The historical and geographical transformations of the city of Aqrah and the features of the Islamic conquest

Abstract

The history of the city of Aqrah has not received the full attention it deserves    from modern historians, despite the cultural and economic prosperity of this region. After reviewing the book “Mu’jam al-Buldan” by Shihab al-Din Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 626 AH), which is one of the important geographical sources due to the breadth of its information and the accuracy of its material, and which included historical and geographical material about Islamic cities and regions, and Ibn al-Athir Izz al-Din Ali ibn Muhammad’s book “Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh,” which is one of the great books that chronicled the world of events and biographies according to the years, and he followed a scientific method in his book based on presenting historical events from more than one account, and despite the difference in their orientations, they presented us with a clear picture of the life of this city.                                  

This study included an introduction and two sections. The first section, entitled “A Picture of Aqrah Historically and Geographically,” presented an accurate picture of the city of Aqrah and its name in linguistic and historical sources. We also explained its antiquity in history, and then how it was planned and built. The second section was known as “The Islamic Conquest of the City of Aqrah,” which was one of the districts of Mosul, in addition to the districts of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. Then, in its conclusion, we explained the most important results resulting from this study, and then a list of approved sources and reference.