Miqdadiyah ( ar, المقدادية; ku, Şareban, شاره‌بان) is a city in the

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 ...

. Its population is a mix of

Arabs 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, ...

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 peoples, Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Ir ...

. The city is located about 80 km (50 mi) northeast of

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

and 30 km (19 mi) northeast of

Baquba Baqubah ( ar, بَعْقُوبَة; BGN: Ba‘qūbah; also spelled Baquba and Baqouba) is the capital of Iraq's Diyala Governorate. The city is located some to the northeast of Baghdad, on the Diyala River. In 2003 it had an estimated populatio ...

Etymology

The alternative name of the town is Shareban or Sharaban, mentioned as such in the works of the classical writers such as

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

and

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...

. Sharaban (from Shahraban, from old Iranian, Shatrapan) transforms into

satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with cons ...

in Greek and means a governor or a governorate. This name is still used locally. As of late, however, the term Muqdadiyah has largely replaced the old name. The local Shias believe that Muqdadiya is named after Miqdad ibn Aswad Al-Kindi (Arabic: مقداد بن الاسود الكندي) was one of the Sahabah of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. There is in fact a shrine of Miqdad al-Saiwari in the western suburbs of the present town. Miqdad is venerated by Shi'a Muslims as one of the Four Companions, early Muslims who were followers of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Miqdad ibn Aswad is among Shi'as regarded as one of the most respected Sahaba. He is mentioned in one Hadith regarding the perfect Shia, he was one of the Muhajirun. However, they fail to demonstrate exactly how this town is connected Miqdad ibn Aswad in order to be named after him. The

etymology Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words ...

of the name Miqdad or Muqdadia stands for Persian "Given by the Magi", in the same way as the name Baghdad stands "Given by God".

References

External links

Iraq Image - Muqdadiyah Satellite Observation
Populated places in Diyala Province District capitals of Iraq Cities in Iraq Turkmen communities in Iraq Kurdish settlements in Iraq {{Iraq-geo-stub