Berderesh

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Bardarash (Yekgirtú Kurdish: Berderresh; Sorani/Kurmanji Kurdish: بەردەڕەش Berdeřeş‎; Arabic: بردراش Bardarāsh), also spelled Berderesh, Barda Rash, is a township (subdistrict) located in Iraqi Kurdistan Region, 70 km north of Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan Region, and 32 km north east of Mosul. All its people are Kurds and Sunni Muslims and the majority of them speak in Gorani accent (not language), Goran is also the name of the tribe that comprises the majority of the people in Bardarash district. That is why the accent they are speaking is called Gorani as well.

At the era of Ottoman Empire, Bardarash was recognized as a district (Nahiya) in 1879. At the time of Ottoman Empire and until the 1970s, it was known as ‘Ashair Al Sab’aa, the meaning of which is "Seven Tribes" in English, because it is said that there are seven major tribes which lived and still live in Bardarash; they are - Rashgary 55%, Gezh 23%, Bot 11%, Shekh-Bzeni 2%, Khidiry 1%, Zangana 1% and others 7%. All of them are called Gorani. But also other tribes live in this area and some of them migrated in the four last decades of 20th century, such as Surchi, Zebar, Sharafan etc.

Bardarash was formerly joined to Akre, and they were joined to Ninewa province until the Uprising of 1991, after which both towns were liberated from the Ba’ath regime and they were joined to Duhok province until now. In 2008 the KRG decided to create a new district (Qaza) centred on Bardarash.

Bardarash district is located between two rivers which they are (Upper- Zab, Zey Badinan) and (Xazir) in the east the west, and in north has a border with Akre and south with Mosul and Hawler. According to an (UN-WFP) census in 1997 the population of Bardarash district was 51,713 people. But now according to Bardarash Mayoralty, Bardarash now consists of three subjoined districts, which are Daratoo, Roviya, and Kalak, and 88 villages. The population of Bardarash now is more than 115,000 people. Sub-districts joined to Bardarash are 1- Daratoo 2- Rovia 3- Kalak