Altun Kupri

Altun Kupri (Arabic: التون كوبري‎,[3] Turkish: Altınköprü, lit. 'Golden Bridge',[4] Kurdish: پردێ ,Pirdê‎[5][6]) is a town in Kirkuk Governorate, Iraq. Its inhabitants are predominantly Turkmen,[7][8] with a minority of Arab and Kurds.[9] It is located on the shores of the Little Zab and on the Erbil–Kirkuk road.[10][11] The town is described as having an 'intrinsic strategic significance'[12] and is disputed.[13]

Altun Kupri
Town
Altun Kupri
Location in Iraq
Coordinates: 35°45′12″N 44°08′37″E
Country Iraq
GovernorateKirkuk Governorate
DistrictDibis
Elevation284 m (935 ft)
Population
 (2013)[2]
 • Total9,275

After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the town was controlled by Peshmerga until the 2017 Iraqi-Kurdish conflict.[14][13]

Etymology

There are different theories on the Turkish name of the town. Some believe that the name 'Golden Bridge' refers to a Kurdish or Turkish woman of that name, while others believe it refers to the colorful caravans that passed the town and its bridge on their way between Mosul and Baghdad.[15]

History

Ottoman Murad IV built two bridges in the town which made it gain importance. It was visited by many European travellers and known for its scenery.[15]

Altun Kupri had about 400 and 500 households by the end of the 18th century. Mirza Abu Taleb Khan visited the town in 1799, describing it as a big village with a mixed Kurdish and Turkmen population busy with farming. Moreover, it was a trading center between Kurdistan and Baghdad for figs, grapes and other agricultural products. In 1906, the town had 4,000 inhabitants.[16] The Ottomans destroyed the town's famous stone-built bridges in 1918 and replaced by modern steel constructions.[15]

The town experienced Arabization during the Saddam era and an increased militarization to counter Kurdish nationalist activities from spreading towards Kirkuk city.[17]

More than a hundred Turkmens were massacred in 1991 during the Gulf War by the Iraqi Army.[18]

Kurdish community

Kurds constituted 70% of the population in 1947, while that number fell to 50% in 1957. In 1965, the percentage of Kurds fell further to 25.7% but increased again to 75.6% in 1977.[19] In the December 2005 parliamentary election, the Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan received 80% of the vote in the sub-district of Altun Kupri.[20]

References
  1. "Maps, Weather, and Airports for Altun Kubri, Iraq". www.fallingrain.com. Retrieved Apr 3, 2019.
  2. "World Gazetteer # Altun kupri". Archived from the original on 2013-02-09. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  3. "تركمان العراق يحييون الذكرى الـ28 لمجزرة "ألتون كوبري"". Anadolu Agency. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  4. Blackie, Christina (1887-01-01). Geographical Etymology: A Dictionary of Place-names Giving Their Derivations. John Murray.
  5. "ناحیەی پردێ جارێكی دیكە ئاگر لە دەغڵودانی جوتیاران بەربوو" (in Kurdish). Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  6. "Pêşmerge: Li Pirdê pêşmergeyan êrîşên dagirkeran têk şikandin". Rûpela nû (in Kurdish). 20 October 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  7. "Iraq after ISIL: Kirkuk". Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  9. "Clashes between Kurdish and Iraqi forces near Erbil". The National News. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  10. "Altun Kupri town, dated July 1919 / Catalog Record Only". Library of Congress. 1919. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  11. "Kirkuk – Erbil road re-opens days after bridge maintenance". Kurdistan24. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  12. Knights, Michael (2010). "Kirkuk in Transition Confidence Building in Northern Iraq" (PDF). Policy Focus. p. xi. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  13. "Report: Altun Kupri town seized from Kurdish Peshmerga". Al Jazeera. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  14. Kane, Sean (2011). "Iraq's Disputed Territories" (PDF). p. 51. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  15. Longrigg, S.H. "Alti̊̊n (Altūn) Köprü". Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_0568.
  16. Rasoul, Rasoul Muhammed (2017). "History of Kirkuk from the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century until Becoming Part of the Iraqi Monarchy in 1925" (PDF). University of Erfurt: 6–7. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  17. Knights, Michael (2010). "Kirkuk in Transition Confidence Building in Northern Iraq" (PDF). Policy Focus. p. 9. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  18. "28 years on, Iraq's Kirkuk remembers Turkmen massacre". Anadolu Agency. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  19. Ihsan, Mohammad, Administrative Changes in Kirkuk and Disputed Areas in Iraq 1968-2003, pp. 24–25
  20. Kane, Sean (2011). "Iraq's Disputed Territories" (PDF). p. 28. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
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