Sinjar — Part 5: Neighborhoods of Sinjar in the 20th Century

13/09/2026

By Ablahad Hanna Saka | Member of the Bethnahrin National Council in Iraq

Sinjar had a diverse social fabric in the 20th century. Members of the Syriac and Armenian people had a notable presence in Sinjar city, i.e. before the demographic transformations that affected the area after 1974. Based on the information and testimonies available, the people of Sinjar agree that the city had five main neighborhoods before 1974. These neighborhoods were historically regarded as part of the center of Sinjar. 

While working as a teacher in the subdistrict of Al-Shamal (Sinuni) in 1979, I had the opportunity to meet with a number of residents from those neighborhoods, listen to their testimonies and collect information from them. I did so in cooperation with Colonel Issa Chamoun Lahdo, who was serving as an officer at the Sinjar police station at the time, his brother Gabriel Chamoun Lahdo, and sister Mona Hanna Matti. 

Through research, investigation and the collection of accounts and information, it became clear that a large number of Syriac and Armenian families lived in the center of Sinjar during the last century and formed an integral part of its social and urban fabric. 

In this article, we will successively examine the names of some of these neighborhoods and the Syriac and Armenian families who lived there, with the aim of highlighting the true scale of the Syriac and Armenian presence in Sinjar during the 20th century and preserving this collective memory from being lost or forgotten. 

Documenting the names of these neighborhoods and families is not merely an effort to revisit the past. It is also a historical testimony to Sinjar’s diversity and to the presence of indigenous communities that contributed to the city’s social, cultural and economic life before political and demographic transformations imposed a new reality on it. 

Old Neighborhoods of Sinjar City 

Among the most prominent names appearing in the sources are: 

• Al-Saray (Saray/Saraye) — One of the main areas of old central Sinjar, associated with the Ra’is district and the old market.
• Al-Burj — One of the city’s old neighborhoods, located in the historic and elevated part of Sinjar.
• The Citadel (Al-Qal‘a) — Its name appears among the old neighborhoods of Sinjar in local sources.
• Al-Sur (The Wall) — One of the names listed among the old quarters of Sinjar.
• Barbarozh / Bar Barozh (Bar Barozh) — An old neighborhood that was affected by displacement and demographic change during the 1974–1975 campaigns.
• Kalhey / Kalahi (Kalhey/Kalahi) — Listed as one of the three old neighborhoods in the Al-Saray area and also among the neighborhoods affected by the Arabization campaign.
• Barshey — Listed among the five neighborhoods whose residents were displaced during the Arabization campaign. 

Sources confirm that five neighborhoods in Sinjar were subjected to displacement and resettlement during the 1974–1975 Arabization campaign: Bar Barozh, Saray, Kalhey, Burj and Barshey. 

Important Note for Documentation 

There is a distinction between the city’s historic old neighborhoods and those the new ones that emerged later as Sinjar expanded, such as Al-Shuhada, Al-Nasr, Al-Yarmouk, Al-Qadisiyah, Rosh Halat and Al-Saylo, which local sources describe as relatively modern neighborhoods.

Barbarozh — Bar Barozh

This neighborhood was home to Christians, Kurmanji-speaking Khoshaliya people, and the Beit Khudr community. Below are the names of the Syriac and Armenian Christian families who lived in the neighborhood: 

• The Joseph Hanna Yusuf Mago family — Joseph worked as a health employee and had extensive experience and knowledge in his field of specialization.
• The Hanna Matti Malki family — Hanna initially worked as a driver and later became a well-known mechanic specializing in machinery and vehicles. He was known by the nickname “Hanna Matki.” His sons were Elias and Saad.
• The Bashir Mansour Aziz family — Bashir worked as a shoemaker. His sons were Hanna, Ramzi, Hikmat and George.
• The Suleiman Issa Koria family — Suleiman worked as a weaver. His sons were Issa and Shaya.
• The Elias Abd al-Masih Malki family — Elias worked as a cotton and wool carder. His sons were Nabil, Abd al-Masih, Jamal, Dumit, Zuhair and Saad.
• The Abd al-Ahad Abd al-Masih Malki family — The family owned and operated traditional samoon bread bakeries. His sons were Badri, Maen and Mazen.
• The Malik Abd al-Masih Malki family — His sons were Manhal, Abd al-Masih and Nashwan.
• The Karra family, Beit Thomas Akob — Thomas worked as a carpenter. His sons were Yarvent and George.
• The Lahdo Kainjo Karra family — His sons included Elias and Jalal.
• The Simon Kainjo Karra family.
• The Dikran Kainjo family.
• The Bayram Yaqub Abd al-Masih family, known as “Al-Bayr” — Bayram was a farmer. His sons were Khaled, Khaldoun and Khalil.
• The Malallah Francis Isbahan family — Malallah was self-employed. His sons were Fares, Jano, Elias, Abboud and Najib.
• The Francis Saeed Isbahan family — Francis was self-employed. His sons were Elias, Jirjis and Malallah.
• The Behnam Yusuf Jargour family, known as “Bani” — Behnam was a grocer in the Al-Fouq Market.
• The George Yusuf Jargour family — George worked as an employee in the Agriculture Department.
• The Saeed Farjo Bedros family — His sons were Nawaf, Bassam, Maurice and Bedros.
• The Habib Farjo family — His sons were Murad, Faraj and Ziad.
• The Farjo Taza family — Farjo was a livestock trader. His sons were Subhi; Saeed, who worked as a doctor; and Joseph, who worked as a surveyor.
• The Iskandar Taza family — Iskandar was a livestock trader.
• The Antoine family — Antoine Yusuf Koulos, known as “Anti,” worked as a weaver. His sons were Joseph, a teacher; George Anti, a chemistry teacher; and Jan, an electronics engineer.
• The Malko Dono family — Malko worked as a blacksmith. His eldest son was Elias Dono, whose sons were Abd al-Masih, Saeed, Adnan, Fayez and Muwaffaq. His second son was Abd al-Karim, whose sons were Faraj and Sami. His third son was Shafiq, whose sons were Fayez, Fuad, Victor and Farid. His fourth son was Aziz Malko, whose son was Adel.
• The Gabriel Amso family, known as “Jabi” — Gabriel worked as a driver and lived in Khan (Hassan Yusuf). He had one son, Khidr.
• The Gabriel Ohanis family — His eldest son was Elias, whose sons were George, Anis, Basel and Bassam. His second son was Ohanis, known as “Wani the Blacksmith,” whose children were Sabah, Nizal, Manhal, Rayan and Mufid. His third son was Shafiq, whose sons were Hikmat and Joudat.
• The Boutros Ohanis family — His son was Behnam.
• The Jabu Sleifi family — Jabu worked as a kajji. His sons were Hassan, an accountant, and Sabah, a teacher.
• The Malko Saado family — Malko worked as a weaver. His sons were: Yaqub, whose sons were Saad, Jan, Bassam and George. Boutros Abu Saad, who worked in weaving. Yusuf, whose sons were Saeed, Jan and George.
• The Abdo Mago family — Abdo worked as a kajjji. His sons were Zaki; Fuad, who worked as a teacher; and Subhi, who worked for a dairy company.
• The Farjo Mansour Al-Abbaji family — Farjo’s sons included Jamil and Malki, whose sons were Amer and Maher, as well as Yaqub Abu Laith.
• The Hanna Al-Abbaji family — His son was Behnam, who worked as a teacher.
• The Dawoud Suleiman family — Dawoud worked as a silversmith.
• The Issa Malkoun family — Issa worked in construction. His sons were Malkoun and Daniel, who worked as teachers.
• The George Yaqub Malkoun family, known as “George Ward” — George worked as a teacher. His sons were Matti and Alaa.
• The Jabu Maraha family — Jabu owned a coffeehouse. His sons were Issam, a veterinary doctor, and George.
• The Hanna Maqdisi family — Hanna worked as a cloth merchant. His sons were Yusuf, Abd al-Karim, Abd al-Ahad, Yaqub and Farouk. The family was also known as the Hanna Yusuf family, after Father Yusuf.
• The Elias Maqdisi family — His sons were Anis; Sami, who owned a furniture factory; and Joseph, who worked in bamboo craftsmanship and taught blind people.
• The Farjo Yusuf family — Farjo owned a bakery. His son Joseph was a grocer and a church warden of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Joseph’s sons were Faraj, Issam, Samir, Bassam and Wissam. His second son, Behnam, was a teacher, and his sons were Fahmi, Wan and Alan. His third son, Gabriel, had a son named Atheer. His fourth son, Walid, worked as a library employee.
• The Abd al-Masih Jirjis Hanna family, known as “Asi” — Abd al-Masih worked as a driver. His sons were George, Faraj, Saeed, Sabah, Majid and Raed.
• The Jirjis Boulos family — His sons were Adeeb, a teacher, and Jan, an employee.
• The Saeed Al-Araj family — Saeed worked as a shoemaker.
• The Baho family, the wife of Boutros Al-Aqra — She worked as a midwife and lived in the Armenian Church.
• The Habib Dolmay family — Habib owned a samoon bread bakery. His sons were Abd al-Masih and George.
• The Khalil Mousa family, known as “Khalou the Blacksmith” — His sons were Ibrahim and Farouk.
• The Elias Abd al-Ahad Hindu family — Elias served as a church warden. His son Hilal worked as an employee, while another son, Samuel, was a teacher. His other sons were Fares and Maher.
• The George Abd al-Ahad Hindu family — His sons were Fadi, Abd al-Ahad and Milad.
• The Matti Abd al-Ahad Hindu family — His sons were Duraid, Qusay and Uday.
• The Adwar Sununu family — Adwar owned a casino. His sons were Mukhlis and Sabah.
• The Aziz Sununu family — Aziz owned numerous real estate properties. His sons were Malik, Fahmi, Adeeb, Walid, Hani and Samir.
• The Salim Hanti family — His sons were: Hanna, the eldest; Shafiq, the second; Behnam, the third, who served as a deputy officer; Malik, the fourth; and Zaki, the fifth, whose sons were Manhal and Majid.
• The Yaqub Salim Hanti family — His son was Fayez.
• The Shamoun Al-Tawil family — Shamoun worked as a bulgur miller, grinding bulgur.
• The Joseph Farjo Maqdisi family — Joseph worked as a grocer and church warden. His sons were Faraj, Issam, Bassam and Wissam.
• The Gabriel Farjo family — His son was Atheer.
• The Suleiman Murad family — His eldest son, Malki, worked as a traditional rashta maker. His sons were Noel, Neamat, Nashat and Salwan. His second son, Abelhad Suleiman, worked as an employee. His sons were Majid, Louay and Qusay.
• The Krikor Sarkis family — Krikor worked as a seller of alcoholic beverages. His son was Karo.
• The Yusuf Malo family — Yusuf worked as a cloth merchant. His sons were Abd al-Masih, Akop, an engineer, and Asadour, an engineer.
• The Jirjis Hanna Abd al-Ahad family — Jirjis was a farmer. His wife was Maqboula, whose name became associated with the khan, which became known as Khan Maqboula.
• The Futuh Daqman family — Futuh worked as a cloth merchant and owned real estate in Sinjar. His sons were Avram and Behnam, who worked as a teacher.
• The Shro Malki Danho family — His sons were Adam, a teacher; Jirjis, a driver; Zuhair; Adeeb; and Sami.
• The Yusuf Malki family — His sons were Rasho; Yusuf, who worked as a teacher; Mousa, also a teacher; and Joseph.
• The Safu Boulos family — His sons were Lahdo, Behnam, Habib and Elias.
• The Issa Koria Asmar family — His sons were Amer, Samir, Nadim and Osama.
• The Lahdo Koria Asmar family — His sons were Gabi, Asil and Emil.
• The Malki Ghraybo family — His eldest son, Adeeb, worked as a teacher of music and physical education and also played the oud. His sons were Imad, Iyad, Nihad and Miad. His second son, Behnam, worked as an engineer. His third son was Yaqub. His fourth son, George, worked as an engineer. His fifth son, Noel, had two sons, Rabie and Ranin.
• The Bahdi Al-Ash family — Bahdi worked as a weaver.
• The Jirjis Safar family — Jirjis worked as a driver. His sons were Dikoul and Behnam.
• The Batay Al-Qaroush family — His son was Abadi.
• The Suleiman Issa family — Suleiman worked as a weaver. His first son, Issa, had sons Abd al-Ahad, Behnam, Majid, Jreis and Victor. His second son, Shaya, had sons Elias and Khidr.
• The Jirjis Shamoun Abdalki family — Jirjis worked as a weaver. His sons were Abd al-Masih, a teacher; Gabriel, who worked in medical laboratory testing; Dawoud, an employee; Yami; and Sabah.
• The Yaqub Balbali family — Yaqub worked as a silversmith. His sons were Elias, a teacher; Fahmi, a surveyor; George, an engineer; and Salim, a silversmith.
• The Danho family — Danho worked as a police officer. His sons were Zaki, Ibrahim and Samir.
• The Karra Beit Al-Saffar family.
• The Abd al-Masih Jirjis Al-Mahouti family — His sons were Malik and Nasr.
• The Karmo Al-Jiji family.
• The Hanna Khuday family — His sons included Jamil, a doctor; George, a postal employee; Jirjis; and Boutros, who both worked as painters.
• The Abdo Khuday family — Abdo worked as a silversmith. His son was Antoine.
• The Avram Francis family — His sons were Antoine, George, Elias and Samir. His brothers were Yaqub Francis and Abelhad Francis. Abelhad’s son was Murad. The family also included Dr. Yusuf, a veterinary medicine specialist, and Nabil, who worked as a lathe operator.
• The Al-Sarqa family — His sons were Abd al-Masih and Dawoud. Dawoud’s sons were Fahmi, Elias, Behnam and Akop.
• Joseph Baghdou — Joseph worked as a farmer. His sons were Jack and Thomas.
• The Karra Beit Kriyo family — His son was Akop, an engineer.
• The Boutros Bato family — His eldest son was Aziz, whose sons were Hani, an engineer, and Khaled, an employee. His second son was Anwar, a teacher, whose sons were Talal and Wassim.
• The Jirjis Malki family.
• The Aiso Malki family — Aiso worked as a livestock trader.
• The Mazen Naima family — The family currently lives in Lebanon.
• The Elias Abd al-Karim family, known as “Abya” — His son was Sami.
• The Saeed Futuh kajjji family — His sons were Futuh, Ibrahim, Adeeb and Yaqub.
• The Jamil Dairkawi family.
• The Aziz Ain Sanji family — His sons were Ghazi and Behnam.
• The Saeed Sarkis family — Saeed worked as a shoemaker and shoe repairer. His sons were Krikor and Artin.
• The Ibrahim Al-Mansourati family — His sons were Abd al-Ahad, a teacher, and Ishaq, a doctor in Mosul.
• The Ibrahim Matloub family — His sons were Fuad and Yaqub.
• The Farjo Munirji family — His sons were Khaled, Fahmi and Malik.
• The Batay Al-Bakandi family — Batay worked as a bonesetter. His sons were Jamil, Mando and Mansour.
• The Malki Ruhm family — His eldest son was Issa, whose sons were Jirjis, Behnam, an engineer, Walid, Zuhair and Qais. His second son was Hanna, whose sons were Samaan, a teacher; Jalil; Saher; Antoine; Basel; and Amer, a teacher. His third son was Kourael, whose sons were Hani, a doctor, and Maher.
• The family of Professor Fuad Abdo — The name of his brother could not be recalled.

It should also be noted that many families migrated to Mosul, Baghdad and other cities and provinces within Iraq, while others emigrated to Syria and Lebanon, as well as further abroad to European countries such as Sweden, France, Germany, the United States, Canada.

The views expressed in this op-ed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of SyriacPress.

Also in this series:

Sinjar — Part 2: Land of Monasteries, Churches, and Memory of Christian Presence

Sinjar — Part 3: Sinjar and the Christian Presence During the Islamic Military Conquest

Sinjar — Part 4: The Return of Christians to Sinjar in the 20th Century

Sinjar — Part 1: The Origin of the Name