In the Syriac Orthodox patriarchal register of dues of 1870, it was recorded that Kafro Tahtoyo (today called Elbeğendi) had 17 households, who paid 22 dues, and was served by the Church of Morī Ya‘qūb, but did not have a priest.[7] In 1914, it was inhabited by 250 Syriacs, according to the list presented to theParis Peace Conference by the Assyro-Chaldean delegation.[19] They belonged to theSyriac Orthodox Church.[20] It was located in thekaza ofHabab (attached to thekaza ofNusaybin).[21] Amidst theSayfo, the village was attacked and some survivors took refuge at the nearby Monastery of Mor Malke whilst others went to‘Ayn-Wardo.[22] Several hundred Christians at the Mor Malke Monastery, mostly refugees from Kafro Tahtoyo, retaliated and attacked Sheweske on 21 August.[23] About 8 families returned to the village in 1916.[24]
There were 274 residents in 1960.[8] By 1966, 310Turoyo-speaking Christians in 37 families inhabited Kafro Tahtoyo.[8] By 1994, only a few families remained in the village and most of the houses had been abandoned.[25] The village was forcibly evacuated by the Turkish army in 1995 due to theKurdish–Turkish conflict.[26] The villagers emigrated abroad toGermany,Switzerland, andSweden.[27] The village, including the church and its graves, was consequently plundered and nearly completely destroyed and all the trees in the surrounding area were cut down.[24]
In February 2002, the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Timotheus Samuel Aktaş and two representatives from the village requested permission to return to Kafro Tahtoyo from theGovernor of Mardin.[25] The application was approved by Temel Koçaklar, thevali of Mardin, on 28 February 2002.[25] The construction of new homes and renovations to the church began in 2004.[28] In 2006, 17 Syriac families returned to the village fromAugsburg andGöppingen in Germany, andTrüllikon andZürich in Switzerland.[29] To help revive the local economy, some returnees started businesses in the village.[30][15] The Chapel of Our Lady at Kafro Tahtoyo was consecrated on 15 August 2008 with the financial support of theEvangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg.[31] A Syriac man from Kafro Tahtoyo was shot by Kurdish shepherds in 2008 after he had instructed them to take their herds off his land.[32] In late July 2019, Syriac properties in Kafro Tahtoyo were struck by suspected arson attacks.[12]
The following is a list of the number of Syriac families that have inhabited Kafro Tahtoyo per year stated. Unless otherwise stated, all figures are from the list provided inEastern 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.[33][d]
^Also spelt as Harabekefri, Harabkefri, Harapkefri, Haraba Kefri, Kharaba Kafra, Kharaba Kefri, Keferi, or Xırabê Käfrê.[3]
^Alternatively transliterated as Käfro taḥtäito, Kafro Tachtayto, Kafro-Tahtayo, Kafro Tahtayto, or Kafro Tahtoyto.[5] Also called Lower Kafro or simply Kafro, in contrast with Upper Kafro (Kafro Elayto).[6] Also known as Ḫarābī Kafrō.[7]Nisba: Käfrōyo.[8]
^For the use of the term "Syriac" to refer to the population of Kafro Tahtoyo.[11][12][13] For use of the term "Assyrian".[14][15] The terms "Syriac" and "Assyrian" are used to refer to the same group of people.[16]
^The size of a single family varies between five and ten persons.[34]
^Omtzigt, Tozman & Tyndall (2012), p. i: "In this book the authors of the different chapters made their own choice regarding the use of the names Suryoye, Syriacs, Syrians, Assyrians, Arameans, Syrian Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, Syrian Catholics, Syrian Protestants, Chaldean and others. The different names should be read against the background of changes in the context of living, different ideas about the historical past of the same group of people and in the context of different opinions regarding the best name to be used."
Çaglar, Ayşe (2013). "Rescaling cities, cultural diversity, and transnationalism: Migrants of Mardin and Essen". In Steven Vertovec (ed.).Anthropology of Migration and Multiculturalism: New Directions. Routledge. pp. 113–138.
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