Nineveh Governorate ( ar, محافظة نينوى, syr, ܗܘܦܪܟܝܐ ܕܢܝܢܘܐ, Hoparkiya d’Ninwe, ckb, پارێزگای نەینەوا, Parêzgeha Neynewa), also known as Ninawa Governorate, is a
governorate
A governorate is an administrative division of a state. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either State (administrative division), states or province, provinces, the term ''govern ...
in northern
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 has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people as of 2003. Its largest city and provincial capital is
Mosul
Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...
, which lies across the
Tigris
The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...
river from the ruins of ancient
Nineveh
Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ban ...
. Before 1976, it was called ''Mosul Province'' and included the present-day
Dohuk Governorate
ar, محافظة دهوك
, image_skyline = Collage_of_Dohuk_Governorate.jpg
, imagesize =
, image_caption =
, image_flag =
, image_seal = ...
. The second largest city is
Tal Afar
Tal Afar ( ar, تَلْعَفَر, Talʿafar, ) is a city in the Nineveh Governorate of northwestern Iraq, located 63 km (39 mi) west of Mosul, 52 km (32 mi) east of Sinjar[Turkmen
Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to:
Peoples Historical ethnonym
* Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages
Ethnic groups
* Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...]
population.
An ethnically, religiously and culturally diverse region, it was partly conquered by
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 ...
in 2014. Iraqi government forces
retook the city of Mosul in 2017.
Recent history and administration
Its two cities endured the
2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and emerged unscathed. In 2004, however, Mosul and Tal Afar were the scenes of fierce battles between
US-led troops and
Iraqi insurgents. The insurgents moved to Nineveh after the
Battle of Fallujah in 2004.
After the invasion, the military of the province was led by (then Major General)
David Petraeus
David Howell Petraeus (; born November 7, 1952) is a retired United States Army general and public official. He served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 6, 2011, until his resignation on November 9, 2012. Prior to h ...
of the
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...
and later by (then Brigadier General)
Carter Ham
Carter Frederick Ham (born February 16, 1952) is a retired United States Army general who served as the second commander of United States Africa Command. As commander of Africa Command, he led Operation Odyssey Dawn, the initial United States r ...
as the multi-national brigade for Iraq. During the time, the American civil head of the local office of the
Coalition Provisional Authority
)
, capital = Baghdad
, largest_city = capital
, common_languages = ArabicKurdishEnglish (''de facto'')
, government_type = Transitional government
, legislature = Iraqi Governing Council
, title_leader = Administrator
, leader1 = Jay ...
was US Foreign Service Officer and former Kurdish refugee to the States,
Herro Mustafa
Herro Kader Mustafa ( ku, Hêro Mistefa; born 1973) is an American diplomat who has served as the American ambassador to Bulgaria since October 2019. She carries the rank of Minister Counselor.
Early life and education
Mustafa was born in Erbil ...
. Mustafa administered her nominees on the provincial council and through members of the Kashmoula family.
In June 2004, Osama Kashmoula became the interim governor of the province and in September of the same year he was assassinated en route to Baghdad. He was succeeded as interim Governor by
Duraid Kashmoula
Duraid Mohammed Kashmoula ( ar, دريد كشمولة; born 1943) is an Iraqi people, Iraqi politician who served as Governor of Nineveh Province from July 2004 to April 2009.
Kashmoula became Governor following the assassination of his cousin, O ...
, who was elected governor in January 2005. Duraid Kashmoula resigned in 2009. In April 2009,
Atheel al-Nujaifi
Atheel al-Nujaifi ( ar, أثيل النجيفي; tr, Esil Nuceyfi; born 1958) is an Iraqi politician who was the Governor of Nineveh Governorate from April 2009 until May 2015.
Nujaifi was born into a Mawsili family in 1958. He is a brother o ...
, a hardline Arab nationalist and member of
Al-Hadba
The al-Hadba party is a political party formed to contest the 2009 Iraqi governorate elections in Ninawa province. It is mostly made up of Sunni Arabs. Its leading member Atheel al-Nujaifi is brother of Usama al-Najafi who is part of the Iraqi N ...
, became governor. While al-Nujaifi's Arab
Muttahidoon
The Uniters for Reform Coalition ( ar, ائتلاف متحدون للاصلاح ''I'tilāf Muttaḥidūn lil-Iṣlāḥ'') is a Sunni political coalition in Iraq.
History
The coalition was formed in December 2012, composing ten groups, and led ...
bloc lost its majority to the Kurdish
Brotherhood and Coexistence Alliance List in the
2013 provincial election, al-Nujaifi was reelected as governor by a larger Sunni Arab coalition that was later formalized as the
Nahda Bloc.
In June 2014,
insurgents
An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irreg ...
from the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
(known as ISIS or ISIL)
overran the capital Mosul, forcing an estimated 500,000 refugees to flee the area, including governor al-Nujaifi, who was subsequently deposed by the
Iraqi Parliament
The Council of Representatives ( ar, مجلس النواب, Majlis an-Nuwwāb al-ʿIrāqiyy; ku, ئهنجومهنی نوێنهران, ''Enjumen-e Nûnerên''), usually referred to simply as the Parliament is the unicameral legislature o ...
.
While the Kurdish list proposed Hassan al-Allaf, an Arab affiliated with the
Islamic Party
Below are lists of political parties espousing Islamic identity or political Islam in various approaches under the system of Islamic democracy. Islamic democracy refers to a political ideology that seeks to apply Islamic principles to public p ...
, the provincial council elected
Nofal Hammadi (formerly Loyalty to Nineveh List) with the votes of the Nahdha bloc.
An
offensive to retake Mosul from ISIL control began in October 2016, with Iraqi and Kurdish soldiers supported by a U.S.-led coalition of 60 nations.
Provincial elections
Human geography
Borders
The province borders the governorates of
Dohuk
Duhok ( ku, دهۆک, translit=Dihok; ar, دهوك, Dahūk; syr, ܒܝܬ ܢܘܗܕܪܐ, Beth Nohadra) is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It's the capital city of Duhok Governorate.
History
The city's origin dates back to the Ston ...
,
Kirkuk
Kirkuk ( ar, كركوك, ku, کەرکووک, translit=Kerkûk, , tr, Kerkük) is a city in Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate, located north of Baghdad. The city is home to a diverse population of Turkmens, Arabs, Kurds, ...
,
Erbil
Erbil, also called Hawler (, ar, أربيل, Arbīl; syr, ܐܲܪܒܹܝܠ, Arbel), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It lies in the Erbil Governorate. It has an estimated population of around 1,600,000.
Hu ...
,
Saladin
Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سهلاحهدین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...
, and
Anbar. It also shares a border with
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, mostly
Al-Hasakah Governorate
Al-Hasakah Governorate ( ar, محافظة الحسكة, Muḥāfaẓat al-Ḥasakah, ku, Parêzgeha Hesekê}, syc, ܗܘܦܪܟܝܐ ܕܚܣܟܗ, Huparkiyo d'Ḥasake, also known as syc, ܓܙܪܬܐ, Gozarto) is one of the fourteen governorates (prov ...
, and
Deir ez-Zor Governorate
Deir ez-Zor Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة دير الزور / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Dayr az-Zawr'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in eastern Syria, bordering Iraq. It has an area of 33,060 km2 ( ...
.
Administrative districts
Nineveh Governorate comprises 9 districts, listed below with their areas and populations as estimated in 2018:
Demographics
Nineveh Province is multiethnic. There are significant numbers of
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 ...
,
Assyrians,
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 ...
,
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
Yazidis
Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking Endogamy, endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran ...
who live in both in towns and cities, and in their own specific villages and regions. There are also many
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
,
Kawliya
The Kawliya, Qawliya or Awaz, Keche-Hjälp ( ar, كاولية or كاولي), also known as Zott and Ghorbati (known in English as ''Gypsies''), is a community in Iraq of Indian origin, estimated to number over 60,000 people. Today they speak most ...
,
Mandeans and
Shabaks
Shabaks ( ar, الشبك; ku, شەبەک, translit=Şebek) are a group with a disputed ethnic origin. Some Shabaks identify themselves as a distinct ethnic group and others as ethnic Kurds. They live east of Mosul in Iraq. However their cultural t ...
.
The majority are
Sunni Muslim
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...
, with 80% of the Arabs being Sunni Muslim, as well as
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 ...
and
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 ...
also being Sunni Muslim. About 5–10% of the population is
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
. Generally,
Yazidis
Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking Endogamy, endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran ...
,
Shabaks
Shabaks ( ar, الشبك; ku, شەبەک, translit=Şebek) are a group with a disputed ethnic origin. Some Shabaks identify themselves as a distinct ethnic group and others as ethnic Kurds. They live east of Mosul in Iraq. However their cultural t ...
and
Mandeans are followers of their respective heritage religions,
Yazidism
Yazidism , alternatively Sharfadin is a Monotheism, monotheistic ethnic religion that has roots in a western Ancient Iranian religion, Iranic pre-Zoroastrian religion directly derived from the Indo-Iranians, Indo-Iranian tradition. It is follow ...
,
Shabakism
Shabaks ( ar, الشبك; ku, شەبەک, translit=Şebek) are a group with a disputed ethnic origin. Some Shabaks identify themselves as a distinct ethnic group and others as ethnic Kurds. They live east of Mosul in Iraq. However their cultural t ...
, and
Mandaeism
Mandaeism (Classical Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ ; Arabic: المندائيّة ), sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnostic, monotheistic and ethnic religion. Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam, Abel, S ...
.
The primary spoken language is
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
. Minority languages include
Turkmen
Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to:
Peoples Historical ethnonym
* Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages
Ethnic groups
* Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...
,
Neo-Aramaic
The Neo-Aramaic or Modern Aramaic languages are varieties of Aramaic that evolved during the late medieval and early modern periods, and continue to the present day as vernacular (spoken) languages of modern Aramaic-speaking communities. Within ...
dialects,
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
(predominantly
Kurmanji
Kurmanji ( ku, کورمانجی, lit=Kurdish, translit=Kurmancî, also termed Northern Kurdish, is the northern dialect of the Kurdish languages, spoken predominantly in southeast Turkey, northwest and northeast Iran, northern Iraq, northern Sy ...
) and
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
.
Proposed Assyrian autonomous region
Many Assyrian leaders advocate an autonomous
Assyrian homeland
The Assyrian homeland, Assyria ( syc, ܐܬܘܪ, Āṯūr or syc, ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, Bêth Nahrin) refers to the homeland of the Assyrian people within which Assyrian civilisation developed, located in their indigenous Upper Mesopotamia. Th ...
within the Nineveh Province (mostly in the
Nineveh Plains region) for the
Assyrian
Assyrian may refer to:
* Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia.
* Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire.
** Early Assyrian Period
** Old Assyrian Period
** Middle Assyrian Empire
** Neo-Assyrian Empire
* Assyrian ...
population.
See also
*
2005 Nineveh governorate election
Governorate Council elections in the Nineveh Governorate of Iraq were held on January 30, 2005, simultaneously with the national legislative election.
Results
The province is largely a mix of Sunnis and Kurds, but there is also a significant S ...
*
Nineveh Plains
*
Assyrian homeland
The Assyrian homeland, Assyria ( syc, ܐܬܘܪ, Āṯūr or syc, ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, Bêth Nahrin) refers to the homeland of the Assyrian people within which Assyrian civilisation developed, located in their indigenous Upper Mesopotamia. Th ...
*
List of Yazidi settlements
The following is a list of Yazidi settlements in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Armenia, including both current and historical Yazidi settlements. Historically, Yazidis lived primarily in Iraq, Turkey, and Syria. However, events since the end of the ...
*
List of churches and monasteries in Nineveh
Mosul is known for its several old churches, some of which originally date back to the early centuries of Christianity. The ancient churches of the city are often hidden through labyrinthine alleyways behind thick walls and are therefore not easy ...
*
Genocide of Yazidis by ISIL
A genocide of Yazidis by the Islamic State was carried out in the Sinjar area of northern Iraq in the mid-2010s. The genocide led to the expulsion, flight and effective exile of the Yazidis. Thousands of Yazidi women and girls were forced i ...
*
Genocide of Christians by ISIL
The genocide of Christians by the Islamic State involves the systematic mass murder of Christian minorities, within the regions of Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Libya controlled by the Islamic terrorist group Islamic State. Persecution of Christian mino ...
*
Proposals for Assyrian autonomy in Iraq
Since the early 20th century several proposals have been made for the establishment of an autonomous area or a independent state for the Syriac-speaking Assyrians in northern Iraq.
Historical proposals
* Urmia Manifesto of the United Free Assyria ...
Notes and references
Further reading
*
{{Authority control
Governorates of Iraq
Assyrian geography
Upper Mesopotamia
Yazidis in Iraq