ܕܸܡܥܹ̈ܐ ܕܚܵܒܘܼܪ Tears of the Khabur دموع الخابور
True stories of the Assyrians of the Khabur River, 1933–2015
by Yonan RoilSecond edition, revised and expanded · Melbourne 2026
Available in Assyrian (Sureth). Arabic and English editions are in the works.
Resettled on a barren riverbank in 1933. Driven out again in 2015.
Tears of the Khabur records the true stories and lived experiences of Assyrians driven from their ancestral homeland in Mesopotamia, in present-day northern Iraq, after the Simele massacre of August 1933.
Under a League of Nations mandate, between 16,500 and 20,000 people were resettled along the banks of the Khabur River in Syria. The land was barren, with nothing but the river's water, yet the resilience of these hard-working people turned it into one of the most beautiful landscapes in the region.
On 23 February 2015 a violent storm struck and history repeated itself. Once again this community faced killing, captivity, destruction and displacement.
Written in Sureth, the Assyrian mother tongue, with difficult words explained in Arabic and English. Four chapters across 356 pages, illustrated with historical photographs.
The book is currently available in Assyrian only. Arabic and English editions are in the works.
Down the river
The Khabur rises near Ras al-Ain and runs 440 kilometres, 320 of them in Syria, until it joins the Euphrates at Deir ez-Zor. For some eighty years its banks were home to a chain of Assyrian villages.
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1915 · Seyfo
“The sword”: the genocide of Assyrians, Armenians, Greeks and Yazidis under Ottoman rule.
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August 1933 · Simele
The state in Iraq turns on the Assyrians of the north, and Simele becomes the centre of the massacre. Survivors cross into Syria.
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1930s · The Khabur
Under a League of Nations mandate, 16,500 to 20,000 people are resettled along the Khabur. They turn barren land into one of the most beautiful landscapes in the region.
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1955
Yonan is born in a village of the Khabur.
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23 February 2015
ISIS storms the Khabur villages. Hundreds are taken captive, churches and homes are destroyed, and the villages empty.
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2026
The second edition, revised and expanded, is published in Melbourne.
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Dedication
ܝܐ ܡܚܒܢܐ ܕܐܗܐ ܠܫܢܐ
ܩܒܠ ܡܢܝ ܥܡܠܐ ܗܢܐ
ܩܐ ܟܠ ܣܦܪܐ ܘܟܠ ܡܠܫܢܢܐ
ܩܐ ܝܠܘܦܐ ܐܦ ܡܠܦܢܐ
ܠܢܗܪܐ ܕܚܒܘܪ ܗܘ ܥܛܪܢܐ
ܠܐܪ̈ܙܐ ܕܚܘܒܐ ܟܡܐ ܢܛܪܢܐ
ܐܗܐ ܫܘܟܢܐ ܕܦܐܫ ܕܟܪܐ ܒܟܠ ܥܕܢܐ ܡܩܪܘܒܐ ܝܘܢ
O lover of this language,
accept this work from me,
for every writer and every scholar,
for the student and the teacher too.
To the river Khabur, that fragrant one,
how faithfully it keeps the secrets of love.
This dedication I offer, to remain a memory for all time.
From the author's dedication
From the forewords
This book and this true story will remain a witness for time and for the history of the world, and an unforgettable memory for the new Assyrian generation.
A precious testimony on the shelves of our literary archive.
Get the book
- Format
- Paperback, 6 × 9 in (152 × 229 mm), full colour
- Pages
- 356
- Language
- Assyrian (Sureth), with Arabic and English glosses.
- Edition
- Second, revised and expanded, 2026
- ISBN
- 978-1-4461-2243-3
- Price
- US$38.99 · A$54.95
Printed on demand and shipped worldwide by Lulu.