ErbilErbil (Arbīl; Arbel), also called Hawler (Hewlêr), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The city is in the Erbil Governorate and has an estimated population of around 1,600,000. Human settlement at Erbil may be dated back to the 5th millennium BC. At the heart of the city is the ancient Citadel of Erbil and Mudhafaria Minaret. The earliest historical reference to the region dates to the Third Dynasty of Ur of Sumer, when King Shulgi mentioned the city of Urbilum.
Ancient Semitic-speaking peoplesAncient Semitic-speaking peoples or Proto-Semitic people were speakers of Semitic languages who lived throughout the ancient Near East and North Africa, including the Levant, Mesopotamia, the Arabian Peninsula, and Carthage from the 3rd millennium BC until the end of antiquity, with some, such as Assyrians, Mandeans, Arabs, Arameans, Samaritans and Jews having a continuum into the present day. Their languages are usually divided into three branches: East, Central and South Semitic languages.
AsoristanAsoristan (𐭠𐭮𐭥𐭥𐭮𐭲𐭭 Asōristān, Āsūristān) was the name of the Sasanian province of Assyria and Babylonia from 226 to 637. The Parthian name Asōristān (𐭀𐭎𐭅𐭓𐭎𐭕𐭍; also spelled Asoristan, Asuristan, Asurestan, Assuristan) is known from Shapur I's inscription on the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht, and from the inscription of Narseh at Paikuli. The adjective āsōrīg in Middle Persian accordingly means “Assyrian”. The region was also called several other names, mostly relating to it's Assyrian inhabitants: Assyria, Athura Bēṯ Nahren (ܒܝܬ ܐܪܡܝܐ), Bābēl / Bābil, and Erech / Erāq.
KirkukKirkuk (كركوك; کەرکووک; ܟܪܟܘܟ; Kerkük) is a city in Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate, located north of Baghdad. The city is home to a diverse population of Kurds, Turkmens and Arabs. Kirkuk sits on the ruins of the original Kirkuk Citadel which sits near the Khasa River. Kirkuk was proclaimed the "capital of Iraqi culture" in 2010. It is described by the Kurdish leader and former Iraqi president Jalal Talabani as “the Jerusalem of Kurdistan”.
