![The old part of Kirkūk, Iraq, seen from across the bed of the dried-up …[Credits : Diane Rawson—Photo Researchers]](http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/56/10456-003-3C5E2458.gif)
city, northeastern Iraq. The city is 145 miles (233 km) north of Baghdad, the national capital, with which it is linked by road and railway. Kirkūk is located near the foot of the Zagros Mountains in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The oldest part of the town is clustered around a citadel built on an ancient tell, or mound. During the period of Assyrian prominence (9th–10th century bc) the city was called Arrapha. The Nabī Dānīāl mosque (6th century ad) stands in the old quarter. The city’s population is of mixed Turkmen, Arab, and Kurdish stock. Kirkūk is a trade and export centre for the surrounding area’s agricultural produce and cattle; textiles are manufactured there. It is also a major centre of Iraq’s petroleum industry, with oil pipeline connections to Tripoli, Lebanon, and to Yumurtalik, on the Turkish coast. The crude-oil production has stimulated sustained expansion in the city. Pop. (2003 est.) 600,000.
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