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The Staff

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                                            T H I S     W E E K     I N     Z E N D A
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The Lighthouse.............................    The Lunar Landscape of Time
Good Morning Bet-Nahrain............    Saddam Executes Iraqi Officers,Tribal Leaders
                                                        Turkey Says It Has Killed 400 PKK Rebels
                                                        Iraq & Syria Blast Turkey Over Dam Projects
Surfs Up.......................................    "these momentous steps toward unification"
Surfers Corner...............................    Who are the Assyrians?
News Digest..................................    Assyrians Attend 1997 Symposium on Gilgamesh
                                                        Assyrian Shopkeepers Arrested in Arizona
                                                        Tamraz Investigated Over French Bank Collapse
                                                        Oshana Defeats Mayberry in Round Six
                                                        Turkey Invites The Pope For Celebration 2000
Calendar of Events........................    Conference in Lieden, The Netherlands
Khudra.........................................    October-December 1997
Entracte........................................    No New Entries
Intelligentsia..................................    Meetings & Classes
Abzu............................................    Assyrian Radio & TV Programs
Assyrian Surfing Posts...................    The Syriac Computing Institute
Pump up the Volume.....................    Arms and Armed
Back to the Future.........................    Sennacherib's Siege of Palastine
                                                        Assyrian National Congress
Literatus.......................................    The Destruction of Sennacherib
This Week in History.....................    Assyrian Thesbians of Tiflis
Bravo...........................................    The Rolling Stones
The Directory...............................    ZENDA News Sources
Bshena.........................................    Sydney, France, Chicago, & Hawaii
Salute..........................................    Alina, Arbella, Firas, Heleen, Lena, Lawrance, Paul, Sarman, &
                                                       Tony

 
                                              THE LUNAR LANDSCAPE OF TIME

Through the regular movement of the planets and stars, the seasons of the year, the cycles of the moon and the cycles of the sun Mesopotamians of millennia ago were able to discover a new dimension of existence- that of time.  Yet to these ancient inhabitants of Bet-Nahrain the cyclical events of nature could be quite monotonous.  Only by inventing the concepts of year, month, and days were they able to free themselves from the monotony of their lives and successfully predict future events. Hence they invented the first calendars.

The purpose of a calendar is to reckon time in advance, to show how many days must elapse until a certain event takes place in the future, such as the corn harvest in Iowa or the release of Microsoft's Windows 98. The earliest calendars, naturally, were crude and tended to be based upon the seasons or the lunar cycle.

The "lunacy" of time-keeping began with the calendar of the Assyrians which was based upon the phases of the moon (lunar calendar). Assyrians knew that a lunation (the time from one full moon to the next) was 29 1/2 days long, so their lunar year had a duration of 354  days.  This fell short of the solar year by about 11 days. The exact time for the solar year is approximately 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and  46 seconds. After 3 years, such a lunar calendar would be off by a whole month, so the Assyrians added an extra month from time to time to keep their calendar in synchronization with the seasons.

The best approximation that was possible in antiquity was the so-called Metonic Cycle of 19-year period, invented by the Babylonians around 432 B.C. Seven of these 19 years had 13 leap months.  This scheme was adopted as the basis for the religious calendar used by the Jews. The  Arabs also used this calendar until Prophet Mohammed forbade shifting from 12 months to 13 months.

When Rome emerged as a world power, the difficulties of making a calendar were well known, but the Romans complicated their lives because of their superstition that even numbers were unlucky. Hence their months were 29 or 31 days long, with the exception of February, which had 28 days. Every second year, the Roman calendar included an extra month called Mercedonius of 22 or 23 days to keep up with the solar year.

Even this algorithm was very poor, so that in 45 BC, Julius Caesar, advised by the astronomer Sosigenes, ordered a sweeping reform.  By imperial decree, one year was made 445 days long to bring the calendar back in step with the seasons.  The new calendar was called the Julian calendar named after Julius Caesar.  Its months were 30 or 31 days in length and every fourth year was made a leap year- having 366 days. Caesar also decreed that the year would start with the first of January, not the vernal equinox in late March.

The birth of Jesus of Nazareth was later adopted as the initial epoch of the Christian calendar. This epoch was established by the sixth-century scholar Dionysius Exiguus, who was compiling a table of dates of Easter. Caesar's year was 11 1/2 minutes short of the calculations recommended by Sosigenes and eventually the date of the vernal equinox began to drift. Roger Bacon (1214-1294), the greatest European scientist of his time, became alarmed and sent a note to Pope Clement IV, who apparently was not impressed. Pope Sixtus IV became convinced of another reform and called the German astronomer, Regiomontanus, to Rome to advise him. Unfortunately, Regiomontanus died of the plague shortly thereafter and the plans died as well.

In 1545, the Council of Trent authorized Pope Gregory XIII to reform the  calendar once more.  Most of the mathematical work was done by Father Christopher Clavius, S.J.  The immediate correction that was adopted was that Thursday, October 4, 1582 was to be the last day of the Julian calendar.  The next day was Friday, with the date of October 15.   For long range accuracy, a formula suggested by the Vatican librarian Aloysius Giglio was adopted.  It  said that every fourth year is a leap year except for century years that are not divisible by 400. Thus 1700, 1800 and 1900 would not be leap years, but 2000 would be a leap year since 2000 is divisible by 400. This rule eliminates 3 leap years every 4 centuries, making the calendar sufficiently correct for most ordinary purposes.

This calendar is known as the Gregorian calendar.  The Gregorian calendar today serves as an international standard for civil use. In addition, it regulates the ceremonial cycle of the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches. In the Gregorian calendar, the date of Easter is defined to occur on the Sunday following the ecclesiastical Full Moon that falls on or next after March 21. England and its dominions did not accept the Gregorian Calendar or the new method of determining Easter until 1752; thus, Easter in England prior to 1753 was determined using the same algorithm as that of the Orthodox Churches. It is interesting  to note that in 1582, all the Protestant princes ignored the papal decree and so many European countries continued to use the Julian calendar until either 1698 or 1752.  In Russia, it needed the revolution to introduce the Gregorian calendar in 1918. Despite the great accuracy of the Gregorian calendar, it still falls behind very slightly every few years.

The Orthodox Christians in the Middle East and Russia continue to use one of the two versions of the Julian Calendar.  The Orthodox New Calendar is the same as the Western Calendar for all fixed feasts but uses the old or Julian calendar for moveable feasts such as Easter and is used primarily by the Greek and Cypriot churches.  The Orthodox Old Calendar is the Julian Calendar, 13 days behind the New Calendar (at ZENDA presstime) and is used by most other Orthodox churches including the Coptic church and the Ancient Assyrian Church of the East. For instance, based on the Old Calendar, Christmas Day occurs on January 7 whereas the Assyrian Chaldean-Catholics and members of the Church of the East celebrate the Birth of Christ on December 25.

Hence, the Christian world has not been able to agree on the date of Christ's birth and resurrection.  Despite the dispute between the "ancient" and the "new" Assyrian and other Orthodox churches of the Middle East, much of the secular (and ecclesiastical) world shares a solar calendar closely resembling that invented many many moons ago in Bet-Nahrain. The Mesopotamian invention of the calendar liberated mankind from the cyclical monotony of nature but its historical revisions based on religious doctrines have only enslaved us further upon our human dispositions.

Staff of ZENDA

References:

Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac, P. Kenneth Seidelmann
The Discoverers, Daniel J. Boorstin
http://www.goarch.org/access/Companion_to_Orthodox_Church/calendar
 
 

     SADDAM ORDERS EXECUTION OF IRAQI OFFICERS AND TRIBAL LEADERS

(ZNAF: Dubai)  According to the London-based Iraqi National Congress, 14 people including military officers were executed last week in Iraq for plotting to kill Saddam Hussein while he was visiting one of his palaces at Uja, south of his home town Takrit. The bodies of four of the officers were given to their families. The 14 include four generals, three colonels, a lieutenant colonel, a commander and two former officials of the ruling Baath Party.  Ten young members of an influential Iraqi Shitte tribe, Bani Hjeim, were also executed last month for attacking security forces in the town of Samawa in southern Iraq and many others are in jail, according to a statement from the tribe.  Their bodies were returned to their parents.

    TURKEY SAYS IT KILLED OVER 400 KURDISH REBELS IN NORTHERN IRAQ

(ZNFP: Ankara) Turkish army troops and their Iraqi Kurdish allies have killed 415 separatist Turkish Kurds in 10 days of fighting following an army incursion into neighbouring northern Iraq, a military official said Friday.  In a related development, Syria and Iran are deploying additional armoured forces near their borders with Turkey and Iraq amid Ankara's ongoing military incursion into northern Iraq, a Turkish intelligence source told Anatolia.  Turkish troops have been pouring into northern Iraq since September 23 and they are allied with Iraq's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of Massud Barzani.  The intelligence sources accused Iran of arming the PKK with short-range Katyusha rockets and Syria of harbouring the PKK's leadership and extending logistical aid to the group.  The Iraqi National Congress (INC) said that Syria had sent an armoured division of nearly 5,000 troops to the triangle of Syrian, Turkish and Iraqi borders.  The Turkish army said its troops on Tuesday captured the PKK's main northern Iraq base of Zab, located 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of the Turkish border and 80 kilometres (48 miles) west of the Iranian frontier.  UN secretary-general Kofi Annan on Wednesday called on Turkey to withdraw its troops from northern Iraq.  The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Saturday accused Turkey of arming a rival Iraqi Kurdish group and harming the balance of power in northern Iraq. A senior envoy from Talabani's PUK, Adnan Mufti, said last week that "If Baghdad accepts the implementation of UN Resolution 688 we can accept dialogue with them. This resolution asks for a dialogue between all groups with Baghdad, and new elections. If Iraq enters into a dialogue with the PUK, Assyrians, Turkmens and other groups we can talk about the future of the region with Baghdad."  But their partnership collapsed in 1994 due to rifts on power-sharing and tax revenue, and the two groups have fought several times since then.  The PUK of Jalal Talabani and the KDP of Massud Barzani have controlled northern Iraq in defiance of Baghdad since the end of the 1991 Gulf war.

         IRAQ BLASTS TURKEY OVER EUPHRATES & TIGRIS DAM PROJECT

(ZNAF: Istanbul)  Iraq on Tuesday condemned Turkey for a series of dams it is building on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, saying they would have a devastating effect on the Iraqi population.  Ankara has begun building 22 dams and 19 hydro-electric power plants, as well as irrigation canals, along the rivers to revitalize a huge plain in southern Turkey.  Iraq and Syria have complained bitterly over the 30 billion-dollar project. Both rivers originate in Turkey but also flow through Iraq, and the Euphrates through Syria as well.  Low levels of water for human consumption are already threatening the lives of the Assyrians of the Khabour region in Syria.  Turkey began the scheme in the 1970s and is nearly halfway through.  In the past, it has rejected the concept of dividing the waters of the two rivers and has instead offered "joint usage" by the
three countries.

"I am writing regarding the featured 'Lighthouse' article dated 9/29/97. I was very happy to hear that the goal of unification of the Chaldean Church and the Church of the East is progressing steadily.  It is inspiring to see that our church elders see the importance of bridging the divisions which exist among Assyrians of different churches and I commend them for their great efforts.  But I have one question to the leadership of the Church of the East and that is "When will the Ancient Church of the East be invited to partake in these momentus steps toward unification?"  From what I understand, the Ancient Church of the East has been "left in the cold" during these critical milestones and has not been invited to play any part in the unification process.  Perhaps, His Holiness Mar Dinkha and His Holiness Mar Adai should take steps towards unification, if not before then simultaneous to the Church of the East's unification with the Chaldean Catholic Church.  Any unification efforts that are to have any impact must come forth from all common sides.  Not doing so will most definitely alienate a whole cross-section of our beloved people.  For if there is enough commonality between the Church of the East and the Chaldean Church to allow for unity, surely the commonality between the two factions of the Church of the East (which are exactly identical in every way, except for their calendars) will be the easiest to overcome.  I hope that elders of the Church of the East may look beyond their past resignation and heartedly work for the unity of all its Assyrian faithful. May the Lord guide them in all their efforts."

Vivian M. Hermiz
Berkeley, California

                      ***********************

"In regards to the comments made relating to AANF and the 65th annual
convention, both the pros and cons stated have merit. The extreme tone the pros and cons are presented in nead to toner to a middle ground in order to reach a concensus on how to improve the AANF and its annual social/political/cultural/educational function. Yes there were hard drugs (youth and some adults), sex (between married people, and amongst single people), hanging around the lobby (Adults and youth), youths having parties in rooms, Educational programs, bazaar that was at least 60% nationalistic educational articles, youth pageant, different gatherings of different groups such as the interneters meeting, meeting of the different activits from all over the world, fire alarms (some by the employess of Hyatt), three arrests (very low considering the number of people attending and our miserable situation as a persecuted nation), One fight (not bad considering our Eastern temper), future marriages between the Assyrian men and women that met at the convention, exposure to different business ideas, sports competitions, parties, banquests, kubba sold by the hotel restaurants, Assyrian Radio Programs broadcasting live, Assyrians from all different Churches interacting, baathees trying to undermine the success of the function, respect for the badge holders, No couches stuffed in elevators and No plants flying down from third floor balconies, Art shop for Assyrian Children (forgive me if I forgot anything). I have been attending these conventions for over 15 years, and I can honestly say this was amongst the more successful and fruitful conventions. Every function will have positives and negatives, the success of which depends on the ratio of the two. To expect perfection is looking for excuses to dwell on the negatives.  BTW, Aprim Rayyis definately deserves the recognition he received.  Looking forward to the 66th annual convention of AANF. We can all contribute to increase the positives that will undoubtedly eliminate more negatives, and perhaps by the year 2005 we can achieve a well balanced convention acceptable to all of us. Untill the day we have the Assyrian Universal National Convention in Nineveh join me in prayer for ASSYRIA FOR ASSYRIANS."

Ninos Younan
Ontario, Canada

[As a rule ZENDA publishes commentaries received up to three weeks after the initial publication of an article. All future comments on the "Detroit Convention" will thus be routed to the ZENDA reader(s) for whom the response was intended.]
 

                                                      WHO ARE THE ASSYRIANS?

The Assyrians of today have been mistaken for Arabs and Syrians mainly because of the confusion caused between the names "Assyria" and "Syria." Assyrians are not Arab nor are they Syrian; they are Assyrians from "Assyria".  Their language is Aramaic, the language our Lord Jesus spoke. The Assyrians of today are descendants of the ancient Assyrian people who built the mighty empires of Assyria and Babylonia.

The geographical location of Assyria encompasses Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, northern Iran, and south-east Turkey.  Some evidences indicate that the Assyrian civilization began in 12,000 BC.  The last known Assyrian empire ended in 612 BC.  From this civilization, language, writing, science, religion and national economics were initially developed and flourished.

The Assyrian language used today is the same as one used by ancient Assyrians.  Following the decline of the Assyrian Empire, the Assyrians were the first followers of our Lord Jesus.

As early as 100 AD, Assyrian missionaries spread Christian teachings as far as India and China.  Since the time of Christ, the Assyrians have maintained their language, culture, and Christian religion despite a decline in their population. Millions of Assyrians have been killed or vanished for refusing to be assimilated into Arab, Turkish, Kurdish, or Muslim identities.

The Assyrian population in the Middle East is in a severe decline because of discrimination, persecution and death by Arab and Turkish governments, Islamic institutions and the Kurdish activities  in the
Middle-East.  Arab and Turkish governments, as well as, Islamic institutions and Kurds have continued their assimilation process of non-Arab inhabitants.   The Assyrian people feel their human rights are
being abused constantly.   Arab governments, especially in Syria and Iraq, regard Assyrians as Arabs.   The Arab governments have been enforcing their assimilation process by deadly, inhumane, and savage
activities without being accountable for their criminal activities. Their actions have brought death upon the peace-loving Assyrian people. Since the past seven years the Arabs, Muslims, and Kurds have caused atrocious cruelty and yet no one in the United Nations has stopped them. The Assyrian population in the Middle-East is less than one million compared to almost seven million in the beginning of the Twentieth Century.

Assyrians have suffered these destructive blows because of their religion and ethnic origin.  The struggle of Assyrians is to preserve their national identity and to live in peace.  The Assyrians want to enjoy the same rights and privileges as the people in the countries where they live.  The Assyrian National Congress, based in California, and Assyrian political parties such as The Bet- Nahrian Democratic Party, Assyrian Universal Alliance, Takasta, and many others have been working toward obtaining an Assyrian homeland similar to Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people. It is a fact that in year 630 AD, there were no Arab-Muslims living in the Middle East, Africa or Europe.  The Arab or Islamic culture came to the Middle East from Saudi Arabia after the birth of Islam in 630 AD.  At the end of World War Two, Assyrians were promised of their own homeland, by the British.  However, British politics took a
different turn and established an unfounded Arab national identity in lands confiscated by Arabs in the Middle East.  Now, the Assyrians look at international government bodies to defend their rights and to re-establish the Assyrian homeland of "Assyria".

"We have been known by many names: Summerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, but for all practical purposes we are one people, almost identical in language, customs and traditions.  Under the name of Assyria, we reached our greatest height.  There is no doubt that the ancient Assyrians are the ancestors of the Assyrian remnants of today.  Even the Phoenicians (Lebanese), the greatest exploring and seafaring people, were a branch of Assyrians...." -Bet Nahrain Democratic Party

The Late Dr. David Perley wrote: "Being an Assyrian is a synthesis of heritage, religion, culture and emotional consciousness that would transcend all diversities, theological, demographic and otherwise.  To
be an Assyrian is to feel: The past in my heritage, I shall not forget it: The present, my responsibility: The future, my challenge..."

Ashur Simon Malek
Ontario, Canada

Source:  Assyrian Women's Info Brochure (www.nineveh.com)
 

                 ASSYRIANS ATTEND 1997 SYMPOSIUM ON GILGAMESH IN CANADA

(ZNDA: Chicago)  On 20 September a group of Assyrians attended the 1997 Annual Symposium of The Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies in Toronto.  This year's topic of interest was Gilgamesh, the Sumerian king of Uruk.  The full-day conference entitled "Gilgamesh: The Hero Who Saw Everything" included the following discussions:

R.F.G. Sweet, University of Toronto           "The Myth of the Heroic Past"
D.R. Frayne, University of Toronto             "Gilgamesh in Ancient Art"
P. Michalowski, University of Michigan       "The Many Lives of Gilgamesh:  The Gilgamesh Narratives
                                                                  in Cultural Context"
A.R. George, University of London             "What's New in the Gilgamesh Epic?"

Dr. Sweet commenced the Symposium with a general talk on the Epic of Gilgamesh.  He emphasized the difference between the historical and the mythological Gilgamesh.  Dr. Frayne provided a detailed account of a very specific portion of the Epic, namely the encoutner between Gilgamesh and Ishtar, the goddess of love, war, and fertility. He highlighted the similarities in several versions of the Epic and concluded that Gilgamesh is a multicultural epic which after leaving Mesopotamia has become an integral part of various cultures' ethnic and religious identity.  An example given included the hero saved by a bird mentioned in the Iranian literature from the 13th century A.D.  He then presented some interesting new material demonstrating the level of unity between Mesopotamia and other parts of present Syria.  The Eblite version of the Epic gives an account of two foreign heroes who received royal crowns from the people of Ebla.

Professor Michalowski stressed the importance of interpreting the Epic in its time frame. He went as far as expressing his dislike of the use of the word 'Epic' due to its Hellenistic interpretation.  Professor Michalowski noted that it was from the ancient Assyrians whom we obtained thirty two of the thirty five tablets on the Epic of Gilgamesh. Very little material has survived from the UR III period (2100 b.c. - 2000 B.C.) of which most were magic incantations and exercises of school children. The Assyrian tablets were found in the Ashurbanipal Library of Nineveh.

The final speaker spoke of the great advances in uncovering the Epic. Dr. George noted that the last published translation was based on 108 pieces of the tablets.  Scholars today have read and translated 178 pieces of the Epic. Dr. George pointed out that the field of Assyriology is the most understaffed field in the Humanities.  There still remains thousands of tablets in the British Museum's storage rooms that have not been read, let alone cataloged!

The Assyrian who attended the symposium included:

Rabbie Hurmiz Abbona         Author
Rabbie Alfred Duman           Activist and political analyst
Andrius Daniel                     Shutas Binyat Class (Canada)
Isaac Shimun                       Shutas Binyat Class (Canada)
Peter Jasim                         Assyrian Academic Society (Chicago)
Susan Nessan                     Assyrian Academic Society (Chicago)
Firas Jatou                          Assyrian Academic Society (Chicago)

For more information contact the Assyrian Acedemic Society at staff@aas.net .

 
                 ASSYRIAN SHOPKEEPERS ARRESTED IN AN ARIZONA DRUG BUST

(ZNDA: Pheonix)  Last Monday undercover detectives and more than 100 state and federal law officers in Phoenix, Arizona arrested 31 shopkeepers for selling legal drugs containing ephedrine or synthetic ephedrine, prime ingredients in illegal methamphetamines. A few shop owners were identified as Assyrian.  Drug Enforcement Administration agents in the undercover operation went from store to store buying drugs by the case.  Five of the warrants were served at stores in Glendale, one for a store on county land and the rest for Phoenix stores.  John Youkhanna, the owner of Reddys Corner Drive-in-Liquor on 2613 West Glendale Avenue, was among the small business owners arrested.  When asked about the ethnic identity of the shopkeepers, William Hermann of the Arizona Republic responded to a ZENDA inquiry that "many of those arrested in that sting were, in fact, of Middle Eastern descent. I did not write as much because I was unable to discern or say what that fact had to do with anything. It may have been significant and it may have only been a coincidence..."  The Phoenix Police was unable to provide any pertinent information and the State Attorney General office could not be reached for further comments.  Based on research project by a Washington think tank, one in six Arizona high-school seniors have tried meth.

The Arizona Republic article: www.azcentral.com/news/0930methbust.shtml
[Note the Assyrian flag tattooed on the shopkeeper's right arm pictured in this article.]

                 TAMRAZ TO BE INVESTIGATED OVER FRENCH BANK COLLAPSE

(ZNSM: Beirut) A French investigative magistrate last week charged fugitive Lebanese-American businessman, Roger Tamraz, with issuing a fake budget for France's Banque de Participations et de Placements (BPP) and embezzling more than 6 million francs from its coffers.  BPP was a subsidiary of Lebanon's Intra-Financial company, which was headed by Mr. Tamraz in the 1980s.

                             OSHANA STOPS MAYBERRY IN THE 6TH ROUND

(ZNDA: Chicago)  Last month Anwar Oshana, the Assyrian boxing champion from Chicago, stopped Porter Mayberry in the sixth round.  In his past 18 games Oshana has had 11 knock-outs and is currently ranked as number 10 in the International Boxing Organization's SuperMiddle Weight group and number 1 in the National Association of Boxing Organizations.

                               TURKEY INVITES POPE FOR 2000 CELEBRATIONS

(ZNRU: Ankara) Last week Turkey invited Pope John Paul II to visit this predominantly Moslem country for planned celebrations to mark the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Christ.  "We would like to see the pope with us in 2000 when we will have special celebrations for Christ," Gurdal said at a meeting with the Vatican's apostolic nuncio in Ankara, Pier Luigi Celata, according to the Anatolia news agency.  "Although Turkey is a mainly Moslem country, we highly respect the other religions. Turkey has a special place in the growth of Christianity," the minister said.
Turkish terrorist Mehmet Ali Agca shot and injured the pontiff in Rome in 1981 and is serving a life sentence in Italy.
 

Oct 17-18        Lieden University Symposium
            A History of Assyro-Chaldean Christians
            Contact Dr. Heleen Murre-van den Berg
            hlmurre@rullet.leidenuniv.nl

           Topic include:
            "The Church of the East in the 17th and 18th Centuries: Bet Israel Alqoshaya and the              Periodization of History"

            "Israel Alqoshaya and Yausip Tilkipnaya and the Beginnings of Sureth Literature"

            "Neo-Aramaic and Persian Glosses in the Syriac Translation of the Pseudo-Callisthenes and the Literary Traditions around the School of Alqosh"

            "Early Neo-Aramaic and Present-day Dialectal Diversity"

            "The Patriarchate of the Church of the East in the 17th Century"

            "A Chaldean aksa d-kahna in an East-Syrian Ms. from the University Library of Groningen"

            "The Ascetic Florilegium in Ms. Charfeh 86 and its Connections with East-Syriac Ascetic Literature"

            "The Transmission of the Syriac Pseudo-Callisthenes"

            "Founding a New Patriarchate: Eliya X, Joseph I, and the Muslim Authorities"

            "Pour une ‚tude de l'‚change culturel entre chr‚ tiens orientaux et catholicisme latin: problŠmes et methodes"

            "Ottoman Administration and its Christian Subjects:
             Changes in the Millet System under Influence of Western Missions"

            "Alqosh as a Channel of Transmission of Syriac Literary Culture"
 

Oct 25        A Discussion on "The Assyrians": The Second of Joan Grande's Series of Gallery Talks on the Development of Civilization.
        British Museum, London
        Coffee Bar (inside the museum)
        11:00 AM
        £1.50

Nov 22-24    Middle East Studies Association's 31st Annual Meeting
        San Francisco, California
        Hyatt Regency San Francisco
        http://www.mesa.arizona.edu/mesa97.htm

        Selected Topics:
        -Christian Persian Notables: Patrons and Leaders in East Syrian Christian Society
        -Iraq and the Assyrians, 1925-1933
        -Dawn at Tell Tamir: The Assyrian Christian Survival on the Khabur River
        -The Future of Iraq
        -Recognized Religious Minorities in Iran
        -An Ethnic Perspective on State Formation in Iraq
        -Lebanon's Culture and National Identity
        -Sons of Noah in Eastern Christian Tradition

Dec 11-13    British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology
        1997 Annual Conference
        University of Durham
        United Kingdom
        http://www.dur.ac.uk/Archaeology/confs/BANEA.html

Dec 20        Maestro Nebu Issabey's Nineveh Choir
        San Jose State University Music Hall
        8:00 PM

Through    In the Presence of the Gods: Art from Ancient Sumer
Mar 8,1998    The Smart Museum of Art
        5550 South Greenwood Avenue
        Chicago
        Free Admission
        A presentation of 43 4,500-year-old Sumerian temple offerings, including statues from Tell Asmar, tablets,         carved stone vessels, and relief panels showing banquet scenes.

--------------------------K  H  U  D R  A------------------------------

Oct 10        Dokhrana 'd Mar Elia (Elijah the Prophet)
Oct 12        First Sunday of Moses
Oct 17     Anniversary of Mar Dinkha IV's Consecration (1976)
        Patriarch of the Church of the East
Oct 19        Second Sunday of Moses
Oct 26        Third Sunday of Moses
Oct 31        Dokhrana 'd Mar Elia (of Hirta or Khirata)
Nov 1        Dokhrana 'd Mar Mikha d'Alqosh
Nov 3        Dokhrana 'd Mar Gewargis, Sahda (The Martyr)
Nov 19       Commemoration of Mar Yacoub m' Pasqa
Nov 22       Dokhrana 'd Mar Odisho d'Urmi
Dec 7        Annunciation of the Virgin Mary (Soobara)
Dec 8        Immaculate Conception
Dec 13        Mar Yacub d'Nsiven (St. James of Nisibin)
Dec 20        King Abgar V
Dec 22        Mar Yousip (St. Joseph)
Dec 25        Christmas (Julian Calendar)

For the Church Liturgy of the Assyrian Church of the East visit:
                http://www.cired.org/liturgy.html

-------------------------E  N  T  R A  C  T  E-------------------------

Dec 31        New Year's Eve Party
        Assyrian American Association of San Jose
        Entertainers:  Black Cats & Franco
        Marriott Hotel
        Santa Clara, California

----------------------I N T E L L I G E N T S I A-----------------------

CHICAGO    Introductory & Advanced Modern Assyrian
          Room Numbers C13 & C33
          Instructor: Rabbie Zaia Kanoon
          Wednesdays, Thursdays, & Saturdays
        7:00-9:00 PM
          Location:  North Park University, Carlson Tower
        language@aas.net or  1-800-454-6979.

        Assyrian Athletic Club Soccer Development Program
        Ages 7-14
        7:45-9:45 PM
        Mondays
        Warren Park Gymnasium
        Western Avenue & Devon Street
        ------------------------------------------------------
HARVARD     1997-98 Syriac Classes Taught by Dr. J.F. Coakley
UNIVERSITY    Elementary Syriac
        Instructor:  J. F. Coakley
        Basic Syriac grammar and syntax with selected readings from
        the Syriac Bible and other early texts.
        ------------------------------------------------------
        Readings in Syriac I
        Historical and theological texts, and early poetry
        ------------------------------------------------------
             Readings in Syriac II
        Special attention to exegetical texts and to reading
        manuscripts.
        ------------------------------------------------------
NORTH          Assyrian Boy Scouts
HOLLYWOOD     Assyrian American Association of Southern California
             Assyrian Club
             5901 Cahuenga Blvd
              North Hollywood, California
             9:30am  to 12:30pm
        Sundays
              Contact Sargon Gewargis @ fishtale@juno.com
            (818) 891-3705 after 7:30 PM
        ------------------------------------------------------
             Assyrian Student Union
          California State University, Northridge
        Assyrian American Association of Southern California

        Assyrian Club
        5901 Cahuenga Blvd
        North Hollywood, California
        6:00pm
        Contact Sargon Gewargis @ fishtale@juno.com
        (818) 891-3705 after 7:30 PM
        ------------------------------------------------------
SAN JOSE    English as a Second Language & Conversational English (Adults)
        Instructor:  Jacklin Bajan
        Mondays
        7:00-9:30 PM
        AAA of San Jose BETA
        ------------------------------------------------------
        Nisibin School for Children (Classes begin on 10/6/97)
        Various Instructors
        Saturdays
        10:00-1:00 pm
        AAA of San Jose BETA
        ------------------------------------------------------
        Citizenship Classes
        Instructor:  Jacklin Bajan
        Mondays & Tuesdays
        7:00 PM
        AAA of San Jose BETA
        20000 Almaden Road
        ------------------------------------------------------
        Maestro Nebu Issabey's Nineveh Choir Practice
        AAA of San Jose BETA
        8:00 PM
        Thursdays
        ------------------------------------------------------
ONTARIO    Nisibis School
           10:30-1:30
        Saturdays
           The Church of the East
          Toronto, Canada

        Assyrian Student Association
        12:00 pm (noon)
        MSA Room, Fennell Campus
        Hamilton, Canada

-----------------------------A  B  Z U---------------------------------

                   RADIO PROGRAMS

Assyrian Voice of Canada
Ontario-Canada

Saturdays
3:00 - 4:00 PM             Cable 91.7 and 91.9
10:00 PM - 12:00 AM (midnight)     AM 1430
Voice (905) 279-6206
Fax (905) 279-7347
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                TELEVISION PROGRAMS

AssyriaVision KBSV-TV 23             Modesto/Turlock-California
Bet-Nahrain Inc.
Daily (Saturday-Friday)
7:00 AM - 2:00 AM PST
(209) 538-4130
http://www.betnahrain.org/kbsv-tv23.html
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Assyrian National Magazine             San Jose/Bay Area, California
(with George Maragolof)
Live Show (Every first and third Tuesday)
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM "live show"
Weekly Show (Fridays)
7:00-8:00 PM
Channel 15A (TCI Cablevision)
http://wwwdeanza.fhda.edu/26/shows/assyrian.html
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Atour TV (Assyrian American Association)       San Jose, California
Weekly (Mondays)
8:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Channel 15A (TCI Cablevision)

The Syriac Computing Institute:

      http://scholar.cc.emory.edu/scripts/syrcom/index.php

SyrCOM is an independent non-profit research institute which aims at promoting Syriac culture by contributing to the academic field of Syriac studies using computer technology.

        English        Modern Assyrian

              Arms (as weapons)    zey/ne            [F]
              Armed                      zoo/ye/na       [M]
                                              zoo/yen/ta      [F]
________________________________________________________________________
            F = Feminine     M = Masculine      P = Plural
 
 

BC (701)

A rebellion against the Assyrian king took place in Palastine with Hezekiah of Judah as its leader.  The conspiracy was supported by the Egyptians.  Hezekiah had prepared for the possible seige of Jerusalem by digging a tunnel to bring water into Jerusalam from the pool of Siloam. King Sennacherib quickly moved towards Palastine, first defeating the combined forces of Egypt and Ekron.  Judah was rapidly isolated. Sennacherib took 46 "walled cities" including Lachish.  Initially, Hezekiah, encouraged by the Jewish prophet Isiah, refused to surrender but finally compromised and "grasping the feet" of Sennacherib once again submitted to the Assyrian rule.  Meanwhile, Babylon began a separate rebellion against the Assyrian king and so the king once again mobilized his army against the rebellion in Bet-Nahrain.

[For a different perspective on this historic event see this week's LITERATUS.]

<< The Ancient Assyrians, Healy & McBride >>
 

AD (1983) Dr. Sargon Dadesho's Bet-Nahrain Organization forms the Assyrian National Congress and holds the first "Congress" in Modesto, California in March 18-20.  The purpose of this organization is to "oversee the Assyrian affairs in the fields of politics, education, culture, finance, religion, defense, and protection of the Assyrian human rights all over the world...(and) to secure a homeland for Assyrians in the province of Nineveh or in the province of Dohuk..."

<< The Assyrian National Question, Dadesho >>

                  THE DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB

The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen;
Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown,
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.

For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and forever grew still!

And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride;
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.

And there lay the rider distorted and pale,
With the dew of his brow, and the rust on his mail;
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown.

And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail,
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal;
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!

<<Lord Byron (1788-1824)>>

October 10, 1910:  Assyrians of Georgia form a professional theatrical company in Tiflis (Tbilisi).

               THE ROLLING STONES' BRIDGES TO BABYLON

When was the last time you heard the name "Babylon" affectionatally uttered on TV or your favorite rock radio station?  Perhaps last night. First, it was the science-fiction TV "Babylon 5" which captured our attention but for a very brief period.  Now it is the long-awaited Rolling Stones' concert tour entitled "Bridges to Babylon."  This is Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ron Woods at their best.  With the help of the roaring Lion of Babylon and the Tower of Babel in "shockwaves", the Stones hit the ground running.  As expected, most of us "can't get no satisfaction" from the Holywood extravaganza of the multi-million dollar staging deemed unfriendly to our cultural heritage.  Yet the thought of watching the giant posters of The Bearded Lion at tens of concert stadiums under the caption "Bridges to Babylon" can move us "out of control."

http://www.virginrecords.com/the-rolling-stones/menupage/indexdcr.html

ZNAA (Assyrian Academic Society-Chicago)
ZNAD (Assyrian Democratic Organization)
ZNAF (Agence France-Presse)
ZNAM (Archeology Magazine)
ZNAP (Associated Press International)
ZNBN (Bet-Nahrain Inc/ KBSV-TV "AssyriaVision")
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ZNDA (Zenda: zenda@ix.netcom.com)
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ZNMN (San Jose Mercury News)
ZNNQ (Nabu Quarterly)
ZNNV (Nineveh Magazine)
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ZNRU (Reuters)
ZNSH (Shotapouta Newsletter)
ZNSJ (San Jose Mercury News)
ZNSM (Shufimafi Lebanese News)
ZNTM (Time Magazine)
ZNUP (United Press International)
ZNUS (US News & World Report)

CORPORATE ACCOUNTS

UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTS

PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
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This Week's Writers & Reporters:

Alina Sargis                San Jose, California   Feature Article
Arbella Issabey            San Jose, California    Literatus
Assyrian Church of the East Website             Khudra
Firas Jatou                Chicago, Illinois    News Digest
Dr. Heleen Murre-van den Berg   The Netherlands        Calendar of Events
Lena Mushell                 San Jose, California    Good Morning B-N
Shamasha Lawrance Namato         Chicago, Illinois    Khudra
 

& We Thank The Following Individuals For Referring Us to New Readers:

Paul Newey        Chicago, Illinois
Sarman BASC        Chicago, Illinois
Tony Khoshaba        Chicago, Illinois
 

                              THANKS CHICAGO!
 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Our Upcoming Issues:

October 13        Yusuf Malek
October 20        Babylonian Mathematics
October 27        ZENDA's Readers Survey
November 3        The Urmie Manifesto
November 10        The Assyrian American Association of Chicago
November 17        Of Dolma and Haseeda:  Assyrian Chefs & Cookery

Would you like to know more about a particular topic on Assyrian culture, arts, history, language, politics, etc.  Drop us a note!

Do you have old books and magazines on topics related to the Assyrian culture sitting around at home eating dust?  How about sending them to ZENDA so we may share their information with our readers.  ZENDA will cover your cost of postage and handling.
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