Faysh Khabur 2.88

Faysh Khabur is an Assyrian town on the northwestern edge of Iraqi Kurdistan in the Zakho District of Dohuk Governorate. It is named after the Khabur River on which the town is built, and lies on the confluence of the Tigris and Khabur river. The town is in a very strategic location, as it lies just 4 km from the three way border crossing with Turkey and Syria, known as the Semalka border crossing. Faysh Khabur is inhabited by Chaldean Catholic Assyrians, in addition to some Kurds. The town has a large monastery overlooking the Khabur river which was recently restored.HistoryThe town has been connected with the Sassanian city "Peroz-Shapur", and the modern name is thought to be influenced by the Persian one. The first mention of the settlement is attested as far as the 4th century AD when it was recognized as a Chaldean Christian village. Its population joined the Chaldean Catholic Church in the 1830s. During the Assyrian Genocide, the town was attacked by Kurdish irregulars allied with the Ottomans, which left hundreds dead and forced the rest to flee to Mosul and Alqosh. Most of its inhabitants returned to their village during the British Mandate for Mesopotamia.