They inhabit the country between Amadia and Julamerk.In reaction to the Assyrian Genocide and lured by British and Russian promises of an independent nation since the 3rd century AD, as the Assyrians armed themselves and put up resistance Talaat Pasha sent the order to permanently drive them from the Hakkari mountains.

Despite being heavily outnumbered and outgunned, the Assyrians fought successfully, scoring a number of victories over the Turks, Kurds and Persians.

The sizable Assyrian presence in south eastern Anatolia which had endured for over four millennia was thus reduced significantly by the end of World War I.

[7] Survivors of fighting age joined the Assyrians of northwest Persia, northern Iraq and northeast Syria, including those from Salamas and Urmia to form an Assyrian army, and had a real prospect of fighting with the Russians to evict the Ottoman forces from Persia, and historic Assyria.

[9][10] Petros also defeated the Ottomans in a major engagement at Sauj Bulak and drove them back to Rowanduz.

[12] Malik Khoshaba led forces in counterattacks against the far larger Ottoman Army during and after the period known as the Assyrian Genocide with some success.

Khoshaba decided to withdraw his men to their defences for the night, and to send out patrols to halt the enemy moving towards Seray.

[14]The Assyrian forces under the command of Malik Khoshaba and General Agha Petros numbered some 6,000 men, flanked by Allied (mainly Russian) troops.

Their task at the time was to hold the front against the Turks who were attempting to advance on the city of Baku, in which they were successful in doing so for seven months (January - July 1918) while surrounded by enemy forces.

[16] Simko Shikak, who was responsible for the murder of the Assyrian patriarch Mar Shimun was staying in the fortress.

In 1924 Turkey formally occupied northern Hakkari and expelled the last Christian inhabitants who still remained in the region.