Duhok (; ; , ) is a city in

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 ...

. It is the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

city of

Duhok Governorate Duhok Governorate (, , ) is a governorate in the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Its capital is the city of Duhok. It includes Zakho, near the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing with Şırnak Province, Turkey. It borders the Al-Hasakah Gove ...

Name

The city of Duhok received its name from the

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 ...

words ’du’ (two) and ’hok’ (lump) as a tax payment of two lumps from the basket of each passing caravan that often carry wheat and barley. According to a tradition presented by Sasson Nahum, Dohuk was initially named ''Dohuk-e Dasinya'', signifying "Dohuk of the

Yezidis Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish-speaking endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The majority of Yazidis remaining in ...

". However, after a massacre of the Yezidis, the town was abandoned, leading to the settlement of Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the area.

Demographics

The city is home to diverse ethnic groups, with

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

forming the majority, while other minorities include

Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...

Yazidis Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish languages, Kurdish-speaking Endogamy, endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The major ...

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

, and

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

. The city also hosts tens of thousands of

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s from

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, mostly

Syrian Kurds The Kurdish population of Syria is the country's largest ethnic minority, usually estimated at around 10% of the Syrian population Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Syria, constituting around 10 per cent of the population – around 2 ...

, and internally displaced persons (IDPs), most of whom are

and

who fled after

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

took control of

Sinjar Sinjar (; , ) is a town in the Sinjar District of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. It is located about five kilometers south of the Sinjar Mountains. Its population in 2013 was estimated at 88,023, and is predominantly Yazidi. History ...

and

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

. According to the

Kurdistan Regional Government The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is the official executive body of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq. The cabinet is selected by the majority party or list who also select the prime minister of the Iraqi Kurdish poli ...

, as of March 2024, the

hosts 631,174 IDPs, with 40% of them living in

. Additionally, there are 251,475

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

refugees, of which 131,700 (as of 2022) reside in Duhok Governorate.

History

The city joined the

principality of Badinan sometime in the 13th or 14th centuries under the foundation of the Kurdish Hakkari tribe. As observed by

Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

in ''

Seyahatnâme ''Seyahatname'' () is the name of a literary form and tradition whose examples can be found throughout centuries in the Middle Ages around the Islamic world, starting with the Arab travellers of the Umayyad period. In a more specific sense, the ...

'' (Book of Travels), the principality was divided into:

Akre Akre (, , ) is a city located in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It is disputed by the Nineveh Governorate and the Duhok Governorate which both partially claim it. Akre is known for its celebrations of Newroz. History The city was built in ...

, Zaxo, Shixoyi, Duhok, Zibari, and Muzuri. In 1820, Rich described Duhok as a small town comprising 300 houses, serving as the principal site for the Doski tribe, accompanied by eighty additional villages. The missionary

Henry Aaron Stern Henry Aaron Stern (*11 April 1820, Unterreichenbach near Gelnhausen; † 13 May 1885, Hackney, London) was an Anglicanism, Anglican missionary and priest of Jews, Jewish origin. After converting to Christianity in London in 1840 and studying with ...

(1851) observed Dohuk's diverse population, which included

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

residents. Stern further noted that the ''kiahya'', or village mayor, was an

Assyrian Christian Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...

Chaldean Catholic The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic particular church ('' sui iuris'') in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is headed by the Chaldean Patriarchate. Employing in its liturgy the East Syri ...

affiliation. By 1859,

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

Yehiel found two ''

minyan In Judaism, a ''minyan'' ( ''mīnyān'' , Literal translation, lit. (noun) ''count, number''; pl. ''mīnyānīm'' ) is the quorum of ten Jewish adults required for certain Mitzvah, religious obligations. In more traditional streams of Judaism ...

s'' of Jews in the area. The Muslim and Assyrian Christian communities comprised around a hundred households. In 1929, the settled population reached approximately 3,500 inhabitants, with Kurds forming the majority. Among the 550 households, 65 were Assyrian Christian, and 30 were Jewish.

Modern times

The University of Duhok was founded on 31 October 1992.

Archaeology

In 2020, researchers discovered in the Balyuz hills, ten kilometers west of Duhok City, an ancient tablet with Greek inscription which dates back to 165 BC. The inscriptions refer to

Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinization of names, Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male name, male Greek given names, given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, ...

, the region's ruler during that time. Seven kilometers southwest of Duhok, Halamata Cave is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

containing the Assyrian

relief carving In wood carving relief carving is a type in which figures or patterns are carved in a flat panel of wood; the same term is also used for carving in stone, ivory carving and various other materials. The figures project only slightly from the bac ...

s known as the Maltai Reliefs, associated with the northern canal system built by the Assyrian king

Sennacherib Sennacherib ( or , meaning "Sin (mythology), Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 705BC until his assassination in 681BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynasty, Sennacherib is one of the most famous A ...

(r. 704–681 BC) to carry water to his capital city of

Nineveh Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern ...

Climate

According to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system, Duhok, like most of

Upper Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia constitutes the Upland and lowland, uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the regio ...

, 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'') featuring sweltering, virtually rainless summers and cool to cold, wet winters.

Precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

falls in the cooler months, being heaviest in late winter and early spring. The city can get around two or three snowy days yearly, with more severe falls in the uplands. Summers are virtually rainless, with rain returning in late autumn.

Notable people

* Haviv Shimoni (1933-1994), politician *

Yitzhak Mordechai Yitzhak "Itzik" Mordechai (; born 22 November 1944) is an Israeli former general and politician. He served as a member of the Knesset between 1996 and 2001, and as Minister of Defense and Minister of Transport. He retired from political life ...

(born 1944), general and politician *

Tamar Fattah Ramadhan Kuchar Tamar Ramadhan Fattah Kuchar was the governor of Iraq's Dahuk province in Iraqi Kurdistan between 2005 and 2013. He has been actively involved in further developing Dahuk's educational and infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facil ...

(?), politician *

Nimrud Baito Nimrud Baito (born 1952 in Dohuk) was the Minister of Tourism in the Kurdistan Regional Government cabinet from 2006-2009. An ethnic Assyrian, Nimrud belongs to the Assyrian Patriotic Party. Trained as an electrical engineer, Baito worked in infor ...

(born 1952), politician *

Janan Sawa Janan Sawa (born March 18, 1956) () is an Assyrian musician who is noted for making Assyrian folk dance. Janan started singing in 1972, at the age of 17. Janan has performed throughout the world, and has visited his hometown of Duhok in Iraq o ...

(born 1956), musician *

Dalshad Said Dalshad Said (; ; born 1958) is a contemporary Kurdish musician. Biography Said was born in 1958 in born in Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan. After graduating from the music institute of Baghdad, he worked as an assistant of the conductor at Baghdad telev ...

(born 1958), musician *

Fadhil Barwari Fadhil Jamil Barwari (1 April 1966 – 20 September 2018) was an Iraqi army general who served as the commander of the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service#Command Structure, ISOF-1 brigade of the Counter Terrorism Service. Prior to that, he served as ...

(1966-2018), military officer * Hogir Hirori (born 1980), film director * Khalid Mushir (born 1981), footballer * Jassim Mohammed Haji (born 1984), footballer *

Salih Jaber Salih Jaber (in Kurdish language, Kurdish ساڵح جابر born 28 October 1985 in Zakho, Iraq, Zakho, Iraq) is an Iraqi former football player who played as a Striker (football), striker. Career Salih Jaber Salih born on October 28, 1985, has ...

(born 1985), footballer * Kovan Abdulraheem (born 1988), Paralympic athlete * Zana Allée (born 1994), footballer *

Rewan Amin Rewan Amin (, ; born 8 January 1996) is an Iraqi Kurdish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Al-Shorta and the Iraq national team. Club career Born in Dohuk, Iraq, Amin and his family migrated to the Dutch city of L ...

(born 1996), footballer *

Ahmad Allée Ahmad Adil Abbas (; born 29 April 1996), professionally known as Ahmad Allée (), is an Iraqi footballer who plays as a midfielder for French club Rouen and the Iraq national team. Early life Allée was born Ahmad Adil Abas in Duhok, Iraq, to ...

(born 1996), footballer

References

External links

Iraq Image – Dahuk Satellite Observation
{{Authority control Ancient Assyrian cities Assyrian communities in Iraq Cities in Iraq Cities in Iraqi Kurdistan District capitals of Iraq Historic Jewish communities in Iraq Kurdish settlements in Iraq Populated places in Dohuk Province Yazidi populated places in Iraq