The Saladin, Salah ad Din, or Salah Al-Din Governorate (, ) is one of Iraq's 19 governorates, north of Baghdad. It has an area of , with a population of 1,774,542 people in 2024. It is made up of 8 districts, with the capital being Tikrit. Before 1976 the governorate was part of Baghdad Governorate.

The governorate is named after Saladin or Salah ad-Din. This governorate is largely Sunni Arab and is also where Saddam Hussein, former president of Iraq, was born, in the village of Al-Awja. Salah Al-Din governorate, a traditional stronghold of Saddam and his Al-Bu Nasir tribe that is located in the heart of the Sunni Triangle, has been a centre of insurgencies, tribal rivalries, and political and sectarian violence since the 2003 U.S.-led Coalition invasion of Iraq.

History

Saladin Governorate contains a number of important religious and cultural sites. Samarra, the governorate's largest city, is home to both the Al-Askari Shrine (an important religious site in Shia Islam where the 10th and 11th Shia Imams are buried), and the Great Mosque of Samarra with its distinctive Malwiya minaret. It also contains an old Zengid mosque.

Samarra was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate in the 9th century CE, and today Abbasid Samarra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The ancient Neo-Assyrian Empire Assyrian city of Assur is located in Al-Shirqat District on the banks of the Tigris River. Other sites in the governorate include the Crusader Dome (القبة الصلبية) north of Samarra and the Al-`Ashaq Palace (قصر العاشق).

In January 2014, there were plans announced by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to make the Tuz Khurmatu district into a new governorate due to its Turkmen majority. However, these plans were not implemented.

Autonomy

In October 2011, the governorate's administration declared itself a semi-autonomous region, explaining that the declaration was in response to the central government's "domination over the provincial council authorities". Saladin, which is a largely Sunni governorate, is also hoping that by declaring themselves an autonomous region within Iraq, it will entail them to a larger portion of government funding.

Provincial government

  • Governor: Ammar Jabr al-Jubouri
  • Provincial Council Chairman: Ahmed Abdel-Jabbar al-Karim

Districts

Salah ad Din districts|alt=Salah ad Din districts|thumb

  • Al-Daur District (Al-Daur)
  • Al-Shirqat District (Al-Shirqat)
  • Baiji District (Baiji)
  • Balad District (Balad)
  • Samarra District (Samarra)
  • Tikrit District (Tikrit)
  • Tooz District (Tuz Khurmatu)
  • Dujail District (Dujail) - previously known as "Al-Faris District"

Towns and cities

<gallery mode="packed" style="center">

File:مسجد ومزار الأربعين وسط مدينة تكريت العراقية يضم رفاة اربعين شهيداً من شهداء الفتح الاسلامي للمدينة.jpg|Tikrit

File:Samarra City 1.jpg|Samarra

File:Tuz Kurmatu.jpg|Tuz Khurmatu

</gallery>

Population

The following table shows the populations of the districts of Saladin Governorate, according to the United Nations in 2003. No data is available for Dujail District.

{| class="wikitable" border="1"

! District

! Samarra

! Tikrit

! Balad

! Baiji

! Al-Shirqat

! Al-Daur

! Tooz

! Total

|-

| Population

|348,700

|180,300

|107,600

|134,000

|121,500

|46,700

|103,400

|1,042,200

|}

See also

  • Assur
  • Tigris River
  • Saladin

References

  • Article and video on civilians massacre on BBC News.
  • "3 U.S. soldiers charged with killing of Iraqis" on CNN.