Shamoun Hanna Haydo
| Shamoun Hanne Haydo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
1870 Sare, Turkey |
| Died |
1964 Bsorino, Turkey |
| Nationality | Assyrian |
Shamoun Hanne Haydo, also known as Melki Hammo Hido, was an Assyrian warrior and leader during the early 20th century. He was well known for defending Assyrian communities during the Assyrian genocide, perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish government and Kurdish tribes.
Biography
Shamoun was born in the village of Sare, in 1870 in the Tur Abdin region of modern Turkey, to a Syriac Orthodox family. Prior to the First World War, he travelled to the village of Arbo, west of Sare, to attempt to convince the two ruling family clans of the village, the Beth Arsan and the Beth Malkuno, to help unite the Beth Rishe region in Tur Abdin and defend Assyrian villages in the event of an attack from the Ottoman Turks or Kurdish tribes.
Shamoun became Melik of the village of Bsorino and held good relations with the Imam of the Hafir/Hevêrka tribe, Alîkê Battê, from the Kurdish Mala Osmên family. In 1915, despite the massacres in the village of Kfar Bé and Monastery of Mor Gabriel west of Bsorino at the hands of Kurdish tribes, the Ottoman authorities assured the villagers that they would be safe. Shamoun offered to buy the weapons of the Ottoman soldiers so he could ensure the villagers' safety, to which they refused, leading Shamoun to respond by having their weapons seized and allowed the soldiers to return to Midyat.
The village remained undisturbed until the spring of 1917 when the governor of Midyat sent two Syriac Orthodox adherents, Father Issa and Georgius, a notable of Aïn Wardo, a village which had defeated several attacks from the Turks and Kurds, to retrieve the weapons seized by Shamoun. Shamoun, believing that the conflict had ended and that he no longer needed to defend the village, agreed to return the weapons to the authorities. He also allowed soldiers to rest in the church for the night before returning to Midyat.
Kurdish tribes were informed that the village was no longer defended and moved to attack the village. Turkish reinforcements were sent to the village to meet with the Kurds and allowed them to pillage the village and kill Shamoun and his supporters. Shamoun was burned to death in the Monastery of Mor Dodo in the village. Supporters of a rival of Shamoun within the village, Eugene, who allied himself with the Kurds, were allowed to live. Survivors of Shamoun's family were brought to the village of Alîkê Battê where they were protected for the remainder of the conflict.
Today, his grandchildren live in Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Australia. Many Assyrian and Kurdish songs have been written about him by musicians.
Sources
- MARDIN 1915 Yves Ternon, Book 1, Part 4, Chapter 2 "Deïr el-Omar Mar Gabriel, Kefarbé, Bâsabrina"
- Şemune Hanne Haydo In The Context Public Hero