenians, Greeks, and Nabataeans.

The ancestral indigenous lands that form the Assyrian homeland are those of ancient Mesopotamia and the Zab rivers, a region currently divided between modern-day Iraq, southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, and northeastern Syria.^[55] A majority of modern Assyrians have migrated to other regions of the world, including North America, the Levant, Australia, Europe, Russia and the Caucasus. Emigration was triggered by genocidal events throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, including the Assyrian genocide or Sayfo, as well as religious persecution by Islamic extremists.

The emergence of the Islamic State and the occupation of a significant portion of the Assyrian homeland resulted in another major wave of Assyrian displacement due to events such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies, and the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011. Of the one million or more Iraqis who have fled Iraq since the occupation, nearly 40% were indigenous Assyrians, even though Assyrians accounted for only around 3% of the pre-war Iraqi population.^[56][57]

The Islamic State was driven out from the Assyrian villages in the Khabour River Valley and the areas surrounding the city of Al-Hasakah in Syria by 2015, and from the Nineveh Plains in Iraq by 2017. In 2014, the Nineveh Plain Protection Units was formed and many Assyrians joined the force to defend themselves. The organization later became part of Iraqi Armed forces and played a key role in liberating areas previously held by the Islamic State during the War in Iraq.^[58] In northern Syria, Assyrian groups have been taking part both politically and militarily in the Kurdish-dominated but multiethnic Syrian Democratic Forces (see Khabour Guards and Sutoro) and Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

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