Karamlesh (, ; also spelled ''Karemlash'', ''Karemles'', ''Karemlish'', etc.) is a town in northern

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

located less than south east of

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

. It is surrounded by many hills that along with it made up the historical Assyrian city of Kar-Mullissi (written URU.kar-^dNIN.LÍL), which means "the city of Mullissu" in Akkadian. Its Assyrian residents fled to

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous Federal regions of Iraq, federal region of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurds, Kurdish-majority governorates of Arabs, Arab-majority Iraq: Erbil Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Governorate ...

because of the planned escape from the

Peshmerga The Peshmerga () are the internal security forces of Kurdistan Region. According to the Constitution of Iraq, regional governments are responsible for "the establishment and organization of the internal security forces for the region such as p ...

following the invasion of the town by

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

forces in August 2014. The town was liberated by Iraqi Security Forces from ISIS rule on October 24, 2016, as part of the larger Battle of Mosul.

History

Patriarchal seat of the Church of the East

Karemlash was the seat of the Nestorian patriarch Denha II (1336/7–1381/2) for at least part of his reign. The continuator of the ''Ecclesiastical History'' of Bar Hebraeus mentions several contacts between Denha II and the Jacobite church in Karamlish between 1358 and 1364. At this period Karemlash had Jacobite and Armenian communities alongside its Nestorian majority, and its village chiefs styled themselves 'emirs'. The prosperity enjoyed by the village during the reign of Denha II presumably came to an end when the patriarchate was relocated to

at an unknown date in the fourteenth or fifteenth century.

After Iraq War

Karemlash was relatively calm following the US-led

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

. In late 2003, the town came briefly under the control of the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

(377th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion). The town showed strong support towards the

Assyrian Democratic Movement The Assyrian Democratic Movement (, , ADM), popularly known as Zowaa (), is an Assyrian political party situated in Iraq, and one of the main Assyrian parties within the Iraqi parliament. The Assyrian Democratic Movement states its aims are to e ...

during the parliamentary and local elections in 2005, 2007 and 2010. The town also received thousands of Assyrian and other Christian refugees from other parts of the country after waves of violence against them. In response to the influx of refugees, Sarkis Aghajan and the Supreme Committee of Christian Affairs built and renovated new homes, churches, cemeteries, infrastructure and a complex for Armenian Refugees, among other improvements. On August 6, 2014, the

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

took over the town, causing all of its inhabitants to flee to Erbil. During their occupation of the city, they burned an 80-year-old Assyrian woman to death for "failing to comply with the strict laws of the Islamic State" and destroyed a large portion of the historic Mar Behnam Monastery. On October 24, 2016, the city was liberated by the

Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), also referred to as the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was formerly known as the Royal Iraq ...

, which on the same day, returned crosses to the domes of some of the main churches.

Security

The

Popular Mobilization Forces The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF; ), also known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iranian-backed paramilitary umbrella group that operates within Iraq. Although formally and legally part of the Iraqi Armed Forces and reportin ...

currently run the security in the Town.Contested Control: The Future of Security in Iraq's Nineveh Plain

Gallery

Image:Iraqvillagekaramlesh6.JPG, Image:Iraqvillagekaramlesh8.JPG, Image:Iraqvillagekaramlesh9.jpg, Image:Iraqvillagekaramlesh2.JPG,

References

''Originally based on an article by Habib Hannona and Fred Aprim on karemlash.com, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License, used with permission.'' {{Nineveh Plains Assyrian communities in Iraq Populated places in Nineveh Governorate Nineveh Plains