Hamrin Mountains
Encyclopedia
The Hamrin Mountains are a small mountain ridge
in northeast Iraq
. The westernmost ripple of the greater Zagros mountains
; the Hamrin mountains extend from the Diyala Province bordering Iran
, northwest to the Tigris
river; crossing northern Salah ad Din Province and southern Kirkuk Province.
In antiquity
, the mountains were part of the frontier region between Babylonia
to the south and Assyria
to the north. In medieval times, Babylonia and Assyria became linguistically Arabicized
and Kurdicized
respectively, and today the area forms part of the linguistic boundary between most of Arabic-speaking Iraq and Kurdish-speaking Iraq.
Ridge
A ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...
in northeast Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. The westernmost ripple of the greater Zagros mountains
Zagros Mountains
The Zagros Mountains are the largest mountain range in Iran and Iraq. With a total length of 1,500 km , from northwestern Iran, and roughly correlating with Iran's western border, the Zagros range spans the whole length of the western and southwestern Iranian plateau and ends at the Strait of...
; the Hamrin mountains extend from the Diyala Province bordering Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, northwest to the Tigris
Tigris
The Tigris River is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.-Geography:...
river; crossing northern Salah ad Din Province and southern Kirkuk Province.
In antiquity
Ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia , ancient Egypt, ancient Iran The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia...
, the mountains were part of the frontier region between Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
to the south and Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
to the north. In medieval times, Babylonia and Assyria became linguistically Arabicized
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and Kurdicized
Kurdish language
Kurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
respectively, and today the area forms part of the linguistic boundary between most of Arabic-speaking Iraq and Kurdish-speaking Iraq.