Upper Mesopotamia constitutes theuplands and great outwashplain of northwesternIraq, northeasternSyria and southeasternTurkey, in the northernMiddle East.[1] Since theearly Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the region has been known by the traditional Arabic name ofal-Jazira (Arabic:الجزيرة "the island", also transliteratedDjazirah,Djezirah,Jazirah)[citation needed] and theSyriac variantGāzartā orGozarto (ܓܙܪܬܐ).[2] TheEuphrates andTigris rivers transformMesopotamia into almost an island, as they are joined together at theShatt al-Arab in theBasra Governorate of Iraq, and their sources in eastern Turkey are in close proximity.
The region extends south from the mountains ofAnatolia, east from the hills on the left bank of theEuphrates river, west from the mountains on the right bank of theTigris river and includes theSinjar plain. It extends down the Tigris toSamarra and down the Euphrates toHit, Iraq. TheKhabur runs for over 400 km (250 mi) across the plain, from Turkey in the north, feeding into the Euphrates.
The major settlements areMosul,Deir ez-Zor,Raqqa,al-Hasakah,Diyarbakır andQamishli. The western, Syrian part, is essentially contiguous with the Syrianal-Hasakah Governorate and is described as "Syria'sbreadbasket".[3] The eastern, Iraqi part, includes and extends slightly beyond the IraqiNineveh Governorate. In the north it includes theTurkish provinces ofŞanlıurfa,Mardin,Shirnak, and parts ofBatman Province andDiyarbakır Province.
The nameal-Jazira has been used since the 7th century AD by Islamic sources to refer to the northern section of Mesopotamia,[citation needed] while the Lower Mesopotamia, also known asSawād, is the southern part of Mesopotamia. The name means "island", and at one time referred to the land between the two rivers, which in Syriac isBeth Nahrain (ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ).[4] Historically, the name could be restricted to the Sinjar plain coming down from theSinjar Mountains, or expanded to embrace the entire plateau east of the coastal ranges.[citation needed] In pre-Abbasid times the western and eastern boundaries seem to have fluctuated, sometimes including what is now northern Syria to the west andAdiabene in the east.[citation needed]
Al-Jazira is characterised as an outwash oralluvial plain, quite distinct from theSyrian Desert and lower-lying centralMesopotamia; however, the area includes eroded hills and incised streams. The region has several parts to it. In the northwest is one of the largestsalt flats in the world,Sabkhat al-Jabbul. Further south, extending fromMosul to nearBasra is a sandy desert not unlike theEmpty Quarter. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries the region has been plagued by drought.[citation needed]
Al-Jazirah is extremely important archeologically. This is the area where the earliest signs of agriculture and domestication of animals have been found, and thus the starting point leading to civilization and the modern world. Al-Jazirah includes the mountainKaraca Dağ in southern Turkey, where the closest relative to modern wheat still grows wild. At several sites (e.g. Hallan Çemi,Abu Hureyra,Mureybet) we can see a continuous occupation from a hunter-gathering lifestyle (based on hunting, and gathering and grinding of wild grains) to an economy based mainly on growing (still wild varieties of) wheat, barley and legumes from around 9000 BC (seePPNA). Domestication of goats and sheep followed within a few generations, but did not become widespread for more than a millennium (seePPNB). Weaving and pottery followed about two thousand years later.
From Al-Jazirah the idea of farming along with the domesticated seeds spread first to the rest of the Levant and then to North-Africa, Europe and eastwards through Mesopotamia all the way to present-day Pakistan (seeMehrgarh).
Earlier archeologists worked on the assumption that agriculture was a prerequisite to a sedentary lifestyle, but excavations in Israel and Lebanon surprised science by showing that a sedentary lifestyle actually came before agriculture (see theNatufian culture). Further surprises followed in the 1990s with the spectacular finds of the megalithic structures atGöbekli Tepe in south-eastern Turkey. The earliest of these apparently ritual buildings are from before 9000 BC—over five thousand years older thanStonehenge—and thus the absolute oldest known megalithic structures anywhere. As far as current knowledge goes, there were no firmly established farming societies during that time period. Farming appeared to be in an experimental stage, serving primarily as a supplement to ongoing hunting and gathering practices. This raises questions about whether (semi)sedentary hunter-gatherer communities were sufficiently affluent and numerous to coordinate and carry out large-scale communal construction projects. Alternatively, it suggests the possibility that well-established agricultural societies may have existed much earlier than previously recognized. Notably, Göbekli Tepe is located just 32 km from Karaca Dağ.
The questions raised by Göbekli Tepe have led to intense and creative discussions among archeologists of the Middle East.[5][6] Excavations at Göbekli Tepe continues, only about 5 percent has been revealed so far.Sumerians are theorized to have evolved from theSamarra culture of northern Mesopotamia.[7][8]
TheUruk period (c. 4000 to 3100 BC) existed from the protohistoricChalcolithic toEarly Bronze Age period in Mesopotamia, including a section of the upper region.
The political history of Upper Mesopotamia and Syria during theEarly Dynastic Period is well known from the royal archives recovered atEbla. Ebla,Mari, and Nagar were the dominant states for this period. The earliest texts indicate that Ebla paid tribute to Mari but was able to reduce it after it won a military victory.[9][10] Cities likeEmar on the Upper Euphrates andAbarsal (location unknown) werevassals of Ebla. Ebla exchanged gifts with Nagar, and a royal marriage was concluded between the daughter of a king of Ebla and the son of his counterpart at Nagar. The archives also contain letters from more distant kingdoms, such as Kish and possibly Hamazi, although it is also possible that there were cities with the same names closer to Ebla.[11] In many ways, the diplomatic interactions in the wider Ancient Near East during this period resemble those from the second millennium BC, which are particularly well known from theAmarna letters.[12]
Upper Mesopotamia is also the heartland of ancientAssyria, founded circa the 25th century BC. From the late 24th Century BC it was part of theAkkadian Empire, then is separated into three eras:Old Assyrian Empire (circa 2050–1750 BC),Middle Assyrian Empire (1365–1020 BC),Median Empire (678-549 BC) andNeo Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC).
The region fell to the Assyrians' southern brethren, theBabylonians in 605 BC, and from 539 BC it became part of theAchaemenid Empire;Achaemenid Assyria was known asAthura. From 323 BC, it was ruled by theGreekSeleucid Empire, the Greeks corrupting the name toSyria, which they also applied toAram.
It then fell to theParthians andRomans and was renamed Assyria by both. The area was still known asAsōristān under theSasanian Empire until theMuslim conquest of Persia, when it was renamed al-Jazira.
Since pre-Arab and pre-Islamic times, al-Jazira has been an economically prosperous region with various agricultural (fruit and cereal) products, as well as a prolific manufacturing (food processing and cloth weaving) system. The region's position at the border of the Sassanian andByzantine territories also made it an important commercial center, an advantage that the region continued to enjoy, even after the Muslim conquest of Persia and Byzantine possessions in theLevant.
Al-Jazira included the Roman/Byzantine provinces ofOsroene andMesopotamia, as well as the Parthian/Persian provinces ofAsōristān,Arbayestan,Adiabene (includingNisibis andMosul).[13]East and West Syriac monasticism, which had come into the region in the late fourth century, flourished in the sixth and early seventh century and survived into the Islamic period, with some monasteries even being founded up to the eight century, especially in theTur Abdin.[14]
The conquest of the region took place under theearly Caliphate that left the general administration of the region intact, with the exception of levying thejizya tax on the population. At the time ofMu‘awiyah, governor ofSyria and the later of theUmayyad Caliphate), the administration ofal-Jazira was included in the administration of Syria. During the early Umayyad Caliphate, the administration of al-Jazira was often shared with that ofArminiya, a vast province encompassing most ofTranscaucasia,Eastern Anatolia and what is nowIranian Azerbaijan.
The prosperity of the region and its high agricultural and manufacturing output made it an object of contest between the leaders of the early conquering Arab armies. Various conquerors tried, in vain, to bind various cities of the former Sassanian provinces, as well as the newly conquered Byzantine provinces of Mesopotamia, into a coherent unit under their own rule.
The control of the region, however, was essential to any power centered inBaghdad. Consequently, the establishment of theAbbasid Caliphate brought al-Jazira under the direct rule of the government in Baghdad. At this time, al-Jazira was one of the highest tax-yielding provinces of the Abbasid Empire.
During the early history of Islam, al-Jazira became a center for theKharijite movement and had to be constantly subdued by various caliphs.[15] In the 920s, the localHamdanid dynasty established an autonomous state with two branches in al-Jazira (underNasir al-Dawla) and Northern Syria (underSayf al-Dawla). The demise of the Hamdanid power put the region back under the nominal rule of the Caliphs of Baghdad, while actual control was in the hands of theBuyid brothers who had conquered Baghdad itself. At the turn of the 11th century, the area came under the rule of a number of local dynasties, theNumayrids, theMirdasids, and theUqaylids, who persisted until the conquest by theSeljuq Empire.
With the arrival of theFirst Crusade, the western part came into Crusader hands as theCounty of Edessa, while the rest was ruled by a succession of semi-independent Turkish rulers until taken over by theZengids, and eventually the KurdishAyyubids. Thereafter the northern and eastern portions were ruled initially by theArtuqids, laterly by theKara Koyunlu andAkkoyunlu Turcomans and finally by theSafavids; while the western parts came under theMamluk Sultanate of Egypt until theOttoman–Mamluk War (1516–17), when it was taken by theOttoman Empire. Remainder of this region was in Ottoman hands afterBattle of Chaldiran andOttoman–Safavid War (1532–1555).
Although the region is ethnically diverse, it is considered to be the traditionalAssyrian homeland in addition toAramaic-speakingChristian descendants of the ancientMesopotamians. Demographics saw huge shifts during the first half of the 20th century. Thousands of Assyrian refugees entered into SyrianJazira province from Turkey following theAssyrian genocide of World War I. Additionally, in 1933 a further 24,000 Assyrian Christians fled into the area, following theSimele massacre in theMosul region of northern Iraq.[16]
Violence against Christians changed the demographics of Upper Mesopotamia. Some Kurdish and Persian tribes cooperated with Ottoman authorities in theArmenian andAssyrian genocides.[17] In the middle of the 19th century, and due to the wars between the Kurdish Buhti amirs and the Turks, many Christians in theSiirt area were killed by the Kurds.[18]
In Syria's Jazira province, the French official reports show the existence of 45 Kurdish villages in Jazira prior to 1927. After the failedKurdish rebellions inKemalist Turkey in the mid 1920s, there was a large influx of Kurds to SyrianJazira province, that fell under the occupation ofFrench Mandate authorities to escape the subsequent Turkish onslaught. It is estimated that 25,000 Kurds fled at this time to northern Syria, underFrench Mandate authorities, who encouraged their immigration,[19] and granted them Syrian citizenship.[20] A new wave of refugees arrived in 1929.[21] The mandatory authorities continued to encourage Kurdish immigration into Syria, and by 1939, the villages numbered between 700 and 800.[21] Sperl's estimation also contradicts the estimates of the French geographers Fevret and Gibert,[22] who estimated that in 1953 out of the total 146,000 inhabitants of Jazira, agriculturalist Kurds made up 60,000 (41%), nomad Arabs 50,000 (34%), and a quarter of the population were Christians.[22] Another account by Sir John Hope Simpson estimated the number of Kurds in Jazira province at 20,000 out of 100,000 people at the end of 1930.[23]
Under the French Mandate of Syria, newly-arriving Kurds were granted citizenship byFrench Mandate authorities[24] and enjoyed considerable rights as the French Mandate authority encouraged minority autonomy as part of adivide and rule strategy and recruited heavily from the Kurds and other minority groups, such asAlawite andDruze, for its local armed forces.[25]
Assyrian Christians began to emigrate from Syria after the Amuda massacre of August 9, 1937. This massacre, carried out by the Kurd Saeed Agha, emptied the city of its Assyrian population. In 1941, the Assyrian community ofal-Malikiyah were subjected to a vicious assault. Even though the assault failed, the Assyrians were terrorized and left in large numbers, and the immigration of Kurds from Turkey to the area have converted al-Malikiya,al-Darbasiyah andAmuda to completely Kurdish cities. The historically-important Christian city ofNusaybin had a similar fate after its Christian population left when it was annexed to Turkey. The Christian population of the city crossed the border into Syria and settled inQamishli, which was separated by the railway (new border) from Nusaybin. Nusaybin became Kurdish and Qamishli became an Assyrian city. Things soon changed, however, with the immigration of Kurds beginning in 1926 following the failure of the rebellion ofSaeed Ali Naqshbandi against theTurkish authorities.[26]
Djezirah is one of the fourdioceses of theSyriac Orthodox Church. The others are inAleppo,Homs–Hama andDamascus.[16]
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