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The Ancient City of Erbil "The oldest Sumerian tablets gave the city the name of Obilm, while in both Babylonian and Assyrian eras the city was called Erba-Elo, which means "the city of the four gods." It had been a religious center visited by people for its Ishtar temple. It was mentioned as Arba-Arla in the Old Testament, Arbira in the ancient Persian writings; the Ottomans in most cases called it Arbl and some inhabitants of neighboring cities and territories pronounced it Arobl. In the Kurdish language it was known as Huer. Some Kurdish historians say that this ancient nomenclature developed from Khorler which means "the Temple of Sun," as this was the used for the Ishtar temple which was once in Arbil." Certainly the fact that its name is found in many neighboring cultures is a testament to the city's centrality in the ancient world. Excerpt from "The Historical Heritage of Erbil," by Hadi Al Chawishli, translated by Rawand Abdulakadir. Published 1998, The Ministry of Municipalities and Tourism.
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