'Reconnaissances in Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, North-West Persia, and Luristan from April to October 1888. By Lt F R Maunsell, Intelligence Branch. In Two Volumes. Volume I: narrative report, description of larger towns and routes leading from them. Simla: Intelligence Branch, Quarter Master General's Dept, 1890' [‎94v] (193/312)

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of Babylon, and who disputes with Mar Shimun the title to be considered the
representative of the ancient Patriarchs of the East. Also several Bishops
who are each called Mattran or Metropolitan as the representatives of the
ancient Metropolitans of Mesopotamia whose numerous Suffragans have now
no successors. They do not u«e the name “Abima” for Bishop, but apply
it to a priest who holds some dignity, such as an Archdeacon.
The principal Catholic Monastery and school for young priests is at Rabban
Honnzed on the hillside overlooking: Alkosh, some 294 miles N.N.YV. of
Mosul.
Mar Mattel Monastery is on the Jebal Maklub, some 15 miles to the south
east of Alkosh.
There is a small Monastery at Mar Girgis, 10 miles N.N.W. of Mosul,
and another at Kashahr on the Jebal Abiadh, 10 miles north-east of Simel
on the Zakho road.
The principal Christian villages round Mosul along the road to Alkosh
are—Tal Ouskof, Batnaia, Talkaif, population 6,000, and Alkosh, population
8,000. In Mosul are 600 families of Chaldeans.
These villages contain the most thriving part of the Chaldean community.
The houses are well built and their industry and careful cultivation of the
soil shows a marked contrast to the Yezidi and Shabakh villages alongside
them.
The men supply the sailors for Lynch's Tigris steamers. New and Old
Chaldeans continue to live together in these villages. There is no regular
line of demarcation dividing these Chaldeans from the community under
Mar Shimun.
Of isolated communities there are some in Baghdad (500 families). In
the Supna valley, north-east of Amadiyeh, some of the villages are Chaldean
and some are under Mar Shimun.
The Christian villages in this district have better planted vineyards and
the people are far more industrious than those in the Kurdish villages. In
the same valley close by each other, quite separate but bearing the same
name, are generally two clusters of houses,—cue for Christians and the other
for Musalmans.
West of Amadiyeh near the junction of the Khabur and Tigris are several
Christian villages.
Feishkhabur is a village of 200 houses of Catholic Chaldeans. In Jazi-
rah are 100 families with a Bishop and four Dominican priests. The other
villages are Hassan, mostly Protestant, with an American Mission teacher,
Mansuriyah also largely Protestant, Nahrawan, Takian, Girki Budru, Tal
Khabbin, and Wasit.
Maraha, Jinet and Biret are Nestorian villages. In the valley between
Zakho and Amadiyeh are a few Chaldean Catholic villages, the total number
in the Khabur valley being given as 15 or 16.
Bound Akra are said to be some Chaldean villages, but the number have
greatly diminished of late years.
In Zebari remains of several churches were seen, but few families now remain.
In Mardin are 4,600 Chaldeans.
In Sibna in Persian Kurdistan is an isolated Catholic community under a
Bishop numbering some 40 families. There are other scattered portions in
Baghdad, Kirkuk and Erbil. It was not until 1858 that the Chaldeans were
recognized by the Porte as a separate community, and in that year the
Primate with the aid of the French Embassy obtained a firman A Persian word meaning a royal order or decree issued by a sovereign, used notably in the Ottoman Empire (sometimes written ‘phirmaund’). acknowledg
ing him as Patriarch of the new sect.