the Patriarchate of Qudshanis in 1841. This led to a permanent rift in relations between the Kurds and Assyrians in general. However, not all Assyrians allied themselves with the Patriarch. Some took advantage of his weakness to join Nurullah. The region descended into another war after a disagreement between Vali of Mosul, Mohammed Pasha, and the Kurdish Agha Ismael Pasha of Amedi. The latter resorted to Nurullah of Hakkari and Badr Khan, the ambitious emir of Buhtan. The three formed an alliance and called Assyrians to join them. The Patriarch however refused to do so after receiving promises from Mosul to protect them in case of the Kurds decided to retaliate again. War between the Kurds and Ottomans broke out in summer 1842. The next months were particularly calm in Hakkari with the Kurds busy with the war in Mosul, and missionary Asahel Grant commenced building a large religious school in the Christian Assyrian town of Ashitha and provided it with Syriac books and scriptures from Mosul in September, 1842. The Kurdish campaign ended the same month with failure, and the Assyrians were blamed for refusing to intervene in the war. Rumours spread that Grant built a castle to be used against the Kurds, and Nurullah protested to the vali of Erzurum. In addition, Ibrahim Pasha of Mosul was also alarmed by the rumours and the increased missionary activities in the region. He described in a letter to the Porte how Grant and the Christians built a huge building containing at least 200 rooms. 1843 massacre In early 1843, Nurullah sent for a meeting with the patriarch and the latter apologized using the weather, his religious duties, and the presence of a guest, the British missionary George Badger, as a pretence. It seemed that the patriarch made his decision after being convinced by Badger to distrust the Kurds and to request assistance from the English or the Porte if the Kurds were to attack. Once Badger left, Nurullah renewed his alliance with the Badr Khan and Ismail Pasha, and requested permission from the Vali of Mosul to subjugate the Christians. In July 1843, the Kurdish alliance, led by Badr Khan, attacked the Assyrians in Hakkari, destroyed their villages and killed many of them. Hormuzd Rassam tried using his influence with the Vali of Baghdad Najib Pasha to pressure Badr Khan for the release of prisoners, which included close relatives of