The Church of the East

Asuristan or Ašuristan was the province of Assyria under the Sassanid Empire (226–640 AD). It corresponds to the Babylonia province under the Parthian Empire. The province for the most part stretched from Mosul to Adiabene.

While the official religion of the Sassanid empire as a whole was Zoroastrianism, the religion of the Assyrians of Assyria-Assuristan was, from the 1st and 2nd centuries onwards, Church of the East Christianity, although some also still worshipped the old Mesopotamian Religion, with Ashur still worshipped in his home city until at least the late 3rd or early 4th century. Judaism also flourished in Asuristan, with some of its most important works being produced there.

Assyrians were the indigenous inhabitants, and outnumbered the Persians in the Asuristan province. The main language spoken was Mesopotamian Eastern Middle Aramaic, with the Syriac dialect becoming an important vehicle for Christianity. Its inhabitants were mostly working in agriculture or as traders and merchants.

The city of Ctesiphon served as the capital of both the Parthian and Sassanid empires, and was at this time the largest city in the world. The ruins of the city are located on the east bank of the Tigris, across the river from the Hellenistic city of Seleucia. Today, the remains of the city lies in Baghdad Governorate, Iraq, approximately 35 km south of the city of Baghdad.

Apart from the independent Assyrian state of Adiabene in the north, Mesopotamia remained under largely Persian control until the Arab Islamic conquest in the 7th century AD. After this Asuristan-Assyria was also dissolved as a geopolitical entity, and the native Aramaic speaking and largely Christian populace gradually underwent a process of Arabisation and Islamification, with only the Assyrians/Chaldo-Assyrians of the north (known as Ashuriyun by the Arabs) and Mandeans of the south retaining their religions and a distinct Mesopotamian identity and language, which they still do to this day.

Chaldean Christians are ethnic Assyrian adherents of the Chaldean Catholic Church (originally called The Church of Assyria and Mosul), that part of the Assyrian Church of the East which entered communion with the Catholic Church in the 17th century.

Geographically and ethnically, the Chaldeans originate from central and southern Assyria, the Nineveh plains, where the ruins of the ancient Assyrian capitals of Nineveh, Ashur and Kalhu(Nimrud) are located. In addition to their homeland, migrant Chaldean Catholic communities are found in the United States, Sweden, Germany, France, Canada and Australia.

The Church of the East, also known as the Nestorian Church, is a Christian church, part of the Syriac tradition of Eastern Christianity. The church of the Persian Sassanid Empire, it quickly spread widely through Asia. Between the 9th and 14th centuries it was the world’s largest Christian church in terms of geographical extent, with dioceses stretching from the Mediterranean to China and India. Several modern churches claim continuity with the historical Church of the East.

Assyrian Church of the East

Church of the East

The Unofficial Website of The Nestorian Church