Tkhuma

The Assyrians claimed the status of a firman of protection from the Caliphate and of an Ottoman millet to preserve their customs and traditions along with the tribes of Jelu, Baz, Tyari, and Deez/Diz, "forming the highest authority under His Holiness Mar Shimun, the patriarch.

In 1915, the representative of the Assyrian Patriarch Shimun XX Paulos wrote that the Tkhuma of "many Christian villages" had "been entirely destroyed.

Their Muslim neighbors stated that in order to stand a chance they needed to outnumber the Assyrians of Tkhuma or Tyari five to one, and have superior modern weapons.

[7] A journalist of the Ottoman Empire wrote, "The people of Tkhuma put up a great defense on September 27th and 28th [1915].

The Iraqis were armed with modern weapons and attack planes given to them by the British while the Assyrians were only equipped with old rifles.