In 1957, the town was named "Al-Malikiyah", after a Syrian army officerAdnan al-Malki. The original native name is a matter of controversy. The Kurdish language name Dêrika means tumbleweed, which is ubiquitous in the region. The alternative name, "Dayrik", is interpreted as a Kurdish deformation of the Syriac-Aramaic word for monastery, "Dayr". In 1977, a decree was issued to ban all non-Arabic place names. Therefore the Kurdish and Syriac-Aramaic names were banned from being used.
History
The town's indigenous people are Assyrians who trace their ancestry to many Turkish villages in whose inhabitants fled to Syria and established the city after the Assyrian Genocide. Assyrians began to emigrate from the area after the Amuda massacre of August 9, 1937. Even though it failed, fear, anxiety and the immigration of Kurds from Turkey led to Malikiya, Darbasiya and Amuda becoming predominantly Kurdish. , Al-Malikiyah is the fifth largest city in Al-Hasakah governorate.
As a result of the ongoing Syrian Civil War, Al-Malikiyah is currently controlled by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. On 21 July 2012, YPG forces reportedly captured Al-Malikiyah, which is located just 10 kilometers from the Turkish border, although another report stated that fighting was still going on in the city. On 22 July, it was reported that Kurdish forces were still fighting for Al-Malikiyah and one young Kurdish activist was killed after government security forces allegedly opened fire on protesters. In November 2012, Syrian government forces withdrew from the city. Kurdish-led authorities consequently installed the "Dêrik prison" for captured Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant members in al-Malikiyah. In April 2019, the prison was the site of a major prison escape attempt by about 200 ISIL detainees, including several French jihadists. The breakout was foiled, however, and some of the prisoners were subsequently distributed to other detention centers. In May 2020, reports emerged that Russia is building a new military base in Qeser Dib, a village outside of al-Malikiyah.
Demographics
In 2004, the population of Al-Malikiyah was 26,311. The population consists mostly of ethnic Kurds and Assyrians in addition to a significant, large number of Arabs and a smaller number of Armenians. The northern half of the town is mainly inhabited by Muslim Kurds, and the southern part by Assyrians and Armenians. As the economic center of the district, the town is usually filled with people from the surrounding villages and towns, especially during the morning hours. Al-Malikiyah has seen a dramatic urban expansion and real estate development in recent years which led to many streets being extended to new neighborhoods that are now part of the continually growing town. As of November 2014, only 200 ethnic Armenians remain in the city out of a pre-civil war figure of 450.
