Slemani celebrates its 237th Founding Anniversary

Today, November 14, marks the 237th founding anniversary of the city of Slemani.

Slemani city is in the Kurdistan Region at an altitude of 2895 feet above sea level. 

The mountainous nature prevails in the governorate and rises as we head towards the eastern border with Iran, 140 km east of Kirkuk, and at a distance of 60 km northwest of the city of Slemani, the Dukan Dam is located on the Zab River. 

Ancient history

The modern city of Slemani was founded on November 14, 1784, by the Kurdish Emir Ibrahim Pasha Baban, who named the city after his father, Suleiman Pasha, one of the Emirs of the Baban dynasty, which had an emirate during that period in the Slemani region.

Slemani was made the capital of the Kurdish Emirate of Baban after its founding. The capital of the Baban was Qalachwalan town which is now a part of the Slemani governorate. Qalachwalan was a battlefield during the Ottoman-Safavid conflicts, so Ibrahim Pasha Baban began establishing a new city in 1783 to become the capital of the Emirate of Baban and in 1785, he completed the establishment of trade markets and the governor’s palace and also established a market there, so the residents of the neighboring villages began to move to the new city. Slemani remained the capital of the Baban Emirate until 1851.

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the city of Slemani was a center of national culture and Kurdish political movements, from which King Mahmud announced his revolution against the British occupation and declared an independent state, and the British occupation declared its recognition of this state.

Mountains and plains surrounding the city 

The city of Slemani is located between a latitude of (34-36) degrees and a longitude of (45-46) degrees of the globe and is 355 km northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. It is also surrounded by a series of mountains, with Azmar and Goizha mounts located in the northeast and Baranan in its south, while the Sharazur plain extends to the west of the city. Mount Piramagrun is the highest mountain peak in the governorate located northwest of the city. It is considered a mountainous region with cold weather and snowfall in the winter and mild and moderate heat in summer.

Slemani is a city with fertile lands. It has Sharazur and Betwen plains, which are among the most fertile plains in the Middle East. 

Historically, Slemani was characterized by agriculture and the most important of which is wheat cultivation, especially after 2003. The city now depends on agriculture and tourism in addition to small local factories.

Tourist attraction sites 

Slemani has become a tourist center for tourists from all over Iraq. The Ahmed Awa waterfalls and Dukan and Derbandikhan lakes made the city a focus of attention and a tourist destination during summers. 

The Slemani Museum, which is the second-largest museum in Iraq, has many Kurdish and ancient Persian artifacts which date back to 1792-1750 BC. 

Mount Azmar, which is one of the tourist heights in the city, has moderate and clear weather, where tourists visit it in the winter to enjoy the view of snowfall and in the summer to enjoy the moderate weather and gorgeous landscapes.

Amna Suraka Museum is also one of the famous museums in the city that used to be a prison during the former Iraqi Baath regime rule where many Kurds were tortured and killed. The city has many more tourist attraction areas.

The city depends on land and air transportation. There is also the Slemani International Airport which is located in the western part of the city and runs daily flights to parts of Iraq and other countries of the world. The airport was opened on July 21, 2006.

Slemani dialect  

Slemani is considered an important center for the Sorani-Kurdish dialect, as the city has produced many writers and novelists such as Nali, Mawlawi, Kurdi, Piramerd, Goran, Faiq Bekas, Sherko Bekas, and many others.



PUKmedia