Khanaqin
Encyclopedia
Khanaqin is a city in Iraq
. It is located at 34.3°N, 45.4°E in the Diyala Governorate, near the Iranian border
on a tributary of the Diyala River
. Khanaqin is the administrative capital of the Khanaqin District, which comprises several cities, such as As-Sadiyah and Jalula, as well as hundreds of villages. The city is divided into two parts by the Alwand River
, this river has played a significant role in land cultivation and in establishment of a strong rural society in the area. The river is considered by the people of Khanaqin as a symbol for their unity and Kurdish
identity.
dialects which is Indo-European
. These dialects are closely related to each other and called Feyli
or Xanaqini by the locals (see southern Kurdish).
. After the Arabic invasion of Persia, the occupiers Arabized many of the local names and also omitted the word du (two) from this name and attached the Arabic suffix of dualis after the name, hence Du-khānag became Khānag-ayn and Khanaqin.
During the Arabization
policy of the Iraqi Ba'th regime Sunni Arab
s were settled in the city and at least 9,000 Kurds were killed and a larger number were forcibly removed and sent to southern Iraq or the Kurdish controlled north. The Iraqi Property Claims Commission has an office in Khanaqin to deal with the land disputes this policy generated now that Kurds have been allowed to return to their homes.
In 9/6/2006 all the members of the city council of Khanaqin demanded that the city be separated from the control of the Diyala governorate and be allowed to join the Autonomous Kurdistan region
. In December 2007 a referendum was scheduled to be held about adding the city and its district to the Kurdish
controlled north. However, this referendum has been postponed for up to six months, and then indefinitely.
. A 20000 oilbbl/d oil refinery has been approved for construction in Khanaqin and oil from Naft Khana will be sent there when it is complete. During the seventies of the last century the intensive Arabization- and Deportation-policy of the Iraqi regime Arabs were settled in this oil-rich city and all kurdish refinery Workers and their only kurdish Engineer Mr. Sheik Kader Sheik Rahem Talabani were deported to West of Iraq.
won more than 55,000 votes, leaving the rest of the opposition parties with less than 1,000 together. This was probably because many Kurdish parties had invested heavily in the entire Diyala province and promised even more wealth once they were chosen.
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. It is located at 34.3°N, 45.4°E in the Diyala Governorate, near the Iranian border
Iran-Iraq border
The Iran-Iraq boundary runs for 1,458 kilometers, from the Shatt al-Arab waterway to the tripoint boundary with modern Turkey at the Kuh e-Dalanper. Although the boundary was first determined in 1639, certain disputes fester, particularly disputes surrounding navigation on the Shatt al-Arab...
on a tributary of the Diyala River
Diyala River
The Diyala River after Darban-e Khan Dam:Kurdish: Sirwan, سيروان, , Persian: سیروان دیاله, is a river and tributary of the Tigris that runs mainly through Eastern Iraq but also Western Iran. It covers a total distance of ....
. Khanaqin is the administrative capital of the Khanaqin District, which comprises several cities, such as As-Sadiyah and Jalula, as well as hundreds of villages. The city is divided into two parts by the Alwand River
Alwand River
The Alwand or Hulwan River is a river in eastern Iraq and western Iran. It rises in the Zagros Mountains in Iran.The river flows west from the mountains to the city of Qasr-e Shirin, where it turns south and crosses the border with Iraq. It then divides the city of Khanaqin in two parts...
, this river has played a significant role in land cultivation and in establishment of a strong rural society in the area. The river is considered by the people of Khanaqin as a symbol for their unity and Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
identity.
People
The majority of people of the city of Khanaqin are Kurds (although the province of Diyala has an Arab majority). They speak mainly the Kalhuri branch of southern KurdishSouthern Kurdish
Southern Kurdish , also called Kermānšāhi, belongs to the Northwestern Iranian languages and is predominantly spoken in western Iran and eastern Iraq. In Iran, it is spoken in the provinces of Kermanshah and Ilam. In Iraq it is spoken in the region of Khanaqin , all the way to Mandali, Pehle...
dialects which is Indo-European
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
. These dialects are closely related to each other and called Feyli
Feyli
Feyli can refer to:*Feyli , a group of Lor tribes located mainly in Lorestan*Feyli , a dialect of Southern Kurdish...
or Xanaqini by the locals (see southern Kurdish).
History
Khanaqin's original name was Du-Khanag and was a part of the Persian Empire for centuries. The name Du-Khānag (دوخانگ) means "Two Houses" in PersianPersian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
. After the Arabic invasion of Persia, the occupiers Arabized many of the local names and also omitted the word du (two) from this name and attached the Arabic suffix of dualis after the name, hence Du-khānag became Khānag-ayn and Khanaqin.
During the Arabization
Arabization
Arabization or Arabisation describes a growing cultural influence on a non-Arab area that gradually changes into one that speaks Arabic and/or incorporates Arab culture...
policy of the Iraqi Ba'th regime Sunni Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s were settled in the city and at least 9,000 Kurds were killed and a larger number were forcibly removed and sent to southern Iraq or the Kurdish controlled north. The Iraqi Property Claims Commission has an office in Khanaqin to deal with the land disputes this policy generated now that Kurds have been allowed to return to their homes.
In 9/6/2006 all the members of the city council of Khanaqin demanded that the city be separated from the control of the Diyala governorate and be allowed to join the Autonomous Kurdistan region
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...
. In December 2007 a referendum was scheduled to be held about adding the city and its district to the Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
controlled north. However, this referendum has been postponed for up to six months, and then indefinitely.
Oil fields
The Naft Khana oil field is capable of producing up to 16000 oilbbl/d of sweet light crude from an oil reserve that is also being tapped by Iran. Repairs to the oil plant were completed in March 2006 which restored it to its pre-war condition. The main elements affected were the gas-oil separation facility and the wet crude facility (which separates oil from water). Trucks currently transport oil to the Al Daura refinery in BaghdadBaghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. A 20000 oilbbl/d oil refinery has been approved for construction in Khanaqin and oil from Naft Khana will be sent there when it is complete. During the seventies of the last century the intensive Arabization- and Deportation-policy of the Iraqi regime Arabs were settled in this oil-rich city and all kurdish refinery Workers and their only kurdish Engineer Mr. Sheik Kader Sheik Rahem Talabani were deported to West of Iraq.
Iraqi elections 2009
In the Iraqi governorate elections, 2009 the Kurdistan Alliance BlocDemocratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan
The Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan sometimes referred to simply as the Kurdistan Alliance is the name of the electoral coalition first presented as a united Kurdish list in the January 2005 election in Iraq. Elections were held simultaneously for the assembly of the Kurdistan Regional...
won more than 55,000 votes, leaving the rest of the opposition parties with less than 1,000 together. This was probably because many Kurdish parties had invested heavily in the entire Diyala province and promised even more wealth once they were chosen.
Famous people from Khaneqin
- Leyla QasimLeyla QasimLeyla Qasim was a Kurdish activist against the Iraqi Ba'ath regime who was executed in Baghdad. She is known as a national martyr among the Kurds.-Birth and Childhood:...
(among the first female peshmergaPeshmergaPeshmerga or Peshmerge is the term used by Kurds to refer to armed Kurdish fighters. Literally meaning "those who face death" the Peshmerga forces of Kurdistan have been in existence since the advent of the Kurdish independence movement in the early 1920s, following the collapse of the Ottoman...
murdered by Baath regime). - Jabar Farman (PUKPatriotic Union of KurdistanThe Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is a Kurdish political party in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded on June 1, 1975, by coordinations between Jalal Talabani and Nawshirwan Mustafa...
politician). - Mela BaxtiarMela BaxtiarMela Bextyar or مهلا بهختیار is a major PUK politician, born in Khaneqin. He was in peshmarga forces in the seventies an early eighties of the last century. -References:...
(major PUKPUKPUK may stand for:* Patriotic Union of Kurdistan * Partia e Unitetit Kombėtar * Pin Unlock Key used in GSM mobile phones* Prefectural University of KumamotoPuk may refer to:...
politician). - Emad Ahmed Saifoor (minister in the Kurdistan regionalRégionalRégional Compagnie Aérienne Européenne, or Régional for short, is a subsidiary airline wholly owned by Air France which connects hubs at Paris, Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand, and Bordeaux to 49 airports in Europe. The airline operates in Air France livery, retaining its name in small titles and logo on...
governmentGovernmentGovernment refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
). - Abbas Mahmood Mohammed Writer and journalist Editor in Chief and the concessionaire (BANAN) its first newspaper popular in Khanaqin.
- Azad Khaneqini (KurdishKurdish peopleThe Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
singer). - Sheikh Abdul-Wahab Talabani
- Sheikh Mustafa Talabani
- Ali Beg Issa
- Sheikh Rahim Talabani
- Abdul- Rahman Beg Jaff
- Saleh Rustem Khan
- Aziz Pishtiwan
- Ismail Rashid Dalawy
- Ali KhanAli KhanAli Khan is a citizen of Pakistan, and a permanent resident of the United States.One of his sons, Majid Khan, was held in extrajudicial detention, in secret interrogation centers, run by the CIA, for four years....
- Karim Mamakhan (Karim Asmar)
- Salam Abdulla Ibrahim (writer and journalist)
- Adnan Aziz (politicianPoliticianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
) - Aziz Mela Hassan (PUKPatriotic Union of KurdistanThe Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is a Kurdish political party in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded on June 1, 1975, by coordinations between Jalal Talabani and Nawshirwan Mustafa...
politician) - Said Talib Hassan (President of the Municipal Council of Dyala Governorate)
External links
- Iraq Image - Khanaqin Satellite Observation
- Khanaqin HomePage
- Khanaqin HomePage Deutschland
- Khanaqin from globalsecurity.org