In the village, there is a church of Mar Shim’un.[11]
History
The Church of Mar Shim’un at Habsnas (today called Mercimekli) was built at the beginning of the sixth century or shortly afterwards.[12] Mar Shim’un Zaytuni (d. 734), metropolitan bishop of Harran, was born at Habsnas in 657 AD and renovated its church, founded a school at the village, and established the nearby Monastery of Mar Lazarus.[13] The monk Ayyub (Job) of Manim’am, who wrote the vita of Mar Shim’un Zaytuni at the end of the ninth century or the beginning of the tenth century, may have been educated at the school at Habsnas.[14] The monk Habib of Habsnas was a renowned calligrapher (fl. 1170).[15] Dionysius Isaiah of Habsnas was metropolitan bishop of the Monastery of the Cross and Hah in 1453–1463.[16] The Monastery of Mar Lazarus at Habsnas was renovated in 1866.[17]
In 1914, it was inhabited by 450 Assyrians, as per the list presented to the Paris Peace Conference by the Assyro-Chaldean delegation.[18] The Assyrians adhered to the Syriac Orthodox Church.[19] Amidst the Sayfo, the village was attacked by Kurds of the Rama tribe on 11 June during the night and fighting continued into the following day.[20] Some villagers fled to Midyat and reported the battle to their co-religionists who appealed to the kaymakam of Midyat to aid the Assyrians at Habsnas.[20] The Kurds were chased off by soldiers sent by the kaymakam of Midyat and fifteen soldiers were left to guard the village.[20] Upon the outbreak of fighting at Midyat, a Yazidi herdsman warned the Assyrians of Habsnas to expect another attack and thus most of them took refuge at ‘Ayn-Wardo with their property and about 200 Assyrians who remained were massacred by the soldiers and Kurds of the Rama tribe.[20]
The population of the village was 560 in 1960.[3] There were 380 Turoyo-speaking Christians in 56 families in 1966.[3] One Armenian family inhabited the village in 1980.[21] In the late 20th century, Assyrians at Habsnas emigrated to Sweden, Belgium, and Germany.[22] The church was restored in the early 2000s.[22] A mosque was constructed in 2003.[22]
Demography
The following is a list of the number of Assyrian families that have inhabited Habsnas per year stated. Unless otherwise stated, all figures are from the list provided in The Syrian Orthodox Christians in the Late Ottoman Period and Beyond: Crisis then Revival, as noted in the bibliography below.[23]
Tan, Altan (2018). Turabidin'den Berriye'ye. Aşiretler - Dinler - Diller - Kültürler (in Turkish). Pak Ajans Yayincilik Turizm Ve Diş Ticaret Limited şirketi. ISBN9789944360944.
