Kirkuk

Kirkuk stands beside the Khasa River in northern Iraq, its old citadel rising above the riverbed on a high mound. The fortress shelters a town of markets, mosques and religious buildings, while the plain below connects it with Erbil, Baghdad and the Zagros foothills. Its long-settled mound recalls the ancient city of Arrapha and centuries of changing rule.

In the early modern period Kirkuk lay in the contested country between the Ottoman and Persian realms. The strength of its citadel made it an important position on the roads through northern Iraq. After Nadir Shah captured nearby Erbil in 1743, the Ottoman sultan ordered repairs to the walls of both Erbil and Kirkuk in 1745 and supplied troops and ammunition. Within the fortress, neighbourhoods and places of worship reflected the varied communities that lived around this defended centre.