Alphonse Mingana was an Assyrian theologian, historian, Syriacist, orientalist and a former priest who is best known for collecting and preserving the Mingana Collection of ancient Middle Eastern manuscripts at Birmingham. Like the majority of Assyrians in the Zakho region, his family belonged to the Chaldean Catholic Church. Alphonse was born to Paolus and Maryam Nano, and had seven siblings.

Sharanish is an Assyrian village in Dohuk Governorate in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. It is located near the Iraq–Turkey border in the district of Zakho.