UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Iraq
Iraq has 4 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List (3 cultural and 1 mixed), the first inscribed in 2003 (Assur). 2 sites are on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The map below plots every one of them alongside the rest of the List, and each site is written up in full further down the page.
- World Heritage Sites
- 4
- Cultural
- 3
- Natural and Mixed
- 1
- First Inscribed
- 2003
Map of World Heritage Sites in Iraq
CulturalNaturalMixedIn DangerLarge dots are in Iraq. Click a dot to read about the site.
Assur
Iraq · 35.4567° N, 43.2625° E · 1 km² · 100 km from Mosul
Aššur, also known as Ashur and Qal'at Sherqat, was the capital of the Middle Assyrian Empire for a time, of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–609 BC) and a semi-independent state during the Parthian Empire between the 2nd century BC and mid 3rd century AD. The remains of the city lie on the western bank of the Tigris River, north of the confluence with its tributary, the Little Zab, in what is now Iraq, more precisely in the al-Shirqat District of the Saladin Governorate. Assur lies 65 kilometres (40 mi) south of the site of Kalhu (the biblical Calah, Nimrud) and 100 km (60 mi) south of Nineveh.
Occupation of the city itself continued for approximately 3,000 years, from the Early Dynastic Period to the mid-3rd century AD, when the city was sacked by the Sasanian Empire, after which it was sparsely populated until the massacres of Assyrian Christians conducted by Tamurlane in the 14th century AD after which the remaining population relocated to the countryside. The site is a World Heritage Site and was added to that organization's list of sites in danger in 2003 as a result of a proposed dam, which would flood some of the site.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Assur (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Why Assur Is Listed
- (iii)
- A unique testimony to a cultural tradition or civilisation.
- (iv)
- An outstanding example of a type of building or landscape.
More about Assur
UNESCO's Description
The ancient city of Ashur is located on the Tigris River in northern Mesopotamia in a specific geo-ecological zone, at the borderline between rain-fed and irrigation agriculture. The city dates back to the 3rd millennium BC. From the 14th to the 9th centuries BC it was the first capital of the Assyrian Empire, a city-state and trading platform of international importance. It also served as the religious capital of the Assyrians, associated with the god Ashur. The city was destroyed by the Babylonians, but revived during the Parthian period in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.
From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
History
While there are no textual references to Assur in the Early Dynastic period a number of Early Dynastic III finds were made in the early excavations at the Ishtar temple, including a number of seated and standing female statues. More recent work at the Ishtar Temple, including a radiocarbon date, suggests a foundation for the city by the Early Dynastic I period.
During the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2112–2004 BC), Assur was under the control of Ur. One of the governors of Assur, Zariqum, is known. From references in texts found at Drehem and Umma it is known that he was originally an Ur III official from Shulgi year 44 until year 47 (about 3.5 years) then from Shulgi year 48 until Amar-Sin year 5 (about 6 years) was governor of Assur.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Assur (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Visiting Assur
Assur is an ancient Assyrian ruin in Northwestern Iraq. In the Bronze Age, it was an important trade hub. The city remained continuously inhabited for over 4000 years, but was abandoned in the 14th century after the residents were massacred by the Timurid Empire.
Assur has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003, as a reaction to plans to submerge parts of the archaeological site underwater in a dam project. The project was put on hold following protests of the international community.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Assur (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Samarra
Iraq · 34.1959° N, 43.8857° E · 151 km² · 1 km from Samarra
Samarra (Arabic: سَامَرَّاء, Sāmarrāʾ) is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, 125 kilometers (78 mi) north of Baghdad. Due to the presence of Al-Askari Shrine, the city is considered a holy site in Shia Islam. The modern city of Samarra was founded in 836 CE by the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim as a new administrative capital and military base.
In 2003 the city had an estimated population of 348,700. During the Iraqi Civil War (2006–2008), Samarra was in the "Sunni Triangle" of resistance. The archeological site of Samarra still retains much of the historic city's original plan, architecture and artistic relics. In 2007, UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Samarra (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Why Samarra Is Listed
- (ii)
- An important interchange of human values.
- (iii)
- A unique testimony to a cultural tradition or civilisation.
- (iv)
- An outstanding example of a type of building or landscape.
More about Samarra
UNESCO's Description
Samarra Archaeological City is the site of a powerful Islamic capital city that ruled over the provinces of the Abbasid Empire extending from Tunisia to Central Asia for a century. Located on both sides of the River Tigris 130 km north of Baghdad, the length of the site from north to south is 41.5 km; its width varying from 8 km to 4 km. It testifies to the architectural and artistic innovations that developed there and spread to the other regions of the Islamic world and beyond. The 9th-century Great Mosque and its spiral minaret are among the numerous remarkable architectural monuments of the site, 80% of which remain to be excavated.
From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
Geography
Samarra has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh). Most rain falls in the winter. The average annual temperature in Samarra is 22.7 °C (72.9 °F). About 171 mm (6.73 in) of precipitation falls annually.
History
The remains of prehistoric Samarra were first excavated between 1911 and 1914 by the German archaeologist Ernst Herzfeld and Friedrich Sarre. Samarra became the type site for the Samarra culture. Since 1946, the notebooks, letters, unpublished excavation reports and photographs have been in the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
The civilization flourished alongside the Ubaid period, as one of the first town states in the Near East. It lasted from 5,500 BCE and eventually collapsed in 3,900 BCE.
A city of Sur-marrati (refounded by Sennacherib in 690 BC according to a stele in the Walters Art Museum) is insecurely identified with a fortified Assyrian site at al-Huwaysh on the Tigris opposite modern Samarra.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Samarra (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Citadel of Erbil
Iraq · 36.1910° N, 44.0090° E · 1 km from Irbil
The Citadel of Erbil (Kurdish: قەڵای هەولێر Qelay Hewlêr, Arabic: قلعة اربيل, romanized: Qal'at Erbīl), locally called Qellat, is a tell or occupied mound, and the historical city centre of Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The citadel was added to the World Heritage List on 21 June 2014.
The earliest evidence for occupation of the citadel mound dates to the 5th millennium BC, and possibly earlier. It appears for the first time in historical sources in the Ebla tablets in modern Syria around 2000 BC, and gained particular importance during the Neo-Assyrian period. During the Sassanian period and the Abbasid Caliphate, Erbil was an important centre for Christianity. After the Mongols captured the citadel in 1258, the importance of Erbil declined. During the 20th century, the urban structure was significantly modified, as a result of which a number of houses and public buildings were destroyed.
The buildings on top of the tell stretch over a roughly oval area of 430 by 340 metres (1,410 ft × 1,120 ft) occupying 102,000 square metres (1,100,000 sq ft). The only religious structure that currently survives is the Mulla Afandi Mosque.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Citadel of Erbil (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Why Citadel of Erbil Is Listed
- (iv)
- An outstanding example of a type of building or landscape.
More about Citadel of Erbil
UNESCO's Description
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.
From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
History
The site of the citadel may have been occupied as early as the Neolithic period, as pottery fragments possibly dating to that period have been found on the slopes of the mound. Clear evidence for occupation comes from the Chalcolithic period, with sherds resembling pottery of the Ubaid and Uruk periods in the Jazira and southeastern Turkey, respectively. Given this evidence for early occupation, the citadel has been called the oldest continuously occupied town in the world.
Erbil appears for the first time in literary sources around 2300 BC in the archives of Ebla. According to Giovanni Pettinato, it is mentioned in two tablets as Irbilum.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Citadel of Erbil (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Ahwar of Southern Iraq
Iraq · 31.5622° N, 47.6578° E · 2,115 km² · 57 km from Al Amarah
The Ahwar of Southern Iraq: Refuge of Biodiversity and the Relict Landscape of the Mesopotamian Cities is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Southern Iraq sometimes called the "Garden of Eden" by Biblical scholars. It consists of marshlands and ancient cities sustained by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
The Ahwar of Southern Iraq currently consists of seven sites, including three cities of Sumerian origin and four wetland areas of the Mesopotamian Marshes:
Adapted from Wikipedia: Ahwar of Southern Iraq (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Why Ahwar of Southern Iraq Is Listed
- (iii)
- A unique testimony to a cultural tradition or civilisation.
- (v)
- An outstanding example of traditional human settlement or land use.
- (ix)
- An outstanding example of ongoing ecological and biological processes.
- (x)
- The most important natural habitats for conserving biodiversity.
More about Ahwar of Southern Iraq
UNESCO's Description
The Ahwar is made up of seven components: three archaeological sites and four wetland marsh areas in southern Iraq. The archaeological cities of Uruk and Ur and the Tell Eridu archaeological site form part of the remains of the Sumerian cities and settlements that developed in southern Mesopotamia between the 4th and the 3rd millennium BCE in the marshy delta of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The Ahwar of Southern Iraq – also known as the Iraqi Marshlands – are unique, as one of the world’s largest inland delta systems, in an extremely hot and arid environment.
From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
Tourism
Iraqis from different regions and some foreign tourists visit the marshlands each year. Tourists can paddle on the rivers on a reef raft and have lunch in the traditional mudhif guesthouse. However, there is little infrastructure to support the rising demands of tourism.
Through Nature Iraq, Iraqi-American environmentalist Azzam Alwash set up an eco-camp in the Ahwar area. Tourists can stay in modernized reed houses, go out on boats, and eat breakfasts of water buffalo cream and flatbread baked over reed fires.
Looting is a tourism-related issue common in the cities of the Ahwar World Heritage Site, particularly among the popular destination of Ur.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Ahwar of Southern Iraq (CC BY-SA 4.0).
World Heritage in Iraq: Quick Answers
- How many UNESCO World Heritage Sites are in Iraq?
- Iraq has 4 World Heritage Sites: 3 cultural and 1 mixed.
- What was the first World Heritage Site in Iraq?
- Assur, inscribed in 2003. The most recent is Ahwar of Southern Iraq, inscribed in 2016.
- What are the natural World Heritage Sites in Iraq?
- Ahwar of Southern Iraq (mixed).
- Are any World Heritage Sites in Iraq in danger?
- Yes: Assur, Samarra are on UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger.