In 1914, Kafro Tahtoyo (today called Elbeğendi) was inhabited by 250 Assyrians, according to the list presented to the Paris Peace Conference by the Assyro-Chaldean delegation.[11] They belonged to the Syriac Orthodox Church.[12] It was located in the kaza of Habab (attached to the kaza of Nusaybin).[13] Amidst the Sayfo, the village was attacked and some survivors took refuge at the nearby Monastery of Mor Malke whilst others went to ‘Ayn-Wardo.[14] Several hundred Christians at the Mor Malke Monastery, mostly refugees from Kafro Tahtoyo, retaliated and attacked Sheweske on 21 August.[15]
There were 274 residents in 1960.[6] By 1966, 310 Turoyo-speaking Christians in 37 families inhabited Kafro Tahtoyo.[6] The village was forcibly evacuated by the Turkish army in 1995.[16] The villagers emigrated abroad to Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden.[17] In 2006, 17 Assyrian families returned to the village from Augsburg and Göppingen in Germany, and Trüllikon and Zürich in Switzerland.[18] An Assyrian from Kafro Tahtoyo was shot by Kurdish shepherds in 2008 after he had instructed them to take their herds off his land.[19] In late July 2019, Assyrian properties in Kafro Tahtoyo were struck by suspected arson attacks.[20]
The following is a list of the number of Assyrian families that have inhabited Kafro Tahtoyo per year stated. Unless otherwise stated, all figures are from the list provided in Eastern Christianity, Theological Reflection on Religion, Culture, and Politics in the Holy Land and Christian Encounter with Islam and the Muslim World, as noted in the bibliography below.[21][c]
^Also spelt as Harabkefri, Harapkefri, Haraba Kefri, Kharaba Kafra, Kharaba Kefri, Keferi, or Xırabê Käfrê.[2]
^Alternatively transliterated as Käfro taḥtäito, Kafro Tachtayto, Kafro-Tahtayo, Kafro Tahtayto, or Kafro Tahtoyto.[4] Also called Lower Kafro or simply Kafro, in contrast with Upper Kafro (Kafro Elayto).[5]Nisba: Käfrōyo.[6]
^The size of a single family varies between five and ten persons.[22]
Çaglar, Ayşe (2013). "Rescaling cities, cultural diversity, and transnationalism: Migrants of Mardin and Essen". In Steven Vertovec (ed.). Anthropology of Migration and Multiculturalism: New Directions. Routledge. pp. 113–138.