Shamoun Hanna Haydo, sometimes spelled Chamoun (died 1963) was a Syriac warrior and leader during the early 20th century. He was famous for his heroic stand against the Turkish government. He was well respected in the Kurd

Kürd

Kürd or Kyurd or Kyurt may refer to:*Kürd Eldarbəyli, Azerbaijan*Kürd Mahrızlı, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Goychay, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Jalilabad, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Qabala, Azerbaijan*Qurdbayram, Azerbaijan...

ish communities as well, where he tried to unite secular Kurds and resist the enforcements of the Young Turks

Young Turks

The Young Turks , from French: Les Jeunes Turcs) were a coalition of various groups favouring reformation of the administration of the Ottoman Empire. The movement was against the absolute monarchy of the Ottoman Sultan and favoured a re-installation of the short-lived Kanûn-ı Esâsî constitution...

 and Islamist Kurds.

He was, together with the kurdish Alîkê Battê, one of the regions most respected men and warriors. Alîkê Battê was from the Mala Osmên family, the rulers of the Hevêrka clan which included Muslim kurdish, syriac and yezidi kurdish tribes. It is widely known among people in those regions that Alîk and Chamoun were even closer to each other than brothers are. When Alîk took control of the Hevêrka Clan, he and Chamoun fought against other clans, even the Turkish government at that time.

Although these two were known for being fearless warriors, they were even more famous for being good-hearted and taking the side of weak. They resisted the Christian genocide performed by the Turkish government.

Shamoun was born in the village of Sare, in Tur Abdin

Tur Abdin

Tur Abdin is a hilly region of south east Turkey incorporating the eastern half of Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the border with Syria. The name 'Tur Abdin' is from the Syriac language meaning 'mountain of the servants '. Tur Abdin is of great importance to Syriac...

 region of what is today Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. A Syriac Orthodox Christian, Shamoun was very well known among Kurds and had Kurdish friends. During World War I, Shamoun and his best friend Alike Bate together tried to unite their communities against governmental institution and oppressive Kurdish landlords.

Prior to the Assyrian/Syriac Genocide

Assyrian genocide

The Assyrian Genocide refers to the mass slaughter of the Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac population of the Ottoman Empire during the 1890s, the First World War, and the period of 1922-1925...

 of 1914, he travelled to the village of Arbo

Arbo, Mardin

Arbo is a Syriac village located in a high plateau region called Tur Abdin in Turkey.It is situated about 30 km south to Midyat and 6 km to Mor Gabriel Monastery....

 with the intention to unite the Syriac of "Beth-Rishe" region in Tur Abdin under a rule comparable to what Assyrian

Assyrian people

The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...

 in Hakkari

Hakkari

Hakkâri , is a city and the capital of the Hakkâri Province of Turkey. The name Hakkâri is derived from the Syriac word, Akkare, meaning farmers...

 had with the Malik system. He tried to convince the two ruling family clans of Arbo, the Beth Arsan and the Beth Malkuno, to be ready to fight the Ottomans and their Islamic Kurdish allies.

Shamoun would eventually flee the Ottoman territory for Europe. Today, his grandchildren live in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and Holland. Many Syriac and Kurdish songs have been written about him by musicians.