Yohannan VIII Hormizd
The feud between Gabriel Dambo and Yohannan Hormizd ended in 1832, when Alqosh was pillaged by Kör Muhammad, chief of the Soran Kurds of Rawanduz. Gabriel Dambo was among the hundreds of East Syrians killed by the Kurds, and was succeeded as superior of the monastery of Rabban Hormizd by Yohannan Gwera. Despite the death of his chief rival, the patriarch's troubles continued throughout the 1830s. The monks of the monastery of Rabban Hormizd still refused to acknowledge his authority, and were supported by the metropolitan Joseph Audo, who now claimed jurisdiction over the monastery on the grounds that it lay within his diocese of Amadiya. Yohannan Hormizd retaliated by suspending Audo and a number of Rabban Hormizd monks, but this action had little effect. A rumour spread that a new Latin apostolic vicar had been appointed in Rome and was now on his way to Mosul, and the patriarch's enemies temporarily came into line to make a good first impression on this important official. But when after two months he had still not arrived, they resumed their duties in flat defiance of Yohannan's orders. One man only, a priest named Stephen, sent in his submission to the patriarch, and was appointed priest of Telkepe.
Cormac mac Art Ó Melaghlain
Cormac was born sometime in the early 1180s to the King of Mide, Art mac Mael Sechlainn meic Domnaill Ua Mael Sechlainn, who reigned from 1173 to 1184. His family had been rulers of the Kingdom of Mide since at least the early 6th century. Initially known as the Clann Cholmáin, they were a branch of the southern Uí Néill. They had taken the surname Ua Mael Sechlainn after their prestigious ancestor, Máel Sechnaill mac Maíl Ruanaid, who reigned as High King of Ireland from 845 to 860; his greatest achievement was in preventing the Vikings from controlling any substantial part of the island and confining them to the coasts. One of his descendants, and another of Cormac's ancestors, was Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill Ua Maelsechlainn (known as Máel Sechnaill II) who was High King before and after the reign of Brian Boru.