*** Welcome to piglix ***

Arbil

Erbil
ܐܲܪܒܝ̣ܠ
ھەولێر
أربيل

Arbelā, Hawler, Arbīl
Clockwise, from top: Downtown, Mudhafaria Minaret, Statue of Ibn al-Mustawfi, and Citadel of Erbil
Clockwise, from top: Downtown, Mudhafaria Minaret, Statue of Ibn al-Mustawfi, and Citadel of Erbil
Erbil is located in Iraq
Erbil
Erbil
Erbil in Iraq
Coordinates: 36°11′28″N 44°0′33″E / 36.19111°N 44.00917°E / 36.19111; 44.00917Coordinates: 36°11′28″N 44°0′33″E / 36.19111°N 44.00917°E / 36.19111; 44.00917
Country  Iraq
Autonomous region  Iraqi Kurdistan
Province Erbil Governorate
Government
 • Governor Nawzad Hadi
 • Mayor Nihad Qoja
Elevation 420 m (1,380 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 1,025,000
Time zone GMT+3 (UTC+3)
 • Summer (DST) not observed (UTC)
Postal code 31019
Area code(s) 66

Erbil, also spelt Arbil or Irbil, and also known as Hewler (Central Kurdish: ھەولێر Hawler‎, Syriac: ܐܪܒܝܠArbel, Arabic: أربيل‎‎ Arbīl), is the capital city of Erbil Governorate and of Iraqi Kurdistan. It is located approximately 350 kilometres (220 miles) north of Baghdad. Its governorate has a permanent population of approximately 1.61 million as of 2011.

Human settlement at Erbil can be dated back to possibly 5000 BC, and it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited areas in the world. At the heart of the city is the ancient Citadel of Arbil. The earliest historical reference to the region dates to the Ur III dynasty of Sumer, when king Shulgi mentioned the city of Urbilum, the ancient Assyrian name of modern-day Arbil.

Erbil became an integral part of Assyria by at least the 21st century BC, and it was known variously as Urbilim, Arbela and Arba-ilu. It was part of the geopolitical province of Assyria, under several regional powers in turn, including the Median Empire, the Achaemenid Empire (Achaemenid Assyria), Macedonian Empire, Seleucid Syria, Parthian Empire (Athura), Assyria (Roman province) and Sassanid Empire (Assuristan). Following the Arab conquest of Persia, Assyria as a geo-political entity (then known as Assuristan/Athura) slowly dissolved, and during medieval times the city came to be ruled by the Seljuk and Ottoman Turks.


...
Wikipedia

...