İmâdiyye

Amadiya ܥܲܡܵܕܝܵܐ Amêdî, ئامێدی
Amadiya bird's eye view
Nickname(s): ܥܲܡܵܕܝܵܐ
Amadiya
Coordinates: 37°05′33″N 43°29′14″E / 37.09250°N 43.48722°E / 37.09250; 43.48722
Country	Iraq
Autonomous region	Kurdistan
Governorate	Dohuk Governorate
District	Amadiya District
Founded	Before 3000 B.C.
Government
• Type	Mayor
Elevation	3,900 ft (1,200 m)
Population
• Total	11,000
Time zone	GMT +3
Postcode	42008

Amadiya /ˌɑːməˈdiːə/ (Kurdish: Amêdî, ئامێدی‎, Arabic: العمادية‎‎, Aramaic: ܥܲܡܵܕܝܵܐ‎‎ Al-Emadiyah) is a Kurdish town and popular summer resort and Hill station along a tributary to the Great Zab in the Dahuk Governorate of Iraqi Kurdistan. The city is situated 4,600 feet (1,400 m) above sea level.

The history of the city of Amadiya goes back as far as ancient Assyria, and it has probably existed even prior to that due to its strategic place on the flat top of a mountain. It was an Assyrian city known as Amedi from the 25th century BC until the end of the 7th century BC with the fall of the Assyrian Empire. After that, it was part of Achaemenid Assyria, Seleucid Assyria and Parthian and Sassanid-ruled Assyria until its conquest in the mid 7th century AD by the Arabs. Then, for several centuries, after the expulsion of the caliphs from Baghdad in the 7th century, it was ruled by a pasha from the royal Abbas family, reputed to be one of the richest families in the region.

The region in which the city rests is believed to have been the seat of the Magi, or high priests of Persian-ruled Assyria, and the city itself is believed to be the home of some of the most significant Magi priests: the Biblical Magi or the "Three Wise Men" who made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to see Jesus Christ shortly after his birth.