Tikrit (Arabic: تكريت‎, Sir. جؓت؝ج) is a city in northern Iraq, on the Tigris River, 140 km northwest of Baghdad. As of 2002, its population in 2011 was estimated at 100,000 inhabitants. The city is known as the birthplace of Saddam Hussein and Saladin. In recent years, the city has been the scene of fighting with Islamic State militants who took over the city in June 2014, causing 28,000 residents to flee. The Iraqi government regained control of the city on March 31, 2015.

History
Ancient times
Tikrit is a city with more than twenty centuries of history. The first mention of it dates back to 615 BC. e., when he was the refuge of the Babylonian king Nabopolassar during his attack on Ashur.

Christian Tikrit
Until the 6th century, Christianity in the Sasanian Empire was mainly represented by dyophysitism, but as a result of the missionary work of the Miaphysites, Tikrit became a major center of Miaphysitism and the residence of their first bishop, Ahudemmech, in 559. Soon the city became the center of the Mafriyanate.

Medieval Tikrit
The city was home to the Arab Christian tribe of Iyad. The Arabs of the city secretly assisted the Muslims when they laid siege to the city. The Muslims entered Tikrit in 640, since then it was considered by them as part of the province of Jazire.
The Arab Uqaylid dynasty occupied Tikrit in 1036. The city, however, remained predominantly the center of Assyrian Christianity during the early era of Islamic rule, and became known as an important center for the development of Syriac and Christian Arabic literature. Beginning in the 9th century, Christians began to move north. Many settled in Mosul and its environs, especially in Bakhdid, as well as Tur-Abdin, this was mainly due to the discriminatory measures of some Muslim rulers. The Christian community suffered a great loss when the governor ordered the destruction of the city’s main cathedral, popularly known as the “Green Church” in 1089, and the Mafrian had to move to Mosul along with many Christians. Another governor authorized the reconstruction of the cathedral, but instability led to the final departure of the returning Mafriyan to Mosul in 1156.
In 1137, the legendary commander Saladin was born here, after whom the province of Salah ad-Din is named. The city remained an important center of Assyrian Christianity until its destruction. Tamerlane at the end of the 14th century.
During the Ottoman period, Tikrit existed as a small settlement that belonged to the Eyalet of Raqqa and whose population did not exceed 4000-5000 people.

Modern Tikrit
During the First World War, the city was taken by British troops in September 1917.
The city is the birthplace of Saddam Hussein. Many high-ranking members of the Iraqi government during his reign came from Saddam’s Tikriti tribe, as did members of his Republican Guard, largely because Saddam seemed to feel safe only when surrounded by his family’s relatives and allies. Tikriti dominated the Iraqi government, and in 1977 Hussein abolished the use of surnames in Iraq to hide the fact that many of his key supporters shared the same surname, al-Tikriti, as himself). Saddam Hussein was buried near Tikrit in his hometown of Ouja following his execution on 30 December 2006.

War in Iraq
During the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq in 2003, Tikrit was taken without a fight by the US Marine Corps on April 13.
In the first weeks of the invasion, many observers thought that Saddam would be on the defensive in Tikrit. The city was subjected to intense aerial bombardment designed to intimidate the citizens and drive Iraqi troops out of the city. On April 13, 2003, several thousand US Marines and other coalition members in 300 armored vehicles entered the city unopposed. This was the last major offensive operation of the coalition forces before the end of hostilities. Later, in the Tikrit region, as in many other places in Iraq, a guerrilla movement unfolded, and the city became known as the northern peak of the “Sunni Triangle”.
In June 2003, Abed Hamid Mahmoud al-Tikriti, Saddam Hussein’s secretary, was captured during a special operation.
After the fall of Baghdad, Saddam Hussein took refuge in Tikrit. He was hidden by relatives and supporters 15 km south of the city, on the eastern bank of the Tigris, in one of the caves, for about 6 months. They took Saddam Hussein on December 13, 2003 during Operation Red Dawn.
The former palace of Hussein in Tikrit, built by him for his mother and his sons, for some time was used to house the headquarters of the American divisions that controlled the areas between Baghdad and Mosul (at various times these were the 1st and 4th Infantry Divisions, as well as the 42nd Infantry Division of the US National Guard). At the end of 2005, the palace was handed over to the Iraqi administration. Initially, it was planned to nationalize the palace and turn it into a resort. However, within a few weeks after the soldiers left the palace, it was looted and pieces of furniture and even lamps were sold on the streets of Tikrit.
On April 18, 2010, Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Umar al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, were killed in a raid on a hideout 10 kilometers from Tikrit.

ISIS offensive in northern Iraq
The Islamic State of Iraq launched an offensive against Tikrit on March 29, 2011.
On June 11, 2014, during a massive offensive in Northern Iraq, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took control of the city. A few hours later, the Iraqi army attempted to recapture Tikrit, resulting in heavy fighting. On June 12, ISIL militants executed at least 1,566 cadets from the Iraqi Air Force Academy at Spicher Air Base. In July 2014, government troops were withdrawn from Tikrit.
On September 25, 2014, the Islamists destroyed the Assyrian church in Tikrit, dated to 700 AD.
In early March 2015, Iraqi government forces, in coalition with Iranian troops and US, British and French aircraft, launched an operation to liberate the city. On March 31, the Iraqi government announced that it had regained control of the city.

Sights
The abandoned palace of Saddam Hussein with the chambers of his relatives and an artificial lake in front of him.
Tikrit Museum – was damaged during the 2003 war in Iraq.