The church of Mar Mushe was first constructed in 1100 AD.[6] In 1850, 40-60 Assyrian families inhabited Jelek, and were served by a single priest and the church of Mar Mushe, which was restored in 1860.[6] Amidst the Assyrian genocide in the First World War, Jelek was attacked by Turks and Kurds,[7] and most of the village's population fled to Urmia in Iran in 1915-1916.[6] Whilst in Iran, half of those who had fled died of wounds and hypothermia.[8] Afterwards, Assyrian refugees from Lower Tiyari in Turkey were resettled at Jelek, and the village had a population of 210 people by 1933, in which year it was destroyed by the Iraqi Army during the Simele massacre.[9] The village recovered, and 55 families resided there in 1938.[6]