Population Statistics
In 1850 the traditionalist diocese of ʿAqra included eleven villages in the ʿAqra region and four villages in the Gomel valley, and contained 249 families, 9 priests and 13 churches (Badger). The large villages of Khardes and Herpa and several smaller villages were not included in Badger's list, probably because the majority of their inhabitants were Catholics.
The Chaldean diocese of ʿAqra had a population of 2,718 Chaldeans, with 17 priests, in 1867 (Martin); 1,000 Chaldeans, with 8 priests and 12 churches, in 1896 (Chabot); and 2,390 Chaldeans, with 16 priests and 10 churches, in 1913 (Tfinkdji). All of the villages listed in the traditionalist diocese in 1850 (apart from the Zibar villages of Erdil and Beth Kola) had Catholic communities in 1913, but the process of conversion was far from complete. Eleven villages in the diocese of ʿAqra in 1896, and the last nine villages listed by Tfinkdji in 1913, were 'semi-Nestorian'. A recently-published book by Youel Baaba has supplied the Syriac names of the villages in the diocese of ʿAqra.
Chaldean communities in the diocese of ʿAqra, 1913
| Name of Village | Name in Syriac | Number of Believers | Number of Priests | Number of Churches | Name of Village | Name in Syriac | Number of Believers | Number of Priests | Number of Churches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ʿAqra | 250 | 2 | 1 | Dure | 50 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Herpa | 200 | 1 | 1 | Artun | 100 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Khardes | 120 | 1 | 0 | Beth Mishmish | 150 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Nerem | 100 | 1 | 1 | Beth Nura | 80 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Sharmen | 250 | 1 | 1 | Gwessa | 60 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Shahwipalan | 120 | 1 | 0 | Guppa | 40 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Gorgoran | 80 | 1 | 0 | Barzane | 90 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Nuhawa | 150 | 1 | 1 | Beth Sapre | 30 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Arena | 300 | 2 | 1 | Mallabarwan | 120 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Sanaya | 100 | 1 | 1 | Total | 2,390 | 16 | 10 |
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