Kirkuk (arabisch كركوك‎, DMG Kirkūk, kurdisch: Kerkûk, türkisch: Kerkük) ist eine Stadt im Norden des Irak und das Zentrum der irakischen Erdölindustrie.

 The population Kirkuks was 2003 with 755.700 inhabitants. The Kurds have the largest population portion. Mostly Arabs and Turkomanen form the remainder. Smaller minorities are among other things the Assyrern.

When the Arabs in the course of the Islamic expansion conquered the Near East in the 7th century, they called Kirkheni (citadel) the city. Other Arab names were Bajermi or Jermakan, which descends from the Kurdish name Garmian (which means warm area) (the environment from Kirkuk is in the comparison to the remaining Kurdistan has a warm weather).

History:
The history of Kirkuk decreases/goes back several thousands of years. Kirkuk was capital of the hurritischen realm of Arrapcha. By archives of Nuzi good information about particularly the economy of Arrapcha is present.

Arrapha became around 1250 v. Chr. by Tukulti Ninurta I. conquered, could thereafter however attain briefly his independence  again. In 10. and 11. Century v. Chr. developed the city under the Assyrern well. The city was on the route of the assyrischen war courses against Urartu and other northern countries. Thus the war course of the Nabopolassar 609 to 607 v Chr took place. against Urartu over Arrapcha, Arbil, Nisibis, Mardin and the Tur Abdin.

But the Assyrer was struck later by an alliance by Medern (Kurdish ancestors) and Babylonier. Thus the city Arrapcha fell to the Meder and after them to the Achamäniden.

In the 7th Jhr n. Chr. the area fell under Arab-Islamic rule. Up to the end 14. Jhr. Kirkuk from Daquq was administered. In the late Middle Ages Kirkuk belonged to the Ottoman Wilayet Schahrazor, since that 16. Jhr was Kerkuk acapital of Schahrazor.

In April 2003 the city in the course of the Iraq war of allied troops and Kurdish fighters was conquered. The Kurds were main participants in the fight for the freeing of Iraq, when they formed the north front and among other things by skillful diplomacy they took over Mosul and Kirkuk practically combatless.

Arab immigrants:
The two most important Arab families were the Tikriti and the Hadidi (الحديدي). The Tikriti walked, like their name says, in 17. Jhr from Tikrit after Kirkuk. Other Arab families, which settle here during the Ottoman rule, are the Al-Ubaid (العبيد) and the Al-Jiburi (الجبور). The Al-Ubaid was driven out of other Arab originating from their homeland northwest of Mosul. They settled in the quarter Hawija.

But the largest wave of Arab immigrants happened in the course of the settlement politics of Saddam Hussein in to 90's the 60's 20. Jhr.

Turkish immigration:
As Kirkuk in 16. Century was conquered by the Safawiden, began the settlement with Turkish trunks. The Safawiden tried to win their Shiite denomination  over the Sunni population .

From the Turkish view there were three immigration periods. The first Turkmenen came as soldiers of the umajjadischen and abbasidischen Kalifen to Kirkuk. But these first immigrants were up-sucked and intregiert by the original population. The second immigration wave came with the Seldschuken, when Tughrul Beg occurred 1055 in today's Iraq. The Seldschuken kept the city Kirkuk 63 years long. In Ottoman time pulled then ever more Turkmenen after Kirkuk to.

Economy:
The oil fields of Kirkuk were discovered 1927 and taken 1934 in enterprise. They are since then the center of northIraqi oil production. The fields have a volume of approx. 16 billion barrel. A part of it is meanwhile however already promoted, so that today (1998) still well 10 billion barrel in the fields are.

Pipelines from the city run by Turkey to Ceyhan at the Mediterranean and were one of the two main export routes for Iraqi oil in the UN program oil for Food of the last years. Furthermore Kirkuk is market center of an area, in which sheep breed, grain and cultivation of fruit are operated.

Khanaqin is a Kurdish city sited in Southern Kurdistan (Northern Iraq) on the Iraq-Iran border. Khanaqin districts occupied 3915 km2 between latitude 33,56° and 35,6° north. The Khanaqin region lies between the Helebje District in the north, the Hamreen mountain range make the border in some place in the south with Mendelidistrict, the Sirwan (Diyala) river in the west, and the Iraq- Iran border thought to be the est border of the Khanaqin region . Its population has been estimated to 175 000 inhabitants.

People of all religions have been lived, side by side, in this city. However, most people of Khanaqin are Shia Muslims. There is a church located in the central part of the city for the Christian Community. The Jewish Community has been forced to leave the city and Iraq to Israel by the Iraqi governments after the establishment of Israel. "Khanaqin and the Jewish Community" is a book, by Ben-Baruch, published in Israel in Hebrew about the Jewish Community lived in the city.

Enormous demographic changes have occurred in Khanaqin in the past three decades, and up to this day, due to an Ethnic Cleansing operation started by the Iraqi government in order to change the kurdish identity of Khanaqin, and Karkuk, two Kurdish cities rich in oil. The process is locally and internationally known by "Arabisation". (Deportation of the kurdish population and replace them by Arab from south of Iraq to minimize amount of Kurds in this city and with them change the Kurdish appearance at all).

People of Khanaqin speak Kalhurri and Gorani, a special dialect of the Kurdish language, which is an Indo-European language. These dialects are wrongly called Lurri or Faily by many Kurds

Khanaqin is divided into two parts by the river Alwan, this river has played a significant role in land cultivation and in establishment of a strong rural society in the area. In addition, the river is considered by the people of Khanaqin as a symbol for their unity and Kurdish identity