View source for Rawandiz

{{Infobox settlement
| name = Rawandiz
| settlement_type                 = City
| image_skyline                   = File:Rawanduz - Kurdistan.jpg
| imagesize                       =
| image_caption                   = View of Rawandiz
| pushpin_map                     = #Iraq
| pushpin_label_position          = right
| pushpin_relief = 1
| pushpin_map_caption             = Location in Iraq
| coordinates                     = {{coord|36|36|43|N|44|31|29|E|region:IQ|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type                = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name                = {{IRQ}}
| subdivision_type1               = Autonomous region
| subdivision_type2               = [[Governorates of Iraq|Governorate]]
| subdivision_type3               = [[Districts of Iraq|District]]
| subdivision_type4               =
| subdivision_name1               = [[Kurdistan Region]]
| subdivision_name2               = [[Erbil Governorate]]
| subdivision_name3               = [[Rawandiz District]]
| subdivision_name4               =
| established_title               =
| established_date                =
| leader_title                    =
| leader_name                     =
| area_total_km2                  =
| elevation_footnotes             =
| elevation_m                     = 658
| elevation_ft                    =
| population_total                = 95,089
| population_as_of                = 2003
| population_footnotes            =
| population_density_km2          =
| website                         =
| footnotes                       =
| timezone                        = [[UTC+03:00|UTC+3]]
| utc_offset                      =
| official_name                   =
}}
'''Rawandiz''' ({{langx|ku|ڕەواندز|Rewandiz}})<ref>{{cite news |title=لە هەوارگەی (شنگلبانە)ی گەشتیاری یەکەمەکانی سنووری ڕەواندز خەڵات دەکرێن |url=http://www.basnews.com/index.php/so/news/kurdistan/379619 |access-date=19 December 2019 |language=ku}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Welatiyên Rewandiz li benda nexweşxaneyê ne |url=https://rojnews.news/ku/civak-jiyan/welatiyen-rewandiz-li-benda-nexwesxaneye-ne-36681 |access-date=19 December 2019 |work=ROJ News |date=1 December 2019 |language=ku}}</ref> is a city in the [[Kurdistan Region]] of [[Iraq]], located in the [[Erbil Governorate]] in [[Soran, Iraq|Soran]] district, close to the [[Iran–Iraq border|borders with Iran]] and [[Iraq–Turkey border|Turkey]]. It is only 7&nbsp;km from the city center of Soran city and it is located 10&nbsp;km to the east of the [[Bekhal Waterfall]]. The city is 123&nbsp;km from Erbil. The city along with the Soran district is surrounded by the [[Zagros Mountains|Zagros mountain range]]; Korek Mountain is to the south, Hindren Mountain to the north, Zozik Mountain to the west, and Bradasot Mountain to the east. Rawandiz is populated by [[Kurds]].
==Etymology==
The name 'Rawandiz' derives from the name of the Rawandiz (Rawadiya) Kurdish tribe, of which [[Saladin]] and the [[Ayyubids]] originated. The tribe's name is a corruption of the [[Old Persian]] root, Erwend 'a pass,' and which was usually Hellenized into Orodes and Orontes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mNkxAQAAMAAJ&q=orontes+rawandiz&pg=PA381|title = A Personal Narrative of the Euphrates Expedition|last1 = Ainsworth|first1 = William|year = 1888}}</ref> The tribe was itself a branch of the [[Hadhabani (tribe)|Hadhabani]] confederation.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title = AYYUBIDS | last = Humphreys | first = R. S. | url = https://iranicaonline.org/articles/ayyubids | encyclopedia  = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. III, Fasc. 2 | pages = 164–167 | year = 1987 }}</ref>
==History==
[[File:Canyon, north eastern Kurdistan.jpg|thumb|left|Canyon of Rawandiz Valley]]
In the time of the [[Neo Assyrian Empire]], from the 10th to the 7th centuries BC, the area lay on the trading route to [[Nineveh]].<ref>{{cite book
|title= The kingdom of Armenia: a history
|publisher=Croom Helm
|year=1987
|last=Chahin
|first=M.
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=OR_PHoKZ6ycC&q=rowanduz&pg=PA120
|access-date=2009-09-06|isbn=9780700714520
}}</ref>
[[File:Rowanduz Gorge.jpg|thumb|250px|Rowanduz Gorge near the city of [[Diana, Iraq|Soran]] in the North of Iraq]]
The area came under the rule of the [[Emirate of Bradost]] after the [[Battle of Chaldiran]] in 1514.<ref name="orientemoderno">{{cite journal|last1=Dehqan|first1=Mustafa|last2=Genç|first2=Vural|date=2019|title=The Kurdish Emirate of Brādōst, 1510-1609|url=https://brill.com/view/journals/ormo/99/3/article-p306_4.xml|journal=Oriente Moderno|volume=99|issue=3|pages=306–320|doi=10.1163/22138617-12340222|s2cid=213564665 |access-date=30 January 2021}}</ref> The town would later come under the rule of the [[Soran Emirate]] until 1836.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Bosworth|first=C.E.|date=1965|title=Rawāndiz|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/*-COM_0914|journal=[[Encyclopedia of Islam]]|edition=2|volume=|pages=|doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0914|via=}}</ref>
In 1915, during the [[First World War]], the town was occupied by the Russians and Assyrians.<ref>{{cite web
|title= Assyrians & the Assyrian Identity in the Ottoman Empire
|publisher=Zinda magazine
|date=1999-11-16
|url= http://www.zindamagazine.com/html/archives/1999/znda1116.html
|access-date=2009-09-06}}</ref> The Rawandiz massacre took place, where the Kurdish Muslim population was massacred by the Russian army and allied Assyrian militants; after Nikolai Baratov's [[Cossacks]] recaptured the town, only 20 percent of the Kurdish population managed to survive.<ref>Shattering Empires: The Clash and Collapse of the Ottoman and Russian Empires 1908-1918, Michael A. Reynolds, page 158, 2011. Quote "The Russian's local allies often abetted this line of thinking. One Assyrian officer urged his superiors to drop the Russian rule of concilatings one's enemy peacefully in favor of all-out warfare on Muslims. The British Major E. W. C Noel described the extermination of the town of Rowanduz and the wholesale massacre of its [Muslim] inhabitants by what he dubbed Christian Army of Revenge of Agha Petros as one example of a long record of outrages</ref> In 1922 the town was occupied by the [[Government of the Grand National Assembly|Turks]], until they were driven out at the end of the year.<ref>{{cite web
|title= The Development of Air Control in Iraq.
|publisher=National Archives (UK)
|date=October 1922
|url= http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar/transcripts/aftermath/air_power_iraq.htm
|access-date=2009-09-06}}</ref> The British army occupied the town on 22 April 1923. The British decided to stay in place to await the arrival of a special commission to fix the border between Turkey and Iraq, believing that if they left the Turkish troops would return.<ref>{{cite web
|title= The Kurdish Problem and the Mosul Boundary: 1918-1925
|publisher=Ithaca
|last=Sluglett
|first=Peter
|year=1976
|url= http://www.nointervention.com/archive/websites/Iraq_British_colonialism/www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/history/1976oilbound.htm
|access-date=2009-09-08}}</ref>
Between 1928 and 1932 the British built a strategic road from [[Erbil]], through Rawandiz, to the Iranian border near modern-day [[Piranshahr]]. The construction of the road was directed by the New Zealand engineer [[A. M. Hamilton]].<ref name="Hamilton">{{cite book
|title= Road through Kurdistan: travels in Northern Iraq
|year=1930
|last=Hamilton
|first=Archibald Milne
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bfNajoa3BtIC
|access-date=2009-09-06|isbn=9781850436379
}}</ref> In 1940, the population was 1970.<ref name=":0" />
As of July 2007, Rawandiz was undergoing major reconstruction. The [[bazaar]] was being relocated to make room for a new road. In July 2011, in a response to a Turkish military offensive, local artists decided to paint the debris from the raids.<ref>{{cite web
|publisher=AKNews
|title= Rawandiz artists paint Turkish air raid debris in peaceful protest
|date=2011-08-24
|url=http://cdn.aknews.com/en/aknews/1/258694/
|access-date=2011-09-25}}</ref> In 1930, A. M. Hamilton noted: "it has always been a place of grim deeds and bloody retributions. Its greater and its lesser rulers alike have nearly all met with violent deaths and even today this reputation is being well earned".<ref name="Hamilton"/> The anthropologist [[Edmund Leach]] went to Rawandiz in 1938, to study the Rawandiz Kurds, intending to make this the subject of his thesis. His field trip had to be aborted because of the [[Munich crisis]], but he nevertheless published his monograph "Social and Economic Organization of the Rowanduz Kurds" two years later.<ref>{{cite book
|title= Edmund Leach: An Anthropological Life
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|year=2002
|last=Tambiah
|first=Stanley Jeyaraja
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WBfBkGvRmowC&pg=PA39
|access-date=2009-09-06|isbn=9780521521024
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Leach|first=Edmund|year=1940|title=Social and Economic Organization of the Rowanduz Kurds|url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1105353.Social_and_Economic_Organization_of_the_Rowanduz_Kurds|access-date=2009-09-06|publisher=London School of Economics}}</ref>
==Climate==
Like most of Iraqi Kurdistan, Rawanduz has a hot-summer [[Mediterranean climate]] (''Csa'') with very hot dry summers and cool, wet winters. The winters see lows below [[freezing]] in many nights, making [[frost]] prevalent. Snowfall occurs occasionally.
{{Weather box
|location = Rawandiz
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan high C = 5.3
|Feb high C = 9
|Mar high C = 13.4
|Apr high C = 20
|May high C = 28.1
|Jun high C = 33
|Jul high C = 36
|Aug high C = 42
|Sep high C = 38
|Oct high C = 28.2
|Nov high C = 18.5
|Dec high C = 11.4
|year high C =
|Jan mean C=-0.3
|Feb mean C=3.5
|Mar mean C=6.7
|Apr mean C=14.5
|May mean C=21.4
|Jun mean C=26.5
|Jul mean C=29.8
|Aug mean C=32.7
|Sep mean C=28.4
|Oct mean C=20.8
|Nov mean C=12.8
|Dec mean C=6.7
|Jan low C = -6
|Feb low C = -2
|Mar low C = 0
|Apr low C = 9
|May low C = 14.7
|Jun low C = 20.0
|Jul low C = 23.6
|Aug low C = 23.4
|Sep low C = 18.9
|Oct low C = 13.4
|Nov low C = 7.2
|Dec low C = 2.0
|year low C =
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 147
|Feb precipitation mm = 169
|Mar precipitation mm = 141
|Apr precipitation mm = 98
|May precipitation mm = 41
|Jun precipitation mm = 0
|Jul precipitation mm = 0
|Aug precipitation mm = 0
|Sep precipitation mm = 1
|Oct precipitation mm = 12
|Nov precipitation mm = 77
|Dec precipitation mm = 108
|year precipitation mm =
|source 1 = Climate Data<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://en.climate-data.org/location/950721/
| publisher = Climate-Data |title = Climate statistics for Rawanduz|access-date = 22 January 2017}}</ref>
|date= 2017
}}
==Tourism==
The striking scenery has been noted by a number of visitors to the region. A. M. Hamilton relates that the Rawanduz gorge was said to be the finest in Asia.<ref>{{cite book
|title= Road through Kurdistan: travels in Northern Iraq
|year=1930
|last=Hamilton
|first=Archibald Milne
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bfNajoa3BtIC&pg=PA52
|access-date=2009-09-08|isbn=9781850436379
}}</ref>
The Pank Tourist Resort, which was opened in 2007,  it was the first such [[resort]] in Iraq. It includes a [[Ferris wheel]] and other rides, including a [[toboggan]] and Bobsled. Also includes a five-star hotel, restaurants, swimming pools, saunas, tennis courts, helipads and mini golf.<ref>{{cite web
|title= All the fun of the fair - it must be Iraq
|work=The Guardian
|date=2007-06-16
|last=Howard
|first=Michael
|url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jun/16/iraq.michaelhoward
|access-date=2009-09-06}}</ref> [[Mount Korek]] is one of the top 10 destinations to visit in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, there is a 4 kilometer long Doppelmayr Teleferic (cable car) from its Bekhal Bottom station to Mount Korek. The mountain is developed as an international destination. The Resort has developed 132 villas and several rides in his project which is called "The Korek Mountain Resort & Spa". There are also restaurants, cafes and helipads. The resort is a summer retreat providing cool environs when the whole region reels under high temperatures. During winters, it turns into a Ski Resort.<ref>{{cite web|publisher= The Korek Mountain Resort & Spa
|url= http://www.thekorekmountain.com/the-resort
|title= The resort - the Korek
}}</ref>
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:بيرويان.jpg|[[Nowruz]] 2021 in Rawanduz District
File:P20503-181554.jpg|Peruyan
File:IMG-20210417-WA0002(وادي رواندز ( خه ره ند.jpg|Rawanduz Gorge
File:(وادي رواندز ( خه ره ند.jpg|Rawanduz Gorge
File:جنديان.png|Jundian
File:Prince_muhammad_prince_of_soran.jpg |The statue of [[Muhammad Pasha of Rawanduz]]
File: مدفع_الأسطة_رجب.jpg|Wasta Rajab Cannon
File:كاولوكا_وخلفها_مدينة_رواندز.jpg|Kawloka and behind it the city of Rawandiz
File:Geli_Ali_Beg_Waterfall_2023.jpg|[[Geli Ali Beg Waterfall]] in [[Rawanduz]]
File:Xerend_Waterfall.jpg|Xerend Waterfall in [[Rawanduz]]
File:زي كردي.jpg|A girl in Kurdish dress in [[Rawanduz]]
</gallery>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Rawandiz| ]]
[[Category:Cities in Iraqi Kurdistan]]
[[Category:Kurdish settlements in Iraq]]
[[Category:Populated places in Erbil Governorate]]
[[Category:Persecution of Kurds in Iraq]]
[[Category:Persecution of Muslims by Christians]]