Shekhan District

Şêxan District
قضاء شيخان
قەزای شێخان
District
Image of Shekhan, the administrative centre of the district.
Image of Shekhan, the administrative centre of the district.
Official logo of Şêxan District
Interactive map of Şêxan District
Country Iraq
GovernorateNineveh Governorate (de jure), Duhok Governorate (de facto)
foundedDecember 16, 1924
SeatAin Sifni
Area
 • Total
1,259 km2 (486 sq mi)
Population
 (2003)WFP program estimation[1]
 • Total
90,590
Time zoneUTC+3 (AST)

The Shekhan District (Arabic: قضاء شيخان, Kurdish: قەزای شێخان, romanized: Qeza Şêxan) is a district in the Nineveh Governorate with its administrative centre at Ain Sifni.[2][1] The district is disputed between Duhok Governorate and Nineveh Governorate, therefore it is one of the disputed territories of northern Iraq.[3]

Shekhan District within Nineveh Governorate

It is bordered by the Amadiya and Dahuk Districts of the Dahuk Governorate to the north, the Akre District to the east, Al-Hamdaniya District to the south, and the Tel Kaif District to the west. Baadre, considered the political capital of the Yazidis, is also in this district.

History

Duhok Governorate's district

The district's historical core corresponds to the former Dasin region, which was transformed into the Sheikhan principality following the arrival of Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir in the Lalish valley in the early 12th century. Following his death in 1162, his descendants combined spiritual and temporal authority, and from the late 13th century onward the resulting polity known as Sheikhan becomes increasingly identifiable in historical sources.[4]

The Shekhan District was formed on December 16, 1924.[1] After the 1935 Yazidi revolt, the district was placed under military control.[5][6]

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1977 36,427—    
1987 54,559+49.8%
2003 90,590+66.0%
Source: [1]

It is mainly populated by Yazidis with a large Assyrian Christian minority.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Basic information about Shekhan District" (PDF). Christian Aid Program in Iraq. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 25, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  2. ^ "Ninewa" (PDF). NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq (NCCI).
  3. ^ "(In)stability factor 1: Administrative and governance vacuum | Trapped in a vicious cycle". www.clingendael.org. Retrieved 2026-03-18.
  4. ^ Ali, Majid Hassan (2018). Religious Minorities in Republican Iraq Between Granting Rights and Discrimination : a socio-political and historical study (Thesis). Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, Fakultät Geistes- und Kulturwissenschaften. pp. 42-43
  5. ^ Wehrey, Frederic M. (2002). "The Insurgent State: Politics and communal dissent in Iraq, 1919-1936" (PDF). DTIC. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012.
  6. ^ Fuccaro, Nelida (1997). "Ethnicity, State Formation, and Conscription in Postcolonial Iraq: The Case of the Yazidi Kurds of Jabal Sinjar" (PDF). International Journal of Middle East Studies. 29 (4): 559–580. doi:10.1017/S002074380006520X. JSTOR 164402.
  7. ^ Shefler, Gil (August 7, 2014). "Islamic State accused of capturing Yazidi women and forcing them to convert, or else". Washington Post. Religion News Service. Retrieved October 7, 2014.


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