Dera Shish

Dera Shish (Arabic: دئيره شيش,^[1] Kurdish: دێرشیش)^{[2][nb 1]} also known as ʿŪmrā and ‘Ūmra Shghisha, is a village in Dohuk Governorate in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. It is located near the Iraq–Turkey border in the district of Zakho.

Dera Shish
Dera Shish Location in Iraq Show map of Iraq Dera Shish Dera Shish (Iraqi Kurdistan) Show map of Iraqi Kurdistan
Coordinates: 37°19′36″N 42°47′58″E
Country	Iraq
Region	Kurdistan Region
Governorate	Dohuk Governorate
District	Zakho District
Sub-district	Darkar

In the village, there was a church of Mar Ephrem.^[3] The Monastery of Mar Atqen was located near the village.^[6]

History

The Monastery of Mar Atqen is mentioned in the 9th century Book of Chastity by Ishoʿdnaḥ.^[6] In 1913, 200 Chaldean Catholic Assyrians inhabited Dera Shish, and were served by one functioning church as part of the diocese of Zakho.^[7] In the Iraqi census of 1957, the village had a population of 361 people.^[3] A significant number of inhabitants fled as a consequence of the First Iraqi–Kurdish War in the early 1960s.^[3] Dera Shish was destroyed by the Iraqi government in 1975, displacing the remaining 50 families,^[3] and the monastery was also demolished by Iraqi soldiers during the Al-Anfal campaign in 1987.^[8]

By 2011, 8 families had returned to Dera Shish, and the Hezel Foundation had constructed 20 houses and a community hall, and developed the village's infrastructure.^[8] As of 2016, the village is inhabited by 32 Assyrians.^[9]