Ömerli, Mardin


Ömerli is a town and district in Mardin Province in southeastern Turkey. It is located in the historical region of Tur Abdin.
In the town, there was a church of Saint George. The church of Saint George was later converted into a mosque.

Etymology

The Syriac name of the town is derived from "ma'ṣartā".

History

Maʿsarteh is identified as the town of Madaranzu in Bit-Zamani, which was conquered by Ashurnasirpal II, King of Assyria, in 879 BC. It is later mentioned by Theophylact Simocatta and George of Cyprus as Matzaron. The town was likely captured by a Sasanian army in 573 at the time of the siege of Dara, during the Roman-Sasanian War of 572-591, but was retaken and the fort was restored by the Roman commanders Theodore and Andrew in 587.
Maʿsarteh was part of the Syriac Orthodox diocese of the Monastery of Saint Abai until the death of its last bishop Isḥoq Ṣaliba in 1730, upon which the diocese was subsumed into the diocese of Mardin. German orientalist Eduard Sachau visited the town in 1880. Until the Assyrian genocide, the town was exclusively populated by Assyrians of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Survivors of the genocide fled to the Monastery of Saint Ananias.
After the Assyrian genocide, Assyrians from Maʿsarteh emigrated to Bethlehem and Jerusalem. In 1925, the town became the seat of a bucak of Savur, and was elevated to district in 1953. In 1960, Maʿsarteh was officially renamed Ömerli. By 1989, all Assyrian families had fled the town, however, some later returned and, as of 2013, three Assyrian families inhabit the town. The district is also populated by Mhallami.

Notable people