View source for Tel Keppe


{{Infobox settlement
|official_name          = Tel Keppe
|native_name            = ܬܠ ܟܐܦܐ
|nickname               =
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|pushpin_map            = Iraq
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|coordinates_display    = inline,title
|coordinates_region     = IQ-NI
|subdivision_type       = [[Countries of the world|Country]]
|subdivision_name       = [[Iraq]]
|subdivision_type1      = Governorate
|subdivision_name1      = [[Ninawa Governorate|Ninawa]]
|subdivision_type2      = Municipality
|subdivision_name2      = Tel Kaif
|government_type        =
|leader_title           = Mayor
|leader_name            = [[Basim Ballu]]
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|population_as_of       = 2010
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|population_note        = Tel Kepe received a large influx of Chaldean refugees following the [[2003 Iraq War]]
|population_total       = 40,000
|population_density     = <!--Note: use population_footnotes for refs, use only unformatted numbers here -->
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|latd                   = 36
|latm                   = 29
|lats                   = 22
|latNS                  = N
|longd                  = 43
|longm                  = 7
|longs                  = 9
|longEW                 = E
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'''Tel Keppe''' (also spelled '''Tel Keipeh''') ({{lang-syc|ܬܠ ܟܐܦܐ}} ''{{transl|syr|Tal Kepe}}'', {{lang-ar|تل كيف}} ''{{transl|syr|Tal Kaif}}''), is one of the largest historically Chaldean towns in northern [[Iraq]]. Its name means "Hill of Stones" in [[Syriac]]. It is located in the [[Ninawa Governorate]], less than 8 miles north east of [[Mosul]]. <ref>Welcome to Tel Keppe at ChaldeansOnline http://www.chaldeansonline.org/telkeppe/</ref>

==History==
Historically the population Tel Kepper stayed at about 12,000 residents. From 1976 to 2001, the population was 30,000.<ref name=SmithNJp61>Smith, Natalie Jill. "Ethnicity, Reciprocity, Reputation and Punishment: An Ethnoexperimental Study of Cooperation among the Chaldeans of Detroit (Michigan)" (PhD dissertation). [[University of California, Los Angeles]], 2001. p. 61. UMI Number: 3024065.</ref>

On 6 August 2014, the town was taken over by the [[Terrorist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria]] (ISIS), along with nearby Chaldean towns [[Bakhdida]], [[Bartella]] and [[Karamlish|Karemlash]].<ref name="online.wsj.com">[http://online.wsj.com/articles/iraqi-militants-seize-christian-villages-1407404503 Barack Obama Approves Airstrikes on Iraq, Airdrops Aid]</ref> {{As of|2015|March|8}}, it is inhabited only by Arabs and terrorist ISIS militants.

==Tel Keppnias Today==
Starting in the 1980s and especially after the [[1991 Gulf War]] and [[2003 Invasion of Iraq]], many Chaldeans from Tel Keppe fled to many countries, but primarily the [[United States]]. They set up their lives there with new churches and business for their families. <ref>Welcome to Tel Keppe at ChaldeansOnline http://www.chaldeansonline.org/telkeppe/</ref> By 2001 many from Tel Keppe had moved to major cities in Iraq such as [[Baghdad]] or [[Mosul]].<ref name=SmithNJp62>Smith, Natalie Jill. "Ethnicity, Reciprocity, Reputation and Punishment: An Ethnoexperimental Study of Cooperation among the Chaldeans and Hmong of Detroit (Michigan)" (PhD dissertation). [[University of California, Los Angeles]], 2001. p. 62. UMI Number: 3024065.</ref>

===In The United States===
As of 2004 many of the Chaldeans in [[Metro Detroit]] trace their origins to Tel Keppe. According to the estimates of a priest of Tel Keppe's Sacred Heart Chaldean Rite Catholic Church, there were 10,000 worshipers in the late 1950s and this decreased to 2,000 around 2004. He said that "Many people don’t want to go from here; they cry that they have to go…  But you almost have to leave these days because your family probably already is in [[Detroit]]."<ref name=ACMEp2>"[http://www.cus.wayne.edu/content/publications/Arab_Factsheet1.pdf Arab, Chaldean, and Middle Eastern Children and Families in the Tri-County Area]." ([http://www.webcitation.org/6KzXnh0Ci Archive]) ''From a Child's Perspective: Detroit Metropolitan Census 2000 Fact Sheets Series''. [[Wayne State University]]. Volume 4, Issue 2, February 2004. p. 2/32. Retrieved on November 8, 2013. {{deadlink|date=March 2015}}</ref>

===Elsewhere===

Tel Keppnias also fled to the neighboring countries of [[Syria]] and [[Iran]]. Many others also left to other countries including [[Sweden]],  [[France]], other [[Europe|European Countries]] and [[Australia]].

==Culture==
Tel Keppe historically was the center of the Chaldean Catholic community of Iraq. Each family residing in Tel Keppe had one or more plots of farming land located outside of Tel Keppe. The land produced barley and wheat, and animals raised there included goats and sheep. Natalie Jill Smith, author of "Ethnicity, Reciprocity, Reputation and Punishment: An Ethnoexperimental Study of Cooperation among the Chaldeans and Hmong of Detroit (Michigan)", wrote that in the reports of the village "everyone was related" and that marriage tended to occur between two people from the same village.<ref name=SmithNJp61/>

==Famous Tel Keppnias==

There are and have been many famous Tel Keppnias in the United States, within Iraq, and elsewhere.

===Deceased===
* Shamoun "Sam" G. Dabish - Author of The History of the Iraqi Community in America, church deacon, and community leader. 
* Chaldean Patriarch Joseph II Marouf<ref>[[Joseph II (Chaldean Patriarch)]]</ref> (1667–1713).
* Author and explorer, Mary Terez Asmar, born in 1806. Published her memoir "Babylonian Princess" in English in 1844.
* Poet Toma Taqteq, died in 1860.
* Fr. Shemoel Jamil (1847–1917), who was in charge of all Chaldean monasteries.
* Journalist Maryam Narmy, born in 1890. Published the first Iraqi women's issues newspaper, "Arabian Woman" in 1937.
 
* Joseph Hirmis Jammo, author of "Nineveh's Ruins or History of Tal Kayf" published in 1937.
* Journalist Alexander Marouf.
* Rofael Babu Ishaq, born in 1893 and author of "History of Iraqi Christians". Died in 1964.
* [[Emmanuel III Delly|Mar Emannuel III Delly]]: Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans. (1927-2014)
* Michael J. George,<ref>http://www.freep.com/article/20140624/NEWS05/306240154/Michael-George-Chaldean-Melody-Farms-obituary</ref> (1933-2014<ref>http://www.theoaklandpress.com/obituaries/20140624/chaldean-community-mourns-death-of-patriarch-melody-farms-owner-michael-george</ref>) a patriarch of metro Detroit’s large Chaldean community and a founder of Melody Farms Dairy, once one of the largest dairies in Michigan
* Issa Hanna Dabish<ref>http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Issa-Dabish/1467225644</ref> (1919-2006<ref>https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?v=info&expand=1&nearby&id=119855844766093&refid=17</ref>) Pioneer Iraqi artist (painter) Lifetime Honorary Chairman, Iraqi Artists Association.

===Living===
* Mar Gabrial Kassab: Bishop of the Diocese of Australia and New Zealand for the Chaldean Catholic Church.
* Mar [[Ramzi Garmou|Ramzi Garmo]]: Archbishop of Tehran - Iran for the Chaldean Chaldean Church.
* Mar [[Ibrahim Namo Ibrahim]]: Bishop Emeritus of the Chaldean Catholic Church for the Eastern United States.
* [[Mar Sarhad Yawsip Jammo]]: Bishop of the Chaldean Catholic Church for Western United States.
* Mar Thomas Meram: Archbishop of Urmya and Salmas - Iran for the Chaldean Catholic Church.
* Mar [[Francis Y. Kalabat]] Bishop of the Chaldean Church for the Eastern United States.

==See also==

*[[Nineveh plains]]
*[[Alqosh]]
*[[Bakhdida]]
*[[Batnaya]] and [[Barwari]] - Chaldean tribes also in Northern Iraq

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Nineveh Plains}}
{{Districts of Iraq}}

[[Category:Chaldean settlements]]
[[Category:Populated places in Nineveh Governorate]]
[[Category:District capitals of Iraq]]