TIKRITI FAMILIES

Iraqi families from Tikrit.

The Tikriti trace their origins to the city of Tikrit in Iraq. Tikrit is located on the Tigris River halfway between Baghdad and Mosul, and has a rich history that goes back to the Assyrian empire. The famous Muslim leader Saladin, who defeated the Crusaders, was born in Tikrit. In recent history, Tikrit was a small, sleepy town with a few thousand inhabitants.

The military coup of 1963 temporarily brought to power a few people who were born in Tikrit. Hasan al-Bakr, who became prime minister, and Hardan al-Tikriti, who became a defense minister, were born in Tikrit. The coup of 1968 brought to power more people from Tikrit, who controlled and shaped Iraqi politics from 1968 until the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

The most prominent one was Saddam Hussein, who dominated Iraqi politics after 1968, and was born on 28 April 1937 in the small village of alAwja, a village that belongs to the city of Tikrit. Like many other Tikritis, he belonged to the Al Abu Nasir tribe. He was vice president of Iraq until 1979, when he became president. He was removed from office when the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.

Hussein relied heavily on his immediate family, close relatives, and members of his tribe to govern the country, putting them into top positions in the bureaucracy, the armed forces, the police forces, and the local governments. In most cases, they were chosen mainly for their loyalty rather than for their skills and qualifications. During the Hussein regime, Tikrit was transformed into a large modern city with a university, modern facilities, and services. It also became the capital of the newly established province of Salah al-Din in the early 1980s.

see also bakr, ahmad hasan al-; hussein, saddam; tikrit; tikriti, hardan al-.

Bibliography

Marr, Phebe. The Modern History of Iraq, 2d edition. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1985.

Tripp, Charles. A History of Iraq. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

ayad al-qazzaz