| Type: | municipality |
| Gercüş | |
| Coordinates: | 37.5664°N 41.3844°W |
| Population Total: | 6064 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Province: | Batman |
Gercüş (ku|Kercoz;) is a town and seat of the Gercüş District of Batman Province in Turkey. The town is populated by Kurds of the Kercoz tribe and had a population of 6,064 in 2021.[1]
According to the Life of Jacob of Ṣalaḥ, Kfar-Gawze (today called Gercüş) was founded by a wealthy Roman soldier named Gawson prior to Jacob's death in 421 AD. Gawson had been forced to leave Ṣalaḥ after it was discovered that his daughter had committed adultery with his servant Decius.
In 1914, Kfar-Gawze was inhabited by 150 Assyrians, according to the list presented to the Paris Peace Conference by the Assyro-Chaldean delegation. It was located in the kaza of Midyat. There were thirty Assyrian families in 1915. It was populated by Syriac Orthodox Christians, Chaldean Catholics, and Muslims. Amidst the Sayfo, despite initially having promised to help and protect the Assyrians, the local Kurdish agha Yusuf Hasan Shamdin took some men from Kfar-Gawze to a place called Zaghore, robbed them, and then threw them in a river. The remaining Assyrians were made to do forced labour and many fled to Midyat. The Mhallami Şeyh Fethullah forced the release of the captive Assyrian women and children.
In 1960, the population was 2354. There were 90 Kurdish-speaking Christians in twelve families at Kfar-Gawze in 1966. By 1987, there were no remaining Assyrians.
The town is divided into the neighbourhoods of Bağlarbaşı, Çukurçeşme, Pınarbaşı and Yolağzı.[2]
NotesCitations
. Ritter. Hellmut. 1967. Turoyo: Die Volkssprache der Syrischen Christen des Tur 'Abdin. 1. Franz Steiner Verlag. de. Hellmut Ritter.