Erbil City
Date:
No:
March 9, 2013
Art.1-C0913
Erbil city is considered one of the main Turkmen cities in northeastern Iraq, which is continuously
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exposed to intensive Kurdish settlement. The city, which has a long history, dates back to the 6
millennium BC when it began as a small agricultural village. Since then it has taken many different
1
names.
The name Urbilum can be found in the correspondences of Shulgi, during the Sumerian period in 2000
2
3
BC though Erbilim was the name of the city during the third Ur Empire. It is thought to originate from
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Sumerian UR (city) + bela (high) meaning the city located in the upper area.
In Babylon and Assyrian writings, the city called Arba illo, or Arba’ilu and Ishtar Erbla was an important
religious center which included the Temple of Ishtar. It is reported Arbira in the miniatures of the
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Persians.
The plats which were founded during excavations showed that from 331 BC the city was called Arbela.
This name is sometimes given to the battle fought at Gaugamela, some 100 km away from the city where
Alexander the Great defeated Darius III. The name Erbl was mentioned in Arab sources. Arabic historians
ibn al-Athir, ibn al-Kathir and ibn al-Khaldun named the city Erbl while the Old Testament referred Erbil
3
Erbaila.
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Rauwolff who visited the city towards the end of the 16 century used the name Harpel. The name Erbil
is thought to have been used in the beginning of the second millennium at the time of the Turkmen Seljuk
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Empire. Buckingham in the 1920s said that the inhabitants used Areveel and Arbeel.
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The name Hawleer appeared later in the 20 century, after the city, and most of the Turkmen regions
were exposed to the intensive Kurdish emigration. Today, the names Arbil and Erbil are officially used,
though local Kurds use Hawleer.
The name Irwil is used by the local Turkmen. Al-Janabi relates the name Haleer to the city’s old name
Kholeer which means the ‘Abode of Sun’. Chawushli claims that the name Hawleer was possibly derived
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from Halayraya which means ‘it is here’ in Kurdish.
Geography (Map 3)
The citadel of Erbil is considered the nucleus around which the city expanded. Erbil has the best city
planning in the region. The major streets radiate from the citadel and are Intersected by three circular
roads parallel to the boundaries of the citadel and to each other at different distances. (Map 4)
Erbil city is the capital of a province of the same name located in the north east of Iraq. It became the
official capital of the Kurdish region after the fall of Ba’ath regime in 2003. It is located on a plateau on top
of an ancient caravan route. Erbil was linked by a network of roads with Iran, Syria and Turkey and was
an important trading and agricultural center. The city is 390 meters high; the highest point and the highest
point is at the citadel which is 414 meters higher than sea level. It is located on a latitude of 36.11,
longitude 42.2.
Erbil is located 84 km south east of Mosul city and 90 km north of Kerkuk city. It is also 320 km from the
Iraqi capital, Baghdad. To the south, a road runs to Kerkuk city and to Shaqlawa, Choman and Haj
Omran which emerges from the north east of the city. There is an old road from the northwest to Mosul,
while the new road to Mosul is located to the west of Erbil. A route to Sulaymaniya passes toward the
east. The road to Makhmour passes towards the south west.
Weather in Erbil city is very hot for one month only. During this period the temperature can rise to 40 C,
occasionally reaching higher temperatures. The average temperature in summer is around 35 C in July.
The winters are mild and snow falls rarely, however, the temperature can lower to around 0 C in January.
The rain falls mainly in the last and first two months of year, heaviest is in December with precipitation of
about 75 mm.
The boundaries of Erbil governorate are Nineveh governorate at the west, Duhok governorate and Turkey
at the north, Iran at the east and Sulaymaniya governorate at the southeast, Kerkuk and Salah al-Din
governorates at the south.
The Erbil region has a plentiful water supply with many hills. The height of the undulations increase
gradually towards the northeast; where they become mountainous. There are many plains in the south
and west of the region. The geological structure of the Erbil plain is suitable for artesian water. Due to the
heavy rainfall, water becomes trapped, in large supplies, in the lower beds. This water then rises to the
surface under its own pressure. The main feature of the Erbil district is the kehriz.
The plains constitute a major portion of the province of Erbil, of which the largest are the Erbil plain,
Kandinawah and Shamamik. The plain of Erbil, which includes Erbil city, is 50 miles in length between
two Zabs and 25 miles widthe. This plain occupies the eastern part of the province bounded by Bastura
Chay. Its large part at south of the province was described by Hay as follows: “In spring the traveler may
stand on one of the ancient mounds which dots its surface and, except for the white roads, as far as he
can see the whole country is under cultivation, either green with the standing crops or ploughed ready for
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the autumn sowing”. Erbil plain is rich in deep wells that are connected to each other. Located at the
west of the province is Qara Choq mountain range, which runs from a point on the Lesser Zab toward the
north east to the Greater Zab. The highest peak of this range is 260 and 850 meters in the west and east,
respectively. The plain is surrounded by the Qara Choq mountain ranges, lesser Zab and the Tigris,
which is famous for its fertility. The land beyond Qara Choq is divided into the Kandinawah plain at the
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south and Shamamik at the north of the city. In general, the city’s north easterly area is mountainous and
the Southwest is plain. Erbil plains are well known for their fertile and productive soil; renowned for wheat
and grain production.
While the country lacks an abundance of minerals or valuable ore. Oil can be found in some locations on
the banks of the Greater Zab River. However, despite this wells of the Erbil plain were not fully functioned
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for long time which resulted in underutilized natural resources.
Citadels are found in most of the large cities where the Iraqi Turkmen live, for example, Kerkuk and
Telafer. Erbil citadel, which is considered the symbol of Erbil city, is as old as the city of Erbil.
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When Erbil city was founded it was only the Citadel, the entrances had iron doors to protect the city
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from Kurdish incursions to which all the Turkmen villages on the Kurdish line were repeatedly subjected.
Up to the beginning of this century, the citadel served as a cultural and administrative center, where
elegant buildings stood and prosperous Turkmen families lived. Many buildings are currently either
structurally unsound or dilapidated.
Shiel’s observations from the middle of the 19th century are as follows: “The town is placed on a large
mound sixty or seventy feet in height, and 300 yards in length by 200 in breadths.” “At the foot of the
mound there is another town, enclosed by a mud wall, a great part of it being in ruins, in which respect it
resembles both the upper and lower town; the latter especially is almost desolate”. “A short distance to
the west of the town, there is an immense brick pillar standing by itself in the plain”. “Erbil contains 6,000
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people, three large mosques, and two baths”.
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Toward the end of 16 century, Rauwolff described Erbil: “Town Harpel, which is pretty large, but very
pitifully built, and miserably surrounded with walls, so that it might easily be taken without any great
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Strength or Loss”. D’Anville also passed from Erbil in the first half of 18th century saying “Arbela, whose
name has been a plural signification, is represented as the principle city of Adiabene, and is still in
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existence under the name of Erbil”.
Map 1, Sketch of Erbil city in 1944
From Iraq and the Persian Gulf, Great Britain. Naval Intelligence Division
Niebuhr portrayed Erbil in the 1760s as follows: “Now, the that is left is nothing more than a citadel, the
wall of the citadel is no longer present, outer wall of the Citadel was gone, but the outer houses, which
were built only from the unfired tiles, standing on the side of the hills so thickly to one another, that only
by a simple ascent in to the present-day city can be reached. In the past the city center was at the foot of
the hill, but now there are few houses in a bad condition. The historical buildings of the region can’t be
found today, only remnant of a mosque, far in the field, which sultan Musaffer, as they say, was built”. In
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the manuscript of Mahdi Khan “The history of Nadir Shah” Erbil from 1757 was mentioned as a citadel.
Kinneir in the early 19th century wrote the followings when he was in Erbil: “Erbille, which we have every
reason to conclude, is that Arbella, so famous in history for the final victory obtained by Alexander over
Darius and the capital of the province of Adiabene, has wholly declined from its former importance, and
dwindled into a wretched mud town, with a population not exceeding three thousand souls. Part of this
town is built on a hill of a conical form, on which probably stood the old castle, and the remainder of the
town encircles the base of the hill. The country surrounding Erbille (Which lies in Latitude 36 11 E), and
between that place and Mosul, is fruitful, but hilly, and very deficient in wood, there being hardly a tree, or
even a shrub to be seen. Two miles distant from Erbille is a large village, inhabited by Christians, of the
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Chaldean or Nestorian sect”.
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During the early decades of the 19 century, Rich visited Erbil city and commented that: “Arbil is situated
at the foot of the artificial mount, principally on the south side, and contains a bath, caravanserais, and
bazaars. Some portion of the town is situated on the mount, or what is called the Castle. On the east, or a
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little north of the town, is a from hollow, called the valley of Tchekunem”.
Southgate gives important information about Erbil city in the 1840s: “The present city of Arbela stands,
like Kerkuk, on a round flat-topped hill, some 150 feet high. The wall, however, which runs round the brow
is better than that of Kerkuk. It encloses 1000 houses, and there are 500 more at the foot of the hill, which
from the depression of the ground, are not all visible as you approach the place. There is a considerable
number of Jews in the town, but no Christians. The bazars, which are below, had a very picturesque
appearance from their being covered with branches, which gave them airiness and lightness more
agreeable, though less imposing, than solid arches of brick or stone. Three-fourths of an hour north-west
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of the town lies Enkeva”.
Map 2, Sketch of Erbil city I 1997
History
Erbil city is considered one of the most ancient cities of the world. The first agricultural village in history
was established in Erbil. It has continuously been inhabited for about 8000 years. It was first mentioned in
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the reign of Shamas-Vul, the son of the Black Obelisk king in about 850 BC. Another source suggests
that the name of the city, then referred to as Orbelum, appeared in the earlier period of 2300 BC during
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the Sumerian era.
The greatest empires in world history ruled the Erbil region. The Subarians and the Gutians dominated
21 the area around 3000 BC, In 2150 BC, the Gutians controlled the region after defeating the Acadians.
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From 2050 until 1950 BC, the city was ruled by the Ur III Empire, during which the citadel of Erbil was
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possibly built.
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The Hurrian-Mitannian state seized Erbil between the 15th to 14th century BC. Thereafter the Assyrians
captured the Erbil region and made Erbil their capital. They built the temple of the Gods of Ishtar and
Ashur. During this period, drinking water became available through pipes, made of pot, running 20
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kilometers long from the Bastura River to the Citadel.
Medes of the Persians, the Greeks and the Parthians held onto Erbil until 226 AD. Alexander the great
conquered Erbil in 331 BC. Many architectural developments took place during the Greek period,
particularly by King Salukis who rebuilt the Kerkuk citadel. Erbil was an important administrative center
during the Sassanian era. The city was held by the Arabs in 642 AD, after the Qadisiya battle.
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Hathbanians established a principality in Erbil at the beginning of the 12 century.
The city was annexed to the Atabeg’s (Zangids) reign in Mosul in 1127. In 1144 Zeyn al-Dın Ali Küçük
founded the independent Erbil Atabegian’s state. During this period Erbil city got the only independent
status in history, and also saw constructional, cultural and social prosperity. Muzaffar al-Din Gökbürü
constructed several buildings in the city, some of which still stands today. The Broken Minaret, which was
built by Gökbürü, is still considered one of the important historical monuments of the region. Gökbürü
conquered the small states in the region and widened his principality. The geographical term Shahrazur,
which was extended from the Greater Zab River to the boundaries of Sulaymaniya governorate, including
the present Tavuk district and Dohuk governorate, were added to the land of Erbil Atabegs. During the
time of Gökbürü, Muzaffar al-Din University (madrasah) was founded. Afterwards, the city held onto its
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power under the rule of Mosul Atabegs until 1232.
In 1232, Erbil fell under the control of the Kipchak Turkmen. In 1258 AD and after a yearlong siege, the
Mongols invaded the city and occupied it until 1410 AD. Jalayirids ruled Erbil from 1337, which were
defeated by Tamerlane in 1401. Between 1410 and 1508, control of the city alternated between the Kara
29 - 31
In 1501, Shah Ismail managed to get the Turkmen groups
Koyunlu and Ak Koyunlu Turkmen states.
of different tribes on his side and founded the Safavids state. In 1508, he annexed the Erbil city to
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Safavids state.
In 1534, the Ottoman Sultan Sulayman the Magnificent completed the conquest of north and central Iraq.
In the first half of the 19th century, Erbil city was administratively related to the Baghdad province. In
1870, the city was annexed to the Shahrazur Sanjak (district), which was part of the independent Mosul
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Wilayet (province).
In 1879, Mosul Wilayet was separated from Baghdad Wilayet. Then Erbil became a town annexed to
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Kerkuk within the Sanjaq (province) of Sharazur in the Mosul Wilayet.
Early in the 1920s, Erbil, with two other districts, were separated from Kerkuk and made a province of
Iraq. In 1991 and when the Save Haven was instituted, Erbil was administratively separated from Iraqi
and ruled by Kurdish Parties, mainly by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. In 1996, the Kurdish Democratic
Party, cooperating with the Ba’ath regime, expelled the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and took control of
Erbil.
Administration
Erbil city gained its highest administrative state and became a capital city under the reign of Atabeg (1190
to 1232). On the map of Nasir al-Din Tusi from 1261 (revised in 1437 by Ulubeg) and the map of Le
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strange talking on 14 century, Erbil was located in the al-Jazira region. In 1840, when Ainsworth visited
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the region, Kerkuk and Erbil were considered as towns attached to the Wilayat of Baghdad. Map of the
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Ottoman Commissioner at Erzurum treaty in 1848 shows Erbil, also within the Wilayat of Baghdad. Erbil
was included in Shahrizur Wilayat when its status as Ottoman territory was confirmed by the treaties of
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1550 and 1554.
As a part of Kerkuk Sanjak, Erbil remained annexed to the Wilayet (province) of Shahrizur until 1879. The
39,
city was annexed to the Wilayet of Mosul as part of Kerkuk Sanjak when Mosul again became Wilayet.
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The Turkish deed records of October 16 , 1908, included Shahrizur, which comprised the districts of
Kerkuk, Rania, Erbil, Rawanduz, Koi and Kifri, in the Wilayat of Mosul in Iraq. The Kerkuk annual report
(Salname) of 1912 showed Erbil with Harir, its administrative unit, as a district in Sanjak of Kerkuk. Under
a deputy governor (Mutasarrif) Erbil including Rawanduz and Koy sanjak became almost independent
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sub-liwa of Kerkuk in 1921.
In the early 1920s, Razzuq Isa presented Erbil as a liwa or province, and at the same time as a district,
describing the internal administrative boundaries of Erbil as Central (Erbil) district including the subdistricts (Nahiya) of al-Sultaniya (48 villages), Dizayi (60 villages) and Shamamik (122 villages). He put
Rawanduz, Koy Sanjak and Ranya in the Liwa of Kerkuk (Table 1). There were 70 villages around Erbil
city. Erbil was constituted by seven neighborhoods, three in the citadel and four around it. The number of
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mosques and churches was 12 with 4 Takyas, 6 schools, 1822 houses and 3 baths.
In 1923, according to the new administrative distribution introduced by the British mandate, Iraq was
divided into liwas (provinces), and Erbil was separated from Kerkuk, becoming an administratively
42, 43
independent province.
In the 1947, districts of the province included Erbil, Makhmour, Koy Sanjak, Barzan, Ranya and
Ravanduz. In 1957, instead of Barzan Zibar (Mergasur) becoming a district, Shaqlawa gained the status
of a district and Ranya was annexed to Sulaymaniya. After 2003, Choman and Soran appeared as
districts. (Table 6 and 7)
While the region’s internal administrative units remained almost stable for decades, it was exposed to
many changes due to the Arabization polices of the Ba’ath regime, which started in the 1970s and
Kurdish control of the region following the fall of Ba’ath regime in 2003.
In 1929, Makhmour was created As a sub-district of Erbil province. The census of 1947 and 1957 shows
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Makhmour as a district (Table 2). In 1976, the provinces of two sub-districts Kandinawa and Qaraj were
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attached to the Dibis sub-district of Kerkuk (Map 3).
Republican decree no. 245 of 1989 detached about 50 villages from the Dibis sub-district of Kerkuk and
attached it to Erbil province. Altun kopru which had always been an administrative unit of the Kerkuk
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province was detached by the same decree and annexed to Erbil province (Map, 3).
By institution of the Save Haven in 1991, Makhmour district was separated from Erbil and administered
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by Ninewa. In 1996, the district was officially attached to the province of Ninewa. After the fall of Ba’ath
regime in 2003, including all the detached regions of Makhmour since 1976, the region was seized by
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Kurdish Peshmergas and administered by the Kurds from Erbil.
Map 3, the administrative districts of the Erbil province
Table 1, the administrative regions of Kerkuk and Erbil according to Razzuq Isa 1922
Districts
(Qadha)
Rawanduz
Ranya
Koy Sanjak
Kerkuk
Salahiya
Kerkuk
Sub-districts
(Nahiya)
central
Diar Harir
Balik
Bra Dost
Shirwan
Mizuri Pala
Ranya
Koy Sanjak
Balisan
Shaqlawa
5
2
Villages
119
40
?
64
108
250
?
252
363
156
Districts
(Qadha)
Erbil
Erbil
Sub-districts (Nahiya)
Sulataniya
Dizayi
Shamamaik
villages
48
60
122
Table 2, the Iraqi census of 1947 and 1957 shows the following administrative regions43, 44
Census 1947 & 1957
Districts
Sub-districts
(Qadha)
(Nahiya)
Erbil
Districts
(Qadha)
1997
Sub-districts
(Nahiya)
2008 By KRG
Districts
Sub-districts
(Qadha)
(Nahiya)
Erbil
Ainkawa
Shaqlawa
Erbil
Khabat
Ainkawa
Qush Tepe
Khabat
Ainkawa
Qush Tepe
Braslawa
Shaqlawa
Dair Harir
Khoshnaw
Salah al-Din
Shaqlawa
Dair Harir
Salah al-Din
Dair Harir
Khoshnaw
Salah al-Din
Makhmour
Makhmour
Guwer
Kandinawa
Qiraj
Koy Sanjak
Guwer
Kandinawa
Qiraj
Koy Sanjak
Taq Taq
Zibar
Ranya
Taq Taq
Shorosh
Zebar
Bazyan
Mizuri Pala
Rawanduz
Koy Sanjak
Taq Taq
Shorosh
Balık
Bradost
Mergasur
Chınaran
Nawdasht
Nomads
Mergasur
Sherwan Mazn
Mergasur
Barzan
Barzan
Sherwan Mazn
Soran
Soran
Diyana
Sidakan
Khalifan
Rawanduz
Diyana
Sidakan
Khalifan
Rawanduz
Choman
Choman
Haji Omran
Galala
Haji Omran
Galala
Population and demography
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While Erbil city was once as large as the Baghdad of the early 1820s, from travelers’, we can conclude
that for centuries the city was formed either from the citadel alone or with a small part at its foot.
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Strabo, Arrian and Plutarch described Erbil as a very small place. Ibn Khallikan in the 13 century
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portrayed the city as prosperous learning center for the Sunni religious sect. During the same century,
Yakut described Erbil as the great suburbs stretched beyond the citadel which was partly enclosed by a
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wall, including a great market which was frequently visited by merchants. It seems that the city was only
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a citadel when Rauwolff was there towards the end of the 16 century. He said that the city was
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surrounded by a wall. However, when Niebuhr visited the city in the 1760s he stated that the outer wall of
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the Citadel was gone. In 1814, Kinneir mentioned that part of Erbil city, which consists of wretched
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houses built of sun-dried brick, was on and around the hill. In 1816, Rich considered the largest part of
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the city at the foot of the mount and some portion on the hill and some on top of it. Buckingham, in the
1920s, considered Erbil city the largest he had observed after leaving Mosul towards Baghdad. He
estimated the city’s population to be about 5,000, not accepting the figure 10,000, which was the
estimation of the inhabitants. In his time, the most extensive part of the town was around the foot of the
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citadel. Al-Munshi al-Baghdadi in 1822 estimated the number of the houses at 5,000, 4,000 of them at
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the foot of the citadel. According to travelers records, the epidemic plague in the region significantly
reduced the city’s population. For example, Shiel found that in the 1930s the lower part of the town was in
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ruins and deserted. Southgate and Dr. Lobdell visited Erbil in the next two decades and both found that
the lower part (out of the hill) was smaller than the hill. Southgate estimated the hill as having 1,000
53, 54
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Another source from the 19 century found that most of the
houses and the lower part as 500 houses.
population lived in the fortress, estimating the number of the population between 3,000 and 6,000
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inhabitants.
Cuinet in 1892 accounted the population of the Erbil city as 3,260. Belck and Lehmann in 1899 said that
the number of the houses was 1,822, 800 of which were on the hill. As an administrative unit district
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(Qada) Erbil had two sub-districts (nahiyas) comprising of 330 villages and 12,000 inhabitants.
The earlier population figures of the different Erbil regions can be found in the Ottoman registers which
also are given by the British political officer of Erbil region from 1918 to 1920, and in the book of Razzuq
Isa. Figures of the Ottoman register of 1881 to 1893 estimated the male population as 11,637. Hay
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estimated that the population of the Shaqlawa district was 10,000, and the number of only two tribes
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that lived at the north of Rawandoz as 8,000. Razzuq Isa presented detailed information on the
population numbers of the Erbil region. His figures are almost the same as the Ottoman Salname of 1912.
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Erbil’s Qadas were given by Isa as part of Kerkuk province (Table 3).
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The population of Erbil was doubled in size between 1890 and 1914. During the first few years of the
British mandate of Iraq, the population of the Mosul Wilayat was estimated three times, in 1919, 1921 by
the Britons and in 1922-1924 by the Iraqi government. In some cases the latter was considered as
census. All estimations were considered unreliable by the commission instituted by the League of Nations
which was sent to Mosul in 1924 to solve the question of the frontier between Turkey and Iraq: “The great
differences between the estimates of 1919-1921 and those of 1922-1924 are sufficient proof that a
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number of circumstances combined to render these figures unreliable” (Table 4). The Iraqi–British
estimation of the Erbil province in 1924 and 1931, which stood at 191,00 and 107,740, respectively, was
grossly contradicting (Table 4).
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The population of Erbil province in the general census of 1947 became 240,500 people, and 373,861
62
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people in the general census of 1957. The Iraqi censuses are organized in the 7 year of each decade,
it seems that the census of the 1960s was organized in 1965, when the number of Erbil population was
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373,861 (Table 6). The province’s population was 541,500 in the census of 1977 and 770,439 in the
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census of 1987. The city’s population in 1987 was 485,968. Three Kurdish provinces had not been
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covered by the Iraqi census of 1997.
The population statistics of Erbil, Sulaymaniya and Duhok provinces were recorded by the Kurdish
authorities from 1991 onwards, when the Save Haven was instituted. The province’s population
numbered 1,095,992 in 1997, 1,315,239 in 2003, 1,542,421 in 2008 and 2,151,858 in 2008 (Table 7).
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While the Iraqi Ministry of Planning estimates the total population of the province in 2011 as 1,612,692.
The population figures which the Kurdish authorities presented showed significant discrepancies.
Between 1987 and 1997, the population of the Kurdish region increased by 42%, compared to the other
Iraqi provinces which increased by 40%. If the population figures of 1997 are compared with that of the
2011, the population of the Kurdish region, which was given by the Kurdish authorities, increased by 62%,
while the population of other Iraqi provinces increased by 49% (Table 8). Worth noting is that hundreds of
thousands of Kurds moved from the three Kurdish provinces to settle in the vast area of the neighboring
provinces that were seized by the Kurdish Peshmergas after the fall of Ba’ath regime. Consequently, the
population number of the three Kurdish provinces ought to be decreased instead of increase.
Exaggeration of the population numbers of Erbil city can also be easily observed in the voter lists. The
city’s population increased three-fold between the 1957 and 1965 censuses and doubled with every
decade until 2003 (Table 9).
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In 2003 the Erbil population increased to 1,315,239 and in 2007 to 1,542,421 (Table 5). According to
2008 Kurdish authority records addressed to the United Nations for the food coupon distribution for the
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UN Oil-for-Food program the population of the Erbil province had further exaggerated to 1,845,166. An
academic research of Erbil University in 2008 presented another incompatible figure, which it quoted at
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2,151,858 (Table 9).
The number of Erbil voters in the general elections of December 2005 was 846,723. According to
UNICEF, 52% of Iraqi population are 18 years and over. Based on these statistics, the population of the
Erbil province in December 2005 should be recorded at around 1,628,313, while the population of Erbil in
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2007 was given by UN as 1,542,421. This shows exaggeration of the number of the Erbil voters.
The number of Erbil voters between the Iraqi general elections of December 2005 and provincial elections
of 2009 was recorded as having increased by only 23,587 while it had increased by 65,288 between the
provincial elections of 2009 and the 2010 Iraqi general elections (Table 10).
The north of Iraq is one of the regions which have been most exposed to aggressive demographic
change of a politically-oriented nature in the later century. Whilst the population number of Erbil city was
around fifteen thousands in the early 1920s, today it accounts more tahn one million and two hundred
thousand (Table 9).
In the past, Erbil city was either the citadel alone or extended, particularly to the west and south, out of
the citadel. It was in the 1830s, when the plaque attacked the region that the city was left with only the
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citadel. Thereafter, the city began to extend out of the citadel. At the turn of the 20 century, Erbil city
was constituted by three neighborhoods in the citadel, Saray at the south east, Takya at the north east
and Top Khana at the west, and three neighborhoods out of the citadel, an Arab neighborhood at the
west of citadel, Khanaqa at the west south and Tajil at the eastt south. The latter was divided into Tajil
Islam and Tajil Jews. (Map 1)
It is possible that the Khanaqa neighborhood was founded early when Erbil flourished under the Atabegs.
Some sources date back the appearance of the Arab neighborhoods to about two hundred year ago.
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Later on, in the 20 century, the New-Arab neighborhood developed at the edge of the Arab
neighborhood. Number of the inhabitants of the Arab neighborhood was 5,644 in 1947, 6,850 in 1957,
31,290 in 1977 and 36,399 in 1984.
The historical Qaysariya (market place) of Erbil, which was possıbly built by Gökbürü of the Atabegs, was
located below the south gate of the citadel. Mudhaffariya Minaret (Çol minarası) is another important
historical monument in Erbil city, which once belonged to a mosque. In addition to the historical mosques,
there was a church in the Arab neighborhood and a synagogue in the citadel until 1957.
In the 1920s, Erbil city was constituted by the citadel (Saray, Topkhana and Takya), and the Arab, Tajil
and Khanaqa neighborhoods. The fourth neighborhood in the north called Tayrawa appeared in the
census of 1947. In the census 1957, Saydawa and Sadunawa appeared in the south of the city. In 1975,
the number of neighborhoods in Erbil city reached fifteen: the citadel along with the Arab, Tajil, Khanaqa,
Sadunawa, Khabat, Ashti-Sidawa, Ronaki, Azadi, Rizgari, Brayati, Mustawfi-Tayrawa, Horush, Zanyari
71
and Salah al-Din neighbourhoods. By 1980s, the number of Erbil neighborhoods had increased to thirty
neighborhoods: Sitakan, Iskan, Goran, Mudhafariya, Mantikawa, al-Ulamaa, al-Shurta, Muhandisin,
Iktisadiyin, 7 Nisan, ninty two, ninty nine, Muallimin, Zanko and Askari. After 2005, the number of the
72
neighborhoods became eighty two. (Map 4)
Study of the north of Iraq shows a steady flow of peoples from the east to the west, from the mountains to
the plains. The aforementioned figures demonstrate that the population of Erbil city fluctuated until the
th
beginning of the 20 century; thereafter it increased steadily and rapidly. This may be explained by the
economic and social conditions. Whilst the war, plague, small pox and natural disasters formed the main
th
factors influencing demographic changes in the past, at the turn of the 19 century this was influenced
health care and geopolitical factors.
The nationalistic sectarian policy of government, undemocratic culture and the multi-ethnicity in the north
of Iraq all serve as the main reasons for the lack of reliable population data and statistics of the various
ethnic communities. In fact underestimation of non-Arab populations can be easily observed. After the fall
of Ba’ath regime in 2003, the Kurds, who claim independence in the region, controlled a vast multi-ethnic
area in the north of Iraq, and have replaced the central government of underestimating the number of
non-Kurdish inhabitants and in exposing them to aggressive assimilation policies. Moreover, western
governments which have extended sympathy to the Kurds has tended to rely on them for collection of
information about the region which has resulted in distorted population statistics of the region in the
international library.
The published governmental statistics unfortunately are very few and do not provide for sufficient data for
analysis purposes of the ethnic nature of Erbil city. Censuses of Ottomans Empire were not included the
ethnic composition of the population. The observations of the travelers and the estimations of
independent sources help present a reliable view on the population nature of the city.
Turkmen population of Erbil
Erbil is one of the Iraqi provinces where almost all the ethnic Iraqi components live. The majority of the
population is Kurdish, Turkmen are founded mainly in Erbil city, Arabs in Makhmour district, and Ainkawa
and Kush Tepe are inhabited almost completely with Christians. Worth noting is that the pro-Kurdish
73
74
Edmonds incorrectly considered Kush Tepe district as 100% Kurdish. Being exposed to demographic
change for several decades and Kurdish claims of ownership of the region, history of the ethnic nature of
the region will help to judge the Kurdish claim.
The establishment of Turkmen in Erbil city dates back to the Abbasids period, which is increased with the
entrance of Buyids with troops formed mainly from the Azerbaijanis Turkmen in 945. With the Seljuk
arrival in 1055, the number of Turkmen considerably increased in northern Iraq. Longrigg considered the
th
population of the city in the 16 century was Turkmen: “Arbil - strikingly similar to Kirkuk in natural
75
structure and in race - was as remote from its Arab and closer akin to its Kurdish Neighbors”.
Rich was almost the earlier traveler who commented on the population nature of the Erbil region saying
51
that the people are Kurds and Turks: “The people of Arbil are Koords and Turks”. On another occasion
Rich distinguishes between the people of Erbil city and the Kurds: “Routes procured at Arbil, both from
76
Koords and Arbil People”. Buckingham found that the Erbil inhabitants pronounced the name of the city
7
as Areveel or Arbeel and the people were chiefly Mohammedans. It seems that Soane in 1909 meant
that the population of the Erbil region and not Erbil city was populated by Baban Kurds: “Erbil is
77
populated by Baban Kurds. Turkish is also understood, or rather Turkoman” otherwise Soane will
contradict the sources of his time. Sykes of the well-known Sykes - Picot treaty who considered the
largest urban community of the Erbil as Turkmen, suggested excluding Erbil from the proposed
Autonomous Southern Kurdistan: “And finally, an autonomous Southern Kurdistan excluding Kirkuk, Altun
78
Kupru and Arbil where the largest urban communities were Turkoman”. The British government in a
reply to the Mosul commission of the League of Nations admitted that they published proclamations with
79
regard to Erbil in Turkish.
Hay, Lyon and the commission of the League of Nations of 1924 should be more reliable sources than
the travelers who visited Erbil for few days. Hay was the head official in the Erbil region for about two
years from 1918 to 1920. Lyon worked in the Kurdish region of Iraq for 26 years. The League of Nations
Commission included international high-ranking politicians that studied northern Iraq, particularly ethnic
communities.
Hay considered Erbil as Turkmen city: “Starting from with the Nebi Yunus on the bank of the Tigris
opposite Mosul, and running down through Erbil, Altun Kopri, Kerkuk, Kifri and Kizil Rabat to Mendeli we
find a line of towns with Turkmen speaking inhabitants”. He provides important information about the
ethnic nature of Erbil city, considering only one quarter as Kurdish, and the rest Turkish: “One mahalla or
quarter of the town is purely Kurdish, and in the rest the lower classes resemble the Kurds in appearance
and dress. All can speak Kurdish fluently, but the language of their homes is Turkish. In the upper town
80
which contains 6,000 inhabitants, the purest Turkish element is found”. This demonstrates that Liam
81
Anderson inaccurately dated back the Kurdification of the city to the end of the 19th century. The Iraqi
author Razzuq Isa mentioned in his volume “Mukhtasar Jugrafiyat al-Irak” that the majority of the
41
population of Erbil city is Turks.
More details about the ethnic nature of Erbil city can be found in the report of the fact-finding commission
that was sent to the north of Iraq by the League of Nations in 1924. The commission found that all the
inhabitants of Erbil city were of Turkish origin: “In the central Qaza of Arbil, the people of the chief town
88
and, generally speaking, all the inhabitants of Turkish origin were in favor of Turkey”. Further details by
the commission included that: “The town of Arbil is divided into seven boroughs. We interviewed the
Mukhtars of these boroughs. When asked what was their nationality five replied that they were Turks, one
79
that he was as much a Turk as a Kurd, and the seventh stated that he was a Jew”.
Lyon considered Erbil an easily distinguishable Turkmen city: “Along the road to Mosul and onwards to
Turkey are numerous villages inhabited by people of Turkish origin speaking the Turkish tongue. At any
83
rate Kirkuk and Arbil are outstanding examples”.
Hanna Batatu who is considered an expert on Iraqi history, writing about the 1950s, described the
Kurdification of Erbil as great: “Other Turkish towns, such as Arbil, had undergone a similar process: Arbil
84
Further Batatu opined that about forty-five of the sixty-five
itself was in great measure Kurdified”.
villages of the Erbil province belonged to Turkmen and only three of the eight neighborhoods of the Erbil
city were inhabited by Kurds: “The district of Arbil embraced sixty-five villages populated entirely by
Kurds, but no fewer than forty-five of these villages were owned by one or other of the Arbil notables, who
were mostly Turkomans by race. In the town of Arbil itself, the latter belonged, to be sure, to the wealthy
stratum and had their residences on the top of circular mound about 150 feet high, while the Kurds,
85
formed three-quarters”.
The music of the Erbil city was until recently represented by the Turkmen artists (Table 13) and Turkmen
poets are, for example Nasrin Erbil, Asaad Erbil and Hisam Hasrat. Doğramacı, Küreci, Çelebi, Assaflı
and Kasaplar are some of the large Turkmen families ın Erbil.
The recent use of the Kurdish name Hawleer for the city and the use of the Turkmen word Erbilli by
several western authorities for the city’s population explains the Turkmen nature of the city and intensive
Kurdish resettlement.
Origin of Erbil Turkmen
Different sources present different origins for the Turkmen of Erbil. Most of the sources consider the
80, 87, 88
89
Others considered their origin as Mongol. Marr
Seljuk as the ancestors of the Turkmen of Erbil.
88
pointed to the Turkmen tribal dynasties of the 14th and 15th centuries. In fact, the obvious differences in
the dialects and the accents of the Turkmen regions in Iraq can be attributed to the different Turkmen
clans established over centuries from the Umayyad to the Ottoman period. The same was considered by
86
the British government in 1924.
Population Statistics
The study of the ethnic nature of the region including Erbil city started with the Mosul problem after the
First World War, during which United Kingdom and Turkey competed for the region. Being that the
Turkmen presence was in the favor of Turkey during discussions of the Mosul problem, the statistics of
the Iraqi - Britons as presented to the Lozano negotiations and to the League of Nations severely
minimized the number of Turkmen in the region while the Turkish statics amplified it.
A British estimate of the Iraqi Turkmen was 65,895 for the whole Mosul Wilayat (province) in 1921, which
included the Iraqi provinces Mosul, Erbil, Sulaymaniya and Kerkuk, whilst the Turkish estimation was
146,960. The Iraqi government further decreased the number of Turkmen in the Mosul Wilayat to 38,652
based on the 1922 – 1924 estimates. The same can be found for the number of Turkmen population in
Erbil province. Whilst the Britons estimated the number of Turkmen in Erbil province in 1921 as 15,000
which made 14%, the Iraqi Kingdom decreased this figure to 2,780 (down to 1.5%). This estimation
60
accounted the total population of Erbil province as 191,780 (Table 5). The number of Turkmen officials
93
in the Erbil province in 1930 was 29 of 181, which made 16%. The British–Iraqi estimation of Erbil
94
province in 1930 was 106,134, including 9,921 Turkmen (9.4%). Another Iraqi–British statistics from
95
1931 estimates the number of Turkmen in Erbil province as 9,038, out of the total population of 107,740
(table 5). If the new figure related to the Turkmen of Erbil is considered correct, which is highly possible to
be also underestimated, and being the Turkmen of Erbil province are found almost only in the Erbil city,
then the greatest part of the population of Erbil city should be Turkmen.
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find any statistics or data about the ethnic nature of the region
published by the Iraqi governments other than that was published during the Mosul problem in the 1920s.
The Kurdish authorities, who seized a large portion of the area in April 2003, claim that it belongs to the
Kurds and seek to annex it to the Kurdish regions. Since they consider the non-Kurds to be an obstacle to
their goals, public records concerning the size of the non-Kurds population have not been recorded or
maintained.
It is possible that some information about the size of the Turkmen population in Erbil can be indirectly
estimated. For example, during the election of the Iraqi national assembly in 1980 the Turkmen candidate
counted 12,000 votes, while the other two candidates counted 16,000 and 14,000 votes, respectively.
Despite ongoing marginalization by the Kurdish authorities, the number of Turkmen in the present
parliament of the Kurdish region numbers 6 out of 115, which makes 5.2%. The total population of the
Kurdish region is estimated as 4,620,200, with the number of Turkmen in the Kurdish region being around
240,250, whilst the Turkmen authorities estimate the number of Turkmen in Erbil city alone as 400,000. It
should be noted that the Turkmen are present mainly in two regions in the present Kurdish region: Erbil
city and Kifri district.
In a research study conducted by the Uppsala University on the Erbil Qaysari in 2010 on the Ethnobotany and trade of medical plants, the number of herbalist was twenty one of which eighteen herbalists
participated in the study. Thirteen of the eighteen herbalists were of Turkmen origin. The number of those
96
who could talk Turkmen was fourteen.
Arrival of Kurds
The British intelligence Bureau of 1917 portrayed the Kurds as mountainous Iranian peoples speaking
dialects of Persian. It suggested that they occupied the western ramparts of the Persian plateau for about
97
3,000 years. Because the precise boundaries of Kurdistan had never been established, it becomes now
forming serious problem for the Iraq and other countries. The Kurds claim an immense land in Iraq, as
belonging to the Kurdish people, which is now called the disputed area, despite the presence of millions
of indigenous multi-ethnic population who inhabit the area. This situation renders discussion on the
history of the ethnic composition of Erbil, which is being unilaterally claimed as the capital of the Kurdish
region, vitally important, in order to help shed light on demographic changes the region has undergone
as well as political developments that have adversely impacted the Turkmen
Recent departure of the Kurds from the mountains and their spread inside Iraq and the other neighboring
countries has been well known. The historical Turkmen regions which stretch from the western north of
Iraq to the eastern border in the middle of Iraq along the foothills were the nearest Iraqi lands to the
Kurdish immigration. A great number of these Kurdish immigrants had continued settling in the large
Turkmen regions from beginning of the later century until after fall of Ba’ath regime in 2003, the
economically prosperous area of Kerkuk and Erbil received large part of this immigration. During this time
the population of Erbil city steadily increased, particularly after fall of the Baath regime in 2003.
The Commission of the League of Nations which was sent to northern Iraq in 1924 to study the
demography of the region described the Kurdish arrival to these regions as follows: “while the towns and
villages along the high road running to Baghdad were mainly Turkish speaking, being Turkmen. But, as
the commission noted, the Kurd ‘is taking possession of arable land and is Kurdizing certain towns’,
98
especially the Turkmen ones of the high road”.
Careful review of the Kurdish history in Iraq brings the researchers to the Barzanji tribe which is
considered one the largest Kurdish tribes in the Sulaymaniya and Kerkuk regions that belong to the
99
Sayyids who are of Arab origin, as their family tree shows. This tribe originated in around 1360 AD from
two brothers established in Barzanji district of Sulaymaniya province coming from the Hamadan district of
100
Persia. The date of Kurdification of this family is not known. Several Kurdish tribes such as Talabani,
Naqshabandi and Khanaqa are sub-tribes of the Barzanji Tribe.
101
Today’s largest Kurdish tribes Zangana, a Hamadan plains tribe, together with the Hamawand and Jaf
th
102
tribes, constitute the basis of most of the Kurdish tribes in Iraq who were still in Persia in 16 century.
101
The Zangana governed Kermanshah throughout the period of Zands from 1765 to 1779. This tribe was
103
considered of Turkmen origin by McDowall. The large Goran community which includes several tribes
like Zangana, Sarulu, Bajalan (Bajwan), Kakai, Shabak, Ahli Haq families are known to be extremist
Shiites and non-Kurdish. According to a number of authorities, for instance, Rich, Lockhart, Matti Moosa,
Ahmad al-Sarraf, al-Shaybi and Abbas al-Azzawi, they are considered as being of Turkmen origin. The
country of most of these groups was either located in or at around of the historically Turkmen area
starching from the northern west of Iraq to the southern east border in the middle of Iraq.
th
The majority of the Jaf tribe occupied the district of Jawanrud in Persia in the 17 century. At the time of
th
Edmonds in the first half of the 20 century, the largest group of Jaf populated the area west of the
104
Sirwan. Edmonds dates Jaf’s history of entrance into Iraq back to 1772.
The Hamawand tribe, which is considered by some sources a branch of the Kurdish Jaf tribe, constituted
th
the core inhabitants of Chamchamal and Bazyan regions at the east of Kerkuk in the early 20 century.
105
This tribe was supposed to have come from the Persian plateau early in the 18th century.
The majority of the Kurds of Erbil region is from the Dizai Tribe. Descending of the Kurds from mountains
in this region is not ancient. The British officer of the Erbil region William R. Hay presented important
information about this issue: “More than half the Arbil district, consisting of the Qara Choq desert,
Kandinawah, and the most fertile portion of the plain, is occupied by the Dizai tribe, who also supply much
of population of the so-called non-tribal villages, in other parts of the district. They must number nearly
30,000 souls”.
th
The Dizai’s arrival to the Erbil region was politically motivated in the early 19 century and begun with
Ottomans appointing a certain Pasha from Diza of Persia as a governor of Erbil which legitimized this
106
Later on, they spread into the plains by conquest and enlarged and
Kurdish tribe to hold the land.
controlled the region. The possibility that the Dizai tribe gained its name from the Diza region of Persia is
highly plausible. Qala Diza of Iraq is some sixteen kilometers from the Iranian border. Hay dates back
descending of the Dizai tribe from the hills to about three centuries ago and their rapid spread in vast area
in Erbil region to the 1860s: “They descended from the hills about three centuries ago, and occupied a
few villages round Qush Tappah”. “About sixty years ago they started to expand, and rapidly covered the
107
whole country up to Tigris”. He described the impact of of the Kurdish arrival to the Qara Choq region in
the following way: “It is reported that less than a century ago trees and shrubs were plentiful on the slopes
of Qara Choq Dagh; when the Kurds came, however, they were quickly taken for fire woods and no trace
9
of them now remains”.
The expansion of the Kurds toward the west into the Erbil plains was at the expense of the Arab tribes,
108
like Tai and Shammar. According to Jarman, the Dizai tribe came from the Diza region in Persia, three
th
or four hundred years ago, and spread to the south and west of the province after the middle of the 19
century: “The Dizai tribe are said to have migrated three or four hundred years ago from Diza in Persia.
Till the middle of the nineteenth century they only occupied Qush Tappah and the surrounding villages
and used to pay tribute to the Tai Arabs. Eventually they threw off the Arabs' yoke and seized on the
109
fertile valley of Kandimiwuh which was then uncultivated”.
th
Kurdish conquest of the Makhmour region took place in the second half of the 19 century displacing the
Shammar Arabs. Hay portrayed this event, when he was talking about an Aga of Erbil called Ibrahim Aga:
“Locally he was a maker of history, for thirty-eight years previously, in the days of his father, he had led a
party of Kurds across Qara Choq Dagh and founded Makhmour, where after several years of fighting first
against Shammar Arabs, and then against the Turks, he had succeeded in establishing himself. Several
others followed him, and it was thus due to his initiative that the Qara Choq desert became inhabited and
110
cultivated”.
Another source considers the Dizai the largest Kurdish tribe in the region and dates back their arrival to
th
Erbil region from Iran to the 18 century: “The greatest of these tribes is the Dizai, whose aghas are said
111
to have come into the region from Iran in the eighteenth century”.
A vast area in the east Erbil province was inhabited by a large and rich tribe of Khosh Naw. Like the Dizai
th
112
and Jaf tribes, Khosh Naw came from Persia in the 18 century. The movement of another two Kurdish
th
tribes, Girdis and Zararis, toward the Erbil plain from the Persian frontiers took place in the turn of the 17
th
century. The same source dates back the invasion of west Erbil province by the Kurds to 19 century,
th
108
while they reached to the Qara Chau Mountains in around the beginning of the 19 century.
The constant influx of Kurds into the Erbil region has seriously influenced the Turkmen nature of the city.
In this regard, the Dutch anthropologist and author van Bruinessen said: “In Arbil, Kurdish came to
replace Turkish as the dominant language in the first half of the twentieth century, partly due to
113
immigration, partly to the Kurdification of Turkish speakers”.
th
The abnormal growth and expansion of Erbil city in the second half of the 20 century, which was further
augmented after the 2003 occupation, can be explained by the increased number of Erbil neighborhoods.
In 2012, eighty two neighborhoods were counted compared to eight in the 1950s. In addition to the
economic factors, the Kurdish uprising which started in 1961 played a major role in the mass movement
of hundreds of thousands of Kurds into the plains, particularly Kerkuk and Erbil provinces. In addition to
the continuous instability in north Iraq after following the Kurdish armed movement, several events
caused the displacement of Turkmen:
1. In the 1970s, the Iraqi government paid large sums to the Kurdish Agahs, mainly from Suruchi,
Haylani and Hoshnaw tribes, and bought vast tracts of land in the Northern provinces. As a result a
large number of villagers were evacuated from the mountainous Kurdish region and moved
neighboring provinces.
2. In 1975, after the treaty of Algeria was signed according to which Iran’s Shah stopped supporting
Mustapha al-Barzan, the Iraqi army swept into north Iraq defeating Barzani’s rebel which caused
hundreds of thousands of Kurds to flee into Iran and others the neighboring Iraqi provinces.
3. In 1987, hundreds of villages and some sub-districts in the Northern provinces were demolished by
an official decree of the Ba’ath government.
4. The Anfal operations in 1988 had evacuated large areas in the Kurdish regions.
Erbil and the term ‘Kurdistan’
Stan is an ancient Persian word meaning country, which is widely used as a suffix to refer to the country
of a certain people, for example, Hindustan, Pakistan, Afghanistan Turkistan and Kazakhstan. Kurdistan
which means country of the Kurds remains vaguely defined in administrative and geographical terms,
114
because it is inhabited by multi-ethnic population. the mass movement of Kurds into different countries
has further complicated the definition of this term. Consequently, almost every source has made another
definition of the boundaries of the term Kurdistan. Up till now, there are no reliable sources or authorities
which have adequately defined this term.
th
A map of the 14 century referred to the location of Erbil as extremely far away from Kurdistan: “Arbil,
Mosul, Amadia and Mush are in the Dzezira. Anah, Tekrit and Dakuk are in Iraq; and Kurdistan consists
37
solely of the eastern (Persian) slope of the mountains”.
Maurizio Garzoni and Carsten Niebuhr are considered reliable sources, who had studied the region in the
th
18 century. Garzoni lived in the region for 15 years. They both excluded Erbil from Kurdistan: “the
northern part of the ancient Assyria a mountainous region to the east of the Tigris, and immediately at the
back of Mosul, Nisibin, and Mardin. The inhabitants for the most part speak a corrupt dialect of
115
Persian”.
Rich in 1816 had clearly put Erbil city out of the so-called “Kurdistan” region. He mentioned while he was
in Erbil that: “Hawks of the Balaban species are also caught in this plain and exported chiefly to
Koordistan”. Further, he deported the Kurdistan region far away from Erbil, excluding the hills at the east
of Erbil from Kurdistan boundaries: “The lines of hills seem, I think rather closer together than they are in
51
Koordistan”.
Ainsworth in the 1930s considered the inclusion of the plains west of the outlying ranges of hills in both
Mosul and Baghdad Pashaliks within Kurdistan as arbitrary: “It is not customary, although quite arbitrary,
to consider the country of' the plains west of the outlying ranges of hills in either of these Pashaliks as
forming part of Kurdistan. Jezireh Zakho and Koi Sanjak, like 'Amadiyah and 'Suleimaniyeh’, are in the
36
hills”.
Soane in 1909 puts the boundaries of Kurdistan further inside Erbil city saying, while he was in Erbil
77
region: “here is the western border of southern Kurdistan”. This explains the massive continuous
immigration of Kurds to the area and the expansion of the boundaries of Kurdistan toward west into the
Turkmen regions.
The British political officer of the Erbil region, William R. Hay, in 1920 moved the boundaries of Kurdistan
away from the Erbil city putting it on the Bastura brook which was about 20 km at the eastern north of the
city: “Bastura Chai marks the southern western border of the Rawanduz district, and according to the
9
people of Erbil it is the boundary between Iraq and Kurdistan”.
Conclusion
It can be concluded from the aforementioned data that:
th
 at the turn of the 20 century, the population of Erbil city was largely Turkmen;
th
 the number of Kurds in Erbil city has sharply increased since the second half of the 20 century;
th
Population of the Erbil city had unceasingly and hugely increased in the 20 century;
 the Kurdish voter lists and population statistics are overestimated;
 the Kurdish name of “Hawleer” has appeared with the arrival of the Kurds.
Map 4, Sketch of Erbil city 2002
Table 3, earlier population number of different Erbil regions by different sources
District / cities+
Ottoman registers of Ottoman
Salnamae Figures of Hay 1918 – Razzuq
35
1881-1893^
1912
1920*
1922
Erbil+
Ranya
Zibar
Koy Sanjak
Rawanduz
Shaqlawa
Makhmour
Shirwan & Bradost
11,637
5,434
2,743
9,019
11,506
Isa
in
14,181
6,432
14,000
14,255
6,450
10,955
15,938
5,000
1,500
3,000
1,000
8,000
10,985
16,233
32,500
47,923
Total
40,339
47,506
* = most probably Ottomans figure are of districts and that of the Hay of the cities
^ = these figures were given as the number of the males only
+ = Erbil was given as a province (Liwa), the other three Qadas considered with Kerkuk.
Table 4, Iraqi – British statistics of the population of Erbil province from 1919 to 1931
Districts
1919
1921
1924*
Erbil
Koy Sanjak
Rawanduz
Makhmour
Rania
1931
73,774
61,968
56,190
44,040
19,961
17,787
16,394
9,559
106,000^
106,000
191,932
107,740
Total
* = considered estimation by the League of Nations, Iraqi government claimed that it was a census
53
^ = Rania was not included
Sources: The first two statistics was given by Report submitted to the Council by the Commission instituted by the
Council Resolution of September 30th, 1924. The second two were given by Fuat Dundar in his book “Statisquo”
British Use of Statistics in the Iraqi Kurdish Question (1919–1932)”
Table 5, Ethnic nature of Erbil province according to the estimations of the British mandate and Iraqi kingdom
Sunni
96,100
British estimations of the religious sects in Erbil province in 1919*
Shiah
Other
Christian
Jews
1,000
4,100
4,800
Total
106,000
British estimations of the ethnic nature of Erbil province in 1921*
Arabs
5,100
Turks
15,000
Kurds
77,000
Christian
4,100
Jews
4,800
Total
106,000
Iraqi – British estimations of the ethnic nature of Erbil province organized from 1922 to 1924*
Arabs
Turks
Kurds
Christian
Jews
Total
11,700
2,780
170,650
3,900
2,750
191,780
Arabs
4,276
Iraqi – British estimations of the ethnic nature of Erbil province 1931^
Turks
Kurds
Christian
Jews
9,038
87,828
3,921
2,669
Total
107,740
* = source: League of Nations, “Question of the Frontier between turkey and Iraq”, Report submitted to the Council by
the Commission instituted by the Council Resolution of September 30th, 1924, P. 33 & 77
^ = Fuat Dundar, “Statisquo” British Use of Statistics in the Iraqi Kurdish Question (1919–1932)”, Brandeis University
Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Crown Paper 7, July 2012, P. 38
56 - 58
Table 6, the population of Erbil province in the General Censuses of 1947, 1957 and 1965
Districts
Sub-districts
Erbil
Qush tepe
Shaqlawa
1947
26,100
42,500
17,500
Districts
Sub-districts
Erbil
Ainkawa
Qush Tepe
Shaqlawa
Kandinawa
Guwer
Koy Sanjak
Taqtaq
Barzan
Muzuri Bala
Ranya
Chinaran
Nawdasht
Nomads
Rawanduz
Dera Harir
Balik
Bradost
Mergasur
Total
12,700
17,000
14,400
Makhmur
20,700
10,000
1,000
5,700
12,000
4,800
8,700
1,400
17,100
9,400
11,200
3,900
4,400
Koy Sanjak
240,500
34,751
44,650
1965
95,592
43,678
16,710
7,875
13,954
11,975
14,796
7,772
14,108
19,150
9,951
28,487
17,042
6,047
4,137
10,613
Barzan
Muzuri Bala
4,254
17,788
9,414
11,530
6,585
14,887
18,988
10,169
22,575
13,483
3,735
2,370
7,001
balak
bradost
Diana
26,981
12,469
6,006
?
28,604
16,021
7,349
272,526
373,861
Dera Harir
khoshnaw
Salah al-Din
Makhmur
1957
Guwer
Kandinawa
Qarach
Taqtaq
Zibar (mergasur)
Rawanduz
Table 7, the population of administrative units of Erbil province in 2003,
a
Administartive units
Districts (Qadha)
Sub-districts (Nahiya)
62
2007
63
and 2008
2003
Erbil
993,991
2007
2008
808,600
90,531
1,192,459
63,566
216,759
150,659
128,287
147,682
50,927
176,000
53,749
81,199
112,864
17,728
50,316
62,139
Khabat
Ainkawa
Qush Tepe
Braslawa
Dashti Hawleer
Shaqlawa
65
65,777
Dair Harir
Khoshnaw
Salah al-Din
Makhmour
Guwer
Kandinawa
Qiraj
Koy Sanjak
Taq Taq
Shorosh
Mergasur
Barzan
Soran
176,137
Diyana
Sidakan
Khalifan
Rawanduz
7,857
6,336
Choman
232,938
181,883
37,074
35,922
Haji Omran
Galala
Total
1,321,575
b
1,542,421
2,151,858
a = the administration units given by KRG in 2008
b = this figure is given by the source, but by calculation the total is 1,667,948
Table 8, difference of the population increase between the three Kurdish provinces and the other Iraqi provinces and
the percentage of the population of the three Kurdish provinces to the total Iraqi population in different Iraqi censuses
Census 1987
Census
Increase %
Cosit^
Increase %
1997
Bet. 1987 and Estimation 2011 Bet. 1997 and
1997
2011
Population of the three
2,015,466
2,861,701
42%
4,620,200
62%
provinces of Kurdish region*
12% of TIP+
13% of TIP
14% of TIP
Population of the other Iraqi
13,719,732
19,184,543
40%
provinces
^ = Cosit = Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology of Iraq
* = Given by the Kurdish regional government
+ = TIP = Total Iraqi Population
28,710,310
49%
Table 9, the population of Erbil city from the Ottoman period until 2008
Ottoman statistics
Ottoman
1881-1893
Salnamae 1912
11,637
14,181
a
Census
Census
1965
1977
95,592
193,588
a = Population of Erbil city in 1977
b = Possibly Erbil district
Hay
1918 - 1920
14,000
Census
1987
485,968
Razzuq Isa
1922
14,255
b
Estimation
2003
993,991
Census
1947
26,100
Estimation
2007
808,600
Census
1957
34,751
Estimation
2008
1,192,459
Table 10, number of voters and population of Erbil province after the fall of Ba’ath regime at April 2003
Elections
No. of
Voters
a
population
Calculated*
Voter 52%
Population Estimation 2003
1,334,176
b
Population Estimation 2004
1,392,000
c
General Elections of 30.01 & Referendum of constitution 15.10, 2005
795,291
d
General Elections 30 December 2005
846,723
1,628,313
db
General election 30 December 2005
828,810
e
Population as of June 2007
1,542,421
f
United Nations July 2008
1,845,200
g
Population of Erbil governorate for 2008
2,151,858
h
Provincial elections 31 January 2009
852,397
i
Ministry of Planning 2009
1,532,081
j
General elections 07 March 2010
917,685
1,764,778
k
Ministry of Planning 2010
1,612,692
* = According to UNICEF the percentage of Iraqis who are 18 and older (voters) are 52%.
a = United Nations world food programme, reconstruction of Iraq, June 2004
b = Reidar Visser, “Where Are the Ministry of Trade Statistics?” December 2009
c = John Diamond, “Secular Shiite on the inside track to top job”, USA today February 2005
d = Council of Representatives Election Composite Report, Iraq, December 15, 2005, Final Report
db = Electoral Geography Iraq. Legislative Election 2005 (December) and Council of Representatives Election
Composite Report Iraq, December 15, 2005, Final Report, center for transitional and post-conflict Governance
e = Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis 2008
f = Estimate of by the Special Inspector General for Iraqi Reconstruction
g = Moayad Abdullah Wahab, doctors workforce distribution in Erbil governorate, 2010
h = Tammuz Organization for Social Development & USAID, response to SIGIR data call, 10/6/2008.
i = Estimated Population by Governorates Social Origin for the Year 2009, COSIT
j = The complete report for monitoring all the phases of Iraqi parliamentary election 2010
k = Estimated Population by Governorates Social Origin for the Year 2011, COSIT
Table 11, Turkmen Singers of Erbil
Shahaba
Haydar Bakkal
Mishko (Shawkat Saeed)
Nur al-Dinin Assafli
Mohammed Ashik
Sadr al-Din Kuzeçı
Bahjat Kassap
Najm al-Din Kassap
Nur al-Din Erbil oğlu
Yaşar Shawkat
Maghdıd Shahoglu
Jamil Kapkapçı
Faık Bezirgan
Abdullah Dafzan
Yunus Mahmoud (Hattat)
Mohammed Ahmad Erbilli
Jabbar Ahmad
Salim Fattah
Ganim Fattah
Azad Kassap
Najat Altunçı
Jamshir Uwayziri
The landmarks
Erbil city, which became the capital of the Kurdish region in the early 1970s according to the treaty which
granted the Kurds autonomy, is now considered the largest city of the region with important recently built
complexes. Today, Erbil has a large airport at the northwest and an integrated university. Shaqlawa,
Salah al-Din Gali Ali Beg and Bikhal are attractive touristic regions of the province. Construction of hotels
and shopping centers can frequently be seen in the city.
Citadel
In its long history, Erbil city witnessed important world civilizations of which important traces can be found
in the city. The citadel, which is called Erbil Kalasi by the locals, is considered one of the largest and
oldest citadels in the region with a history that is said to stretch back to more than 6,000 years.
The citadel lies at the heart of the city which was inhabited continuously until 2006, when it was
evacuated from its inhabitants to be restored as a historical heritage. (Photo 1)Its presence extends to the
Sumerian civilization. It is oval shaped with a surface area of about 100.000 sq meters, and a height
varying between 26 and 32 meters from the surrounding plains. It has a diameter of about 430 meters
with a radius of about 340 meters. In 2011, 40% of the houses were in poor condition, 40% were
demolished and only 20% were in moderate condition. The red stone walls which surround the citadel,
possibly at all times, constitute the outer walls and runs contagiously with the houses, which are mostly
palace-like. The houses in the citadel were traditional and numbered about 500 of which 300 had
architectural interests and 30 were palace-like houses had authentic cultural values showing local
architectural traditions. Until the beginning of the latter century, the governmental buildings were located
in the southern entrance of the citadel in the neighborhood Saray. The streets of the citadel are tortuous
narrow and invalid for cars extending from the southern gate as branches of a tree. The citadel was
considered a self-sufficient city with markets, mosques, baths, schools and dispensary. Heightens of the
citadel and the dark-yellow colored wall give the town a dramatic visual view.
Photo 1, a house in Erbil citadel
Several theories explain the creation of the citadel. The first is explained by the accumulation of historical
ruins or ziggurats heaped on top of one another. Another explanation given is that it was artificially built
and, third, that it was a natural hill before it was modified by human beings.
In the past, living in the citadel was preferred by the wealthy families of the city. After the middle of the
latter century they moved to more, away from the citadel. With time the ruins of the citadel increased and
poorer inhabitants began to move into the citadel. The number of inhabitants of the citadel was about
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6,000 people in the early 20 century, which decreased to 3000 after the middle of the same century.
The citadel had three neighborhoods Saray, Top Khana and Takya and two major and one minor
entrance. The southern entrance is called old entrance and passes from Saray neighborhood to the Erbil
bazaar, guarded by a statue of Ibn Khilakan. The northern entrance is called New Entrance or Ahmet Aga
Entrance, which passes into the Takya neighborhood. The minor entrance is made of a sandy path, which
is located in the Saray neighborhood and reaches the Khanaqa neighborhood behind the New Museum.
In the early 2000s, there were five mosques, two religious abodes and one bath in the citadel.
Government buildings were located in the Saray neighborhood during the Ottoman period and the early
years of the Iraqi Kingdom. Agawat Street was inhabited by Erbil notables. In the 1980s, Saray was the
largest neighborhood of the citadel with regard to population size which was 1779 people and the number
of houses which was 199 houses.
The Takya neighborhood, which is located north east of the citadel is given this name due to a wellknown hospice which was present in the neighborhood until a new street between the two main entrances
was made. The Grand mosque and the old fashion Bath were also present in this neighborhood. The
streets of this neighborhood were Dar Brugh, Kharaba Kucesi, Imam Kucesi and Yedi Kizlar streets.
According to the census of 1977, the number of houses in this neighborhood was 138, with population of
1142.
Photo 2, the great mosque of the citadel of Erbil
The Top Khana neighborhood, which is located north west of the citadel, got its name from the presence
of a cannon which was used during the Ottoman period in Ramadhan for both Iftar and Sahur. Haram
Kucesi and Kilse Kucesi are known streets in the neighborhood. The old Church, the Jewish temple, two
mosques and a Takya are all present. In 1984, the number of houses of this neighborhood was 165 and
the population was 1613.
An estimate carried out by the British mandate in 1920 found that there were 521 houses in the citadel of
which 133 were located in the Top Khana, 212 in the Takya and 176 in the Saray neighborhood. The
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citadel lacked important infrastructures, schools, kindergarten, churches and playpens.
In 1997, the number of houses in the citadel was 502 with few seven shops, one dispensary and three
mosques. Houses were small with 140 sq meters, with most in poor condition and lacking basic services
such as municipal sewage and garbage services. The number of the population of the citadel was 4,272
and the number of the families was 654.
The English governor of the Erbil district, Hay, described Erbil citadel as; "The upper town, built on a huge
circular mound commends the surrounding plain like a vast fort, the outer walls being lofty and containing
only small irregular windows like loopholes, except where some of the rich aghast have constructed
balconies” " the streets within are very rough and narrow, and cannot be used for wheeled traffic” The
lower town was surrounded by mud wall at the time of Shiel in the 1840s.
The citadel’s rich history and archeological and cultural heritage encouraged UNESCO to adopt a policy
to protect this historical site. The first stage of a master plan granted 1.5 million dollars to restore and
preserve the citadel, and was completed in March 2011. The second stage of the master plan, granting
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13 million dollars will be completed in 2013.
Historical records show that there were several mosques and takyas in the citadel. The Great Mosque
which was also called the citadel mosque is still present. It is the oldest mosque in Erbil City, located in
the center of citadel opposite the historical bath. Its construction dates back to the pre-Islamic era.
Originally, it may have been a church. The great mosque was mentioned by the Islamic historians’ alMustawfi and al-Hamawi. This mosque is also known as Molla Efendi mosque (Küçük Molla) who was a
well-known Erbil notable and religious man. It has been renovated and rebuilt several times over the
centuries. (Photo 2)
Other mosques and Takyas in the Erbil citadel include, the 200 year old Al-Ahmadiya mosque, located
near the Citadel school. The mosque of Molla Ibrahim Dogramachi near the southern entrance of the
citadel, the 200 year old Takya of Molla Salih in the Top Khana neighborhood and Takya Shaykh Zada in
the Saray neighborhood near the northern entrance. The tombs in the citadel are Shaykh Ibrahim alGaylani, Shaykh Habib al-Najjar, Shaykh Sufi Qoja, Jomard Kassap and the tomb of Qirkhlar.
Mudhaffariya Minaret (Photo 3)
The Muzaffariya minaret, which is called Çöl minarası by the locals, is considered one of the important
historical land marks of Erbil city, built by the Atabakian ruler of Erbil Mudhaffar al-Din Gökbürü at the turn
th
of the 13 century. It is located one kilometer at the west to the southern entrance to the citadel. It is
similar to a minaret in the town of Daquqa, which is located about 150 kilometers to the south of Erbil city.
In the later years, a public garden was built around the minaret.
The excavations in 1960 and in 1980 uncovered the minaret as the only remnant of a large mosque in the
southeast of the citadel, possibly, from the time of the late caliphs. Beside the minaret is located a tomb
and one of the biggest graveyards of Erbil city, which have the same name.
The minaret was built of burnt bricks with gypsum decorated with Kufic writings. Its lower 12 meters is in
the shape of octagon and houses two spiral stairs. The above cylindrical part is 24 meters in length. The
door to the minaret stairs is on the eastern side. Each of the eight lower wall laminas contains two oblong
pits one above the other each arching at the top. The width of the minaret is about 36 cm. Its upper part
remains broken and open to the outside from above. For this reason, it is called the broken minaret. A
th
balcony containing twenty-four small niches is located between the base and the shaft. In the early 19
century Rich found the upper part had been broken. Some important historical decorations have been
found in the coverings of the minaret which have suffered some damage because of the weather. Its
lower parts have been eroded, and the minaret has been diverted from the vertical axis which has it to
corrosion.
Rich’s description of the minaret in the 1810s is as follows: “The old minaret, which is the most
conspicuous object in this neighborhood, the mosque to which it belonged is quite in ruins”. “The minaret
is by measurement one hundred and twenty-one feet high. The circumference of the shaft is fifty-one feet.
It stands on an octagonal base, each face of which is nine feet eleven inches, and the height of the base
is between thirty and forty feet” it is in the style of the minaret at Taouk”
Hay describes the Minaret as follows: “In the fields on the western edge of the town stands a great brick
minaret about 110 ft. high and 12 ft. in diameter at the base. The top has fallen off, leaving an uneven
stump. Traces remain of brightly colored tiles, and there is a certain amount of rough ornament. It is eaten
away at the base and will eventually fall if efforts are not made to preserve it. No other visible trace exists
of the mosque of which it must have once formed part, but the uneven surface of the surrounding fields
betrays the presence of a former town. Local tradition says that this minaret was constructed in the time
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of the Caliphs and that it was the center of a former Arbil ruled by an independent Sultan”.
Photo 3, Mudhaffariya Minaret in Erbil city
The Qaysariya Bazaar (Photo 4)
The historical bazaar two centuries old is located in the center of the city at the south of the citadel
separating from it by a street. According to some sources, the bazaar was founded during Erbil’s most
prosperous period in the time of the Atabegs. The Arab historian Yakut al-Hamawi mentioned that Erbil
included a great market and was frequently visited by merchants. In the late 1960s, after the minister of
the municipalities Ihsan Sherzad visited the bazaar and ordered its comprehensive restoration, the simple
bazaar shops underwent a new modern design. The bazaar, which is also called the citadel bazaar, has
several gates located all around it. These gates open to numerous narrow paths. The roof is covered with
metal. The graves of religious Erbil notables can still be found in the Bazaar.
The bazaar is divided into different sections according to the type of article being sold. The bazaar is
known for its fresh famous sheep’s yoghurt, cheese, locally produced honeys and walnuts. The northeast
gate opens into the section which offers honey and dairy products. Honey in the Erbil bazaar is known for
its quality in originality, taste and color. The finest honey in the region can be found in the Erbil Bazaar
which is brought from the mountainous regions. Each region produces honey with its own different taste.
The bazaar is visited daily by a large number of people and from different parts of Iraq. Other sections of
the bazaar, of which some disappeared now, include butchers, blacksmiths, spice dealers, tailors,
carpenters, confectionery, food, gold and jewelry and clothes. The artisans section can be reached by the
gate beside Haj Nuri mosque. The gate near the Bata shop leads into the butchers section. The gate into
the jewelry section is located near the mosque of Haj Dawud, while the gate of the citadel leads into the
section for honey, desserts and cheese. Book shops can also be found at the western side of the bazaar.
Clothing stores and shops are found in the south, and electronics and computer related materials in the
east.
Photo 4, the desserts section in Erbil Bazaar
The bazaar is opened from dawn until evening. In the latter decades, random expansion of the bazaar
influenced its historical structure. The number of shops in the bazaar is estimated as being 1500. The
th
well-known Turkmen singers of Erbil city during the 20 century had their workplace in the bazaar: Haj
Jamil Kapkapçı, Faik Bezirgan, Haj Haydar al-Bakkal, Fazil Kasap and Behçet Kasap.
Several known cafés and restaurants are found in the bazaar where Erbil notables meet daily. Until not
too long ago, there was a second staircase at the roof of the bazaar which is now almost completely
destroyed.
Renovation of the Erbil citadel by UNESCO has necessitated the evacuation of inhabitants from a
considerable area around the citadel, while the bazaar excluded. It is said that the office of the archeology
plans to build a fence around the bazaar.
UNESCO arranged an integral plan for renovation of the bazaar which has included the collection of data
from the entire market area and demarcation of the old sections of the bazaar in order to assess and
develop the conservation plan and guidelines to implement pilot conservation actions in selected sections
of the bazaar. The estimated cost of the renovation is 2.500,000 USD.
Hay’s comments in the 1920s included reference to construction plans for the bazaar: “Here is the
bazaar, which is very extensive, and contains two fine arcades in good repair, and two others in ruins, but
likely soon to be rebuilt. The other shops are mostly stalls, the merchants bringing out their goods in the
morning and storing them in a “Khan" or caravanserai at night. The bazaar is well stocked and Kurds flock
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in from all sides, even from distant Nehri, to make their purchases”.
There are several mosques near the bazaar. The Grand Mosque is a large ancient mosque which has
th
two entrances. Its back entrance faces the grocery and tinsmith gates of the bazaar. It was built in the 19
century and underwent further construction after the World War. The mosque of Haj Kadir located at the
entrance of the bazaar faces the citadel. At the gate of the carpenters of the bazaar is the Najjarin
mosque. Alti Barmak (Six fingers) mosque is also situated near the entrance of the bazaar which faces
the mosque of Khanaqa. Haj Nuri mosque is located at the gate close to the artisans section.
Photo 5, Civilization Museum and Qalinj Agha Mound
Qalinj Agha Mound (Photo 5)
Erbil is well known for its plains and hills, of which, the citadel can be considered an example. Qalinj,
which means sword in Turkish, is a hill located inside boundaries of the Erbil municipality, a few
kilometers south of the citadel and on the Erbil–Kerkuk road mainly to the eastern side. It is circular in
shape with a surface area of about 33,000 sq meters and a height of seven meters. A tunnel underneath
the mound raises the possibility of an underground connection between the mound and the citadel.
The Mound of Qalinj Agha, which houses the Museum of Civilization, is an important archaeological
place. Excavation work by the Iraqi archeological office, and a German team in 2009, led to discovery of
many pre-historic tools, ancient houses, temples, graves, pottery, statuettes, necklaces, gold beads,
gemstones and flat seals. Forty nine graves were found under the houses in three different layers, 13
graves at the first layer, 32 at the second and 4 at the third. The analysis of the findings pointed to the
Halaf, Ubaid and Warka periods.
Mosques of Erbil city
The Shaykh Allah mosque (Qutb al-Madar) is situated in the Khanaqa neighborhood south of the citadel
in front of Erbil’s main graveyard, near the Bazaar of Shaykh Allah. Shaykh Allah was called Kutb alMadar, which means the head of Sufis. It was a religious abode (Takia) of the Kadiri doctrine from the
early decades of the 19th century where the body of Shaykh Allah had been buried. The abode was
converted to a graveyard at later stage. At the beginning of the 20th century a small mosque was built. It
is said that Shaykh Allah died in 1843, however, others have suggested that he died in 1590 AD.
The Khalidiya mosque (Khanaqa mosque) situated in Khanaqa quarter, nearby flea market in the city
center. The earlier name of the mosque was al-Takya al-Khalidiya. Khanaqa meant buildings where the
Sufis reside, which in the Ottomans area were called Takya. It is attributed to a counselor of the alNaqshabandi sect. It was built roughly 200 hundreds years ago, and was again rebuilt with the addition of
the minaret in 1961. The surface area of the Takya is about 21,200 sq meters and that of the praying
area, 2,300 sq meters which can accommodate 350 peoples for prayer sessions. There is also a library
which includes several religious books.
Shaykh Choli mosque was built in 1883 in the al-Arab quarter of Erbil city. Being that the mosque was
built in the scarcely inhabited Arab neighborhood, it was called Chol (Çol) mosque which in Turkmen
means an uninhabited region or desert. Choli mosque has two minarets between which sits a large
dome. The Choli Mosque taught Nakshbandi doctrines. (Map 6)
Photo 6, Shaykh Choli Mosque
Jalil al-Khayat Mosque is the largest mosque in center of Erbil city possibly in all Iraq which was built in
mixed Arabic, Iranian and Turkish fusion. The massive size of the building with large minarets and domes
and decorative walls with calligraphy of the religious writings and colors presents a charming vision. It
resembles the historical mosques of Istanbul particularly the Blue Mosque. The mosque’s surface area is
15,000 sq meters, and that of the praying hall is 1,200 sq meters which holds 1,500 to 2,000 people. The
height of the dome is 45 meters long and that of the minarets is 65 meters. The mosque was inaugurated
in Erbil in January 2007. (Photo 7 & 8)
Photo 7, Jalil Khayat Mosque
Photo 8, Jalil Khayat Mosque
Al-Mohammadiya Mosque or Masjid ah-Haj Karuk is located in the Iskan neighborhood in Erbil city. It was
built in 1962 and renovated in 1980. The mosque’s surface area is 2,300 sq meters and that of the
prayer’s hall is 850 sq meters and holds about 3000 people. The mosque has two minarets 30 and 10
meters in length respectively, with a diameter of 3 meters each. The diameter of the dome is 20 meters
and the height is 25 meters. The library contains important books of al-Sharia, religious law, and
interpretation of Quran and statements of the prophet. The mosque possesses four houses for the Imam,
Crier and guards. (Photo 9)
Al-Mufti Mosque is attributed to Molla Abdurrahman, the Mufti of Erbil City, who lived in the last Ottoman
era. He succeeded his father Molla Izak in 1876 AD. The mosque is situated in Iskan quarter.
Tombs inside Erbil city
Prophet Uzair tomb and graveyard: It is situated at the southwest of the Erbil citadel opposite the mosque
of Shaykh Choli in the Arab neighborhood. The tomb is frequently visited by Jewish people. The
inhabitants believe that the prophet lived in Erbil and was captured by the Assyrian king and that his
cadaver is present in this tomb, but it is highly possible that this tomb was constructed when prophet
Uzair passed from Erbil after he was released in Babylon.
The tomb of Sultan Muzaffar al-Din: This tomb is situated near the building of the governorate of Erbil City
opposite the cinema Salah al-Din. This tomb is ascribed to abu-Saeed Kökbürü, which is the glorified
leader Muzaffar al-Din Kökbürü.
Masjid al-Kaff which means ‘Masjid of the hand’ is located in the Khanaqa neighborhood. There is a stone
on which an imprint of a man’s palm can be seen which is attributed to the Caliph Ali ibn Talib. It was a
tomb, mosque, religious abode and graveyard in the Atabakian period. The site faces the mosque of
Shaykh Mustafa al-Naqshabandi.
Photo 9, al-Mohammadiya Mosque
Tomb of Imam Mohammed: This tomb is located in a graveyard that holds the same name in Arab
neighborhood opposite the Haji Hussein mosque. This tomb is attributed to Imam Mohammed al-Husayni,
located near the Muzaffariya minaret.
Imam Tajil tomb and graveyard: This is situated in the Tajil neighborhood. The imam of the tomb was a
virtuous person and a famous Sufi leader. He may have lived at the time of the Atabakian or Safavids.
The graveyard is related to the large Erbil family Küreciler.
The tomb of Siti-Imami (Lady Imam): This tomb dates back to the Sassanian era in the 4th century visited
by Christian and Muslim women. It is attributed to a blessed Christian Persian woman called
Yazdanducht. It is located in the western south of Erbil city next to the Erbil benzene station.
Molla Haydar II: he was a leader of the Qadiri doctrine and died in 1700 AD. The tomb of Molla Haydar II
It is situated behind the mosque of Shaykh-Allah. It underwent renovation in 1985.
Mollah Abi-Bakr II: the tomb is located next to the tomb of Mollah Haydar who lived in the same peroid.
He was a well-known religious scientist who died in 1725 AD.
Shaykh Abi-Bakr: Counselor of the Naqshabandi doctrine, and a successor of Shaykh Othman Siraj alDin. He died in 1911, and his tomb situated in Khanaqa quarter.
Shaykh Mohammed al-Khurasani: A Sufi leader from the time of Safavids. It is situated near the park of
Gülkent, opposite the Çirağ graveyard behind the house of Mayor.
Shaykh Mohammed al-Wasiti: this is situated in a graveyard opposite the tomb of Shaykh Mohammad alKhurasani.
Tomb of Shaykh al-Hurshumi: Counselor of the Naqshabandi doctrine and a successor of Shaykh Siraj
al-Din. His tomb is situated in Khanaqa neighborhood. He died in 1329.
Other mosques or tombs which have been referenced under different names include:
-
Al-Shaykh Mustapha al-Nakshbandi mosque
Haj Mahmut Allaf mosque which is located near the Erbil governorate building
Haji Mawlud al-Erbili mosque has a brickwork minaret.
Awkaf mosque located in Tayrawa neighborhood
Hasan Bezzaz mosque located behind the central bank
Saylo mosque on the road to Mosul
Takya of Abd al-Karim Darkhorum al-Qadiri was built in 1930 in the Khanaqa neighborhood
Masjid al-Khayri was built in the early 20th century
Takya of Chaliph Ismail was later converted into a masjid
Masjid of Molla Mahmout is located at the north of the Khanaqa neighborhood. It was built in 1968
and was renovated recently
Masjid Aziz al-Naqshbandi was built in 1989.
Churches of Erbil city
St. George’s church, which is located in the Ain Kawa neighborhood of Erbil city, is considered one of the
oldest churches in the region. Its domes are standing on large columns. Different dates are known by
local as the date when the church was built. Inscriptions on a stone refer to the rebuilding of the church in
th
rd
the 7 century, but others have suggested this may have occured in the 3 century.
The other churches in Erbil city are St. Joseph’s church in Ain Kawa, St. George’s church (the eastern
Assyrian church) in the Shorish neighborhood, the Chaldeans Church in the al-Arab neighborhood, Mar
Virgin dome and St. Shmony in Ain Kawa.
Museums
The Museum of Civilization was built in 1989 during the archeological excavations of the Qalinj Agah hill
where the museum is located. It contains about 700 pieces and has three halls for articles from different
ages. The museum is located in the municipality street near Erbil stadium.
The Folkloric Museum in the citadel was built in 2003 after it was converted into a museum from a 200
year old house. It contains materials related to the history of the heritage and the culture of the Erbil
people. For example, traditional handmade carpets and pots of silver and copper, furniture and jewelry,
household items and a rare collection of postage stamps, manuscripts and photographs of Iraqi political
figures and famous Kurds.
The Syriac Heritage Museum was established in 2011 in the Ain Kawa neighborhood. It contains 3 halls,
the first for fashion, textiles, households and other materials which are used by the locals either at home
or at work. The second is for cultural materials and the third part is allocated for cultural activities. It
contains about 3000 pieces.
Others
Today, the buildings of the governmental offices are important modern architectural milestones in the city.
Erbil University possesses important building structures. Several governmental and private hospitals and
banks can also be found in Erbil city. The factories in Erbil city relate to textiles, cigarettes, handmade
carpets, marble, carpentry, dairy, fodder, asphalt and bricks. There are television and radio towers, a
stadium, cinemas, hotels, all found in Erbil city.
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