Erbil Citadel is a fortified settlement on top of an imposing ovoid-shaped tell (a hill created by many generations of people living and rebuilding on the same spot) in the Kurdistan region, Erbil Governorate. A continuous wall of tall 19th-century façades still conveys the visual impression of an impregnable fortress, dominating the city of Erbil. The citadel features a peculiar fan-like pattern dating back to Erbil’s late Ottoman phase. Written and iconographic historical records document the antiquity of settlement on the site – Erbil corresponds to ancient Arbela, an important Assyrian political and religious centre – while archaeological finds and investigations suggest that the mound conceals the levels and remains of previous settlements.

Brief description Erbil Citadel is a rare surviving example of a formerly fortified settlement which has grown up on the top of an imposing ovoid-shaped tell. The artificial topography of the archaeological mound conditioned the urban form of the settlement, the structure of the Ottoman period urban fabric of which is clearly legible, in the maze of alleys and cul-de-sacs radiating from the main Grand Gate. The original fortifications of the Citadel were in time replaced by houses and the continuous wall of tall 19th century house façades still conveys the visual impression of an impregnable fortress dominating the city of Erbil. Written and iconographic historical records document the antiquity of settlement on the site: Erbil is associated with Arbela, an important Assyrian political and religious centre and is mentioned, with a remarkable continuity of its name (Irbilum, Urbilum, Urbel, Arbail, Arbira, Arbela, Erbil/Arbil), since pre-Sumerian times in several written sources. Archaeological finds and investigations suggest that the mound conceals the levels and remains of several layers of previous settlements, while the immediate and wider setting has revealed traces connected to the early development of the settlement. Criterion (iv): Erbil Citadel is an imposing example of a multilayered archaeological mound still physically emerging from the surrounding landscape. The physical structure of the Citadel town is characterized by the permanence of the Ottoman period urban…