Hit هيت | |
|---|---|
City | |
 Hit in 2020 | |
  Hit | |
| Coordinates:33°38′42″N42°49′35″E / 33.64500°N 42.82639°E /33.64500; 42.82639 | |
| Country |  Iraq |
| Province | al-Anbar |
| District | Hīt District |
| Population (2018) | |
• Total | 66,700 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (GMT+3) |
| Postal code | 31007 |
| Ancient name | Is |
Hit orHeet (Arabic:هيت,Hīt) is a city inAl Anbar Governorate ofIraq. Situated on the banks of theEuphrates River, it lies northwest ofRamadi, the provincial capital. The city is administrative capital forHit District. A major city in the central region, it has a population over 100,000.
Straddling theEuphrates, the city of Hit was originally a small walled town surrounded by a halt moat and built on two mounds on the site of the ancient city of Is. In ancient times, the town was known for itsbitumen wells; bitumen from the wells was used in the construction ofBabylon over 3000 years ago, and for tasks such ascaulking boats. Hit also became a frontier fortress forAssyria. Now, Hit is a marketplace for agricultural produce. Oil pipelines to theMediterranean Sea cross the Euphrates there. It was regarded as thehead of navigation on the river before the decline in river traffic.[1]
Hit marks the beginning of the high sedimentary plain on the Euphrates,[2] and it contains a number ofhot springs.[3] The city of Hit is also famous for its ancient yet still functioningnorias, a kind of water wheel that used to play an important role in the irrigation of fields and palm groves, particularly when water levels of the Euphrates receded.[4] The walled town, which had already suffered extensive damage during theOttoman Empire, was abandoned in the 1920s, leading to its rapid deterioration.[5]
In ancient times, the area around Hit was very fertile and was used for agriculture. During theEarly Dynastic Period theSumerians discoveredbitumen wells in the region, which they used in building theZiggurats. They also used it in shipbuilding, to waterproof their boats. During the era of theAkkadian Empire, whenSargon of Akkad (2279–2334 BC) unified ancient Iraq by conquering many Sumerian cities, he established a city near modern-day Hit which he calledTutul,[clarification needed] meaning "City of Buckets".
This is the first name which is known for this city. Its importance was attested by Sargon himself, who said that the godDagon gave him the area which comprised Tutul and Mari, capital of the Amorites. There is also an inscription byNaram-Sin which mentions Tutul, as one of the cities bequeathed to him by Dagon. The Akkadian kings after Naram-Sin were weak, which led to the establishment of a renewed Sumerian kingdom in 2120 BC. This kingdom included Tutul, and lasted until about 1950 BC.
In 1850 BC, the city-state ofEshnunna, which had begun in the Diyala Valley, took control of Tutul.Babylonia achieved preeminence in the area for a time, and was followed byAssyria. The Assyrian kingTiglath-Pileser I (r. 1114–1076 B.C.) changed the name of Tutul toEru.[clarification needed] During the era ofAramean expansion in the 11th century BC, they settled in Eru for a time before moving to southern Iraq. When theNeo-Assyrian Empire was established in 911 BC, they reasserted control of Eru. Cuneiform tablets from the time ofTukulti-Ninurta II (891–884 BC) mention the city and its bitumen wells. During this period the city was known asAtum orHitum, meaning bitumen. The modern name Hit comes from Hitum. Hitum remained part of the Bablyonian-Chaldean empire until its fall in 539 BC.[6]
The Greek historianHerodotus used the nameIs (Ἴς) for the city, while other Greeks called it Isiopolis. Jewish scholars considered the Hit to be adjacent to theLand of Kir.[7] During the era of theParthian Empire, it was a waystation on the road toCtesiphon. It was sacked multiple times during theByzantine–Sasanian wars. DuringJulian's Persian War in 363, the Roman army encamped at Hit and destroyed much of the city. It was rebuilt byShapur II.[8]
As part of theMuslim conquest of Persia, Hit was conquered by the Arab army in 636. The defenders dug a moat around the city, but the Muslim army was able to penetrate it. In 639, the Muslim commanderal-Harith ibn Yazid al-Amiri built the city's first mosque,Farouq Mosque [ar].
Hit prospered during the medieval period.Ibn Hawqal remarked on its large population, andHamdallah Mustawfi counted over 30 villages as its dependencies. The city produced a great deal of fruit; its noted agricultural products included nuts,dates,oranges, andeggplants. However, the neighboring bitumen springs produced an overpowering stench that made Hit unpleasant to live in.[9]
In October 2014,the city had fallen to theIslamic State, but was recaptured after amilitary offensive by theIraqi Army in April 2016.[10][11]
Hit is mostly populated by the Al-Sawatra tribe.
Hit has ahot desert climate (Köppen climate classificationBWh). Most rain falls in the winter. The average annual temperature in Hit is 21.9 °C (71.4 °F). About 115 mm (4.53 in) of precipitation falls annually.
| Climate data for Hit | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 14.1 (57.4) | 17.7 (63.9) | 22.4 (72.3) | 28.2 (82.8) | 35.2 (95.4) | 40.3 (104.5) | 42.8 (109.0) | 42.7 (108.9) | 39.2 (102.6) | 32.5 (90.5) | 23.5 (74.3) | 16.2 (61.2) | 29.6 (85.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.2 (37.8) | 4.6 (40.3) | 8.7 (47.7) | 13.9 (57.0) | 19.1 (66.4) | 22.8 (73.0) | 25.4 (77.7) | 24.8 (76.6) | 21.0 (69.8) | 15.5 (59.9) | 9.1 (48.4) | 4.5 (40.1) | 14.4 (57.9) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 15 (0.6) | 18 (0.7) | 20 (0.8) | 27 (1.1) | 1 (0.0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (0.1) | 14 (0.6) | 17 (0.7) | 115 (4.5) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org, Climate data | |||||||||||||
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