Some years later I was working on an inscription of the Assyrian king Sennacherib who ruled around 700 BC, at Nineveh not Babylon. It was edited in the 1920s, and one passage made nonsense in the translation.

With a further 70 years of scholarly work now available, including vastly better dictionaries, I have been able to show that the passage relates how Sennacherib cast screws in bronze for watering his terraced garden, some centuries before the time of Archimedes whose name is usually quoted as the inventor. The castings were huge. Sennacherib’s own inscriptions show that he was personally proud of his technical achievements in metal-casting, water management, and collecting exotic foreign plants. Sennacherib called his work a wonder for all peoples.

Because this was all so unusual and unexpected, I re-read the Greek accounts of the Hanging Garden. Strabo mentioned the use of the screw, and must have known that Archimedes lived long after the garden was supposedly made. Herodotus described Babylon, but did not mention the garden. Only one author, Josephus, actually named Nebuchadnezzar as the builder. Another wrote that an Assyrian king built it. Could it be that there were so many confusions, especially Nebuchadnezzar for Sennacherib, Babylon for Nineveh?

In the British Museum a panel of sculpture found at Nineveh had long been understood as a likely prototype for the Hanging Garden at Babylon. It was carved in the reign of Sennacherib’s grandson, and was thought to show Sennacherib’s garden when it had matured. It shows an aqueduct supplying water just as the Greek accounts said. The British Museum also has a 19th century drawing of a sculpture from Nineveh, now lost, which matched the most original detail in the Greek texts: there was a pillared walkway on the top terrace of the garden, thickly roofed, and trees were planted on top of that roof.

The aqueduct shown in the British Museum’s sculpture could not be traced by archaeologists at Nineveh, but could be traced further away in a watercourse that stretched back 80km into the mountains. Wonderful rock-cut panels with huge sculptures of the king Sennacherib and the gods of Assyria, as well as an inscription, revealed that the palace garden at Nineveh was only the end result of a staggering work of water engineering.

More than 300 years later, when Alexander the Great was preparing for the battle of Gaugamela in which he defeated the Persian king, he camped in the vicinity of a central part of Sennacherib’s watercourse where over two million dressed stones were used in an aqueduct crossing a valley. His scouts would have seen inscriptions and sculptures, and heard about the garden. Later Greek writers extracted their accounts of the Hanging Garden from Alexander’s companions whose writings no longer survive.

There may be much confusion surrounding the Hanging Garden, but it is clear that amazing technology created a magnificent garden and justifies its place among the original seven wonders of the world.

Stephanie Dalley is an Honorary Research Fellow at Somerville College, Oxford, and a member of the Oriental Institute at Wolfson College, Oxford. With degrees in Assyriology from the Universities of Cambridge and London, her academic career has specialized in the study of ancient cuneiform texts and she has worked on archaeological excavations in Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Jordan. Her most recent book, The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon, was published by OUP in 2013.

- See more at: http://blog.oup.com/2013/06/mystery-hanging-garden-babylon/#sthash.PQxyElac.dpuf

The motion claimed Armenians, Assyrians and Greek communities were subject to “qualitatively similar” genocides at the hands of the Ottoman Government between 1914 and 1922.

Involving more than 2,000 people, the rally started with a short visit to lay a wreath at the ANZAC Cenotaph in Martin Place.

Chanting slogans “Leave history to historians!”, “Parliament is not a court to judge!”, “Stop spread of hatred and lies”, “Protect your multiculturalism”, the participants called on the Parliament to promote peace and friendship, not the spread of hatred and lies among the multicultural Australian society.

Australian-Azerbaijani-Turkish Friendship President Imametdin Kassoumov said the main purpose of the rally was to raise awareness among the local communities and prevent the parliament from similar actions in the future.

“What we want is that all communities with different origin and ethnicity live in friendship and peace in Australia. We don’t want a decision made by the parliament based on false allegations to be presented to the future generations as historical facts to promote hatred. These things should be investigated by historians, taking into account the realities existed that time. We want the parliament to promote peace and friendship, not the spread of hatred,” he said.

The rally was organized by Australian Turkic Alliance in association with other partner organizations including Australian-Azerbaijani-Turkish Friendship Unity.

http://www.azernews.az/azerbaijan/55559.html

http://photos.dailynews.com/2013/06/photos-assyrian-festival/#4

A similar violation has been instituted against other towns and villages located on the outskirts of Dohuk, North of Iraq, in the Assyrian villages of Kori Gavana, Blejani and many others in which the defenseless residents in these villages were threatened and intimidated by the Kurds. Assyrians in many of these villages stopped sowing their rich agricultural lands – their only source of income – because they were warned by the Kurds that if anyone attempted to produce a crop, their farms and houses would be burned to the ground. This threatening menace was the fundamental reason why hundreds of Christian families left their homes in the village and fled to neighboring countries.

The Assyrian Universal Alliance-Australia Chapter condemns in the strongest terms possible these illegal and intimidating intrusions against the indigenous Assyrian people of Iraq by the Kurds. We hold the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) accountable for not stopping these discriminatory behaviours against Assyrians, deeming it a party to the unlawful and immoral occupation and transfer of Assyrian-owned lands to Kurdish squatters. These illicit acts are contrary to the obligations of Iraq’s national unity and civil peace that the faithful citizens of the country are seeking.

An appeal has been made to the world leaders to intervene with the Iraqi authorities to investigate and take immediate steps to reverse and prevent any further violations and abuse. We demand that the KRG immediately cease these unlawful aggressions against the Assyrian Christian inhabitants of our ancestral villages, returning any occupied lands to their rightful owners.

On Monday, 3 June, 2013, The Hon. Chris Bowen MP, Member for McMahon, raised in the Australian Federal Parliament a motion focusing on the Assyrian demand for the establishment of an autonomous province in the heart of the Assyrian ancestral lands in the Nineveh Plains in northern Iraq. The AUA feels compelled to formally bring this matter to the attention of the allied governments and seek their support to confer with the Iraqi authorities about this issue.

Executive Board
Assyrian Universal Alliance

On 14 June 2013 a delegation of the Assyrian Democratic Movement met with Mr Scott Morrison-Federal Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.

The ADM delegation included Mr Zaya Zaya, ADM Sydney Director and Mr Immanuel Sada, former ADM Branch Director.

The meeting was organised by Mr Andrew Rohan MP, state member of Parliament and Chairman- Parliamentary Friends of Assyria and also included Mr Zaya Toma, Fairfield City Councillor, Mr Yousep Yousep, representative of Bet Nahrain Democratic Party and journalist Mr Ghazi Michael.

The meeting was held to discuss the latest developments in Iraq and, in particular, the plight of the Assyrian Chaldean Syriac communities in Iraq and Syria. Also discussed was the establishment of a safe and secure region for these ethnic minorities in the Nineveh Plains.

Iraqi parliamentarians have called for the creation of the administrative region in the Nineveh Plains citing Article 125 of the Iraqi Constitution.

Our communities continue to suffer from terrorism, neglect, marginalisation, exclusion and lack of employment opportunities. Settlement in this region will greatly benefit displaced members of our community, and other ethinc minorities such as Turkmen and Yazidis and see an end to the suffering and violence.

In conclusion of the meeting the delegation acknowledged the Australian Governments support of the christian and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria and stressed the importance of implementing Article 125 and the Nineveh Plains Project.

The new council replaces the Advisory Council on Arab and Chaldean American Affairs. The 10-member council will advise the Governor and the Department on issues related to, and affecting, the Arab and Chaldean communities in Michigan. It will also serve to promote awareness of their culture and history. The executive order repeals EO 2004-33, which had established the 33-member Advisory Council on Arab and Chaldean American Affairs nine years ago.

“By reducing the size and enhancing efficiencies, this restructured council will better serve the needs of Arab and Chaldean Americans in Michigan,” Snyder said.

Appointments to the new council will be made after the executive order takes effect. EO 2013-9 is expected to take effect on August 6 (60 days from the date that it was filed). Council members will also have term limits.

The Arab American News reached out to the Governor’s office in an effort to obtain more information, regarding the reduced size of the council and its expected effectiveness in serving both communities, but has not received a response as of press time.

Southeast Michigan is home to the largest concentration of Arab and Chaldean Americans in the entire country, with an estimated 500,000 Arab Americans and 120,000 Chaldean Americans in the region.

All budgeting, procurement, and related management functions of the Council are expected to be performed under the direction and supervision of the Director of the Department of Civil Rights. Members of the Council will also serve without compensation, but may receive reimbursement for necessary travel and expenses, in accordance to the relevant statutes and rules and procedures of the Department.

The full text of EO 2013-9 is available at www.michigan.gov/snyder.

Although half of Iraq’s Christians have fled the country during the past decade, the Chaldean Synod insisted on a maintaining a strong Christian presence in the country. The Synod called for the formation of capable Christians to serve in political leadership, active cooperation with other Christian communities, and outreach to the country’s Muslim majority.

The Chaldean Synod conclude with a festive dinner, hosted by Patriarch Raphael I Louis Sako. Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki attended as a guest.

In a final statement, the Synod voiced its concern over the continued bloodshed in Syria and promised prayers for the safety of two kidnapped Orthodox bishops.

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=18150

Baghdad (AsiaNew) – Creating a “competent” Christian political class, training well-prepared priests, boosting the faithful’s role as a “bridge between cultures” and partner with Muslims, reviving the ecumenical movement by opening a “brave and honest dialogue with the Church Assyrian Church of the East” are but some of the issues mentioned in the final paper issued by the Synod of the Chaldean Church, held on 5-10 June in Baghdad.

As chair of the assembly of Fathers, which brought together all the bishops of Iraq and the Diaspora, except for Mgr Sarhad Jammo from California, the Chaldean Patriarch, His Beatitude Mar Raphael I Louis Sako, used the occasion to present his thoughts on “the bishop’s pastoral work”, whose success depends on “spirituality and prayer,” not on “administrative work alone.”

The Synod, which saw the leaders of the Chaldean Church address a number of issues, ended with a dinner given by the patriarch. Political and religious leaders, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, took part in the repast. The patriarch used the venue to propose a committee to promote dialogue.

In their final paper, the Fathers expressed “regret for the violence in the region, especially in Syria” and said that they would pray that “Yohanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yazigi, the two kidnapped bishops, be released.”

Invoking the blessing of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary “on the children of the homeland and the diaspora,” the prelates said that they supported political action by “lay people” and the establishment of ” cultural and social centres as well as schools where to teach our language”.

They also went along with what Patriarch Sako had already said, namely that the clergy must “engage in priestly vocation and services” and give their support to (Christian) politicians in the defence of “the dignity and rights of the people.”

Renewing the “structures of the Patriarchate” is one of the many challenges that lay ahead. Inspired by the motto “Authenticity, Unity and Renewal” His Beatitude chose at the time of his election, this renewal will affect the way the Patriarchate and all the dioceses, religious orders and church institutions are organised.

With this comes a commitment to train the clergy and nurture religious and priestly vocations. However, “the ordination of priests should not be done in a rush just to fill pastoral vacancies”. Good solid training is needed to avoid “negative repercussions for the Church.”

The Synod Fathers also raised some questions about the practice of moving priests from one diocese to another “without the permission of the bishop”, a practice that “undermines the priestly service”. For this reason, they call on the dioceses not accept “priests without the permission of their bishop.”

Among the topics for reflection, “the Christian presence in Iraq” took centre stage. Even though half of the community left in the past ten years, Christians are and will continue to be “a bridge between communities” and work to “strengthen mutual coexistence and raise the voice of truth vis-à-vis ongoing changes.”

As the last item, Patriarch Sako and the bishops turned to the contents of the letter sent to Pope Francis through the papal nuncio to Iraq, Mgr Giorgio Lingua. In their message, the Synod Fathers “express love” for the Pontiff and “respect for his points of view, which encourage openness and dialogue between nations.”

* Fr. Zarazeer Albert, head of communications of the Chaldean Patriarchate

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Chaldean-Synod:-revitalising-the-Christian-presence-in-Iraq-and-freedom-for-Syrian-bishops-28195.html

SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – Minority groups in the Kurdistan Region say that serious rivalry among Kurdish political parties in parliament has deprived their MPs of any influence.

“The government and opposition groups give us no chance,” Sherdil Tahsin, a Turkman MP in the Kurdish parliament, told Rudaw.

Minority groups like the Turkmen, Assyrian and Chaldean Christians occupy eleven seats in Kurdistan’s 111-seat parliament.

Tahsin said that parliamentarians from the minority groups have to walk a tightrope in order to get anything done for their respective communities.

“We have to be very careful when presenting a bill to parliament,” he says. “Sometimes we get support from the government, other times from the opposition.”

Tahsin says that minority MPs try to serve their own people who live among the Kurds in the autonomous region without antagonizing the ruling or opposition parties.

“We do not want to take sides in the struggle among these groups,” he says.

As an example of how Kurdistan’s strong partisanship has played out against the minority communities, Tahsin says: “We asked the government to appoint a representative for the Turkmens of Kifri district in the Sulaimani Provincial Council. The government approved but the opposition did not.”

Chaldean MP Sozan Yusuf Khoshaba says that her group has presented to parliament four bills in the past four years, but without any luck.

“Some of our bills are not discussed and remain in the parliament,” she complains.

Khoshaba adds that parliamentary sessions often end without their bills mentioned.

According to Khoshaba, MPs representing minority groups have proposed that parliament agree to redraw the Kurdish flag with an extra color, reflecting the region’s non-Kurdish communities.

“We also asked for the recognition of the minority groups in the national anthem (Ay Raqeeb),” she says. “Our existence in this country must be acknowledged.”

“We have nothing against these two national symbols of the Kurds,” says Khoshaba, “but we are also citizens of Kurdistan and need to feel part of it.”

Goran Azad, a member of parliament’s legal committee, says he has not received any proposal about the Kurdish flag from minority MPs. He confirmed that their bill about the national anthem was in parliament, but had not been discussed yet.”

Amir Goga, an Assyrian MP, says that he and his colleagues try to stay out of the everyday rows among Kurdistan’s political parties.

Johnson Siyawash, Kurdistan’s minister of transportation and communications, does not think minority MPs are sidelined. However, he says that the political parties often put their own interests before those of the people.

http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/120620131

Andrew Rohan MP
State Member for Smithfield
Chairman
Parliamentary friends of Assyria

Chris Bohjalian is the author of 16 books. His new novel, “The Light in the Ruins,” comes out on July 9.

A woman I met last month in southwestern Turkey is going to die, probably sometime soon. Asiya’s death will not be covered by any news service, and for all but a few people in her small village of Chunkush, she will not be missed. Even the relatives who love her will probably think to themselves, well, she was 98 years old. Or 99. Or, if she survives until 2015, somewhere in the neighborhood of a century. She will have lived a long life.

When I met Asiya in May, her daughter brought me strong Kurdish tea and fresh strawberries from their yard, and when I return to her village someday and find that she has indeed passed away, I suspect I’m going to weep.

Why cry for a woman I met but once, who lived a long life and who couldn’t understand a word I said? Who spoke only Turkish, a language in which I know how to say only “please” and “thank you”?

Because Asiya is what some people call a hidden Armenian, and she is the last surviving Armenian in Chunkush.

I met her when I was traveling with six Armenian American friends through a part of Turkey that many Armenians (including me) refer to as Historic Armenia. We were in a region that today is largely Kurdish but as recently as 98 years ago was a mixture of Kurds, Turks, Assyrians and Armenians. We were making a pilgrimage to view the ruins of Armenian churches and monasteries, the remnants of a culture obliterated from this corner of the Earth in the Armenian genocide. During the First World War, 1.5 million Armenians were systematically annihilated — three out of every four living in the Ottoman Empire.

On our fifth day, we visited Chunkush, where until 1915 there was a thriving community of 10,000 Armenians. The ruins of the church loom over you. The town was almost entirely Armenian. Over a few nightmarish days that summer, Turkish gendarmes and Kurdish chetes — killing parties — descended on the village and marched almost every Armenian two hours away to a ravine called Dudan, where they shot, bayoneted or simply threw them into a chasm of several hundred feet. One of the gendarmes pulled Asiya’s mother from the line at the edge of the ravine, however, because he thought she was pretty. He decided he’d marry her. And so she was spared — one of the very few Armenians who were saved that summer day in 1915.

My companions and I hadn’t expected to find Asiya when we journeyed to Chunkush. We simply wanted to see the ruins of the church. Most of the villagers acknowledged that once upon a time Armenians had lived in Chunkush, but they were quick to add — whenever we asked what had happened to them — that at some point they had all “moved away.”

The truth was, they were still there, whatever remained of their bones deteriorating at the bottom of the Dudan chasm. We didn’t think there were any living Armenians in the town.

But as we were leaving, a thin fellow in his 60s, with a deeply weathered face and a ball cap, raced up to our van and banged on the door. We had been there an hour, and word had spread that Americans were in town. We had to meet his mother-in-law, he said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/in-a-turkish-town-that-had-10000-armenians-now-there-is-only-one/2013/06/06/d893197a-c93e-11e2-9f1a-1a7cdee20287_story.html

Salem Zora, 47, was charged with murder Wednesday but his arraignment was postponed because a Chaldean interpreter was not available until today.

Zora — being held on $1.5 million bail — faces 26 years to life in prison if convicted, according to prosecutors.

Zora made an emergency call shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday, telling a dispatcher he had returned to his rental residence on Roanoke Road in El Cajon to find that his wife, 39-year-old Gankil Wijdan, was not breathing, police officials said.

Medics tried in vain to revive the woman before pronouncing her dead at the scene.

While questioning the victim’s husband, detectives noted “several inconsistencies” in his account of the circumstances of her death, Lt. Mike Moulton said.

Zora was arrested early Monday morning and booked into the San Diego Central Jail.

Authorities have not released a suspected motive in the slaying.

Sandra Hoffmann, manager of the apartment complex where the couple lived, told news crews she was “shocked” by Wijdan’s death and Zora’s arrest.

“They are a fantastic couple,” Hoffmann said. “That’s all I can say.”

Outside court on Wednesday, the victim’s nephew, Steven Rofaeel, said he was “very shocked” to hear she had been killed.

“This is the last person you’d ever think to get murdered,” he said. “She’s very loving. She’d always do everything for everyone. Nobody would ever say she was a bad woman.”

Rofaeel said the victim and the defendant had been married about three years.

The day of the killing, the victim told her sister that she couldn’t come to a birthday party as planned because her husband didn’t want her to go, family members said.

“We don’t know why,” the victim’s uncle told reporters.

Zora’s next court appearance was scheduled for June 19.

http://www.cbs8.com/story/22523092/el-cajon-man-pleads-not-guilty-in-wifes-stabbing-death

Habib Afraam, head of the Syriac League in Lebanon, said the new regimes of the Arab Spring still behave like the old regimes and Christians are suffering because of their faith.

Afraam added that relations between majorities and minorities have not improved, and no vision has been presented for future relations.

Afraam called for a solution to the issues of accusing Christians of infidelity, protecting freedoms, respecting diversity and pluralism, equal and fair representation and maintaining rights of individuals and groups.

During a seminar titled “Christians of the East and Regional Conflict” held at the Issam Faris Cultural Center on Wednesday, Afraam pointed out that there is no Arab Spring without free eastern Christianity. He noted that the preservation of diversity and freedom is problematic for all Arabs and Muslims.

Afraam wondered whether Islamic movements believe in equal citizenship for Christians as well as the right to representation and participation in decision-making, regardless of demographics.

He emphasized that although Middle Eastern Christians contributed to the renaissance of the Arab thought, they are not involved in conflicts with regional or international organizations and have not participated in the armed struggle for power. Despite these facts, Christians are continually targeted.

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Afraam suggested these countries’ constitutions should provide equality for all citizens despite religious and national differences. He pointed out that Islamic currents must recognize the diversity of the East and understand the need to preserve eastern Christianity in everyday life.

He called for confronting fatwas of hatred, ignorance and illiteracy as well as rejecting the use of swords, murder, exclusion and bombs. He urged that all sides seek to resolve differences without resorting to the logic of jihad.

http://global.christianpost.com/news/christians-suffer-for-their-faith-post-arab-spring-says-syriac-league-official-97463/

Arraignment for Salem Zora, 47, was postponed until tomorrow because a Chaldean interpreter was not available. Zora, who remains jailed without bail, faces 26 years to life in prison if convicted, according to prosecutors.

Zora made an emergency call shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday, telling a dispatcher he had returned to his rental residence on Roanoke Road in El Cajon to find that his wife, 39-year-old Gankil Wijdan, was not breathing, according to police. Medics tried in vain to revive the woman before pronouncing her dead at the scene.

While questioning the victim’s husband, detectives noted “several inconsistencies” in his account of the circumstances of her death, Lt. Mike Moulton said. Zora was arrested early Monday morning and booked into the San Diego Central Jail.

Authorities released no suspected motive for the slaying.

Sandra Hoffmann, manager of the apartment complex where the couple lived, told news crews she was “shocked” by Wijdan’s death and Zora’s arrest.

“They are a fantastic couple,” Hoffmann said. “That’s all I can say.”

Outside court today, the victim’s nephew, Steven Rofaeel, said he was “very shocked” to hear she had been killed.

“This is the last person you’d ever think to get murdered,” he said. “She’s very loving. She’d always do everything for everyone. Nobody would ever say she was a bad woman.”

Rofaeel said the victim and the defendant had been married about three years.

The day of the murder, the victim told her sister that she couldn’t come to a birthday party as planned because her husband didn’t want her to go, family members said.

“We don’t know why,” the victim’s uncle told reporters.

http://www.sandiego6.com/story/arraignment-of-el-cajon-man-accused-of-killing-wife-postponed-court-lacked-chaldean-interpreter-20130605