Koy Sanjaq
Town in Kurdistan Region, Iraq
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Koy Sanjaq is a town in Erbil Governorate in Kurdistan Region, northern Iraq.[a] It is the administrative centre of the Koy Sinjaq District.
Koy Sanjaq | |
|---|---|
Town | |
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  Koy Sanjaq Location in Iraq  Koy Sanjaq Koy Sanjaq (Iraqi Kurdistan) | |
| Coordinates: 36°04′54″N 44°37′42″E | |
| Country |  Iraq |
| Region |  Kurdistan Region |
| Governorate | Erbil Governorate |
| District | Koy Sinjaq District |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,050 km2 (790 sq mi) |
| Population (2013)[1] | |
• Total | 21,026 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 |
Etymology
History
According to local tradition, Koy Sanjaq was founded by the son of an Ottoman sultan who planted his flag and established a garrison at the site of a seasonal bazaar after having defeated a rebellion at Baghdad, and developed into a town as locals moved to the settlement to provide services to the soldiers.[8] A Jewish community at Koy Sanjaq is first mentioned in the late 18th century, by which time it was already well established.[8] The community had its own graveyard,[3] and spoke both Jewish Neo-Aramaic and Sorani Kurdish.[9] A small Chaldean Catholic community was established in the town in the 19th century.[10] In 1913, 200 Chaldean Catholics populated Koy Sanjaq, and were served by two priests and one functioning church as part of the archdiocese of Kirkuk.[11] The Chaldean Catholic Church of Mar Yousif was constructed in 1923.[6]
The Iraqi census of 1947 recorded a total population of 8198 people, with 7746 Muslims, 268 Jews, and 184 Christians.[12] 80-100 Jews from the village of Betwata took refuge in the town for several months in 1950, increasing the size of the local community to 350–400 people.[12] The Jews of Koy Sanjaq emigrated to Israel in the following year.[12] Koy Sanjaq had a population of 10,379 in 1965.[1] In 1994, the town was struck by Iranian airstrikes targeting the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) base, resulting in the death of a civilian and wounding three KDP militants.[13] In 1999, Assyrians from the nearby village of Armota protested the construction of a mosque in their village at Koy Sanjaq.[14] Koya University was established in 2003.[15]
35 displaced Assyrian families from Mosul were housed in a converted church building in the town in November 2014, and had not been rehoused as of April 2015.[16] On 21 December 2016, a car bomb attack targeted offices of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, killing seven and wounding 15.[17] As of March 2018, 60 Assyrian families inhabit Koy Sanjaq.[7] The Assyrian population largely speak Kurdish, but some continue to speak Syriac.[18] An Iranian ballistic missile attack on the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan and Kurdistan Democratic Party headquarters in the town on 8 September 2018 killed 18 people and injured 50.[19]
Notable people
- Haji Qadir Koyi (1817–1897), Kurdish poet
- Dildar (1918–1948), Kurdish poet
- Fuad Masum (b. 1938), Kurdish politician and President of Iraq (2014–2018)
- Karim Ahmed (1922–2022), Kurdish politician
- Lahur Talabani (b. 1975), Kurdish politician
- Aras Koyi (b. 1972), Kurdish-Swedish singer
- Dlawer Ala'Aldeen (b. 1960), clinical microbiologist and immunologist
