Sayfo

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/sayfo

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the event designation?Sayfo (also Seyfo, Assyrian Genocide)
2. What is the primary period of activity?World War I (circa 1915-1918)
3. What does the word "Sayfo" mean?Sayfo is a Syriac word that means "sword." It is used to describe the violent attacks against Assyrian Christians during World War I.
4. Why were Assyrian Christians targeted during World War I?Assyrian Christians were targeted because the Ottoman government thought they might be loyal to Russia and wanted to take their lands. They also wanted to make the empire more uniform.

Ethno-religious Minority: A group of people distinguished by both their shared ethnicity and their religious beliefs, often forming a minority within a larger population.
Ottoman Centralization: The efforts by the Ottoman government in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to strengthen central control over its vast territories and diverse populations.
Genocidal Campaign: An organized and systematic series of actions intended to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.
Assyrian Diaspora: The dispersion of Assyrian people from their historical homeland, leading to communities established across the globe.