For over a century, the Assyrian people--an ancient indigenous community rooted in the heartlands of Mesopotamia (modern-day Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria)--have endured a haunting legacy of violence, displacement, and erasure. Their history is not marked by a single tragedy, but by a series of genocidal campaigns that have spanned through generations.

Descendants of the ancient Assyrian Empire, whose capitals, Nineveh and Ashur, once dominated Mesopotamia, Assyrians today are followers of apostolic traditions, while others follow various evangelical churches. Their enduring presence is a testament to a people who, despite centuries of displacement and persecution, have refused to disappear. Before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Assyrian population was estimated at 1.5 million, with most residing in Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, and the Kurdistan Region. Their continued resilience is a testament to a people who, despite centuries of persecution, have refused to succumb to despair.

Related: Timeline of ISIS in Iraq
Related: Attacks on Assyrians in Syria By ISIS and Other Muslim Groups

Currently, there are as few as 300,000 Assyrians remaining in the region. A recent database conducted by the Shlama Foundation, an Assyrian non-profit organization, finds that approximately 139,581 Assyrians are currently residing in Iraq. Most fled the region due to the number of genocides targeting Assyrians for their ancestral roots to the area, as well as political instability.

A majority of the Assyrian population today is spread across the diaspora with no nation-state of their own. The exodus of the Assyrian population comes from ongoing efforts to erase the indigenous group from the homeland at the hands of successive regimes and extremist groups.

Related: The Assyrian Genocide

The earliest documented genocide against the Assyrians began in 1843. Militias led by Bedr Khan Beg unjustly targeted Assyrians residing in Hakkari (modern-day Turkey). The massacres were sanctioned by Ottoman Turkish officials attempting to suppress the threat of Assyrian independence in the region. A reported ten thousand Assyrians perished during this genocidal campaign. Villages in this region were looted, churches were burned to the ground, and women and children were also not spared from the atrocities. While Assyrians fought back, they were vastly outnumbered by the Beg's growing army.

In 1914, at the height of World War I, the Ottoman Empire initiated a systematic extermination of its Christian minorities--including Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians--in what is commonly known as the Armenian Genocide. Nearly 300,000 Assyrians were killed during this genocidal campaign.

But the violence did not end there.

After gaining independence from Britain in 1933, the newly established Iraqi army carried out the Simele Massacre, a brutal attack targeting Assyrian civilians in the town of Simele. For days, around 3,000 Assyrians were murdered -- including women and children -- under the orders of Bakr Sidai. During this time, the violence was fueled by ethnic and religious tensions, as Assyrians were seen as a pro-British minority and perceived as a threat to Arab nationalist ambitions. Villages were looted, destroyed, and the Assyrian population was forcibly displaced, setting a chilling precedent for future state-sponsored persecution.

In 1969, the Ba'athist regime bombed the village of Soriya, another brutal assault on Assyrian lives. While there is little information found on this massacre, an eyewitness testimony of a survivor recalls the horror that unfolded during the doom day of doom. The survivor recounts women and children being targeted, houses in the village being burned, and soldiers shooting into houses. The eyewitness also retells how, as they were running, wounded people escaping alongside them succumbed to their injuries due to the gunshot wounds. The exact motive behind the Soriya Massacre continues to remain unknown. However, it is believed the massacre happened in response to a mine detonated under a military vehicle during a time when Assyrians were involved in the armed resistance against the ruling Ba'ath Party.

During the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Assyrian Christians in Baghdad and Basra faced persecution once again. In Baghdad, churches were bombed, clergy were kidnapped, some assassinated, and families received death threats, leading to the exodus of tens of thousands of Assyrians from neighborhoods like Dora and Karada.

In 2010, parishioners of the Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Church were attacked during mass by extremists affiliated with Al-Qaeda. One hundred worshippers were taken hostage and held in captivity until Iraqi security forces arrived, several hours later. Fifty-eight people were killed, including two priests, and many others were left injured or traumatized by the events. Had the Iraqi forces taken action sooner, these fatalities could have been avoided. This attack prompted even more Assyrians to flee due to their distrust of their government, hoping to avoid further persecution.

In Basra, Assyrians faced harassment from Islamist militias, with liquor stores owned by Christians being bombed and looted, contributing to a significant decline in the Christian population. Basra once housed around 7,000 Assyrians. At one time, approximately 17 churches were active and thriving; however, today, nine have closed, and two have been destroyed by fire.

Most recently, in 2014 through 2015, the rise of ISIS unleashed a new wave of terror marked by beheadings, abductions, forced exile, and the destruction of villages in the Nineveh Plains. Assyrians living in this region were given ultimatums: convert to Islam, pay a tax fee (jizya), leave, or be killed. As a result, over 200,000 Assyrians were displaced from their ancestral village, and churches were destroyed, with some being used as shooting ranges by ISIS. Assyrian homes were marked with the Arabic letter "ن", meaning Nazarene, allowing ISIS to target their homes. Entire towns like Qaraqosh, Bartella, and Bakhdida were emptied, and many Assyrian families were too afraid to return home.

The persecution of Assyrians in the Middle East cannot solely be reduced to religious intolerance against Christians; the violence they face is also due to their ancestral ties to their homeland. Assyrians' claims to Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria predate both Islam and the modern-day state borders, making their existence a living reminder of histories modern-day regimes wish to erase. Through their dual identity of being Christian and indigenous, Assyrians are left vulnerable to forces that seek a homogenous national narrative.

In 2009, the Iraqi government passed Law No. 20, Law on Compensation for Victims of War Operations, Military Mistakes, and Terrorist Operations. In recent years, this law has been amended twice, once in 2015 to enhance eligibility for compensation and again in 2020 to simplify the application process. Reparations for Assyrians are not explicitly mentioned; however, the law does apply to Assyrians as they are Iraqi citizens. Under this law, Assyrians displaced by genocidal attempts are subject to compensation from the government. Unfortunately, no reports indicate Assyrians received any compensation for the torture they endured during the invasion of ISIS. Instead, Assyrians rely on diaspora-led non-profit organizations, such as the Shlama Foundation and the Assyrian Aid Society, to rebuild their villages, churches, schools, and other infrastructures.

The threats against the Assyrian community in Iraq still exist to this day. The Assyrians remaining in Iraq still advocate for their rights and political representation amid the ongoing challenges. Despite the Iraqi government granting Assyrians five parliamentary seats, all seats are currently occupied by proxy groups backed by dominant political factions, such as the Iranian-backed Babylon movement, which currently holds four out of the five seats, and the Iran-aligned Badr Organization, which undermines genuine Assyrian representation. This manipulation of the quota system has marginalized independent Assyrian voices in the political sphere. With little political representation, Assyrians remaining in Iraq have very little trust in the government to guarantee their protection and rights.

Currently, the Iraqi government has yet to recognize any genocides listed in this article. But that only pushes Assyrians in the homeland and abroad to continue advocating for their community. Across the globe, Assyrians living in the diaspora have also become a powerful voice, transforming displacement into determined activism. Several diaspora-led organizations work to lobby for the Assyrian cause, organize protests, and utilize social media to highlight the daily challenges Assyrians face in their homelands.

Other organizations focus on preserving the Assyrian culture and tradition within the diaspora, offering language courses and history lessons to ensure the community remains closely tied to its original roots. Some of these organizations have even initiated homeland trips, bringing Assyrians from around the world to see their native homeland. A notable organization that initially promoted this idea is "Gishru" (a word meaning "bridge" in Neo-Aramaic), a non-profit organization connecting Assyrians in the diaspora to their homeland through guided trips visiting ancient Assyrian sites, villages, and ruins. In recent years, the organization has seen an increase in participants, with some young individuals feeling inspired enough to move to the homeland and continue advocating for the cause.

The story of the Assyrians is not just one of repeated attempts at erasure; it is a powerful story of resilience. In the face of genocide and continuous threats of cultural extinction, Assyrians have held onto their identity, language, culture, and faith. Regardless of the challenges faced, the Assyrians will never give up their advocacy efforts. The world may turn a blind eye to the Assyrians, but no matter how many times their history has been attempted to be erased, their community will always shine light on the truth. Their survival is an act of resistance against ongoing genocidal campaigns to uproot them from their homeland entirely.