Batnaya

Batnaya or Batnai (Syriac: ܒܛܢܝܐ‎) is an Assyrian town in northern Iraq, located 14 miles north of Mosul and about 3 miles north of Tel Keppe. Prior to the emergence of ISIL the town had a population of 6,000 people, after the town was liberated it remains partially populated with 800 inhabitants as of November 2018.

Batnaya

ܒܛܢܝܐ
Batnaya
Coordinates: 36°32′15″N 43°7′24″E
Country Iraq
GovernorateNineveh
DistrictTel Kaif
Population
 • Total800
Time zoneGMT +3

History

Batnaya is first mentioned in the 7th century under the name Beth Madai.[2] The first manuscript found from the town, in the 15th century, was by a priest whose family was from Hakkari.[3]

Batnaya was attacked by the army of Nader Shah in 1743, who destroyed the village extensively and is believed to have killed half of its inhabitants. [4] In the past Batnaya used to be famous for making matting from the reeds its people used to cultivate in the valley of al-Khoser river. Currently, some of its inhabitants are cultivating different kinds of crops while others are involved in non-agricultural trades.

In 1944 the Mar Qeryaqos Church was built on the ruins of a monastery by the same name believed to have been built in the early 15th century. A second but smaller church, Mart Maryam, was built in 1966, while the church of Mar Gewargis was mentioned in an inscription dated 1745.

In Batnaya are several inscriptions. One dating to 1545 by Darweesh bin Yohanan from the village of Aqreen is entitled "Prayers for the Dead". Another is a complete bible inscribed in Chaldaya by the priest Ataya bin Faraj bin Marqos of Alqosh, dating to 1586.

As with all the other currently Assyrian villages that belong to the Chaldean Catholic Church, Batnaya's Assyrian Catholic population used to follow the Church of the East until the seventeenth to eighteenth century, when the efforts of the Catholic Church came to fruition and the Church of the East was divided.[5]

In early 2019 the UN planned to rehabilitate hundreds of damaged homes in the town. In June the first thirty home were restored and residents started returning home.[6]

See also

References
  1. Briggs, Billy. "Iraq war: The destruction and liberation of Batnaya". The Ferret.
  2. Wilmhurst, David (2000). The Ecclesiastical Organization of the Church of the East, 1318-1913. p. 232.
  3. Wilmhurst, David (2000). The Ecclesiastical Organization of the Church of the East, 1318-1913. p. 232.
  4. Wilmhurst, David (2000). The Ecclesiastical Organization of the Church of the East, 1318-1913. p. 234.
  5. Wilmhurst, David (2000). The Ecclesiastical Organization of the Church of the East, 1318-1913. p. 234.
  6. "Restored houses bring families back home to Batnaya". UNDP. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
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