Hey guys, does anybody here know of two villages called "masernayse" and "jelwaya" near Damascus? To my knowledge these villages would have been mostly or part assyrian. I might have spelt those wrong. Thanks in advance.

Spent some time around it, taking pics

Not one other person engaged with it, I wonder what they think it might be?

Anyone know any history behind it? Why it is there?

Hi everyone,

I recently released my first Assyrian song, Tyare d’Hakkareh, and I wanted to share it here and hear what people honestly think.

The song is meant to take the listener on a journey back to old Hakkari and our Assyrian roots. Much of it is inspired by real places, historical events, old tribal life, the mountains, resistance, faith and the memories connected to that land. It’s not meant to be a documentary, but a lot of the story comes from real history and is mixed with poetic storytelling.

I wrote the lyrics and created the melody myself. I play Tanbora, and a lot of my melodies come when I’m just playing freely and my hands start going somewhere unexpected. Usually that’s where I find something interesting and then start building the song around it.

For this release, the arrangement and vocals were made with AI assistance. I want to be open about that because AI singing is not really what I want long term. A real singer can give a song emotion, character and feeling that AI still doesn’t fully have.

I contacted several Assyrian singers/artists, but unfortunately I didn’t really get any response. Instead of leaving the song unfinished, I decided to experiment with AI and release it as my first song.

At the same time, I have found tools like Suno very useful during the songwriting process. When I already have a melody and lyrics, I can quickly test different arrangements, instruments, tempos and ideas and actually hear how the song could sound. Before, you might have to send the song to an arranger, wait, make changes, send it back again, and so on. With AI, I can test ideas immediately before deciding which direction I want the song to take.

For me, that is probably the best use of AI in music — as a tool for writing, arranging and experimenting, rather than replacing real singers and musicians.

I already have more Assyrian songs that I’m working on, and I would really like to work with real singers on future releases.

So if there are any Assyrian singers here who are interested, feel free to contact me. You can record a small demo and send it to me. If it works well, I’m happy to give permission to sing/record the song and work something out together.

I’m also open to someone re-singing Tyare d’Hakkareh with real vocals. I think it would be really interesting to hear how much more emotion a real singer could bring to it.

I’d especially like to hear what people think about the AI part:

Do you think it’s okay for a songwriter to use AI vocals if they can’t find a singer, as long as the lyrics and melody are still written by the songwriter?

Or do you feel AI vocals take too much away from Assyrian music?

And of course, feedback on the song itself — the melody, lyrics and the Hakkari/Tyari feeling — is welcome too.

Tyare d’Hakkareh
YouTube: https://youtu.be/Cj1h3rHqGj0?si=YV4iW2PjTAXSHUvx

This is my first release, so I’m mainly trying things, learning, and seeing where it can go.

Hi everyone 👋

I’m Atalla, and for a while now I’ve been building something for us: Sharokin Radio, a 24/7 Assyrian radio station.

The “why” is simple. Our music, our language and our heritage mean everything to me — but I kept watching our younger generation drift from it, partly because so much of it lives in a language they don’t use day to day. So I made a deliberate choice: Sharokin Radio speaks in English, but the music is 100% Assyrian. The goal is to give our Gen Z a home they actually understand — and while they’re there, they rediscover their own culture and language.

It streams around the clock, Assyrian songs old and new, and it’s free to listen. We just launched our Android app so you can take it anywhere.

🎧 Listen: sharokinradio.com

📱 Android app: search “Sharokin Radio” on Google Play

I’d genuinely love this community’s honest feedback — artists we should add, what you’d want to hear, features you’d actually use. This is for us, so I want to build it with you. 🙏

Shlama/hi all. Full disclosure: I’m the person building this, so take it as a founder asking for feedback.

The app is called Mahabba. It’s for baptized Christians of the Eastern churches and the Catholic Church: Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean, Syriac Orthodox and Catholic, and the other Eastern churches. Everyone has to show their baptism certificate before they can meet anyone. A person reviews it once and then it’s permanently deleted; only the yes/no is kept. You can say which church you belong to, where your family comes from (Tur Abdin included), and which languages you speak.

It hasn’t launched and there are no members yet. I’d rather hear now what would put you off than find out after launch:

• Would you be willing to upload a baptism certificate?
• What’s wrong with how you meet people now: Facebook groups, family, church events?
• Would you want to be able to meet people in other countries?

Waiting list, if you want to be told when it opens: https://mahabba.pages.dev/?utm_source=reddit&utm_campaign=assyria

have you ever argued with a Kurdish ultranationalist? it may be a stupid question but I am curious

that’s all

Hi everyone! I'm not Assyrian, but I work in tech and recently started working with an Assyrian business owner here in the USA.

His business name contains a word that, when I tried to register a domain name, came back as "BANNED" for supposedly being highly offensive or associated with illicit activity.

I actually had to provide proof that the word was part of his legal business name and sign a form stating that I wouldn't be creating a hate website!

Naturally, this made me curious. Everything I've found online suggests the word isn't offensive at all and is actually connected to Assyrian identity.

The word is: Aturaya

I'd love to understand what this word means to Assyrians, whether it has any cultural or historical significance, and why a domain registrar might flag it.

Beyond that, I'm genuinely interested in learning more about Assyrian culture. Working with this client has introduced me to a community and history I previously knew very little about.

We need more Assyrians like this that defend their own people, their homeland and their dignity by combating terrorism in any form.

Assyrian women have always been warriors. 🙌🏼✊🏼💪🏼

We are all connected to the great Assyrian empire and it shows in these women that anyone wants to FA, they will eventually FO …. 🔵⚪️🔴☀️🔵⚪️🔴

View this and more on assyrian.io/AA-0484

Hey guys i wondered about the word "Orzo". I heard that it means "tomboy" in assyrian and is short for "urzambook" and that it has a connection to the word "Urza", which means male. Is this true?

There is another similar word tho: "Arzo", which means cedarwood. Could "Arzo" also be pronounced "Orzo" depending on the dialect?

Church of the East — Live Q&A with Zaia | October 14

Join us Wednesday, October 14, for a live Q&A about the Church of the East. The discussion starts at 7 PM Central and will be held on Discord. Bring your questions!

Join the Assyrian Church of the East Discord

Other times: 8 PM Eastern · 5 PM Pacific · 12 AM UTC (October 15)

I’m trying to get into studying traditional assyrian folk music with hopes of learning how to play it. but i’m curious what instruments are actually used. i’m aware we have used zurna and dawol but what other instruments are traditional for our music?

Does anyone have the footage of the axe attack that took place in Dohuk on kha b’nissan in 2025? I’ve been trying to find the footage for documentation purposes but haven’t found it.

Don't miss a one-of-a-kind evening of Assyrian American folk-pop with the mesmerizing Rachel Sarah Thomas!

Chicago based Rachel Sarah Thomas trained classically from age five, but in her mid 20s fell in love with pop music and never looked back. Rachel had a long musical career in electro pop and her debut album Petra landed on NPR and scored a hit film. Then, after ISIS invaded Mosul in 2014, Rachel turned her focus toward creating music about the Assyrian diaspora. 

Her latest project is Sheekar (meaning sugar): a fusion of Assyrian folkloric and pop music from Iraq, Iran, and Syria, with American musical traditions. It's a celebration of Rachel's blended identity. An East meets West sound created to introduce newcomers to Assyrian music while giving Assyrians a fresh, unexpected take on their own rich musical heritage.

Rachel is bringing Sheekar along with additional covers of classic Assyrian music and original unreleased music to San Francisco's historic Palace theater. Come enjoy this unique evening in an intimate cabaret!

Tickets can be purchased here: Tickets
Trailer for concert: Watch here

Photographs of our people sit scattered across libraries, mission archives, old books and Instagram accounts. I've been gathering them into one place: assyrian.io

What's there now:

- 741 photographs and documents, from medieval Syriac manuscripts to 1980s diaspora life, covering 121 places: Urmia, Hakkari, Tur Abdin, Baqubah, Habbaniya, Chicago and more

- Every item credits its source (Library of Congress, Gallica, the Imperial War Museum, the Albert Kahn autochromes, community archives) with a link to the original

- A map and a decade-by-decade timeline

- 444 photos have an AI-colorized version. It's always labelled, and you can switch to the original or compare them side by side.

It's free, with no account and no ads.

How you can help:

The best photos are still in family albums. If you have old ones, send them over.

Hi! Assyrian/Syriac here. I am wondering if there if anyone out there with Assyrian heritage carrying Y haplogroup E-L795, and who originally is from the Mardin region specifically the Savur, Mahsarte/Ömerli and Bafawa/Beth Awe or any nearby villages.​

Just curious if anyone has used it. It seems the most polished app out there. Wondering if people have used it & whats their experience. Thanks in advance