Erbil or Hawler (Kurdish: ‫ ھەولێر‬,Hewlêr[2][3]; Arabic: ‫[أربيل‬4]; Syriac: ‫[ܐܲܪܒܹܝܠ‬5]), known

in ancient history as Arbela and also spelled Arbil, Arbel and Irbil, is the capital and

most populated city in the Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq.[6] It has about 879,000
inhabitants,[1] and Erbil Governorate has a permanent population of 2,009,367 as of 2015.
[7]

Human settlement at Erbil may be dated back to the 5th millennium BC, which would
make the city one of the oldest continuously inhabited areas in the world.[8] At the heart of
the city is the ancient Citadel of Erbil and Mudhafaria Minaret. The earliest historical
reference to the region dates to the Third Dynasty of Ur of Sumer, when
King Shulgi mentioned the city of Urbilum. The city was later conquered by the Assyrians.
[9][10]

Erbil became an integral part of the kingdom of Assyria by the 21st century BC through to
the end of the seventh century BC, after it was captured by the Gutians, and it was
known in Assyrian annals variously as Urbilim, Arbela and Arba-ilu. Subsequent to this, it
was part of the geopolitical province of Assyria under several empires in turn, including
the Median Empire, the Achaemenid Empire (Achaemenid Assyria), Macedonian
Empire, Seleucid Empire, Armenian Empire, Parthian Empire, Roman
Assyria and Sasanian Empire (Asōristān), as well as being the capital of the tributary
state of Adiabene between the mid-second century BC and early second century AD.
Following the Muslim conquest of Persia, it no longer remained a unitary region, and
during the Middle Ages, the city came to be ruled by the Seljuk and Ottoman empires.[11]
Erbil's archaeological museum houses a large collection of pre-Islamic artefacts,
particularly the art of Mesopotamia, and is a center for archaeological projects in the
area.[12] The city was designated as Arab Tourism Capital 2014 by the Arab Council of
Tourism.[13][14] In July 2014, the Citadel of Arbil was inscribed as a World Heritage site.
The city has an ethnically diverse population of Kurds (the majority ethnic
group), Turkmens, Assyrians, Arabs, Shabaks, Mandaeans and Armenians. It is equally
religiously diverse, with believers of Sunni Islam, Shia
Islam, Christianity, Yazidism, Yarsanism, Shabakism and Mandaeism extant in and
around Erbil.

Contents

 1Etymology
 2History
o 2.1Ancient history
o 2.2Medieval history
o 2.3Modern history
 3Transportation
 4Climate
 5Culture
o 5.1Citadel of Erbil
o 5.2Other sights
o 5.3Sports
o 5.4Media
 6Arts
 7See also
 8References
 9Sources
 10External links
Etymology[edit]
The name Erbil was mentioned in Sumerian holy writings of third millennium BC
as Urbilum, Urbelum or Urbillum,[10] which appears to originate from Arbilum.[15] Later,
the Akkadians and Assyrians by a folk etymology rendered the name as arba'ū ilū to
mean (four gods).[15] The city became a centre for the worship of the Mesopotamian
goddess Ishtar. In classical times the city became known as Arbela (Koinē
Greek: Ἄρβηλα), from the Syriac form of the name. In Old Persian, the city was called
Arbairā.[16]
Today, the modern Kurdish name of the city, Hewlêr, appears to be a corruption of the
name Arbel by a series of metatheses of consonants.[15]

History[edit]

Siege of Erbil by the Ilkhanid Mongols in 1258–59 depicted in the Jami' al-tawarikh by Rashid-al-

Din Hamadani Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Département des Manuscrits, Division Orientale

Citadel of Arbil, Iraqi Kurdistan

Chaldean Catholic Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Ankawa, a suburb of Erbil

Ancient history[edit]
The region in which Erbil lies was largely under Sumerian domination from c. 3000 BC,
until the rise of the Akkadian Empire (2335–2154 BC) which united all of the Akkadian
Semites and Sumerians of Mesopotamia under one rule. Today the Assyrian people, a
Syriac-speaking community who claim descent from Akkadian speakers, endure as a
minority in northern Iraq, north east Syria, south east Turkey and north west Iran, their
population is estimated to be 3.3 million.[17]
The first mention of Erbil in literary sources comes from the archives of the East Semitic-
speaking kingdom of Ebla. They record two journeys to Erbil (Irbilum) by a messenger
from Ebla around 2300 BC. Erridupizir, king of the language isolate speaking kingdom
of Gutium, captured the city in 2150 BC.[18] The Neo-Sumerian ruler of Ur, Amar-Sin,
sacked Urbilum in his second year, c. 1975 BC.[10]
Erbil was an integral part of Assyria from around 2050 BC, becoming a relatively
important city during the Old Assyrian Empire (1975–1750 BC), Middle Assyrian
Empire (1365–1050 BC) and the Neo Assyrian Empire (935–605 BC), until the last of
these empires fell between 612–599 BC. However, it remained part of Assyria under
Persian, Greek, Parthian, Roman and Sassanid rule until the first half of the 7th century
AD.
Under the Median Empire, Cyaxares might have settled a number of people from
the Ancient Iranian tribe of Sagartians in the Assyrian cities of Arbela
and Arrapha (modern Kirkuk), probably as a reward for their help in the capture
of Nineveh.[19] The Persian emperor Cyrus the Great occupied Assyria in 547 BC and
established it as an Achaemenid satrapy called in Old Persian Aθurā (Athura), with
Arbela as the capital.[20]
The Battle of Gaugamela, in which Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of Persia,
took place in 331 BC approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of Erbil. After the battle,
Darius managed to flee to the city. (Somewhat inaccurately, the confrontation is
sometimes known as the "Battle of Arbela".) Subsequently, Arbela was part of
Alexander's Empire. After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, Arbela became
part of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire.
Erbil became part of the region disputed between Rome and Persia under the Sasanids.
The ancient Assyrian kingdom of Adiabene (the Greek form of the Assyrian Ḥadyab) had
its centre at Erbil, and the town and kingdom are known in Jewish history for the
conversion of the royal family to Judaism.[21] During the Parthian era to early Sassanid
era, Erbil became the capital of the Assyrian state of Adiabene.
Its populace then gradually converted from the Mesopotamian religion between the 1st
and 4th centuries to Christianity—primarily the Chaldean Catholic Church (and to a
lesser degree to the Syriac Orthodox Church)), with Pkidha traditionally becoming its first
bishop around 104 AD. The ancient Mesopotamian religion did not die out entirely in the
region until the 10th century AD.[22][23] The metropolitanate of Ḥadyab in Arbela
(Syriac: ‫ܐܪܒܝܠ‬ Arbel) became a centre of eastern Syriac Christianity until late in the
Middle Ages.[24]

Medieval history[edit]
As many of the Assyrians who had converted to Christianity adopted Biblical (including
Jewish) names, most of the early bishops had Eastern Aramaic or Jewish/Biblical names,
which does not suggest that many of the early Christians in this city were converts from
Judaism.[25] It served as the seat of a Metropolitan of the Assyrian Church of the East.
From the city's Christian period come many church fathers and well-known authors
in Syriac.
Following the Muslim conquest of Persia, the Sasanid province of Assuristan, of which
Erbil made part of, was dissolved, and from the mid 7th century AD the region saw a
gradual influx of Muslim peoples, predominantly Arabs, Kurds and Turkic peoples.
The most notable Kurdish tribe in the region were the Hadhabani, of which several
individuals also acted as governors for the city from the late 10th century until the 12th
century when it was conquered by the Zengids and its governorship given to the Turkic
Begtegenids, of whom the most notable was Gökböri, who retained the city during
the Ayyubid era [26][27] Yaqut al-Hamawi further describes Erbil as being mostly Kurdish-
populated in the 13th century.[28]
When the Mongols invaded the Near East in the 13th century, they attacked Arbil for the
first time in 1237. They plundered the lower town but had to retreat before an
approaching Caliphate army and had to put off the capture of the citadel.[29][broken footnote] After
the fall of Baghdad to Hülegü and the Mongols in 1258, the last Begtegenid ruler
surrendered to the Mongols, claiming the Kurdish garrison of the city would follow suit;
they refused this however, therefore the Mongols returned to Arbil and were able to
capture the citadel after a siege lasting six months.[30][31] Hülegü then appointed
an Assyrian Christian governor to the town, and the Syriac Orthodox Church was allowed
to build a church.
As time passed, sustained persecutions of Christians, Jews and Buddhists throughout
the Ilkhanate began in earnest in 1295 under the rule of Oïrat amir Nauruz, which
affected the indigenous Assyrian Christians greatly.[32] This manifested early on in the
reign of the Ilkhan Ghazan. In 1297, after Ghazan had felt strong enough to overcome
Nauruz's influence, he put a stop to the persecutions.
During the reign of the Ilkhan Öljeitü the Assyrian inhabitants retreated to the citadel to
escape persecution. In the Spring of 1310, the Malek (governor) of the region attempted
to seize it from them with the help of the Kurds. Despite the Turkic bishop Mar
Yahballaha's best efforts to avert the impending doom, the citadel was at last taken after
a siege by Ilkhanate troops and Kurdish tribesmen on 1 July 1310, and all the defenders
were massacred, including many of the Assyrian inhabitants of the lower town.[33][34]
However, the city's Assyrian population remained numerically significant until the
destruction of the city by the forces of Timur in 1397.[35]
In the Middle Ages, Erbil was ruled successively by the Umayyads, the Abbasids,
the Buwayhids, the Seljuks and then the Turkmen Begtegīnid Emirs of Erbil (1131–1232),
most notably Gökböri, one of Saladin's leading generals; they were in turn followed by
the Ilkhanids, the Jalayirids, the Kara Koyunlu, the Timurids and the Ak Koyunlu. Erbil
was the birthplace of the famous 12th and 13th century Kurdish historians and writers Ibn
Khallikan and Ibn al-Mustawfi. After Battle of Chaldiran in 1514 Erbil came under Soran
emirate In 18th century Baban Emirate took the city but it was retaken
by Soran ruler Mir Muhammed Kor in 1822 The Soran emirate continued ruling over Erbil
until it was taken by the Ottomans in 1851. Erbil became a part of the Musul
Vilayet in Ottoman Empire for until World War I, when the Ottomans and their Kurdish
and Turcoman allies were defeated by the British Empire.

Modern history[edit]

A postcard showing the city of Erbil in 1900

The modern town of Erbil stands on a tell topped by an Ottoman fort. During the Middle

Ages, Erbil became a major trading center on the route between Baghdad and Mosul, a
role which it still plays today with important road links to the outside world.

Erbil Main Square

Today, Erbil is both multi-ethnic and multi-religious, with the Kurds forming the largest
ethnic group in the city, with smaller numbers
of Arabs, Assyrians, Turcoman, Armenians, Yazidis, Shabaks, Circassians, Kawliya, Irani
ans and Mandeans also extant. Erbil is also home to a large population of refugees due
to ongoing conflicts in Syria and in the rest of Iraq. In 2020, it was estimated that 450,000
refugees had settled in the Erbil metropolitan area since 2003, with many of them
expected to remain.[36]
The parliament of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region was established in Erbil in 1970
after negotiations between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Democratic
Party (KDP) led by Mustafa Barzani, but was effectively controlled by Saddam
Hussein until the Kurdish uprising at the end of the 1991 Gulf War. The legislature
ceased to function effectively in the mid-1990s when fighting broke out between the two
main Kurdish factions, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK). The city was captured by the KDP in 1996 with the assistance of the
Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein. The PUK then established an alternative Kurdish
government in Sulaimaniyah. KDP claimed that on March 1996 PUK asked for Iran's help
to fight KDP. Considering this as a foreign attack on Iraq's soil, the KDP asked Saddam
Hussein for help.
The Kurdish Parliament in Erbil reconvened after a peace agreement was signed
between the Kurdish parties in 1997, but had no real power. The Kurdish government in
Erbil had control only in the western and northern parts of the autonomous region. During
the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, a United States special forces task force was headquartered
just outside Erbil. The city was the scene of celebrations on 10 April 2003 after the fall of
the Ba'ath regime.
Erbil Clock Tower

During the coalition forces occupation of Iraq, sporadic attacks hit Erbil. Parallel bomb
attacks against Eid celebrations killed 109 people on 1 February 2004.[37] Responsibility
was claimed by the Ansar al-Sunnah,[37] and stated to be in solidarity with Ansar al-Islam.
[citation needed]
 A suicide bombing on 4 May 2005 killed 60 civilians and injured 150 more
outside a police recruiting centre.[38]
The Erbil International Airport opened in the city in 2005.
In 2015, the Assyrian Church of the East moved its seat from Chicago to Erbil.

Transportation[edit]
Erbil International Airport is one of Iraq's busiest airports and it is near the city. Services
include direct flights to many domestic destinations such as Baghdad international
airport. There are international flights from Erbil to many countries; such as the
Netherlands, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Austria, Turkey, Jordan and many more flights
elsewhere around the world. There are occasionally seasonal flights from Erbil
international airport. Erbil International Airport was briefly closed to international
commercial flights in September 2017 by the Iraqi government in retaliation for the
Kurdish independence vote but reopened in March 2018.[39][40]
Another important form of transportation between Erbil and the surrounding areas is by
bus. Among others, bus services offer connections to Turkey and Iran. A new bus
terminal was opened in 2014.[41]
Most of Kurdistan's transportation is with local Taxis, which are operated by private
companies and also managed by the government of Kurdistan.
Erbil has a system of five ring roads encirling the city.[42]

Climate[edit]
Erbil has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa), with long,
extremely hot summers and mild winters. Summer months are extremely dry, with little to
no precipitation occurring between June and September. Winters are usually wet and
humid, with January being the wettest month.[43]

hideClimate data for Erbil

 Ma Ap Ma No Yea
Month Jan Feb Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Dec
r r y v r
12. 14. 18. 24. 31. 30. 21. 14. 27.
Average 38.1 42.0 41.9 37.9
4 2 1 0 5 7 2 4 2
high °C (100 (107 (107 (100
(54. (57. (64. (75. (88. (87. (70. (57. (81.
(°F) .6) .6) .4) .2)
3) 6) 6) 2) 7) 3) 2) 9) 0)
12. 17. 24. 22. 15. 20.
Daily 7.4 8.9 29.7 33.4 33.1 29.0 9.1
4 5 1 6 0 2
mean °C (45. (48. (85. (92. (91. (84. (48.
(54. (63. (75. (72. (59. (68.
(°F) 3) 0) 5) 1) 6) 2) 4)
3) 5) 4) 7) 0) 3)
11. 16. 14. 13.
2.4 3.6 6.7 21.4 24.9 24.4 20.1 8.9 3.9
Average 1 7 5 2
(36. (38. (44. (70. (76. (75. (68. (48. (39.
low °C (°F) (52. (62. (58. (55.
3) 5) 1) 5) 8) 9) 2) 0) 0)
0) 1) 1) 8)
Average
111 97 89 69 26 12 56 80 540
rainfall 0 0 0 0
(4.4 (3.8 (3.5 (2.7 (1.0 (0.5 (2.2 (3.1 (21.
mm (0) (0) (0) (0)
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) 2)
(inches)
Average
9 9 10 9 4 1 0 0 1 3 6 10 62
rainy days
Average
snowy 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
days
Average re
lative
75 70 65 59 42 29 25 28 31 44 61 76 50
humidity (
%)
Source 1: Climate-Data.org,[43] My Forecast for records, humidity, snow and precipitation days[44]
Source 2: What's the Weather Like.org,[45] Erbilia[46]

Culture[edit]
Citadel of Erbil[edit]
The Citadel of Erbil is a tell or occupied mound in the historical heart of Erbil, rising
between 25 and 32 metres (82 and 105 ft) from the surrounding plain. The buildings on
top of the tell stretch over a roughly oval area of 430 by 340 metres (1,410 ft × 1,120 ft)
occupying 102,000 square metres (1,100,000 sq ft). It has been claimed that the site is
the oldest continuously inhabited town in the world.[47] The earliest evidence for
occupation of the citadel mound dates to the 5th millennium BC and possibly earlier. It
appears for the first time in historical sources during the Ur III period and gained
particular importance during the Neo-Assyrian Empire (10th to 7th centuries BC) period.
West of the citadel at Ary Kon quarter, a chamber tomb dating to the Neo-Assyrian
Empire period has been excavated.[12] During the Sassanian period and the Abbasid
Caliphate, Erbil was an important centre for Assyrian Christianity and the Assyrians. After
the Mongols captured the citadel in 1258, Erbil's importance began to decline.
During the 20th century, the urban structure was significantly modified, as a result of
which a number of houses and public buildings were destroyed. In 2007, the High
Commission for Erbil Citadel Revitalization (HCECR) was established to oversee
the restoration of the citadel. In the same year, all inhabitants, except one family, were
evicted from the citadel as part of a large restoration project. Since
then, archaeological research and restoration works have been carried out at and around
the tell by various international teams and in co-operation with local specialists, and
many areas remain off-limits to visitors due to the danger of unstable walls and
infrastructure. The government plans to have 50 families live in the citadel once it is
renovated.
The only religious structure that currently survives in the citadel is the Mulla
Afandi Mosque. When it was fully occupied, the citadel was divided in three districts
or mahallas: from east to west the Serai, the Takya and the Topkhana. The Serai was
occupied by notable families; the Takya district was named after the homes of dervishes,
which are called takyas; and the Topkhana district housed craftsmen and farmers. Other
sights to visit in the citadel include the bathing rooms (hammam) built in 1775 located
near the mosque and the Textile Museum.[48] Erbil citadel has been inscribed on the
World Heritage List on 21 June 2014 .

Other sights[edit]
 The covered Erbil Qaysari Bazaars, lying below the main entrance to the citadel
and stocking mainly household goods and tools.
 The 36-metre-high (118-foot) Mudhafaria Minaret, situated in Minaret Park
several blocks from the citadel, dates back to the late 12th century AD and the
Governor of Erbil, in the reign of Saladin, Muzaffar Al-Din Abu Sa’eed Al-Kawkaboori
(Gökböri), who had entered in the obedience of Salahuddin without war and married
his sister. It has an octagonal base decorated with two tiers of niches, which is
separated from the main shaft by a small balcony, also decorated. Another historical
minaret with turquoise glazed tiles is nearby.
 Sami Abdul Rahman Park
 Franso Hariri Stadium
 The Mound of Qalich Agha lies within the grounds of the Museum of Civilization,
1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the citadel. An excavation in 1996 found tools from
the Halaf, Ubaid and Uruk periods.[12]
 Kurdish Textile Museum
Sports[edit]

Franso Hariri Stadium

The local major football team is Erbil Soccer Club which plays its football matches
at Franso Hariri Stadium (named after the assassinated Assyrian politician, former
governor of Erbil city Franso Hariri) which is based in the south part of central Erbil. Erbil
Football Team Wins 3 Iraqi nation league and reached the AFC Final twice, but lost both
times.
Media[edit]
 Babylon FM
 Ishtar TV
 Kanal4
 Kurdistan 24
 Kurdistan TV
 Kurdmax Pepûle
 Kurdsat
 Net TV[disambiguation needed]
 Rudaw Media Network
 Ava Entertainment
 Korek TV
 I Star
 I Star Sport
 I Star Quran
 new line HD
 Speda Channel

Arts[edit]
Erbil is very well known for a style of Kurdish Hairan with many singers who long served
to improve the art form in the region and left a long legacy that is rich with many famous
songs singers such the three brothers Osman, Khdr and Hassan Hairan, many other
modern art forms have emerged in the area such a Rap, Breakdance and Slam Poetry.
Other art forms like traditional singing in small circles is very famous in Erbil, Singers like
Karwan Khabati, Awat Bokani, Farman Belana and Khdr Begalasi who are prominent
names and perform 3-5 times a week at private and public events, these folk singers
make up to 10,000$ a session in Erbil while in other cities they could make $1,000,
therefore, they try their best to make a name for themselves in Erbil.

See also[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to Arbil.

 Ankawa – a suburb
 Assyrian homeland
 Erbil Governorate
 Erbil International Airport – capital's airport in Kurdistan
 List of cities of the ancient Near East

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Irbil". Arabnews.com. Retrieved  11 May  2015.
38. ^ Jaff, Warzer; Oppel Jr., Richard A. (5 May 2005). "60 Kurds Killed by Suicide
Bomb in Northern Iraq".  The New York Times. Retrieved  11 May  2015.
39. ^ Blockade by Iraq (29 September 2017). "Iraqi govt enforces international flight
ban in Kurdistan region". France 24.
40. ^ International Flight Return. "Erbil International Airport". erbilairport.com.
41. ^ "Erbil's New Bus Terminal a Boon for Travelers". Rudaw. 4 April 2019.
Retrieved 19 March  2019.
42. ^ "Erbil's 5th ring road completed - the 120 Meter highway".  Rudaw. 2 May 2017.
Retrieved 19 March  2019.
43. ^ Jump up to:a b "Climate: Arbil – Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table".
Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 13 August  2013.
44. ^ "Irbil, Iraq Climate". My Forecast. Retrieved 14 July  2013.
45. ^ "Erbil climate info". What's the Weather Like.org. Retrieved 14 July  2013.
46. ^ "Erbil Weather Forecast and Climate Information". Erbilia. Archived from the
original on 9 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July2013.
47. ^ "Erbil Citadel".  UNESCO. Retrieved 30 August  2010.
48. ^ 'Erbil Citadel' Brochure, High Commission for Erbil Citadel Revitalization
(HCECR). www.erbilcitadel.org

Sources[edit]
 Sourdel, D. (2010), "Irbil", in Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van
Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Brill
Online, OCLC 624382576
 Grousset, René, The Empire of the Steppes, (Translated from the French by
Naomi Walford), New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press (1970)

External links[edit]
Wikivoyage has a travel
guide for Erbil.

 Hawler Governorate
 Erbil – Portal for international visitors
 Livius.org: Arbela
 Erbil Information Guide
 Hawler/Erbil visitor's guide
 Erbil seen through camera lens