Duhok (Dihok): Kurdish Capital of the Badinan Region
- Hojîn Rostam
- Jun 5
- 4 min read
Introduction
Duhok (Kurdish: Dihok) is one of the three great cities of Iraqi Kurdistan, the capital of Duhok Governorate and the heart of the Badinan region in the far north of Iraq — the part of Kurdistan that Kurds call Bashur. Ringed by mountains near the Tigris, it sits at the crossroads of Iraq, Turkey, and Syria.
Once a small caravan town, Duhok has grown rapidly into a university city and a place of refuge, taking in waves of Kurds, Assyrians, Yazidis, and — more recently — Syrian refugees and people displaced from Mosul and Sinjar. This profile looks at its setting, its peoples, its history in the Kurdish principality of Badinan, and the city it has become.
Key Takeaways
• Duhok (Kurdish: Dihok; Syriac: Nohadra) is the capital of Duhok Governorate in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
• It is one of the three main cities of Iraqi Kurdistan, alongside Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, and the centre of the Badinan (Bahdinan) region.
• The city is overwhelmingly Kurdish, with long-established Assyrian, Chaldean, Armenian, and Yazidi communities.
• Historically it was part of the Kurdish principality of Badinan and, earlier, the Yazidi principality of Dasini.
• Duhok has become a major centre of refuge, hosting large numbers of Syrian refugees and people displaced from Mosul and Sinjar since 2014.
Quick Facts
Name (Kurdish): Dihok
Other Names: Nohadra (Syriac), Dahuk (Arabic)
Country / Region: Iraq (Bashur / Kurdistan Region)
Governorate: Duhok
Region: Badinan (Bahdinan)
Elevation: approximately 565 m
Population: City ~340,000; governorate ~1.6 million
Communities: Kurdish majority; Assyrian, Chaldean, Armenian, Yazidi
Known For: Badinan heritage, University of Duhok, mountains and Duhok Dam
Governorate Established: 27 May 1969
Contents
Where Is Duhok?
Duhok lies in the far north of Iraq, close to the Tigris and only a short distance from the Turkish and Syrian borders, at an elevation of around 565 metres. The city is cradled in a narrow valley, hemmed in by mountains — the White Mountain (Çiyayê Spî) above it, Zawa to the southeast, and Bekhair to the northeast — with the Duhok River and the Duhok Dam, built in 1988, supplying water to the surrounding plains.
That position, at the meeting point of three countries, has long made Duhok a strategic gateway connecting the Kurdistan Region to the wider world, and gives it real commercial importance within Iraqi Kurdistan.
A Kurdish City of Many Peoples
Duhok is overwhelmingly Kurdish, and is considered one of the most culturally conservative of Iraqi Kurdistan’s cities. Yet it is also strikingly diverse: alongside the Kurdish majority live long-established communities of Assyrians, Chaldeans, Armenians, and Yazidis. Most residents are Muslim, but Christianity and the Yazidi faith are openly practised, with churches across the city and Yazidi shrines throughout the governorate — including Lalish, the holiest site in the Yazidi world.
From Dasini and Badinan to the Modern City
The area around Duhok has been settled since antiquity, and the city served as a centre of the Yazidi principality of Dasini until the sixteenth century; the mountain above it was once known as Mount Dasin. By the late medieval period Duhok had become part of the powerful Kurdish principality of Badinan (Bahdinan), founded by the Hakkari tribe, which ruled much of the region for centuries.
In 1842 the Ottomans dissolved the Badinan emirate and attached its lands to the province of Mosul. For a long time Duhok remained a modest town — in the early twentieth century it numbered only a few thousand people. Its modern era began when Duhok Governorate was created on 27 May 1969, and accelerated after 1991, when the Kurdish region gained autonomy and the rural population moved into the city.
A City of Refuge
Duhok has repeatedly become a sanctuary in times of catastrophe. It absorbed Kurds displaced by the Ba’athist resettlement campaigns, and after 2014 it took in vast numbers of people fleeing the Islamic State — Syrian refugees, families from Mosul, and Yazidi survivors of the Sinjar genocide. Often described as one of the most peaceful cities in Iraq, it has carried this humanitarian role while continuing to grow.
Duhok Today
Today Duhok is a thriving regional hub, home to the University of Duhok (founded in 1992) and the American University of Kurdistan, and a growing destination for tourism. Visitors come for the mountains and waterfalls, the Duhok Dam, the bazaars, and the nearby wonders of the Badinan region — among them the plateau town of Amedi, the gateway town of Zakho, and the Yazidi heartland around Lalish and Sinjar.
Timeline
Antiquity — The Duhok area is settled; later a centre of the Yazidi principality of Dasini.
13th–14th c. — Duhok becomes part of the Kurdish principality of Badinan (Bahdinan).
1842 — The Ottomans dissolve the Badinan emirate and attach the area to Mosul.
27 May 1969 — Duhok Governorate is established.
1988 — The Duhok Dam is completed for irrigation.
1991 — Kurdish autonomy; rapid urban growth begins.
1992 — The University of Duhok is founded.
2014 onward — Duhok shelters Syrian refugees and people displaced from Mosul and Sinjar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Duhok a Kurdish city?
Yes. Duhok is overwhelmingly Kurdish and is one of the three main cities of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, along with Erbil and Sulaymaniyah.
What does the name Duhok mean?
By one popular tradition the name comes from the Kurdish 'du' (two) and 'hok' (lump), from a toll of two measures of grain once taken from passing caravans; another links it to 'Duhok of the Dasini' Yazidis.
What is the Badinan region?
Badinan (Bahdinan) was a Kurdish principality centred on this area, and the name is still used for the Kurmanji-speaking region of northern Iraqi Kurdistan around Duhok.
Why are there so many refugees in Duhok?
Duhok’s relative safety has made it a refuge, especially after 2014, when it took in Syrian refugees and large numbers of people displaced from Mosul and the Yazidi region of Sinjar.
Related People, Places, and Topics
Badinan (Bahdinan) · Amedi · Zakho · Sinjar · Lalish · the Yazidis · Erbil · Bashur (Iraqi Kurdistan).
References and Further Reading
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