There were three Qudshanis patriarchs in the decades leading up to the First World War: Shemon XVII Abraham (1820–61), Shemon XVIII Rubil (1861–1903), and Shemon XIX Benjamin (1903–18), who was consecrated at an uncanonically early age. Shemon XIX Benjamin (1903–18) was murdered in the village of Kohnashahr in the Salmas district in 1918, and was succeeded by the feeble Shemon XX Paul (1918–20). Paul died only two years after taking office. As there were no other qualified members of the patriarchal family available, he was succeeded by his twelve-year-old nephew Eshai, who was consecrated patriarch on 20 June 1920 under the name Shemon XXI Eshai.
