Jalawla ( ar, جلولاء, ku, ,Celewla ,گوڵاڵە also known as Jalula
) is a town in
Diyala Governorate
Diyala Governorate ( ar, محافظة ديالى ) or Diyala Province is a governorate in central-eastern Iraq.
Provincial government
*Governor: Muthana al-Timimi
*Deputy Governor: Mohammed Jassim al-Jubouri
Council
Geography
Diyala Gov ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. It is located on the
Diyala River
The Diyala River (Arabic: ; ku, Sîrwan; Farsi: , ) is a river and tributary of the Tigris. It is formed by the confluence of Sirwan river and Tanjaro river in Darbandikhan Dam in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate of Northern Iraq. It covers a total ...
, north of
Sadiyah
Sadiyah ( ar, السعدية, Al-Sadiyah; ku, Sedîye ,سەعدیە) is a town in Diyala Governorate, Iraq. It is located near the Diyala River 8 km (5 mi) south of Jalawla. The town is populated by Arabs, Kurds and Iraqi Turkmen, Turkmens. It is ...
.
The town is populated by
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
,
Kurds ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...
and
Turkmens
Turkmens ( tk, , , , ; historically "the Turkmen"), sometimes referred to as Turkmen Turks ( tk, , ), are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-weste ...
.
History
Early history
Jalawla was the center of the
Sasanian
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
Šāḏ Qobāḏ Province and the
Khurasan Road The (Great) Khurasan Road was the great trunk road connecting Mesopotamia to the Iranian Plateau and thence to Central Asia, China, and the Indus Valley.
It is very well-documented in the Abbasid period, when it connected the core of the capital ...
crossed the town. The Sasanians ultimately lost control over the town after the
Battle of Jalula
The Battle of Jalula was fought between Sassanid Empire and Rashidun Caliphate soon after conquest of Ctesiphon.
After the capture of Ctesiphon, several detachments were immediately sent to the west to capture Qarqeesia and Heet the forts at ...
in 637 to Muslim invaders.
Modern history
Jalawla has been the center town of Jalawla District since its creation with a Republican
decree
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...
in 1958. Prior to the decree, Jalawla was part of Saadiya District. Before the launch of the
Ba'athist Arabization campaigns in North Iraq
The Ba'athist Arabization campaigns in northern Iraq involved Arabization and ethnic cleansing of minorities (primarily Kurds in Iraq, Kurds, as well as Iraqi Turkmen, Turkmen, Yazidis, Assyrian people, Assyrians, and Shabak people, Shabaks), i ...
in the 1960s, the town had a Kurdish majority.
In the 1970s, Iraq deported a large portion of the Kurdish population of the town after having
denaturalized
Denaturalization is the loss of citizenship against the will of the person concerned. Denaturalization is often applied to ethnic minorities and political dissidents. Denaturalization can be a penalty for actions considered criminal by the state ...
them as
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
were encouraged to settle instead, to intensify the
Arabization
Arabization or Arabisation ( ar, تعريب, ') describes both the process of growing Arab influence on non-Arab populations, causing a language shift by the latter's gradual adoption of the Arabic language and incorporation of Arab culture, aft ...
of the town.
Of the 28,822 people enumerated in the 1977 census, 77% were Arab, 19.8% were Kurdish and Turkmens constituted 2.5% of the population. In the 1987 census, the Arab population increased to 85.2%, while the Kurdish population decreased to 12.9% and the Turkmen to 1.7%. In the 1997 census, the Arab population stood at 83.7%, the Kurdish at 14.3% and the Turkmen at 1.9%.
Kurdish rebels
(Peshmerga) captured the town on 12 March 1991 during the
uprisings
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
. The town later experienced assaults from the Iraqi-backed
People's Mujahedin of Iran
The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) or Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) ( fa, سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران, sâzmân-e mojâhedīn-e khalq-e īrân), is an Iranian pol ...
which had taken part in the repression of the nationwide uprisings. After the fall of
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...
in 2003,
Kurdistan Region
Kurdistan Region ( ku, هەرێمی کوردستان, translit=Herêmî Kurdistan; ar, إقليم كردستان), abbr. KRI, is an autonomous region in Iraq comprising the four Kurdish-majority governorates of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok, ...
pressured Arab settlers in
Khanaqin
Khanaqin ( ar, خانقين; ku, خانەقین, translit=Xaneqîn) is the central city of Khanaqin District in Diyala Governorate, Iraq, near the Iranian border (8 km) on the Alwand tributary of the Diyala River. The town is populated b ...
to settle in Jalawla which increased the Arab population further.
Moreover, many Kurds returned to the town but left again due to the lack of security.
Concurrently, the Arab al-Shuraifi tribe, which had settled in the area in the 1970s, was expelled from both Jalawla and
Khanaqin
Khanaqin ( ar, خانقين; ku, خانەقین, translit=Xaneqîn) is the central city of Khanaqin District in Diyala Governorate, Iraq, near the Iranian border (8 km) on the Alwand tributary of the Diyala River. The town is populated b ...
after direct order from Kurdish politician
Jalal Talabani
Jalal Talabani ( ku, مام جەلال تاڵەبانی, translit=Celal Talebanî; ar, جلال طالباني ; 1933 – 3 October 2017) was an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the sixth president of Iraq from 2006 to 2014, as well as ...
.
ISIS and the aftermath
According to some estimates, 80% of the population was Arab when
ISIS
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
entered the town in 2014, while more than 85% of the former Kurdish population lived in
IDP camps and nearby towns. From August to November 2014 the city was mostly under the control of the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ' ...
after having seized the town from Peshmerga in August 2014. On 23 November 2014, the PMF and Peshmerga jointly recaptured the city, under the command of Iranian General
Qassem Soleimani
Qasem Soleimani ( fa, قاسم سلیمانی, ; 11 March 19573January 2020) was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until his assassination in 2020, he was the commander of the Quds F ...
. The town was jointly controlled by PMF and Peshmerga until October 2017 when the Peshmerga withdrew from the area. When Jalawla was captured from ISIS, a portion of the Kurdish population returned after encouragement from the federal government,
while Peshmerga stated that no member of the Arab Kerwi tribe would be allowed back after having supported ISIS. Nonetheless, the tribe returned after Peshmerga withdrew in October 2017. Moreover, the Arab animosity towards Kurds have made it possible for
Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq
Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH; ar, عصائب أهل الحق Aṣaʾib ʾAhl al-Haqq, "League of the Righteous"), also known as the Khazali Network ( ar, شبكة الخزعلي), is a radical Iraqi Shi'a political party and paramilitary group active ...
to recruit a number of local Arabs into its ranks and marginalize the Kurdish population. However, according to the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK; ku, یەکێتیی نیشتمانیی کوردستان, translit=Yekîtiya Nîştimanî ya Kurdistanê) is a political party active in Kurdistan Region and the disputed territories in Iraq. The PUK describe ...
and the local Sunni Arab leadership, many locals mainly support them due to fear and the exploitation of the right to return for Arabs.
References
{{reflist
Populated places in Diyala Province
Kurdish settlements in Iraq
Turkmen communities in Iraq