Duhok دهۆک (Kurdish) دهوك (Arabic) | |
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    Top-bottom, R-L: View over Dohuk American University of Kurdistan, Dohuk • Sharansh Waterfall Dohuk at night • Assyrian Mar Narsai Church | |
  Duhok | |
| Coordinates:36°52′N43°0′E / 36.867°N 43.000°E /36.867; 43.000 | |
| Country |  Iraq |
| Federal region |  Kurdistan Region |
| Governorate | Duhok Governorate |
| District | Duhok District |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Ali Tatar |
| Area | |
• Total | 577 km2 (223 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 565 m (1,854 ft) |
| Population | |
• Estimate (2018)[2] | 340,871 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (Arabian Standard Time) |
| Postcode | 42001 |
| Area code | 062 |
| Website | duhok |
Duhok (Kurdish:دهۆک,romanized: Dihok;[3][4]Arabic:دهوك,romanized: Dohūk;[5]Syriac:ܒܝܬ ܢܘܗܕܪܐ,romanized: Beth Nohadra,[6][7]Lishanid Noshan:דוהוך,romanized: Dohok[8]) is a city inKurdistan Region, Iraq and thecapital city ofDuhok Governorate.
The city of Duhok received its name from theKurdish words 'du' (two) and 'hok' (lump) as a tax payment of two lumps from the basket of each passing caravan that often carry wheat and barley.[9] According to a tradition presented by Sasson Nahum, Duhok was initially namedDuhok-eDasinya, signifying "Duhok of theYezidis". However, after a massacre of theYezidis, the town was abandoned, leading to the settlement of Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the area.[10]
The city is home to diverse ethnic groups, withKurds forming the majority, while other minorities includeAssyrians,Yazidis,Armenians, andArabs.[11] The city also hosts tens of thousands ofrefugees fromSyria, mostlySyrian Kurds, andinternally displaced persons (IDPs), most of whom areYazidis andAssyrians who fled afterISIS took control ofSinjar andMosul,Iraq.[12][13]
According to theKurdistan Regional Government, as of March 2024, theKurdistan Region hosts 631,174 IDPs, with 40% of them living inDuhok Governorate. Additionally, there are 251,475Syrian refugees, of which 131,700 (as of 2022) reside in Duhok Governorate.[14][12]
The city joined theKurdish principality ofBadinan sometime in the 13th or 14th centuries under the foundation of the KurdishHakkari tribe. As observed byEvliya Çelebi inSeyahatnâme (Book of Travels), the principality was divided into:Akre,Zaxo, Shixoyi, Duhok, Zibari, andMuzuri.[15]
In 1820, Rich described Duhok as a small town comprising 300 houses, serving as the principal site for the Doski tribe, accompanied by eighty additional villages. The missionaryHenry Aaron Stern (1851) observed Dohuk's diverse population, which includedJewish residents. Stern further noted that thekiahya, or village mayor, was anAssyrian Christian ofChaldean Catholic affiliation. By 1859,Rabbi Yehiel found twominyans of Jews in the area. The Muslim and Assyrian Christian communities comprised around a hundred households.[10]
In 1929, the settled population reached approximately 3,500 inhabitants, with Kurds forming the majority. Among the 550 households, 65 were Assyrian Christian, and 30 were Jewish.[10]
TheUniversity of Duhok was founded on 31 October 1992.[16]
In March 2024, anancient Assyrian archaeological site was vandalized with Islamist slogans. This incident drew criticism from theAssyrian community, in line with theKurdistan Region's ongoing failure to preserve their ancient artifacts. Notably, in 2016, theHalamata reliefs were spray-painted with the Kurdish flag and subsequently stolen.[17][18]
On 1 April 2025, during theKha b-Nisan (Assyrian New Year) parade in downtown Duhok, a man armed with an axe attackedAssyrians celebrating the event while shouting Islamist slogans, injuring a 17-year-old boy and a 75-year-old woman.[19] The assailant, later identified as aSyrian Kurdish national affiliated with theIslamic State, was quickly subdued by nearby Assyrians.[20] The incident was described as a terrorist attack by the Assyrian deputy governor.[20]
In 2020, researchers discovered in the Balyuz hills, ten kilometers west of Duhok City, an ancient tablet withGreek inscription which dates back to 165 BC. The inscriptions refer toDemetrius, the region's ruler during that time.[21]
Seven kilometers southwest of Duhok,Halamata Cave is anarchaeological site containing the Assyrianrelief carvings known as the Maltai Reliefs, associated with the northern canal system built by the Assyrian kingSennacherib (r. 704–681 BC) to carry water to his capital city ofNineveh".[22]
According to theKöppen-Geiger climate classification system, Duhok, like most ofUpper Mesopotamia, has a hot-summerMediterranean climate (Csa) featuring sweltering, virtually rainless summers and cool to cold, wet winters.Precipitation falls in the cooler months, being heaviest in late winter and early spring. The city can get around two or three snowy days yearly, with more severe falls in the uplands. Summers are virtually rainless, with rain returning in late autumn.
| Climate data for Duhok, 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) | 38 (100) | 41 (106) | 45 (113) | 46 (115) | 44 (111) | 39 (102) | 31 (88) | 24 (75) | 46 (115) |
| Mean daily maximum °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) | 27 (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) | 21 (69) |
| Mean daily minimum °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) | 15 (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) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 92.2 (3.63) | 99.3 (3.91) | 105 (4.1) | 96.4 (3.80) | 44.3 (1.74) | 4.9 (0.19) | 0.1 (0.00) | 0.1 (0.00) | 2.1 (0.08) | 36 (1.4) | 68.9 (2.71) | 95.8 (3.77) | 645.1 (25.33) |
| Average precipitation days | 13.1 | 11.5 | 12.2 | 12 | 7.6 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 6.1 | 8 | 10.2 | 93.2 |
| Average snowy days | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 72.4 | 69.4 | 64.5 | 60.2 | 46 | 30.5 | 25.8 | 26.7 | 30.6 | 46.8 | 62.9 | 72.9 | 50.7 |
| Averagedew point °C (°F) | −0.1 (31.8) | 1.0 (33.8) | 3.8 (38.8) | 7.5 (45.5) | 9.2 (48.6) | 8.2 (46.8) | 9.2 (48.6) | 9.1 (48.4) | 7.6 (45.7) | 7.6 (45.7) | 5.2 (41.4) | 2.0 (35.6) | 5.9 (42.6) |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 50.1 | 53.2 | 56.4 | 57.8 | 70.2 | 89.8 | 95.2 | 94.4 | 90.5 | 71.8 | 59.5 | 50.1 | 69.9 |
| Source 1:My Forecast[23] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:Weatherbase (precipitation-precip days-humidity-dew point-sun)[24] | |||||||||||||
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