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 (Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܩܘܣܛܢ,[1] [2] Turkish: Alagöz or Bethkustan) is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Midyat, Mardin in southeastern Turkey.[3] It is located in the historical region of Tur Abdin. Beth Kustan is inhabited by Assyrians who belong to the Syriac Orthodox Church and speak Turoyo, a dialect of Neo-Aramaic. In the village, there are churches of Mor Dimet and Mor Eliyo.[4]

The village had a population of 154 in 2022.

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.[5] It is suggested that the village was founded by a member of the Roman limitanei (frontier militia) named Constans in the 4th century AD.

At the onset of the Assyrian genocide, in 1915, Haco, agha (chief) of the Kurtak tribe, warned the villagers of an impending attack by Turkish and Kurdish soldiers. Despite initial hesitation, upon receiving news of the massacre of Assyrians at Zaz, all but two villagers fled to the neighbouring village of Hah. Beth Kustan was subsequently ransacked by Kurdish soldiers, and the two remaining villagers were killed. The Assyrians resisted Kurdish and Turkish attacks at Hah until a truce was negotiated by Haco, but were not able to leave until Çelebi, agha of the Heverkan tribe, helped them to return to Beth Kustan in 1922.

The village was officially named Alagöz in the 1930s as a result of the state's turkification policy. 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.[6] On 12 February 2015, Beth Kustan was restored as the official name of the village.[7]

Demography

The following is a list of the number of 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

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Beth Qustan. 9 December 2016. Carlson. Thomas A.. 25 April 2020. The Syriac Gazetteer.
  2. Web site: Bethkustan.de . 12 July 2022.
  3. Web site: Türkiye Mülki İdare Bölümleri Envanteri . 19 December 2022 . T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı . tr.
  4. Web site: A life in service of Assyrian culture. Mehmed Salih Bedirxan. 4 March 2021. Inside Turkey. 12 August 2022.
  5. News: Assyrians return to Turkey from Europe to save their culture. 11 January 2020. 5 September 2017. Murat . Sofuoglu. TRT World.
  6. 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.
  7. News: Assyrian Village Name Returned For 1st Time in Turkey. 11 January 2020. 12 February 2015. Nilay . Vardar. Bianet.
  8. Web site: Documentation of the Beth Qustan Dialect of the Central Neo-Aramaic language, Turoyo. Oez. Mikael. 2017. SOAS, Endangered Languages Archive, ELAR. 11 January 2020.

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