Altun_Kupri

Altun Kupri

Altun Kupri

Town in Kirkuk Governorate, Iraq

Altun Kupri (Arabic: التون كوبري,[3] Turkish: Altınköprü, lit. 'Golden Bridge',[4] Kurdish: پردێ, romanized: Pirdê[5][6]) is a town in Kirkuk Governorate, Iraq. Its inhabitants are predominantly Turkmen, with a minority of Arabs and Kurds.[7][8][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' and is disputed.[12][13]

A map of Turkmeneli on a monument in Altun Kupri.
Local resident wearing traditional Turkmen clothes in Altun Kupri.

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Etymology

Altun Kupri is the Anglicized version of the Iraqi Turkmen word for "altın köprü" in standard Turkish language, which is literally 'Golden Bridge' in English.[4]

There are different theories for the town's name. Some believe that 'Golden Bridge' refers to a Turkish or Kurdish 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.[14]

History

Ottoman Sultan 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.[14]

Altun Kupri had approximately 400 to 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. Under the reign of Muhammad Pasha of Soran (1813-1836) he was able to extend his influence to this town and force the Ottoman governor of Baghdad to recognize his control.[15] In 1906, the town had 4,000 inhabitants.[16] The Ottomans destroyed the town's famous stone-built bridges in 1918 and replaced it with modern steel constructions.[14]

In 1925, the town's population was predominantly Turkmen.[17]

The town experienced Arabization during the Saddam era and an increased militarization to counter uprisings in the north from spreading towards Kirkuk.[18]

More than a hundred Turkmen civilians were killed in the 1991 Altun Köpru massacre during the Gulf War by the Iraqi Army.[19]

Demographics

In the 1947 census Kurds constituted 70% of the population but decreased to 50% in 1957. In the census of 1965, the percentage of Kurds fell further to 25.7% but increased again to 75.6% in 1977.[20] In the 2005 elections, the DPAK received 80% of the vote in the sub-district of Altun Kupri.[21]

References

  1. [1]
    "Maps, Weather, and Airports for Altun Kubri, Iraq". Fallingrain.com. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  2. [2]
    "World Gazetteer # Altun kupri". Archived from the original on 2013-02-09. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  3. [3]
    "تركمان العراق يحييون الذكرى الـ28 لمجزرة "ألتون كوبري"". Anadolu Agency. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  4. [4]
    Blackie, Christina (1887-01-01). Geographical Etymology: A Dictionary of Place-names Giving Their Derivations. John Murray.
  5. [5]
    "ناحیەی پردێ جارێكی دیكە ئاگر لە دەغڵودانی جوتیاران بەربوو". Xelk.org (in Kurdish). Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  6. [6]
    "Pêşmerge: Li Pirdê pêşmergeyan êrîşên dagirkeran têk şikandin". Rupelanu.com (in Kurdish). 20 October 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  7. [7]
    "Clashes between Kurdish and Iraqi forces near Erbil". The National News. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  8. [8]
    "Iraq after ISIL: Kirkuk". Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  9. [9]
    "Report : Iraq: Security situation and internally displaced people in Kirkuk province" (PDF). Landinfo.no. June 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  10. [10]
    "Altun Kupri town, dated July 1919 / Catalog Record Only". Library of Congress. 1919. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  11. [11]
    "Kirkuk – Erbil road re-opens days after bridge maintenance". Kurdistan24. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  12. [12]
    "Report: Altun Kupri town seized from Kurdish Peshmerga". Al Jazeera. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  13. [13]
    Knights, Michael (2010). "Kirkuk in Transition Confidence Building in Northern Iraq" (PDF). Policy Focus. p. xi. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  14. [14]
    Longrigg, S.H. (24 April 2012). "Alti̊̊n (Altūn) Köprü". Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_0568.
  15. [15]
    Ghalib, Sabah Abdullah (2011-10-13). "The Emergence of Kurdism with Special Reference to the Three Kurdish Emirates within the Ottoman Empire 1800-1850". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. [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}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  17. [17]
    Question of the Frontier between Turkey and Iraq - League of Nations. 1925. p. 38.
  18. [18]
    Knights, Michael (2010). "Kirkuk in Transition Confidence Building in Northern Iraq". Policy Focus. p. 9. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  19. [19]
    "28 years on, Iraq's Kirkuk remembers Turkmen massacre". Anadolu Agency. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  20. [20]
    Ihsan, Mohammad, Administrative Changes in Kirkuk and Disputed Areas in Iraq 1968-2003, pp. 24–25
  21. [21]
    Kane, Sean (2011). "Iraq's Disputed Territories" (PDF). p. 28. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
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