Simele
Simele or Semel (Kurdish: سێمێل, romanized: Sêmêl, Arabic: سميل, Syriac: ܣܡܠܐ) is a town located in the Dohuk province of Kurdistan Region in Iraq.
The town is on the main road that connects Kurdistan Region to its neighbor Turkey. It is 14 km (8.7 mi) west of Dohuk. The town had a population of 71,557 in July 2018.
Simele سێمێل | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Semel in 2012 | |
  Location in Iraq  Simele (Iraq) | |
| Coordinates: 36°51′30″N 42°51′0.35″E / 36.85833°N 42.8500972°E | |
| Country |  Iraq |
| Autonomous region |  Kurdistan Region |
| Governorate | Dohuk Governorate |
| Population (2018) | 71,557 |
Etymology
The word "Sêmêl" may originate from the Kurdish words "sê" and "mil" meaning "three hills", or "sê mal" meaning "three homes".
Information
Simele was a small Kurdish village until the mid-1910s as the village was populated by Armenian and Assyrian refugees fleeing massacres during Sayfo and the Armenian genocide. During the Simele massacre in 1933, around three thousand Assyrians were massacred prompting many to flee the country as a consequence. The main Assyrian tribe in Simele at the time was Baz.
In 2011, the population was mostly Kurdish with a small Assyrian minority of 635 people. Around half of the Assyrian minority adhere to the Assyrian Church of the East. A small Armenian minority is still exists in the town.
Footnotes
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