Arrapha orArrapkha (Akkadian:Arrapḫa;Arabic:أررابخا ,عرفة) was an ancient Near Eastern city or kingdom in what today is northeasternIraq, speculated to be located atcity of Kirkuk.[1]
In 1948,Arrapha became the name of the residential area in Kirkuk which was built by theNorth Oil Company as a settlement for its workers.
The first written record of Arrapha is attested from theNeo-Sumerian Empire (c. 22nd to 21st century BC).[1] Ancient Arrapha was a part ofSargon of Akkad'sAkkadian Empire (2335–2154 BC),[2] and the city was exposed to the raids of theLullubi duringNaram-Sin's reign.[3]
The city was occupied around 2150 BC by theGutians before that empire was destroyed and the Gutians driven fromMesopotamia by theNeo-Sumerian Empire c. 2090 BC.[4][5]
Arrapha was an important trading center in the 18th century BC under Assyrian and Babylonian rule.[1] However, during the 15th and early 14th centuries BC, it was again a largelyHurrian city, the capital of the small Hurrian kingdom of Arrapha, situated along the southeastern edge of the area underMitanni domination.[1][6][7] This kingdom was a vassal ofMitanni, which had units of chariots stationed in Arraphian cities such asLubdu, Arwa and Arn-apuwe.[8] During theMiddle Assyrian Empire (1365–1050 BC), it was fully incorporated intoAssyria, after the Assyrian forces had defeated theHurrian kingdom ofMitanni.[1][6][7]
The city reached great prominence in the 11th and 10th centuries BC as a part of Assyria. In 615 BC, seeing the Assyrians occupied with theBabylonians and violent rebellions among themselves, theMedian kingCyaxares successfully invaded Arrapha, which was one of the last strongholds of theNeo-Assyrian Empire.[9][10] The region later became part of the Persian ruled province ofAthura (Achaemenid Assyria).
Arrapha then fell to theMacedonian Empire, where it became a part ofSeleucid Syria in its succeedingSeleucid Empire (Syria being anaphetic form ofAssyria[11]). Arrapha is mentioned as such untilHellenistic times, at which point the settlement was refounded under theSyriac nameKarka (ܟܪܟܐ).[1]
Between the mid 2nd century BC and mid 3rd century AD, during theParthian Empire and earlySassanid Empire the site was mentioned inSyriac scripts of Christian priest asBeth Garmai, apart from a brief interregnum in the early 2nd century AD when it became a part of the Roman Province of Corduene.[12] The Sassanids conquered the patchwork of independent Assyrian states in the mid to late 3rd century AD, and Arrapha was incorporated into Sassanid-ruledGarmekan until theArabIslamic conquest of the mid 7th century AD, when Assuristan was dissolved and Arrapha-Karka eventually becameKirkuk.
Arrapha has not been excavated yet, due to its location beneath modern Kirkuk.[1]
35°27′00″N44°23′00″E / 35.4500°N 44.3833°E /35.4500; 44.3833
