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Al-Hasakah (; / Heseke; Thomas A. Carlson et al., “al-Ḥasake — ܚܣܝܟܐ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified December 9, 2016, http://syriaca.org/place/213.) is a city in northeastern Syria and the capital of the Al-Hasakah Governorate. With a 2023 estimated population of 422,445, Al-Hasakah is populated by Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians and a smaller number of Armenians and Chechens. Al-Hasakah is south of the city of Qamishli. The Khabur River, a tributary of the Euphrates, flows west–east through the city. The Jaghjagh River flows into the Khabur from the north at Al-Hasakah. The city (and the surrounding countryside) is controlled by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
Excavations in the tell discovered materials dating to the Middle-Assyrian, Byzantine Empire and Islamic eras. The last level of occupation ended in the fifteenth century. A period of 1,500 years separated the Middle-Assyrian and Byzantine levels.
There are numerous other archaeological tells in the surrounding area, such as Tall Sulaymānī, which is 7.6 kilometers to the north of the city.
In Ottoman Empire, the town was insignificant. Today's settlement was established in April 1922 as a French military post, which soon grew into a town. The establishment of new cities in northern Syria was deemed necessary by the authorities of the French Mandate because after the foundation of Turkey, all major economic centers were allocated to Turkey. After the Armenian genocide and Sayfo in the Ottoman Empire, many refugees fled to the area after their expulsion and began to develop it in the 1920s.
During the French mandate period, Assyrian people fleeing ethnic cleansing in Iraq during the Simele massacre, established numerous villages along the Khabur River during the 1930s. French troops were stationed on Citadel Hill at that time. In 1942, there were 7,835 inhabitants in Al-Hasakah, several schools, two churches and a gas station. The new city grew from the 1950s to become the administrative centre of the region. The economic boom in the cities of Qamishli and Al-Hasakah was a result of the irrigation projects started in the 1960s, which transformed northeastern Syria into a cotton-growing area.
On 23 March 1993, a large fire broke out in the Al-Hasakah Central Prison after prisoners protested the conditions there, leaving 61 inmates dead and 90 others injured. The detainees accused the police chief and the Syrian forces of having set the fire. The government blamed five inmates, who were then executed on 24 May 1993.
In the Battle of Hasakah of summer 2015, the Syrian Government lost control of much of the city to the Islamic State, which was then captured by the Kurds YPG. Afterwards, some 75% of Hasakah and all of the surrounding countryside were under the administration of the Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava, while only some inner-city areas were controlled by the Syrian government. The United Nations estimates that violence related to the civil War has displaced up to 120,000 people. On 1 August 2016, the Syrian Democratic Council opened a public office in Al-Hasakah.
On 16 August 2016, the Battle of al-Hasakah (2016) started, with the YPG and Asayish capturing most of the remaining areas held by government forces. On 23 August 2016, an agreement between the YPG and the Syrian Army resulted in a ceasefire within the city. Al-Hasakah has since been part of the Jazira Region in the framework of the de facto autonomous Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava.
On 20 January 2022, the al-Sina'a prison came under attack by Islamic State forces who attempted to free ex-IS fighters that were incarcerated inside the prison. Following the initial attack, clashes spread to the neighbourhoods of al-Zuhour and Ghuwayran as imprisoned Islamic State militants attempted to escape. After a 6-day battle, SDF and Coalition forces managed to push back the attack and secure the area. After thwarting their attack on Ghweran prison, they barricaded themselves in the Faculty of Economics building in the Syrian government-controlled areas in the city of Hasakah, targeting civilians and the movements of the internal security forces' vehicles. Accordingly, international coalition warplanes bombed the college building.
Following the capture of the city from ISIS in 2015, government forces controlled 25% of the city while the YPG controlled 75%. On August 16, 2016, a small skirmish erupted into the Second Battle of al-Hasakah between the Asayish alongside the YPG and the Syrian government. After a week-long battle, Kurdish fighters secured control of over 95% of the city. Russia mediated a ceasefire that was put into place on August 23, 2016, according to which only police officers and interior ministry forces were allowed to return to the "Security Box" to protect the government's department buildings.
In July 2018, the Syrian Army raised the Syrian flag over the Al-Nashwa, which was previously controlled by the YPG and the Asayish security forces in the city of Hasakah. However, in September through November 2019, Asayish forces were still present in al-Nashwa district and able to make arrests.
In January 2021, government controlled parts of Al-Hasakah and Qamishli, came under siege by the Asayish due to disputes with the Damascus government.
In March 2023, the US conducted retaliation strikes against IRCG forces in the city, after a drone attack which killed a US contractor.
In August 2024, the SDF imposed another week-long siege on the enclave in retaliation for cross-border attacks by tribal militias on SDF positions in Deir ez-Zor, originating from government-controlled areas. The siege was once again lifted through Russian mediation efforts.
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In 1992, Al-Hasakah was described as "an Arab city with a growing Kurdish population." Christians—mostly Assyrian people, plus a smaller number of Armenians—also live in the city.
In 2004, the city's population was 188,160. Al-Hasakah has an ethnically diverse population of Arabs, Kurds and Assyrian people, with a smaller number of Armenians. IS fighters stage surprise attack on key Syrian border town, The Associated Press, Yahoo News
In 2011, the Al-Hasakah Governorate accounted for roughly 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Syria's output of around 380,000 bpd. The region also holds a substantial amount of natural gas reserves.
Following the Syrian civil war and in particular the Turkish occupation of Rojava many acres of farmland were rendered unusable, as Turkish forces cut off the Allouk water station in Ras al-Ayn (Raʾs al-ʿAin). This also led to a deterioration in the city's health conditions. Additionally Abdullah Al-Fares, a professor of economics at the University of Aleppo, attributes the decline in agricultural output to prolonged Drought, decreasing Rain, large-scale displacement of farmers, rising production costs, a reduction in irrigated farmland due to soaring fuel prices and Power outage, the lack of fertilizer, and a decline in seed quality. The displacement of farmers and power outages in particular were caused by Turkish airstrikes, which severely damaged the Hasakah region's only power station. Oil extraction in the region also stalled as energy became scarce, oil tankers were targeted by ISIS sleeper cells, and roads and infrastructure were damaged by Turkish airstrikes.
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Religion
There are more than forty in the city, as well as at least nine church buildings, serving a large number of Christians of various rites. The Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary is the episcopal see of the non-metropolitan Syriac Catholic Archeparchy of Al Hasakah-Nisibis, which depends directly on the Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch.
Churches in the city
Economy
Agriculture and natural resources
The economy of Hasaka is based on agriculture. The Jazira region, in which the city is situated, has long been known as "breadbasket" and "green island". In 2011, the region's wheat production made up 55% of Syria's total output, with Hasakah alone contributing more than 50%. Meanwhile, the region's cotton yield made up 78% of Syria's total production during that year, with Hasakah contributing 35%.
Development under the AANES
Over the years various projects have been undertaken by the Autonomous Administration’s Economic Authority and the Kongreya Star to improve the city's economic standing and promote women's empowerment. These include agricultural projects for displaced women from Serê Kaniyê, the Centre for Co-operative Societies, which cultivates barley in the region, the Inanna Women’s Bakery, Demsal (lit. Season), which offers seasonal products, as well as numerous sewing and textile workshops, Canning, Dairy, Restaurant, and Clothes shop.
Districts
The city of Al-Hasakah is divided into 5 districts, which are Al-Madinah, Al-Aziziyah, Ghuwayran, Al-Nasra and Al-Nashwa. These districts, in turn, are divided into 29 neighborhoods. Al-Hasakah subdistrict population 2004 census
+ Al-Madinah المدينة 30,436 Al-Matar al-Shamali (9,396), Center / Al-Wusta (6,067), Municipal Stadium / Al-Malaab al-Baladi (5,802), Al-Matar al-Janoubi (4,714), Al-Askari (4,457) Al-Aziziyah العزيزية 56,123 Al-Salehiyah (21,319), Al-Ghazal (11,199), National Hospital / Al-Mashfa al-Watani (11,108), Al-Talaia (4,883), Abou Amshah (4,435), Al-Mufti (3,179) Ghuwayran غويران 34,191 Sports City / Al-Madinah al-Riyadiyah (8,418), Al-Thawra (8,180), Al-Taqaddum (7,623), 16 Tishreen (5,595), Al-Zuhour (3,367), Abou Bakr (1,008) Al-Nasra الناصرة 42,070 Tell Hajjar (10,343), Al-Kallasah (9,721), Al-Meshirfah (8,074), Al-Qusour (7,672), Al-Beitra (2,423), Al-Mashtal (2,306), Al-Maaishiyah (1,531) Al-Nashwa النشوة 25,340 Al-Rasafah (12,618), Al-Masaken (4,968), Al-Khabour (3,805), Al-Liliyah (2,977), Villas / Al-Villat (972)
Sports
Al-Jazeera SC Hasakah is the largest football club in the city and plays at Bassel al-Assad Stadium.
Notable people
See also
Notes
Citations
Works cited
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