Suq Al-Shuyukh District (Arabic: قضاء سوق الشيوخ, romanized: Suq eš-Šuyūḵ; also called Suq al-Shoyokh District) is a district of the Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq. Suq al-Shuyukh is a city surrounded by date palm orchards and located on the right bank of the Euphrates, at the western end of the Hawr al-Hammar lake and wetlands,[1] about 40 km southeast of Nasiriya.[1] Suq al-Shuyukh is a center of date and rice cultivation, which takes place in the areas to the north and west of the lake.[1]
Suq Al-Shuyukh District
قضاء سوق الشيوخ | |
|---|---|
  Suq Al-Shuyukh District | |
| Coordinates: 30°53′25″N 46°27′45″E / 30.89028°N 46.46250°E | |
| Country |  Iraq |
| Governorate | Dhi Qar Governorate |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (AST) |
History
editSuq al-Shuyukh was founded in the early 18th century to serve as the suq (i.e. marketplace) of the Muntafiq tribal confederation.[1] The leader of the entire Muntafiq confederation resided at Kut al-Shuyukh, four hours to the east.[1] The name "Shuyukh" refers to the members of his clan.[1]
Toward the end of the 18th century, Suq al-Shuyukh was "a small town with a mosque and surrounded by earthen walls".[1] In the early 1800s, the town was described as "extremely dirty", and the Muntafiq's shaykh "disdained to live in the town".[1] According to contemporary accounts, it was inhabited by 6,000 families and was a center for commercial exchange with Basra and even Bushir and Bombay.[1]
During the 1800s, the town of Suq al-Shuyukh was separated into Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and Mandaean quarters, as reported during Julius Heinrich Petermann's 1854 visit to the town.[2] The Mandaean quarter was known as Margab[3] or Ṣubbūye[1] and was located on the opposite bank of the Euphrates.[1] Petermann's visit came shortly after a mass emigration of the town's Mandaean population around 1853: before, there had been about 260 Mandaean families, many of them serving as silversmiths or boat-builders, but 200 of them had relocated to al-Amarah due to persecution by the Muntafiq.[1] Petermann estimated the town's population to be 3,000.[1] By this point, the shaykh owned a house in the town.[1] During his visit, Petermann met with Shaykh Yahya Bihram, the high priest of the Mandaeans.[1]
Around the end of the 19th century, V. Cuinet listed Suq al-Shuyukh's population at about 12,000.[1] This included some 2,250 Sunnis, who had two mosques (jami's); 8,770 Shi'is, who had one "sanctuary" (masjid); 200 Jews; and 700 Mandaeans.[1]
Under Ottoman rule, Suq al-Shuyukh was made the seat of a kaza in the sanjak of Muntafiq.[1] It was later involved in the Iraqi revolt of 1920 as well as the 1935-1936 Iraqi Shia revolts.[1]
Notable people
editNotable historical residents of Suq al-Shuyukh District include:[4]
- Yahya Bihram, Mandaean priest
Sports
editSuq al-Shuyukh is home to the Suq Al-Shuyukh Stadium, and also the two football clubs Suq Al-Shuyukh FC[5][6] and Al-Forat FC.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Kramers, J.H. (1997). "SŪḲ AL-SHUYŪKH". In Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P.; Lecomte, G. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. IX (SAN-SZE) (PDF). Leiden: Brill. pp. 801–2. ISBN 90-04-10422-4. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ Petermann, Heinrich. Reisen in Orient. Vols. 1–2. Leipzig: Von Veit and Co., 1865.
- ^ Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (1999). "Glimpses of A Life: Yahia Bihram, Mandaean priest". History of Religions. 39: 32–49. doi:10.1086/463572.
- ^ Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2010). The great stem of souls: reconstructing Mandaean history. Piscataway, N.J: Gorgias Press. ISBN 978-1-59333-621-9.
- ^ "سوق الشيوخ ينتزع بطاقة التأهل للمجموعة الجنوبية على حساب الناصرية". mawazin.net (in Arabic). May 21, 2015.
- ^ "نادي سوق الشيوخ يتأهل للدور المؤهل للدوري الممتاز". nasiriaelc.com (in Arabic). May 21, 2015.
- ^ Al-Forat club's page on Goalzz.com