Barzan () is a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

village situated on the northern banks of the Great Zab River, in the

Erbil Governorate Erbil Governorate (; ) is a governorate of Iraq in the Kurdistan Region. It is the capital and economic hub of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordere ...

of the

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous Federal regions of Iraq, federal region of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurds, Kurdish-majority governorates of Arabs, Arab-majority Iraq: Erbil Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Governorate ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

History

The village was formerly part of the territory of the Zêbari tribe and was included in Badinan, under the name ''Baziran''. In the 19th century, the village became the residence of a

Naqshbandi Naqshbandi (Persian: نقشبندیه) is a major Sufi order within Sunni Islam, named after its 14th-century founder, Baha' al-Din Naqshband. Practitioners, known as Naqshbandis, trace their spiritual lineage (silsila) directly to the Prophet ...

Sheikh and his followers, who are now known as the Barzani tribe. In 1914, Barzan was the site of a Russian-supported Kurdish uprising led by Ebduselam Barzani against the Ottoman Empire, which occurred simultaneously with the Bitlis uprising. In 1918, under the leadership of

Agha Petros Petros Elia of Baz (; 1 April 1880 – 2 February 1932), better known as Agha Petros (), was an Assyrian military leader and statesman, best known for his role during World War I. He is considered a national hero for the Assyrians and other ...

, the Assyrian volunteers stormed Barzan, and burned and looted the village. The tribe was nominally autonomous from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

until 1915, when the Ottomans stormed the village and hanged the local

sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

. In the early 20th century, the village had a conflict with the neighboring Bradost tribe, which necessitated intervention from Iraqi authorities. In 1943, local chieftain

Mustafa Barzani Mustafa Barzani (14 March 1903 – 1 March 1979), also known as Mullah Mustafa, was a Kurdish nationalist leader and one of the most prominent political figures in modern Kurdish politics. In 1946, he was chosen as the leader of the Kurdistan ...

revolted and quickly gathered support against Iraq; this would develop into the

1943 Barzani revolt The 1943–1945 Barzani revolt was a Kurdish insurrection in the Kingdom of Iraq, during World War II. The revolt was led by Mustafa Barzani and was later joined by his older brother Ahmed Barzani, the leader of the previous Kurdish revolt ...

Climate

Barzan has a hot-summer

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(''Csa'') with hot, dry summers and cool, rainy winters. It is one of the rainiest cities in Iraq. Winter nights average below freezing most of the time, providing

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...

in the city. Snow occasionally occurs.

References

Kurdish settlements in Erbil Governorate Populated places in Erbil Governorate {{Kurdistan-geo-stub