Arbo becomes second Assyrian village to shed Turkish-imposed name
An Assyrian village in Turkey’s Assyrian heartland has successfully petitioned to restore its original name, raising hopes that others may soon follow.
The village of Arbo, which decades ago was renamed Taşköy under Turkey’s policy of forced Turkification, has officially regained its ancient Assyrian name following a decision by local authorities.
Beginning in 1921, successive Turkish governments pursued a state policy to rename over 30,000 locations, including more than 12,000 villages, in an effort to erase the presence of non-Turkic peoples and impose a uniform national identity. The policy also extended to the forced adoption of Turkish family names.
Villagers from Arbo recently petitioned the municipality of Nusaybin to restore the original Assyrian name. The municipal council approved the request, which was subsequently endorsed by the district governor, Evren Çakır, making the change official.
The decision has been met with excitement among Assyrians, particularly those originally from Arbo. Assyrian-Dutch politician Attiya Gamri, whose family hails from the village, expressed her joy on social media:
“A village that has been around for more than 3,000 years was renamed so that its history would disappear. A new village emerged, without ties to ancient Assyria or the ancestors who once lived there. But today, it was decided to officially restore the name Arbo. The Turkish government respected the will of the people, and this gives hope!.”
Arbo is one of just 15 villages that have remained purely Assyrian in the Tur Abdin region. Although only a handful of permanent families remain, the village has seen renewed activity in recent years as more Assyrians return to rebuild old homes or construct new ones.
Second Village to Reclaim Its Name
Arbo is not the first village to reclaim its historic name. In 2015, the village of Beth-Kustan, renamed Alagöz in the 1930s, successfully restored its original name through a similar process initiated by the Akad Association, led by local Assyrian Adem Coşkun. The name Beth-Kustan dates back to early Christian times and is believed to mean “Constantine’s Place.”
While few other Assyrian villages have yet applied to have their names restored, that could soon change. Ilhan Aydin, a Sweden-based lawyer involved in efforts to revive Assyrian life in Tur Abdin, recently revealed that an Assyrian delegation to Ankara formally requested the abolition of all Turkish-imposed names on Assyrian towns and villages.
With growing openness from Turkish authorities and renewed local engagement, it increasingly appears to be only a matter of time before all Assyrian place names in Tur Abdin are restored to their rightful form.
