Kirkuk Citadel

Kirkuk Citadel
Kirkuk, Iraq
View of the Kirkuk citadel from outside
Kirkuk Citadel Location in Iraq
Coordinates	35°28′11″N 44°23′45″E
Type	Citadel
Site information
Controlled by	Iraq
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Partially ruined
Site history
Built by	Neo-Assyrian Empire (first time) Ottoman Empire (current walls)

The Kirkuk Citadel (Arabic: قلعة كركوك;[1] Kurdish: قەڵای کەرکووک;[2] Turkish: Kerkük Kalesi[3]) is in the centre of Kirkuk, Iraq, and is considered to be the oldest part of the city. The citadel stands on an tell 40 meters high located on a plateau across the Khasa River.

History

The origins of the citadel are disputed; some historians believe the oldest parts of the structure were built by the nomadic Gutian people around 3,500 years ago, others assert that the citadel was constructed by the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II between 850 and 884 BC.[4]

Monument said to be the Tomb of Daniel

King Seleucus I Nicator[5] built a strong rampart with 72 towers around the 72 streets and the two entries to the citadel. A jewel of the citadel is the so-called "Red Church", with traces of mosaics dating to the period before the Islamic conquest of Iraq in the 7th century. It is believed that Timur visited the citadel in 1393 during his military expedition. The modern walls go back to the Ottoman period.

In the 1990s, Saddam Hussein, announced a campaign to beautify the walled citadel. A large number of historical and religious sites still exist there, including a monument believed to be the Tomb of Daniel.[6]

References

1. Mahmoud. "قلعة كركوك" (PDF). CGUAA (in Arabic).
2. "قەڵای کەرکووک" (in Kurdish). Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
3. "Kerkük". TDV Islâm Ansiklopedia (in Turkish). Retrieved 1 December 2020.
4. "The ancient citadel of Kirkuk - in pictures". 25 May 2021.
5. Clifford Edmund Bosworth (1954). The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Brill Archive. p. 144. ISBN 9004060561.
6. "كركوك في العصور القديمة", ئاراس (in Arabic)