Kurdistan is famous for its ancient monuments and even each of these monuments is a history in itself. The most important monuments in Kurdistan are those that date back thousands of years. One of the special geometric works that Kurdistan is famous for is the building of castles. One of the Kurdish castles is the "Kirkuk Castle" which is an important monument that has an ancient history and is located in the center of Kirkuk in the southern part of Kurdistan. The history of Kirkuk Castle dates back to the middle of the second millennium BC.
There are several opinions about the construction of Kirkuk Castle
One of the opinions about the establishment and construction of Kirkuk Castle is that one of the rulers of the second millennium BC named "King Shilwa Tishub" founded and built the castle. Other historians, however, say the castle was built during the reign of the Assyrian king "Ashur Nasrbal II" from 850 to 884 BC, who built it to support his forces.
Another opinion is that Kirkuk Castle was built by King Slox I Nikatur, the founder of the Slokian Empire. The empire was founded on the collapsed remains of the Macedonian Empire, founded by Alexander the Great.
King Slox was able to conquer Babylon in 312 BC and make the city of Slok on the Tigris River the capital of his empire. He built the castle for "military, Jewish, and Christian temples".
The way of building Kirkuk Castle
Kirkuk Castle is built on ancient Assyrian architectural design and covers an area of 170 dunums in the center of Kirkuk. The height of this castle is 130 feet or about 44 meters. Kirkuk Castle has 72 towers and 32 different entrances. The most important part of the castle was the western part, known as the Shater, where the tomb of the prophet Daniel is located.
Kirkuk Castle has four main gates, two on the east and two on the west. The first gate, known as the Top Gate, is one of the main gates of the castle, located opposite the Khasa River and was built in 1820 by the governor of Mosul. Now only the gate remains intact, preserved in its style and untouched for nearly 150 years.
The value and importance of Kirkuk Castle
On April 19, 2021, the Directorate of International Organizations of the Iraqi General Board of Archeology and Culture, in collaboration with UNESCO, included Kirkuk Castle in the provisional list of world heritage sites. This is due to the importance of the castle in terms of its multiculturalism, including the Mosque of the Prophet Daniel, the Great Mosque, and the Mosque of Urian, as well as the presence of the Chaldean Church of Um Ahzan. The castle also contains several parts, including the Qaysari Bazaar and the Green Dome (dating back to the Atabag period in 752 AH), as well as a number of cultural houses.
During the restoration of the castle in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the remains of 17 old markets and shops were discovered in the area, and are considered one of the oldest monuments in Iraq.
The castle contains the graves of some of the soldiers of the Ottoman Empire who were killed in World War I.
Kirkuk Castle has an important global cultural value. The castle is also considered to be of historical significance on the rare criteria of living culture and civilization because it is a great example in terms of construction and geometry and reflects an important stage in human history.
