CITADEL
OF ERBIL
Erbil
/ Hewlêr Citadel, Kurdish: Qelay Hewlêr, Erbil, Kurdistan
Region, Iraq :
![](640px-Hawler_Castle.jpg)
Aerial
view of the Erbil citadel
![](528px-Location_map_Arbil.png)
Coordinates
:
36.191° N 44.009° E
Type
:
Citadel
Site
information
:
Controlled
by :
Kurdistan
Region
Open
to the public :
Yes
Condition
:
Partially ruined
Site
history :
Battles
/ wars :
Siege by the Mongols (1258)
UNESCO
World Heritage Site :
Official
name :
Erbil Citadel
Type
:
Cultural
Criteria
: iv
Designated
:
2014 (38th session)
Reference
no. :
1437
State
Party :
Iraq
Region
:
List of World Heritage Sites in Iraq
The
Erbil Citadel, locally called Qelat (Kurdish: Qelay Hewlêr)
is a tell or occupied mound, and the historical city centre of Erbil
in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The citadel has been inscribed
on the World Heritage List since 21 June 2014.
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 in the Ebla tablets around 2,300 BC,
and gained particular importance during the Neo-Assyrian period.
During the Sassanian period and the Abbasid Caliphate, Erbil was
an important centre for Christianity. After the Mongols captured
the citadel in 1258, the importance of Erbil declined. 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
cooperation with local specialists. The government plans to have
50 families live in the citadel once it is renovated.
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). The only religious structure that
currently survives is the Mulla Afandi Mosque. The mound rises between
25 and 32 metres (82 and 105 ft) from the surrounding plain. 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.
History
:
Prehistory :
The site of the citadel may have been occupied as early as the Neolithic
period, as pottery fragments possibly dating to that period have
been found on the slopes of the mound. Clear evidence for occupation
comes from the Chalcolithic period, with shards resembling pottery
of the Ubaid and Uruk periods in the Jazira and southeastern Turkey,
respectively. Given this evidence for early occupation, the citadel
has been called the oldest continuously occupied site in the world.
Earliest
historical records :
Erbil appears for the first time in literary sources around 2300
BC in the archives of Ebla. According to Giovanni Pettinato, it
is mentioned in two tablets as Irbilum.
The
city was first 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.
Later,
Erridupizir, king of Gutium, captured the city in 2200 BC.
At
the end of the 3rd millennium BC, Erbil is mentioned in historical
records of the Ur III period as Urbilum. King Shulgi destroyed Urbilum
in his 43rd regnal year, and during the reign of his successor Amar-Sin,
Urbilum was incorporated into the Ur III state. In the 18th century
BC, Erbil appears in a list of cities that were conquered by Shamshi-Adad
of Upper Mesopotamia and Dadusha of Eshnunna during their campaign
against the land of Qabra. Shamshi-Adad installed garrisons in all
the cities of the land of Urbil. During the 2nd millennium BC, Erbil
was incorporated into Assyria. Erbil served as a point of departure
for military campaigns toward the east.
From
the Neo-Assyrian period to the Sassanids :
Erbil was an important city during the Neo-Assyrian period. The
city took part in the great revolt against Shamshi-Adad V that broke
out over the succession of Shalmaneser III. During the Neo-Assyrian
period, the name of the city was written as Arbi-Ilu, meaning 'Four
Gods'. Erbil was an important religious centre that was compared
with cities such as Babylon and Assur. Its goddess Ishtar of Erbil
was one of the principal deities of Assyria, often named together
with Ishtar of Nineveh. Her sanctuary was repaired by the kings
Shalmaneser I, Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal. Inscriptions from Assurbanipal
record oracular dreams inspired by Ishtar of Erbil. Assurbanipal
probably held court in Erbil during part of his reign and received
there envoys from Rusa II of Urartu after the defeat of the Elamite
ruler Teumman.
After
the end of the Assyrian Empire, Erbil was first controlled by the
Medes and then incorporated into the Achaemenid Empire before it
became part of the empire of Alexander the Great after the Battle
of Gaugamela, which was fought near Erbil in 331 BC. Subsequently,
after the partition of Alexander the Great Empire by his generals
(known as Diadochoi), the city was called Arabella or Arbela and
it was part of the Hellenistic Seleucid Kingdom. After the 1st c.
BCE, the Roman and Parthian Empire fought over control of Erbil,
or Arbira as it was known in that period. After the 1st c. AD, Arbela
became an important Christian centre. During the Sassanid period,
Erbil was the seat of a satrap (governor). In 340 AD, Christians
in Erbil were persecuted and in 358, the governor became a martyr
after he converted to Christianity. A Nestorian school was founded
in Erbil by the School of Nisibis in c. 521. During this period,
Erbil was also the site of a Zoroastrian fire temple.
Muslim
conquest until the Ottomans :
Painting showing an army encampment with horses, soldiers and tents
in front of a walled city with towers and a gate guarded by soldiers.
![](590pxSeige_dirbil1258-1259.jpeg)
Fifteenth-century depiction of the siege of Erbil by the
Mongols in 1258
Erbil was conquered by the Muslims in the 7th century. It remained
an important Christian centre until the 9th century, when the bishop
of Erbil moved his seat to Mosul. In the Middle of 10th century
Erbil came under the rule of Hadhabani Kurds until 1063 it was taken
over by Seljuks. From the first half of the 12th century until 1233,
Erbil was the seat of the Begteginids, a Turcoman dynasty that rose
to prominence under the reign of Zengi, the atabeg of Mosul.in 1183
Zain ad-Din Yusuf ruler of Erbil shifted his side to the Ayyubid
Sultanate. In 1190 when Zain ad-Din Yusuf Died His older brother
Muzaffar al-Din Gökböri who was previously governor of
Edessa became the new governor of Erbil, who created a lower town
around the city on the citadel mound and founded hospitals and madrasahs.
Gökburi died in 1233 without an heir and control of Erbil shifted
to the Abbasid Caliph al-Mustansir after he had besieged the city.
When
the Mongols invaded the Near East in the 13th century, they attacked
Erbil for the first time in 1237. They plundered the lower town
but had to retreat before an approaching caliphal army and had to
put off the capture of the citadel. After the fall of Baghdad to
Hülegü and the Mongols in 1258, they returned to Erbil
and were able to capture the citadel after a siege lasting six months.
Hülegü then appointed a Christian governor to the town
and there was an influx of Jacobite Christians, who were allowed
to build a church.
As
time passed, persecutions of Christians, Jews and Buddhists throughout
the Ilkhanate began in earnest in 1295 under Oïrat amir Nauruz.
This manifested early on in the reign of the Ilkhan Ghazan. In 1297,
after Ghazan had felt strong enough to overcome Nauruz' influence,
he put a stop to the persecutions.
During
the reign of the Ilkhan Öljeitü some of the Christian
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 Mar Yahballaha's
best efforts to avert the impending doom, the citadel was at last
taken by Ilkhanate troops on 1 July 1310, and all the defenders
were massacred, including all the Christian inhabitants of the lower
town.
After
Battle of Chaldiran in 1514 Erbil came under Soran emirate A semi
independent Emirate under the Ottomans In the 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., the town had approximately 3,200 inhabitants,
including a sizeable Jewish minority.
Modern
period :
During the 20th century, the citadel witnessed significant urban
and social changes. A 15-metre (49 ft) high steel water tank was
erected on the citadel in 1924, providing the inhabitants with purified
water, but also causing water damage to the foundations of the buildings
due to increased water seepage. The number of inhabitants gradually
declined over the 20th century as the city at the foot of the citadel
grew and wealthier inhabitants moved to larger, modern houses with
gardens. In 1960, over 60 houses, a mosque and a school were demolished
to make way for a straight road connecting the southern gate with
the northern gate. Some reconstruction works were carried in 1979
on the citadel's southern gate and the hammam. In 2007, the remaining
840 families were evicted from the citadel as part of a large project
to restore and preserve the historic character of the citadel. These
families were offered financial compensation. One family was allowed
to continue living on the citadel to ensure that there would be
no break in the possible 8,000 years of continuous habitation of
the site, and the government plans to have 50 families live in the
citadel once it is renovated. In 2004, the Kurdish Textile Museum
opened its doors in a renovated mansion in the southeast quarter
of the citadel.
The
Citadel and the Bazaar :
The city of Erbil is defined by the central circular mound that
is the citadel, 102,000 square metres of land raised 26 metres above
the surrounding city, presumed to have been started in antiquity
as a tell. Around and beneath it to the south sprawl a maze of alleyways
where the ancient commercial heart of the city beats strongly to
this day. The citadel dwellings still stand, although they are now
vacated as part of the UNESCO development project to renovate the
buildings. Former resident Mahmoud Yasim, who grew up with his seven
siblings in the 8000-year-old network of alleyways alongside some
830 other families, describes the community they enjoyed: 'Everyone
used to know each other back then. We were living in houses without
permission and they were very old and part collapsed - but our life
was good. We were close to everything - the bazaar, the hospital
and schools as well.' A great many of the inhabitants were sad to
leave when the authorities relocated them in 1997 - largely to Qalai
New (the 'New Citadel') - but it has afforded the opportunity to
start work on rebuilding the crumbling structures, restoring wherever
possible the intricate plasterwork and distinctively carved lintels.
The market area below is thought to have been created in the time
of Sultan Muzafferddin Kokberi (1190-1233). This period, the only
time in its long history when Erbil flourished as an independent
city state, also saw the creation of the minaret recently restored
in downtown Erbil, and was also the time when the Muzafferddin madrassahs
(schools) were founded.
The
area around the southern base of the citadel has received the attention
of modern town planners, with the large open-air Lana market where
once market stalls sold leather crafts now and replaced by a large
modern shopping mall. The covered market, known as Qasariyah, still
stands largely unchanged: a labyrinth of small alleyways protected
from sun and rain by a latticework of corrugated iron. Beneath these
eaves are the numerous shopkeepers selling wares largely imported
from the Far East interspersed with craftsmen plying a trade they
would inherited from their forefathers in the late nineteenth century
when the bazaar was restored: jewellers, cobblers, carpenters, tinsmiths
and butchers. Where possible, tradesmen gather alongside others
who trade in the same wares, giving each alleyway a specialism such
as the passageway towards the north-east corner where honey and
dairy products are sold - yoghurts and cheeses piling the highly
valued local honey. Another highly prized tradition is the creation
of Klash shoes - an ancient uniquely Kurdish craft when white cloth
is beaten on small anvils to create hardwearing footwear. These,
and the traditional fabrics sold in the textile souk, are ever-popular
in the run-up to the annual Newroz celebrations when the townspeople
assume traditional attire.
Architecture
and layout :
Houses on top of the citadel with the main north–south thoroughfare
in the centre
The citadel is situated on a large tell – or settlement mound
– of roughly oval shape that is between 25 and 32 metres (82
and 105 ft) high. The area on top of the mound measures 430 by 340
metres (1,410 ft × 1,120 ft) and is 102,000 square metres
(1,100,000 sq ft) large. Natural soil has been found at a depth
of 36 metres (118 ft) below the present surface of the mound. The
angle of the citadel mound's slopes is c. 45°. Three ramps,
located on the northern, eastern and southern slopes of the mound,
lead up to gates in the outer ring of houses. The southern gate
was the oldest and was rebuilt at least once, in 1860, and demolished
in 1960. The current gate house was constructed in 1979. The eastern
gate is called the Harem Gate and was used by women. It seems unclear
when the northern gate was opened. One source claims that it was
opened in 1924, while another observes that there were only two
gates in 1944 – the southern and eastern gates.
![](640px-A_traditional_house_in_Erbil_Citadel._05.jpg)
Ornaments
on the traditional house walls in the citadel of Erbil, Iraq
During
the early 20th century, there were three mosques, two schools, two
takyas and a hammam on the citadel. The citadel also housed a synagogue
until 1957. The only religious structure that currently survives
is the Mulla Afandi Mosque, which was rebuilt on the location of
an earlier 19th-century mosque. The hammam was built in 1775 by
Qassim Agha Abdullah. It went out of service during the 1970s and
was renovated in 1979, although many original architectural details
were lost.
![](640px-A_traditional_house_in_Erbil_Citadel._01.jpg)
The
door way of a traditional house in the Citadel of Erbil, Iraq
When it was still 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. A 1920 inventory
showed that at that time the citadel was divided into 506 house
plots. Since then the number of houses and inhabitants has gradually
declined. For example, in 1984 4,466 people lived in 375 houses,
whereas a 1995 census showed that the citadel had only 1,631 inhabitants
living in 247 houses. Until the opening-up of the main north–south
thoroughfare, the streets on the citadel mound radiated outward
from the southern gate like the branches of a tree. Streets were
between 1 and 2.5 metres (3 ft 3 in and 8 ft 2 in) wide and ranged
in length from 300 metres (980 ft) for major alleyways to 30–50
metres (98–164 ft) for cul-de-sacs.
![](640px-A_traditional_house_in_Erbil_Citadel._11.jpg)
The
interior of a Traditional House in the Citadel of Erbil, Iraq
The perimeter wall of the citadel is not a continuous fortification
wall, but consists of the façades of approximately 100 houses
that have been built against each other. Because they have been
built on or near the steep slope of the citadel mound, many of these
façades were strengthened by buttresses to prevent their
collapse or subsidence. There were circa 30 city-palaces; most of
them located along the perimeter of the citadel. The oldest surviving
house that can be securely dated through an inscription was built
in 1893. The oldest houses can be found on the southeastern side
of the mound, whereas houses on the northern perimeter date to the
1930s–1940s.Before the introduction of modern building techniques,
most houses on the citadel were built around a courtyard. A raised
arcade overlooking the courtyard, a flat roof and a bent-access
entrance to prevent views of the courtyard and the interior of the
house were characteristic elements of the houses on the citadel.
Research
and restoration :
![](Citadel_of_Hewl%EAr_(Erbil),_Iraqi_Kurdistan.jpg)
Restored house façades along the southern perimeter
of the citadel
In 2006 and 2007, a team from the University of West Bohemia, together
with Salahaddin University in Arbil, carried out an extensive survey
and evaluation of the entire citadel. As part of this project, geodetic
measurements of the citadel were taken and these were combined with
satellite imagery, regular photographic imagery and aerial photographs
to create a map and digital 3D model of the citadel mound and the
houses on top of it. Geophysical prospection was carried out in
some areas of the citadel to detect traces of older architecture
buried under the present houses. Archaeological investigations included
an archaeological survey on the western slope of the citadel mound,
and the excavation of a small test trench in the eastern part of
the citadel.
A
Neo-Assyrian chamber tomb was found at the foot of the citadel mound
during construction activities in 2009. It was subsequently excavated
by the local Antiquities Service and archaeologists from the German
Archaeological Institute (DAI). The tomb was plundered in antiquity
but still contained pottery dating to the 8th and 7th centuries
BC. The cooperation between the Antiquities Service and the DAI
was continued later that year with a further investigation of the
tomb and with a small excavation nearby and geophysical survey of
the surrounding area, in which also students from Salahaddin University
participated. These investigations revealed the presence of architecture
probably dating to the Neo-Assyrian period, as well as more burials
belonging to subsequent centuries.
![](Erbyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyl2.jpg)
Entrance
of Erbil citadel (Front view)
In 2007, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) established the
High Commission for Erbil Citadel Revitalization (HCECR) to preserve
and restore the citadel with the help of UNESCO. Among other things,
the HCECR advocates the establishment of a zone extending up to
300–400 metres (980–1,310 ft) from the citadel in which
building height should be restricted to approximately 10 metres
(33 ft). This would ensure the visual dominance of the citadel over
its surroundings.
On
2 April 2019, NASA has described the historic citadel as possibly
the oldest continuously occupied human settlement on Earth.
UNESCO
World Heritage status :
On 8 January 2010, the HCECR and the Iraqi State Board for Antiquities
and Heritage (SBAH) submitted the Citadel of Erbil to the Iraqi
Tentative List of sites that are considered for nomination as World
Heritage Site. The submission states that "The Citadel is today
one of the most dramatic and visually exciting cultural sites not
only in the Middle East but also in the world." Two further
agreements between the HCECR and UNESCO were signed in March 2010,
and it was disclosed that Arbil Governorate will finance the restoration
project with US$13 million. The first restoration works were carried
out in June 2010. The Citadel was inscribed on the World Heritage
List on 21 June 2014. In January 2017, UNESCO indicated that the
site could be removed from the list due to the slow progress being
made in the restoration program.
Gallery
:
Some photos of the Citadel of Erbil during the restoration work,
2014.
![](640px-An_alley,_Citadel_of_Erbil,_during_the_restoration_work_in_2014.jpg)
An
alley, Citadel of Erbil, during the restoration work in 2014
![](640px-Citadel_of_Erbil,_during_the_restoration_work_of_its_buildings,_2014.jpg)
Citadel
of Erbil during the restoration work in 2014. Hawler, Erbil, Kurdistan
Region
![](640px-A_street_within_the_Citadel_of_Erbil_during_the_restoration_work,_2014.jpg)
Citadel
of Erbil during the restoration work in 2014. Hawler, Erbil, Kurdistan
Region
![](640px-Citadel_of_Erbil,_a_street_during_the_restoration_work_in_2014,_near_the_Kurdish_Textile_and_Cultural_Museum.jpg)
Citadel
of Erbil during the restoration work in 2014. Hawler, Erbil, Kurdistan
Region
![](640px-Citadel_of_Erbil,_restoration_work_of_some_old_buildings,_2014.jpg)
Citadel
of Erbil during the restoration work in 2014. Hawler, Erbil, Kurdistan
Region
![](640px-Citadel_of_Erbil,_the_Grand_Mosque,_2014,_during_the_restoration_work.jpg)
Citadel
of Erbil during the restoration work in 2014. Hawler, Erbil, Kurdistan
Region
![](640px-Restoration_work_of_some_old_buildings_at_the_Citadel_of_Erbil,_2104.jpg)
Citadel
of Erbil during the restoration work in 2014. Hawler, Erbil, Kurdistan
Region
![](640px-The_wall_of_the_Citadel_of_Erbil_in_2014,_during_the_restoration_work.jpg)
The
wall of the Citadel of Erbil during the restoration work in 2014.
Hawler, Erbil, Kurdistan Region
![](640px-A_traditional_house_in_Erbil_Citadel._02.jpg)
A
courtyard in a traditional house in Erbil Citadel
![](640px-A_traditional_house_in_Erbil_Citadel._14.jpg)
A
courtyard in a traditional house in Erbil Citadel
![](640px-A_traditional_house_in_Erbil_Citadel._09.jpg)
Ornaments
and details in a traditional house in Erbil Citadel
![](640px-A_traditional_house_in_Erbil_Citadel._13.jpg)
Ornaments
and details in a traditional house in Erbil Citadel
![](640px-A_traditional_house_in_Erbil_Citadel._12.jpg)
A
balcony in a traditional house in Erbil Citadel with ornamented
hand-railing
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Citadel_of_Erbil