Assyrian/Syriac man from the northern part of Azekh. His family owned some of the most fertile agricultural lands in the village. He was already an adult at 1837 and a father of at least two sons, thus most likely born around the turn of the 19th century[1][2].

There is no indicarion to assume that he would have been born outside Azekh. He received the nickname "Kanun" or "Kanunu" as it refers to his tendency to stand by his stove and teach religious lessons, later explained in the short story ("Kanun" means hearth in Arabic).

In the "Dayroyo Abdalla Sattuf Sadadi 1870 Register of Dues", Murad's son Amsih is mentioned by the name of "Amsih Murad Kanunu", indicating that Murad's last name could have possibly been "Kanunu", the Syriac form of the otherwise Arabic "Kanun". It is not unthinkable that it could have been used interchangeably[3].

Since Murad Kanûn is not mentioned in the Register in 1870, it is likely that he has passed before then.

Below are two short stories concerning Murad Kanunu, summarized by Hanna Murad Hannouch[1] and Fouad Zadikeh[4]:

Murad Kanunu and his funny neighbour

The year was 1837. In a neighborhood in the northern part of the village Azekh lived a man by the name of Murad Kanunu. A pious and honest man, Murad was not one to bear grudges towards anyone, and would never speak behind anyone's back.

During the winter nights after work, he would gather his children around his stove, to instruct them on good morals and teach religious lessons. Thus he received the nickname ”Kanunu”, as ”kanunu” means ”stove” in the Arabic vernacular in Azekh.

Murad had a neigbour who enjoyed messing with people, and whenever he would meet Murad he would offer him an afternoon cup of coffee. One day, he invited Murad over for a cup of coffee, insisting that the townsfolk very much enjoyed the stories he would tell.

”Okay, this time then”, Murad said, ”I'll come over this afternoon”.

The neighbour was absolutely delighted, and excitedly went to invite his friends and the townsfolk over to enjoy Murad's stories.

”Murad is coming over tonight, we'll hear him talk and tell stories, it will be a great time”!

Everyone invited gathered at his home at the agreed hour. Eventually Murad also arrived.

The stories began. They were all well-received and brought out laughter among the crowd. Tea and coffee was served, nuts, walnuts, dates and figs. The times were great.

But time flew by and it was now midnight. Everyone started to depart, and gave their appreciation for everything.

But when it came to Murad, he seemed to be very pleased with the company and did not feel tired one bit. He kept on telling the stories as the crowd diminished. At two o'clock in the night, the family was fast asleep, all but the neighbour and his wife.

When Murad casually began his next story, the neighbour exclaimed:

”Murad, sun will arise at any moment now, I'll have to get to work tomorrow, maybe you should also go home”?

”Neighbour”, Murad said, ”I'm having such a good time, and you're the one who invited me over in the first place, we're chatting and telling stories, I'm not at all intending to return home”!

Once the neighbour realized that Murad was refusing to leave willfully, he woke up his two elder sons and had them escort Murad out to the courtyard, and properly locking the door after him.

But Murad was never one to give up easily. For there was a keyhole on the door through one he could continue telling his stories until sunrise. The family got no sleep. Early in the morning, Murad went home and went straight to bed.

The neighbour, who didn't attend work because of lack of sleep, promised himself never to invite Murad over ever again.

The neighbourhood were to tell this story over and over again, and laughed for weeks after the incident.

Murad Kanunu and Sheikh Shamoun Ghazzo

Stories which have been passed down for generations in Azekh mostly tell of brave people and their good deeds. This is one such story, about the man Shamoun Ghazzo who lived in Azekh in the 19th century. He was well-regarded by the villagers and set as an example by many of how to be.

During this time, Azekh was known to be especially secular and democratically progressive. The Church took very little part in the politics of the village, and a lot of people, including the church, respected the elected officials even if they disagreed with them. The various tribes in the village (Barsoum, Komo, Qelth, Amno to name a few) all had representatives, or leaders who were elected in the group. These would later have a chance to be elected mayor. It was therefore very important for these leaders to be exempliary people, for misdeeds was frowned upon greatly, and people rarely got a second chance to prove themselves. Because of this, tribes competed to produce the most honorable, honest, and successful candidates to take part in the local politics.

Shamoun Ghazzo would at one point become the leader of the Habibkiye-tribe in Azekh and also become mayor. He was a well-known mediator and helped solve social issues in the village regarding tribal matters, religious questions and foreign policy (regarding the neighboring villages). He also had an office in the village, where a lot of people would come for help and guidance. In his office, he had an audience chamber with a hearth, to help warm it up for visitors, especially in the cold winters. For this purpose, he had hired a man named Murad Kanunu. He was a man from Azekh, who was very content with his job of handling the fireplace. He arrived in time for his job every day, and received his salary from Sheikh Shamoun Ghazzo.

One day, feeling sorry for Murad, Shamoun told him that he should not feel obliged to take care of the fireplace anymore and instead focus on other matters in the office. He offered Murad two sacks of wheat of payment, which was a good offer considering the harsh economic climate during these times. Murad felt that he could not refuse, so he took the offer, thanked Shamoun and went home.

Some days went by, and at last Murad couldn’t stand it anymore. So he walked from Ghazzo’s office and went into the audience chamber, brought his sacks of wheat with him, threw them on the floor and said:

“You can have your wheat back, I can’t stand it anymore, I miss holding the rod in my hand, warming a brazier.”'

[1]Hanna Murad Hannouche, Süryani Beyt Zebdeden, 2000.

[2]Hanna Murad Hannouche, Azekh Beyt Zebde, undated.

[3]Dayroyo Sattuf 1870 Register of Dues, page 49 (https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000053145002855&).

[4]Fouad Zadikeh (http://www.fouadzadieke.de/vBulletin/showthread.php?t=1596)

This profile is a part of the Hannouch family project on FTDNA https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/hannouch/about

DNA-Test (Elias Hölén Hannouch)

• Y-DNA: J-P279(xM340)

J-P279 (currently known as J2a2a) is a subgroup of J2, or J-M172 which is a Y-DNA haplogroup with a strong connection to the Semitic identity, and is very frequently found along the Mesopotamian region, which strengthens the purported ties to the region and an Assyrian/Syriac identity.