Bakhetme

Theories pertaining the name "Bakhetme" originate from the Aramaic phrase "Beth-Khatme", meaning 'the place of seals', which is said to be a reference to a place where documents or deals were signed.[6]

Nochiya Assyrians settled in Bakhetme in 1920 but fled to Syria after the Simele massacre of August 1933. This left Bakhetme in the hands of Arab bourgeoisie.[7]

Bakhetme was purchased from the Arab sheikhs in the year 1956 for the amount of 15,000 dinars by 80 Assyrian families in the names of the late Malik Khiyo Odisho, Zadoq Enwiya and Enwiya Hawel. The village registered in 1957 and initially took in 80 families.[8] Malik Khiyo is accredited with purchasing Bakhetme and settling his people in the land.[9]

According to the 1957 Iraqi census, Bakhetme had a population of 232 people.[10]

In April 1987, the village was entirely destroyed by the Iraqi Army. The destruction included two schools and three churches (among them Mart Maryam and Mar Gewargis) and its 140 Assyrian families deported during the Al-Anfal Campaign.[11]

Bakhetme is made up entirely of Assyrians of the Ashitha tribe from Hakkari. The two main sub-groups in Bakhetme are the Chammānāyé and Bé-Odishkā people.

The religion within the village is Christianity with the majority of adherents following the Ancient Church of the East or the Assyrian Church of the East.

After the fall of Mosul, Bakhetme took in 80 IDP families as of 2015 from the Nineveh Plain who were predominantly Chaldean Christians.[12]

In 1959, the villagers voluntarily built the first primary school. The school was rented to the Directorate of Knowledges in Mosul which then furnished the school.

Between 1960-1961, a new school was founded, initially with three classes and then nine classes. It was attended by students from neighboring villages.

During the early 1970s an intermediate school was built, carrying the name Bakhetme Intermediate School.[13]

Bakhetme is famous for being the location of the martyrdom of Mar Daniel, to whom a church was built in honor to his name. [14]

Bakhetme had three churches prior to the Al-Anfal Campaign, one being Mar Daniel, Mart Maryam and a small church built on the ruins of Mar Daniel's Monastery to the northwest of the village.[15]

Mar Daniel Church was destroyed in the year 1988 during the Al-Anfal Campaign after the villagers were evacuated from the village.[16][17]

Currently, Bakhetme houses churches part of the Assyrian Church of the East, Ancient Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church.

The Bakhetme Sports Club was established on the 18 May 2008 through the support of the Supreme Committee of Christian Affairs and provided spaces for football, basketball, volleyball, ping pong, and billiard teams for both men and women.[18]

The Assyrian Aid Society completed housing construction in 1995 and built a public hall in 1999 in Bakhetme.[19] The NGO also completed a relief program for ten families in Bakhitme.[20]

More recently, the Assyrian Aid Societies of America & Canada have conducted gift drives for IDP children and displaced families from the Nineveh Plain and Mosul that are staying in Bakhetme.[21][22]

Sarkis Aghajan Mamendo launched a reconstruction campaign where the Higher Committee for Christian Affairs (HCCA) in Dohuk built 152 new houses and a new church, alongside renovating an old church. The Committee also built a school, community hall, and health center. Furthermore, the village had been provided with access roads, linked to the national grid and provided with a power supply generator.[23]

• Simele massacre