Brief Overview on Ranya City

Ranya is the center of Raparin self-administered zone consisting of between and Pishdar territories, Its administrative seat is the town of Ranya which is affiliated to Sulaimani governorate, districts of Sarkapkan, Betwata, Hajyawa, Chwarqurna, Zharawa, Sangasar, Halsho are all affiliated to Raparin self-administration.

Ranya City Has a long History that can be determined by having a lot of archaeological sites in the area, such as, Ranya Citadel, Shmshara hill, Basmusian, Dema hill, Kamamian,Bosken mound  and Darband, these archaeological sites can tell us that people have been living here for a long time that is approximately about 6000 years B.C.

There are different opinions about the name of Ranay, some saying that it’s from an old word relating to the Assyrian age and the word means “Awadani”inhabitant in English, others say its came from the word “Oranos” which is an abbreviation of the word “Oranya”, by the elapsed of time the prefix “O” has been omitted from the word, some others believe that its came from the word “Ra___Nya” means No__Way ,that is because of difficulties faced people who were trying to travel through this era. Despite of the opinions explained above, there are other opinions about the city, such as the word “Ran or Ranamar” its used because the area was a suitable place for growing up animals, there is another opinion saying that  the word comes from “Ran-Aran” means hot.

The history of recognizing Ranya is dated back to the Ottomans age in 1789 when the first mayor of the city was elected, which was formerly affiliated to Sharazoor administration and the center was Kerkuk, later on the city was affiliated to Erbil and finally to Sulaimani in 1956.

Ranya has played a prominent and effective role in the history of Kurdish revolutionary age, including, Shaykh Mahmud’s rebel against British rule and declaring a Kurdish kingdom in northern Iraq, September revolution, new revolution and the consequent uprisings of Kurdsh people. The most distinctive uprising is flamed up in this city in 5th March 1991 and the city was given the title “Uprising Gate”.

Ranya is located in the northeast of Sulaimani which is about 130 Km far from the city Sulaimani, it has a very nice nature, the area is surrounded by beautiful plains, high mountains, rivers and lakes such as Dokan Lake, Asos mountain in the east, Kewarash mountain in the north and Hajila,Makok mountains in the southwest. Ranay has four seasons weather affected by the Mediterranean sea, which is hot in summer, cold and rainy in the winter .

Bitwen plain is basically located in this area it has an extension extends from east to the west, it’s one of the most fertile and widest plains in Iraq. The small river passes through the Bitwen plain which has divided the area into two parts, the east part is called Pishdar and the west part is called Bitwen. People’s life in this area mostly depends on farming, trade, industry and taking care of cattle.

Ranya city has developed in all the fields such as, cultural, architecture, social issues, Medicine and economy. The government has implemented various projects to serve the city concerning educational progress by establishing modern schools, teacher’s institute, computer institute and sports institute.

History of Qaladiza City

Geographical View:

Qaladiza is belonged to Raparin’s self-administered zone and was formerly affiliated to the governorate of Sulaimani, the city is located in the northeast of Iraq between Ranya town and Dokan,the city is surrounded by a range of mountains, in the west kewarash, in the south Asos, in the east Blfat, Chwas, Mamanda, in the north Qndil .

Qaladiza has an area of 4000km2, it has four districts (Hero, Halsho, Zharawa, Esewe, Sangasar), according to the geographical classification the city is located in the mountainous area.

About the name of Qaladiza

There are two main opinions about the name of the city:

1. its combined of two words (qala + dzh) the first word means (Citadel ) the second word means Citadel too in Persian language .
2. its came from the word (Citadel of two rivers) means the ancient remains of the citadel (two rivers) that were joined behind the citadel in the west part of the city.by the elapsed of time the word has been changed to Qaladiza.

Most historical and catastrophic events happened to the city:

1. In 24th April 1979 the city was bombarded by the Iraqi regime using international prohibited weapon.
2. The great uprising in 24th April 1982 which happened in the commemorate day of the bombardment, that could lead the uprising of other Kurdish cities in 1982.
3. In 1989 the city was totally destroyed by the Iraqi regime, the residents of the city were displaced to the settlements of (Khabat, Bazyan, kewrgosk, Daratoo, Jadida).