† 1369-1400: The Massacres of Timurlane & The Escape to Hakkari by The Ashurbanipal Library CommitteePosted: Thursday, August 17, 2000 03:13 pm CST

In English
The origins of the Assyrian mountaineers in the inaccessible Hakkari region, as well as the disappearance of the Christians of Central and Northern Asia can be attributed to the coming of that scourge of humanity, Timur, known in the West as Timurlane, a corruption of "Timur lenk" (Timur the Lame). He "was a fanatical Muhammadan," says John Stewart, "who was bitterly opposed to everything Christian... he pitilessly harassed Christians who would not renounce their faith." A Turkish tribal leader who claimed decent from Genghis Khan, Timur established his power in 1369 by usurping Chagatni Khan in Samarkand. By 1380, he had directed his armies to Persia.

Thirteen years later, he established his reign over Mesopotamia and Persia. After taking the city of Isfahan he ordered the construction of pyramids of over 70,000 human heads, and on the ruins of Baghdad his army built a pyramid of 90,000 heads. The Assyrian Christian city of Tikrit was besieged for weeks by an army of 72,000. As soon as it fell to Timur's army the entire city was devastated with its inhabitants killed. Timur continued to march north and plundered and murdered thousands of Christians on the way. When all was done, the Assyrian Christian empire was left in ruins, with their Church of the East pushed back to Assyria and its mountains. "Christianity received no support from the feeble Il-Khans of the 14th century, and though details are wanting, it is quite certain that the Christians were cruelly persecuted; the goods of their merchants were confiscated, their churches were destroyed, and those who refused to accept Islam and could not escape were slain...

Before the end of the 14th century Christians had practically ceased to exist in Persia, Central Asia, and China. In 1392-93, Timurlane captured Baghdad, and nameless atrocities were committed by his soldiers in the city; the Christians who managed to escape fled for their lives to the mountains of Kurdistan and the districts near Mosul." (The Monks of Kublai Khan, pp. 91-92)