Discover Iraq: Kirkuk, a city of oil, culture, and conflict

Shafaq News

Kirkuk bears the weight of Iraq’s history, where the plains of Mesopotamia meet the foothills of Kurdistan. Known as “Iraq in miniature,” the province is home to Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and Assyrians — communities intertwined by culture yet divided by politics.

Here, coexistence and division sit side by side, shaping a city whose story reflects the complexities of the nation itself.

“Kirkuk is not just a city; it is Iraq’s soul compressed into one place,” reflected Dr. Omar Mahmoud, professor of history at the University of Kirkuk, in remarks to Shafaq News.

Soil and Strife

Positioned 250 kilometers north of Baghdad, Kirkuk covers nearly 10,000 square kilometers, linking the Kurdish mountains to the Arab heartland and the Turkmen plains. This geography has long been a source of both wealth and vulnerability, placing the province at the center of competing ambitions across centuries.

Its landscape combines fertile plains watered by tributaries such as the Little Zab with the rugged Zagros foothills. Summers blaze past 40°C, winters occasionally bring snow, and agriculture has shaped life for generations. Fields still yield wheat, barley, cotton, and sunflowers, while orchards produce figs and pomegranates.

But farming no longer sustains Kirkuk as it once did. Irrigation networks have decayed, costs have climbed, and government backing remains thin. In Laylan, wheat farmer Ali Khorsheed reflected that “Our fathers lived from wheat and barley; today, we barely manage because everything is tied to oil. Agriculture here has been left behind, even though this land could feed thousands.”

Despite hardship, the harvest each year paints the plains gold, a reminder that beneath disputes and oil wealth lies land that has nourished civilizations for millennia.

History's Crucible

Kirkuk’s past reaches deep into antiquity. Known as Arrapha in the 9th century BCE, it served as a prominent Assyrian city. Over time, Babylonian and Median influences left their traces, while its citadel has been inhabited for nearly 5,000 years — a living monument to continuity. Persian rule, Greek conquest, Arab caliphates, and Ottoman administration each layered new chapters onto its identity.

“The Citadel of Kirkuk is older than most cities in the world, but it suffers neglect. If we cared for it properly, it would tell the full story of who we are,” archaeologist Rawa Fattah explained to Shafaq News.

During the Ottoman period, Kirkuk formed part of the Mosul Vilayet, thriving as a commercial and administrative hub. A dramatic shift came in 1927 with the discovery of oil at Baba Gurgur, where flames burst from the ground in what locals called an “eternal fire.”

In the 1970s and 1980s, Baathist Arabization uprooted Kurdish and Turkmen families and replaced them with Arab settlers. Villages were razed, wounds that still shape community relations.

The fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 sharpened disputes. Article 140 of the constitution promised a referendum on whether Kirkuk would join the Kurdistan Region or remain under Baghdad’s authority, but the vote never took place. Kurdish Peshmerga defended the city during the ISIS advance in 2014, only to withdraw in 2017 when Iraqi forces reasserted control.

Coexistence in Conflict

“Kirkuk is like a mirror of Iraq. We have Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and Christians,” shared Sheikh Mahmoud al-Obaidi, an Arab tribal leader, with Shafaq News.

Today, the province is home to around 1.7 million people, including Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Armenians. Each community claims deep roots: Kurds through surrounding villages, Turkmen through Seljuk and Ottoman heritage, Arabs through earlier migrations and Baathist-era resettlements. These overlapping histories often fuel political rivalry but also weave a rich cultural fabric.

Religious diversity mirrors the ethnic one. Most residents are Muslim — Sunni and Shia alike across ethnic lines — while Christians maintain ancient churches and the Kaka’i (Yarsani) preserve distinct spiritual traditions. Languages overlap in everyday life: Kurdish (Sorani), Arabic, and Turkmen mingle in markets, schools, and homes.

Tensions linger from decades of Arabization, displacement, and political competition. Yet the rhythm of daily life often leans toward coexistence — in shared meals, multilingual conversations at bazaars, and festivals where songs and traditions merge.

Black Gold's Burden

Kirkuk’s name is almost synonymous with oil. Baba Gurgur’s discovery in 1927 marked a turning point not only for the city but for Iraq itself. Its flames, visible for kilometers, became a symbol of untapped wealth. From then on, Kirkuk’s crude flowed north through pipelines to Turkiye’s port of Ceyhan and south to central Iraq.

With reserves of around 9 billion barrels, Kirkuk remains one of Iraq’s strategic energy hubs. Production peaked above 1 million barrels per day in the 1970s but has since declined due to conflict, sabotage, and underinvestment. Current output swings between 250,000 and 400,000 barrels daily, depending on political agreements and technical capacity.

After 2003, revenues were often routed through the Kurdistan Region, sparking disputes with Baghdad. Following the 2017 Kurdish independence referendum, federal forces retook the oil fields. Yet authority remains contested, with periodic shutdowns of the Kirkuk–Ceyhan pipeline underscoring the fragility of arrangements.

Outside oil, Kirkuk once boasted thriving agriculture and light industries — carpet weaving, food processing, and construction materials among them. These sectors have steadily declined, leaving unemployment at 12–15%, above Iraq’s national average.

Arts of Endurance

If oil defines Kirkuk’s material wealth, its cultural diversity defines its identity. The province has long nurtured poets, musicians, and artists across all communities, producing a mosaic of traditions that remains vibrant despite political fractures.

Turkmen folk songs, mournful and melodic, are cherished across Iraq, carrying themes of exile and love for the land. Kurdish poets such as Jamil Sidqi al-Zahawi drew inspiration from Kirkuk’s landscapes, while Arab writers contributed to its reputation as a literary crossroads.

Visual artists blend folkloric motifs with modernist influences, while traditional crafts such as carpet weaving and embroidery preserve the distinct patterns of each community, binding past to present.

Education has also been central to the province’s development. Kirkuk University, established in 2003, houses faculties in engineering, medicine, arts, and law. But limited funding, rapid population growth, and disputes over language and curricula strain the system.

Literacy rates remain relatively high, yet many graduates struggle to find jobs in a labor market still dominated by oil.

Looking ahead, Kirkuk’s future rests on how its people and leaders manage these contradictions. Geography, resources, and culture give the province unmatched potential, but political disputes and uneven development continue to shadow its prospects.

“Kirkuk’s story is still being written. It can be a story of unity and resilience — if its people are given the chance to shape it together,” observed Hassan Toran, a Turkmen politician.

Written and edited by Shafaq News staff.