Beth Kustan, Midyat Explained

Type:neighbourhood
Beth Kustan
Province:Mardin
District:Midyat
Population As Of:2022
Population Total:154
Coordinates:37.495°N 41.626°W

Beth Kustan (ar|باقسيان; syr|ܒܝܬ ܩܣܝܢܐ;[1] tr|Alagöz; Bethkustan) is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Midyat, Mardin Province in Turkey.[2] It is inhabited by Assyrians who belong to the Syriac Orthodox Church and speak Turoyo, a dialect of Neo-Aramaic. The village had a population of 154 in 2022. It is located in the historic region of Tur Abdin. In the village, there are churches of Mor Dimet and Mor Eliyo.[3]

Etymology

The Syriac name of the village is derived from "beth" ("house" in Syriac) and "Kustan" ("Constantine" in Syriac), thus Beth Kustan translates to "house of Constantine".

History

The Church of Mor Eliyo was constructed in 343 AD.[4] It has been suggested that the village was founded by a member of the Roman limitanei (frontier militia) named Constans in the 4th century AD. It is believed that the army of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great marched through Beth Kustan on several occasions. Philoxenus Yeshu, metropolitan bishop of the Monastery of the Cross and Hah, ordained by Ignatius Saba I, patriarch of Tur Abdin, was from Beth Kustan. Dionysius Yuhanna of Qustan was metropolitan bishop of the Monastery of the Cross in 1519–1543. Cyril Isaiah of Qustan was abbot of the Monastery of Mar Awgin and then metropolitan bishop of Nisibin in 1861–1865.

In 1914, the village was inhabited by 500 Assyrians, according to the list presented to the Paris Peace Conference by the Assyro-Chaldean delegation. Amidst the Sayfo, Hajo, chief of the Kurtak clan, escorted the villagers to safety at Hah, where they stayed for seven years until they were able to return to Beth Kustan with the help of Çelebi Ağa of the Haverkan confederation.

The village was officially named Alagöz in the 1930s as a result of the state's turkification policy. The population was 666 in 1966. There were 620 Turoyo-speaking Christians in 155 families at Beth Qustan in 1966. Most of the village's population were forced to leave in the 1960s and 1970s due to the Kurdish–Turkish conflict and emigrated abroad to the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland. In 1993, it was alleged that seven villagers were detained and tortured by Turkish paramilitaries.[5] On 12 February 2015, Beth Kustan was restored as the official name of the village.[6]

Demography

The following is a list of the number of Assyrian families that have inhabited Beth Kustan per year stated. Unless otherwise stated, all figures are from the list provided in Eastern 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.

Notable people

References

NotesCitations

Bibliography

. Ritter. Hellmut. 1967. Turoyo: Die Volkssprache der Syrischen Christen des Tur 'Abdin. 1. Franz Steiner Verlag. de. Hellmut Ritter.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Beth Qustan - ܒܝܬ ܩܣܝܢܐ. 9 December 2016. Carlson. Thomas A.. 25 April 2020. The Syriac Gazetteer.
  2. Web site: Türkiye Mülki İdare Bölümleri Envanteri . 19 December 2022 . T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı . tr.
  3. Web site: A life in service of Assyrian culture. Mehmed Salih Bedirxan. 4 March 2021. Inside Turkey. 12 August 2022.
  4. News: Assyrians return to Turkey from Europe to save their culture. 11 January 2020. 5 September 2017. Murat . Sofuoglu. TRT World.
  5. Web site: U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 1993 - Turkey. . 11 January 2020. United States Department of State. 30 January 1994.
  6. News: Assyrian Village Name Returned For 1st Time in Turkey. 11 January 2020. 12 February 2015. Nilay . Vardar. Bianet.
  7. Web site: Mor Timotheos Samuel Aktas. 22 October 2024. Malankara Syriac Christian Resources.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Beth Kustan, Midyat".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.