In 1913, Batnaya was inhabited by 2,500 Chaldean Catholics with three priests. The church of Mar Quriaqos was rebuilt in 1944. By 1961, the population of Batnaya had reached 3104 people. Batnaya was abandoned on 6 August 2014 as its population fled the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) offensive in Northern Iraq, prior to which the village was inhabited by around 5000 people. The Peshmerga seized control of Batnaya from ISIL on 20 October 2016 after a battle against over 100 ISIL fighters amidst the battle of Mosul. In the battle, the village was mostly destroyed and 60 ISIL fighters and 8 Peshmerga soldiers were killed. ISIL fighters had inflicted significant damage to the village as the church of Mart Maryam, which had been used as a weapons dump, was blown up whilst the church of Mar Quriaqos was ransacked, and only 1% of the village's 997 houses was still intact.
