Ácidos grasos de cadena media-larga

“Every region and every nation knows or recognizes its heritage. Every community seeks to keep its history alive to maintain or discover their roots: the guarantor of community’s

future” Stone and Bajjaly (2008) Name

To understand the history of this city, it is important to consider its name and identify its meaning. Erbil is considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited city to carry a consistent name throughout history. The name Erbil (figure 3.1) appears in different literature in various written forms, such as Ur-bi-lum, Ur-bi-el, Arba-il, Arbira, Arbil, Erbil and Hawler. It first appears in Sumerian Cuneiform Ur III as Ur-bi-lum and in the Ebla text as Irbilum, in Babylonian sources as Urbēl/Urbiel and in the Middle⁹² and Neo-Assyrian era it was recorded as Arbail⁹³ or Arab-ilu⁹⁴ (MacGinnis 2014, pp. 19-24;

Doxiadis 1958, p. 5). From 15 to 116 CE Erbil was the capital of Adiabene or Arbeletis, an ancient independent kingdom located between the Greater and Lesser Zab Rivers.

The Greeks referred to the city as Arbila, while Arab references alluded to as Irbil and Arbil. In Persian writings, it is introduced as Arbaira, and in the Turkish language during

92 This period also saw the rise of the Mitannian Empire.

93Arbail: Arba in Akkadian means four, il means God (four Gods). It is interesting that the pronunciation of four in Arabic is similar to arba, and God (il in Akkadian) is ilah.

94 It was a major religious shrine to the goddess Ishtar (Doxiadis 1958, p. 5).

the Ottoman period, it was also called Irbil (Houtsma 1987, p. 521; Ismail 1986, p. 62, Doxiadis 1958, p. 5).

Figure 3.1: The persistence of the name ‘Erbil’ in the main ancient civilisations Source: Modified from (MacGinnis 2014, p. 19)

In the Kurdish language the name of Erbil is Hawler as pronounced by the Kurds; Hay⁹⁵ (1920, p. 20) wrote it as Haulair⁹⁶. The name Hawler may have originated from the word Erbil too, as, in the Kurdish language the name Erbil changed verbally from Arbila to Arbira, Arbil, Aurblel, Arwiel, Awalera, Hawlera and, currently, Hawler; the letters

‘r’, ‘ī’, and ‘l’ in Kurdish remaining unchanged as the pronunciation of the Kurdish language as spoken in Erbil used to omit some letters (Hussyein 2015; Ismail 1986, p.

37; Baqir and Safar 1966, p. 6). Other scholars suggest that the name originated Haw-lera (here is), which, in the Kurdish language is an expression used by travellers arriving in the city after a long journey, or from Khawler⁹⁷ meaning the Temple of the Sun, the Ishtar temple (Al-Chawishli 1985, p. 17), weak source. Currently, the official name is

‘Erbil’ in English and Arabic, and ‘Hawler’ in Kurdish (figure 3.2).

Figure 3.2: The name of Erbil in Kurdish, Arabic and English languages

95 Hay’s book is ’Two Years in Kurdistan: Experiences of a Political Officer, 1918-1920’

96 'Hay was referring to the Erbil/Arbil plain.'

97 Khawler: Khauler/Xewler also is a holy day in the Yezidi religion

Location

“The history of the City is always inseparable from its geography; without both we cannot understand the architecture that is the physical sign of this ‘human thing’”

Rossi (1982)

Iraq⁹⁸, Mesopotamia⁹⁹, the eastern part of ‘the Fertile Crescent’¹⁰⁰, is the 'cradle of civilisation’¹⁰¹ and one of the birthplaces of the academic study of ancient settlements, patterns and landscapes. De Mieroop (2014, p. 23) states that Mesopotamia is the region in the old world where urban civilisation and development spontaneously arose. Hout (2008, p. 19) asserts, in her article ‘The Importance of Iraq’s Cultural Heritage’, that this part of the world “…is characterised by distinctive features which make the land crossed by the Tigris and the Euphrates different from adjacent regions”. Numerous significant rich civilisations prospered in ancient Iraq including Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian and Abbasid, whose influence extended into adjacent countries.

Erbil has been part of these significant civilisations; excavations show that it has a very long history (De Mieroop 2014, p. 23; Ur et al. 2013, p. 89).

Following World War I (1918) and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the international boundaries of Southwest Asia and Africa were drawn up by the British and French imperial powers. The Kurdish territories, in what is now called the Kurdistan Region, were distributed between regions of five countries, namely, north eastern Syria, the east and south-east of Turkey, northern Iraq, the north west of Iran, and part of the former Soviet Union (Karezi 2011, p. 20; O’Ballance 1973, p. 4; Hay 1921 p. 36). As a consequence of these decisions Erbil became part of Iraq (figure 3.3).

98 This area was known by Arabs and others as Iraq for more than 1400 years. In 1919 during the Paris Peace Conference, following World War I, Sir Arnold Talbot Wilson, who had played a significant role as the colonial administrator of Iraq, was among those who recommended adopting the old authentic name of Iraq as an official name for the country. At that time Iraq had a nickname, ‘the despot of Mess-Pot’, a reference to the different ethnicities and religions in the region. Part of the border of Iraq was drawn up by the British archaeologist and political officer Gertrude Bell.

99 Mesopotamia, a Greek name, was used by Westerners. It is the name of an area rather than a country.

“In Greek, Mesopotamia means 'land between the rivers', and the term came to be applied to the land between the two great rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, which flow from eastern Turkey through present-day Iraq, to the Gulf; the Euphrates also flows through a large part of northern Syria” (Collon 2011).

100 ‘The Fertile Crescent’ is “the great arc of grassland and arable land that encloses the Syrian desert”

(Woolley 1961, p. 17)

101 Ancient Iraq is called the 'cradle of civilisation because agriculture, animal herding and domestication developed there earlier than anywhere else, almost 8,000 years ago (Collon 2011).

Figure 3.3: Kurdish Territory Source: (O’Ballance 1973, p. 5)

Currently, Erbil is one of the major cities of Iraq, and the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan; its boundaries being the two Zab Rivers, the Iraq-Iran border and the river Tigris (figure 3.4).

Figure 3.4: Erbil and other main cities in the map of Iraq Source: Adapted from (Global Security.org, 2011)

Erbil is positioned halfway between Kirkuk and Mosul¹⁰², the two biggest cities in the north of Iraq (figure 3.5). In the ancient period, Erbil¹⁰³ lay on the main route between Babylon and Nineveh (Al-Mudaris, 2003, p. 38; Houtsma 1987, p. 521; Doxiadis 1958, p. 2). The position of Erbil impacted on the city’s urban growth and economic development, and helped the city to survive and retain its name throughout history (Houtsma 1987, p. 521).

Figure 3.5: The main communication routes of Erbil Source: (Doxiades 1959, p. 9)

102 Mosul city is the capital of the Nineveh governorate; before the current situation in Kurdistan and Iraq the Erbil route was the safest way to travel between Kirkuk, Mosul and Baghdad; this contributed to Erbil’s importance and allowed the city to play a vital role in Iraq’s trade (Doxiadis 1958, p. 2).

103 Erbil at that time worked served as a meeting place and junction point for caravan routes (Al-Mudaris, 2003).

Topography

Erbil lies on a plain and has had two valleys: one to the north and the other one, called Besté, to the south¹⁰⁴ (Doxiadis 1959, p. 10). Unfortunately, both valleys have been infilled with clay, so that houses and other projects could be built. This happened in the modern period due to the urban growth and the lack of comprehensive planning¹⁰⁵. Erbil’s plain is sited between two rivers¹⁰⁶, the Greater and the Lesser Zab. To its west are fertile alluvial plains, while the area to its north is mountainous and extends to the borders of Iraq (Bornberg, Tayfor, and Jaimes, 2006, p. 1). Along its north-eastern side the plain of Erbil is bounded by the mountains of Bastura¹⁰⁷ and the Dardawan Dagh (Hay 1921, p. 21). Figure 3.6 shows the city’s location between the two Zab Rivers.

Figure 3.6: Geographical location of Erbil Source: (Ur et al. 2013, p. 90)

This city lies approximately 430m above sea level. The prevailing winds of Erbil are North-Easterly and North-Westerly. Its location, at 36° 11′ 28″ N, 44° 0′ 33″ E, has had a further influence on its evolution. In summer the weather is hot and dry, but in winter cold (Ur et al. 2013, p. 93; Doxiadis 1959, p. 10). Its location within the warm temperate

104In an interview, the well-known historian Abdulraqib Yousef, stressed the importance of the valley, this natural element Besté. He petitioned to the Erbil governorate several times and wrote articles in an effort to have it preserved. Unfortunately, this issue was neglected and now with the new investment projects Besté is almost disappearing.

105The Besté valley is now a part of a huge commercial project that was halted probably by the government when Erbil was listed under the Iraqi tentative list as a World Heritage Site. Unfortunately, the project is now continuing despite the World Heritage status.

106“In ancient times, this was called either Arbelities, after the capital, or, from the Zãbs, Adiabene (the Ḥedayab of Syrians)” (Houtsma 1987, p. 521).

107 Bastura River and its mountain (Bastura Chia) are the main water source used by Sennacherib, the king of Assyria to provide Erbil with water via his underground canal.

zone means it is distinguished by its moderate temperature and frequent rainfall. That has had a significant impact on the economy of the city, particularly with regard to its agriculture. The city of Erbil, with its extended history of habitation, has a citadel located on a hill (figure 3.7). This citadel which is the dominant feature in the city, is probably the first inhabited place in the city (Doxiadis 1959, p. 10). Its circular shape impacted on the modern urban planning of the lower city and led it being organised with radial roads.

Figure 3.7: An aerial view of Erbil Citadel and its plain from the SW (ca. 1930s)

Source: (Hamilton 1937), from ‘Road Through Kurdistan - The Narrative of an Engineer in Iraq’.

The Administrative Role

Throughout history, Erbil has held a significant governmental role in the region.

Between 2004 and 595 BCE it was an administrative centre to the kingdom of Qabra (McGinnis 2014, p. 28); from 226 to 148 BCE it was the capital of the kingdom of Adiabene. During the Islamic era, and specifically the Hathebani and Attabeg periods, the city had a prominent administrative role. In 1514, under Ottoman rule, Erbil belonged to the Emirate of Soran¹⁰⁸, and was then ruled by Kurdish families until it was taken by the Kurdish Baban Emirate. In 1914 the administrative divisions of the region changed and Erbil became the capital of Qadha within the vilayet/province of Mosul (Ismail 1986, pp. 149 -197; Doxiadis 1958, p. 6). In the Iraqi Kingdom, Erbil became a

108 Besides the Emirate of Soran there were the Emirates of Baban and Bahdinan in Amadi, which were constructed in between 1329 and1843 and were two of the most powerful Kurdish Emirates. These Emirates were independent but within the Ottoman Empire.

Liwa/district, with six qadha/kaza/ sub-districts and sixteen nahiyas/parish (further sub districts of qadha) (Doxiadis 1959, p. 8). During the time of the Republic of Iraq¹⁰⁹, Erbil was one of the Iraqi governorates and in 1971 it became the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. Currently, Erbil under the authority of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and it is the capital of the Kurdistan Region in the North of Iraq, with semi-autonomous. Iraqi Kurdistan encompasses the following governorates: Erbil, Duhok, and Suleimaniyah (Al-Mudaris, 2003, p. 43). Some districts in the Kirkuk, Nineveh and Diyala governorates are outside the control of the KRG. Erbil itself has jurisdiction over different districts in and around the old city of Erbil which consists of: the Central of Erbil (the old city of Erbil), and the plain of Erbil (Dashti Hawler), Choman, Rawanduz, Soran, Koya, Khabat, Shaqlawa, Makhmwr, Mergasor (Karezi 2011, p. 88).