Sinjar (Arabic:سنجار, Kurdish: Şengal [1]) is the name of a town and district in northwestern Iraq's Ninawa Governorate near the Syrian border. Its population at the time of the 2006 census was 39,875.[2] The region is home to the native Shabak people.
A huge mound and wall in northeastern Syria known as Tell Hamoukar indicate an urban civilisation dating back at least 6,000 years. The Sinjar valley belonged to the Northern Ubaid culture. In the Sinjar plain, where Tell Hamoukar is located, civilizations are known to have existed many centuries earlier (Hassuna, Halaf, Ubaid). More than 200 sites are known.
Some sources mention the city as the birthplace of the Christian saint Abd-al-Masih.
Sinjar was also the site of the filming, and some of the plot, for the 1973 film The Exorcist.