Erbil

Erbil
ھەولێر
Hawler
Nickname: 
The City of Citadel and Minaret
(Kurdish: شاری قەڵا و منارە)
Erbil is located in Iraqi Kurdistan
Erbil
Erbil
Location of Erbil within the Kurdistan Region
Erbil is located in Iraq
Erbil
Erbil
Location of Erbil within Iraq
Coordinates: 36°11′28″N 44°00′33″E / 36.191188°N 44.009189°E / 36.191188; 44.009189
Country Iraq
Federal region Kurdistan
GovernorateErbil
Government
 • MayorOmed Khoshnaw
Area
 • City
115 km2 (44 sq mi)
 • Land113 km2 (44 sq mi)
 • Water2 km2 (0.77 sq mi)
Elevation
390 m (1,280 ft)
Population
 • Estimate 
(2024)
1.2 million
 • Density10,435/km2 (27,030/sq mi)
 • Metro
1.4 million
Time zoneUTC+3 (AST)
Postal code
44001
Area code066
Websitewww.hawlergov.org/app/en
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Erbil (Arabic: أربيل, romanized: ʾArbīl; Syriac: ܐܲܪܒܹܝܠ, romanized: Arbēl), also called Hawler (Kurdish: هەولێر, romanized: Hewlêr), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the capital of the Erbil Governorate. Erbil is described as the region's cultural, economic, industrial, educational and medical hub.

Erbil is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Human settlement at Erbil may be dated back to the 5th millennium BC. 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 The earliest historical reference to the region dates to the Third Dynasty of Ur of Sumer, when King Shulgi mentioned the city of Urbilum.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.

In the 3rd millennium BC, Erbil was an independent power in its area. It was conquered for a time by the Gutians. Beginning in the late 2nd millennium BC, it came under Assyrian control. 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, as well as being the capital of the tributary state of Adiabene between the mid-second century BC and early 2nd century AD. In ancient times the patron deity of the city was Ishtar of Arbela.

Following the Muslim conquest of Persia, the region no longer remained united, and during the Middle Ages, the city came to be ruled by the Seljuk and Ottoman empires.

Erbil's archaeological museum houses a large collection of pre-Islamic artifacts, particularly the art of Mesopotamia, and is a centre for archaeological projects in the area. The city was designated as the Arab Tourism Capital 2014 by the Arab Council of Tourism. In July 2014, the Citadel of Erbil was inscribed as a World Heritage Site.