Abdisho, whose name is spelled in many different ways (Abdisu, Abd-Jesu, Hebed-Jesu, Abdissi, Audishu) meaning Servant of Jesus, was born in Gazarta on the River Tigris, son of Yohannan of the house of Mari.
In the summer of 1915, during the height of the Assyrian Genocide, in the rural region Tur Abdin, Malke, who was in Azakh at the time, returned to Gazarta upon hearing news of an impending massacre against the Christians there and refused to flee despite being advised so by local Muslim leaders.