Sanjak of Shahrizor

in 1795, in red the Shahrizor Eyalet, which included the Baban Sanjak (later Shahrizor Sanjak). In 1534, the Ottoman Empire incorporated the importend cities of Erbil and Kirkuk into its domains, along with most of present-day Iraq, leading to the creation of a sanjak. The Kurdish Baban family had much power over this sanjak during the 18th and 19th century, thus the sanjak was named "Sanjak of Baban". The importance of Kirkuk grew in the 18th century when the Baban clan had fully established themselves there, making it the official capital of the sanjak and of the eyalet. by that time the Baban clan was not in power anymore. In 1891/92 (1309 A.H.) the then Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Abdul Hamid II, renamed the "Sanjak of Shahrizor" to "Sanjak of Kirkuk" to stop spelling mistakes and confusion between "Shehr-i-Zor" and "Sanjak of Zor". The new name would not last long as the Ottomans lost control over Iraq in 1918 with the Armistice of Mudros. == Geography ==

There are three large rivers within the borders of the sanjak, the Great Zab, the Little Zab and Diyala rivers. All of them were very useful in the irrigation of the land. Overall the sanjak was very fertile, but it had not efficiently benefited from its products, because the agricultural tools were extremely outmoded and the means of transportation were insufficient and irregular. The sanjak had domestic animals such as sheep, goats, cows, oxen, water buffalo, horses, donkeys and camels. Excellent horses could be found around the capital Kirkuk. Ancient ruins show that the sanjak's plains were irrigated by large water channels, coming from the Lesser Zab, Greater Zab and Tigris rivers. == Demographics ==

The sanjak was populated by Arabs, Assyrians, Jews, Kurds and Turkics. The Kurds and Arabs of the sanjak were divided into multiple tribes and clans. The entire sanjak had 1,712 villages. At that time, around 1894/95, Kirkuk had a population of 29,140 people. == Subdivisions ==

The sanjak had 6 Kazas; Kirkuk, Rawadiz, Koy Sanjaq, Raniye, Salahiye and Erbil. And 17 Nahiyahs. == References ==