Erbil

Erbil, Iraq

Erbil, also spelled Arbīl or Irbīl, Assyrian Arba-ilu, Greek Arbela, Kurdish Hawler or Hewler, city, capital of Erbil muḥāfaẓah (governorate), northern Iraq. The city is also the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq and is among the largest cities in that country. It is one of the most ancient cities in the world, dating back at least to 2300 bce. Erbil has long been an important trade centre, with roads south to Arab Iraq and abroad to Turkey, Iran, and Syria. The famous Hamilton Road (constructed under British rule in 1928–32 by Archibald M. Hamilton) runs from Erbil through the mountains and canyons northeast to the Iranian border. Erbil is the birthplace of Ibn Khallikān (1211–82), the Muslim jurist famous as the compiler of a great biographical dictionary of Arab scholars, and, in modern times, İhsan Doğramacı (1915–2010), a famous Turkish physician and educational administrator, and Abdulla Pashew (born 1946), an eminent Kurdish poet. Pop. (2015 est.) 879,000.