SULAYMANIYA

Sulaymaniya: translation

Sulaymaniya, orSlemaniin Kurdish, with a population of some 825,000, is the second largest city in the area ruled by theKurdistan Regional Government(KRG) of northernIraq. It is also the name of one of the three provinces that make up the KRG. Often called the cultural capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, Sulaymaniya is located in theSoranior southeastern area of northern Iraq. Compared to ancientIrbil, the largest city in the KRG region, Sulaymaniya is a much newer city, as it was only founded in 1785 when it became the capital of theBaban emirate.The city was named for Buyuk Suleyman Pasha, who was the governor of Baghdad in 1780-1802. After the last Babanmirwas deposed in 1850, the Barzinji family ofsheikhscame to wield great power.

In more modern times, Sulaymaniya was the seat ofSheikh Mahmud Barzinji, who led several failed uprisings againstGreat Britainduring the 1920s. More recently, the city served as the capital of the regional administration ofJalalTalabani'sPatriotic Union of Kurdistan(PUK). It is the site of one of the major universities in Iraqi Kurdistan and in the past few years has shared amply in the relative prosperity brought on by the KRG autonomy and the receipt of 17 percent of the national budget in post-Saddam HusseinIraq. The city also has a modern international airport.