Daquq ( ar, داقوق, tr, Dakuk or Tavuk, ku, داقووق, translit=Daqûq,), also known as Daqouq, is the central town of Daquq District in

Kirkuk Governorate Kirkuk Governorate ( ar, محافظة كركوك, Muḥāfaẓat Karkūk, ku, پارێزگای کەرکووک, Parêzgeha Kerkûkê/Parêzgayi Kerkûk, tr, Kerkük ili) or Kirkuk Province is a governorate in northern Iraq. The governorate has an ...

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 ...

. The town has a Kurdish and Turkmen majority, and

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

minority. It is part of the disputed territories of Northern Iraq. The town is a major agricultural area.

Early history

The name ''Daquq'' derives from the

Neo-Assyrian The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history and the final and greatest phase of Assyria as an independent state. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew t ...

word ''Diquqina.'' Abul-Fath Mohammad bin Annaz, the founder of the

Annazid The Annazids or Banu Annaz (990/991–1117) was a Kurdish Sunni Muslim dynasty which ruled an oscillating territory on the present-day frontier between Iran and Iraq for about 130 years. The Annazids were related by marriage to the Hasanwayhid ...

dynasty, temporarily seized Daquq from Banu Oqayl in 998 AD. Idris Bitlisi mentioned the town in his work

Sharafnama The ''Sharafnama'' ( Kurdish: شەرەفنامە Şerefname, "The Book of Honor", Persian: Sharafname, شرفنامه) is the famous book of Sharaf al-Din Bitlisi (a medieval Kurdish historian and poet) (1543–1599), which he wrote in 1597, in P ...

from 1597 as a town being a source of

naphtha Naphtha ( or ) is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture. Mixtures labelled ''naphtha'' have been produced from natural gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and the distillation of coal tar and peat. In different industries and regions ' ...

Modern history

Ottoman

Midhat Pasha Ahmed Şefik Midhat Pasha ( ota , احمد شفيق مدحت پاشا, 18 October 1822 – 26 April 1883) was an Ottoman democrat, kingmaker and one of the leading statesmen during the late Tanzimat period. He is most famous for leading the O ...

built the famous and intact Daquq bridge in 1883 making it easier for the Ottomans to travel southward. In 1906, the town had about 1,000 people. In 1925, the town’s population was predominantly Turkmen. 60% of the population was Kurdish in the 1947 census out of a population of 14,600. It experienced

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 ...

during the Saddam era in which Kurdish and Turkmen land was seized for Arab settlers. After the fall of the Saddam regime, Kurds forced the Arab settlers out. In 2011, an estimated 7.3% of Daquq residents lived below the poverty line. On 21 October 2016, the International Coalition bombed a

Muharram Muḥarram ( ar, ٱلْمُحَرَّم) (fully known as Muharram ul Haram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after ...

shrine, where 28 Turkmen civilians (25 woman and 3 children) were killed.

Religion

Many of the Kurds are Kaka'i, while the Turkmen population is

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...

. The Kaka'i population reportedly experiences harassment and intimidation from the

Popular Mobilization Forces The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) ( ar, الحشد الشعبي ''al-Ḥashd ash-Shaʿbī''), also known as the People's Mobilization Committee (PMC) and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization ...

(PMF) which has been controlling the town since 2017. On 21 March 2018, the Kaka'i shrine in the town was destroyed which the local Kaka'is blamed the PMF on.

References

{{Districts of Iraq Populated places in Kirkuk Governorate District capitals of Iraq Turkmen communities in Iraq Kurdish settlements in Iraq