Dohuk

Duhok
Bēṯ Nūhadrā ܒܹܝܬܼ ܢܘ̣ܗܲܕܪܵܐ
دهۆک

View on Duhok with the Duhok Dam in the background
Duhok
Bēṯ Nūhadrā ܒܹܝܬܼ ܢܘ̣ܗܲܕܪܵܐ
دهۆک

Dohuk's location in Iraq

Coordinates: 36°52′N 43°0′E / 36.867°N 43.000°E / 36.867; 43.000Coordinates: 36°52′N 43°0′E / 36.867°N 43.000°E / 36.867; 43.000
Country  Iraq
Autonomous region  Kurdistan[1]
Governorate Dohuk Governorate
District Dohuk District
Subdistrict Dohuk Subdistrict
Elevation 1,854 ft (565 m)
Population (2014)World Gazetteer
 • Total 250٫000[2]
Postcode 42001
Area code(s) 062
Website http://duhok.gov.krd

Dohuk (Kurdish: دهۆک‎, Dihok; Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܢܘܗܕܪܐ‎ Bēṯ Nūhadrā; Arabic: دهوك‎‎ Dahūk) is the capital of Dohuk Governorate in Iraqi Kurdistan, it is a Kurdish city with a population of approximately 250,000 inhabitants, consisting mostly of Kurds, with a minority population of Assyrian Christians that greatly fluctuate in numbers due to the state of violence in the plain below and all over Kurdistan. The city is encircled by mountains along the Tigris river. Dohuk has a growing tourist industry. Its population has increased rapidly since the 1990s, as the rural population moved to the cities. The University of Dohuk, founded in 1992, is a renowned center for teaching and research.

Etymology

Dohuk (Duhok of Dassini) means Yazidi village. Another theory is that the name comes from Taok (meaning grapevine in Kurdish) due to the fact that the region is very well known for vine trees. The Syriac name Bēṯ Nūhadrā translates to House/Land of the military leader. It refers to a small village nearby which is a district in the city due to the growth of the city during the last century. The name Nūhadrā continues to be used in reference to the city and is also a popular name among Assyrian women.

History

Throughout history to the present time, Duhok has acquired a strategic position historically and geographically. Between the 25th and 22nd century BC, it changed hands between the Akkadians, Sumerians, Assyrians, Amorites, Gutians, Hurrians and Hattians, before becoming an integral part of Assyria from the mid 21st century BC until the dissolution of Assyria (then known as Athura/Assuristan) in the mid 7th century AD after the Arab Islamic Conquest.[3]

During the Assyrian period the town was named Nohadra (and also Bit Nuhadra or Naarda), where, during the Parthian-Sassanid rule in Assyria (c.160 BC to 250 AD) as Beth Nuhadra it gained semi-independence as one of a patchwork of Neo-Assyrian kingdoms in Assyria, which also included Adiabene, Osroene, Assur and Beth Garmai. During the Christian era became an eparchy within the Assyrian Church of the East metropolitanate of Ḥadyab (Arbil).[4][5]

The city became prominent again in 1236, when Hasan Beg Saifadin joined the Kurdish Badinan principality. In 1842, the principality was dissolved by the Ottomans and connected to the city of Mosul.[6]

Duhok by night

In 1898 there were according to a report eleven small and private schools in the city, two Assyrian Christian and two Jewish schools. In 1920 there were in all of Iraq only five primary schools that were accessible for girls, and one of them was in Dohuk.

From 22 to 24 September 2005 Dohuk held a cultural festival that was for the first time in Dohuk to which Kurdish writers from all countries were invited.

Demographics

The city's population is made up of around 340,000 inhabitants, and consists mostly of Kurds, with a significant Assyrian community as well. The Assyrians of Dohuk boast one of the largest churches in the region named the Mar Marsi Cathedral, and is the center of an Eparchy.[7] tens of thousands of Yazidi and Assyrian Christian refugees live in the city as well due to the ISIS invasion of Iraq in 2014 and the subsequent Fall of Mosul and the Nineveh Plains region after 2 more months of fighting, in addition to the Siege of Sinjar in which 5,000 Yezidis were massacred in what has been referred to as a Genocide against them.[8][9]

Educational institutions

List of current higher educational institutions in Duhok is as below:

Sport

The city is home to several sporting clubs including Dohuk SC, a professional football club that plays in the Iraqi Premier League, its home stadium can hold up to 30,000 spectators . Another football team from the city is Zeravani SC which plays in the Kurdish Premier League. Dohuk also has a range of other sport clubs, notably the Duhok Basketball Club. Duhok SC basketball competes in the Iraqi Division I Basketball League and successfully came third in FIBA Asia Champions Cup in 2012.

Duhok SC football club won the Iraqi premier league championship In the 2009/2010 season beating Talaba SC 1–0 to become the champions for the first time.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies this climate as a semi-arid climate (Bsh), though having strong characteristics of the Mediterranean climate (Csa). The temperatures are typical to the northern parts of Mesopotamia region, with extremely hot summers and relatively cool, wet winters. Precipitation falls in the cooler months.

Climate data for Dohuk, Iraq
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 20
(68)		 27
(81)		 30
(86)		 34
(93)		 42
(108)		 44
(111)		 48
(118)		 49
(120)		 45
(113)		 39
(102)		 31
(88)		 24
(75)		 49
(120)
Average high °C (°F) 11
(52)		 14
(57)		 19
(66)		 24
(75)		 32
(90)		 38
(100)		 42
(108)		 41
(106)		 37
(99)		 29
(84)		 20
(68)		 13
(55)		 26.7
(80)
Daily mean °C (°F) 7
(45)		 10
(50)		 14
(57)		 18
(64)		 25
(77)		 31
(88)		 34
(93)		 34
(93)		 29
(84)		 22
(72)		 14
(57)		 9
(48)		 20.6
(69)
Average low °C (°F) 3
(37)		 5
(41)		 9
(48)		 13
(55)		 18
(64)		 23
(73)		 27
(81)		 26
(79)		 21
(70)		 15
(59)		 8
(46)		 6
(43)		 14.5
(58)
Record low °C (°F) −4
(25)		 −6
(21)		 −1
(30)		 3
(37)		 6
(43)		 10
(50)		 13
(55)		 17
(63)		 11
(52)		 4
(39)		 −2
(28)		 −2
(28)		 −6
(21)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 101
(3.98)		 120
(4.72)		 111
(4.37)		 70
(2.76)		 38
(1.5)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 1
(0.04)		 10
(0.39)		 57
(2.24)		 108
(4.25)		 616
(24.25)
Average precipitation days 9 9 10 9 4 1 0 0 1 3 6 10 62
Average snowy days 1 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
Average relative humidity (%) 60 53 46 39 23 15 13 15 17 28 42 62 34.4
Source #1: My Forecast[10]
Source #2: Levoyageur for rainfall[11]

See also

Twin towns

References

  1. ↑ http://krg.org/articles/detail.asp?lngnr=12&smap=03010300&rnr=140&anr=23911
  2. ↑ Iraqi City Population 2014
  3. ↑ http://www.uod.ac/site/en/duhokcity#sthash.m1dKO7nV.dpuf
  4. ↑ Société des études arméniennes, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Association de la revue des études arméniennes. Revue des études arméniennes , Volume 21. pp. 303, 309.
  5. ↑ NAARDA, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854)
  6. ↑ http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bahdinan-kurdish-region-river-dialect-group-and-amirate>
  7. ↑ http://www.ishtartv.com/en/viewarticle,35601.html
  8. ↑ Khalel, Sheren; Vickery, Matthew (27 October 2014). "The Forgotten Yazidis". Foreign Policy Magazine.
  9. ↑ http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2014/09/iraq-exodus-201493132419188566.html>
  10. ↑ "Dahuk, Iraq Climate". My Forecast. Retrieved 2014-01-04.
  11. ↑ "Climate, weather, temperatures - City : DUHOK". Levoyageur. Retrieved 2014-01-04.
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