The plateau is situated in the broader Great Zab River Valley and surrounded by a steep slope, as well as dense forests! However, human settlements were built on this inaccessible plateau long ago!

It is believed that people settled in Amedi (also spelled Amadiya), a town in the Duhok Governorate of Iraqi Kurdistan, around 5,000 years ago! As the space on the plateau is limited, the town becomes congested with a growing population. Hence, the settlement itself is a wonder. Amedi, known for its Newroz celebrations, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The question arises here: Why did people build settlements on this small plateau that is just 1,000mt long and 550mt wide? In fact, settlements were built there during the early Bronze Age. Since then, the population has continued to grow in Amedi.

In fact, the history of Amedi dates back at least BCE 3,000 as it was the capital of the Kurdish Bahdinani Emirate from AD 740 until AD 1842, when it came under Ottoman rule. In 1924, it became a district of the Province of Mosul after the Iraqi State was founded. Amedi is famous for its urban structure, gates, walls and mosques. The Great Mosque of Amedi was founded in AD 1177 during the Abbasid Era.

Currently, Amedi’s population is nearly 11,000. The proximity of this Iraqi town to the Turkish border has led to an unofficial Turkish military presence there.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das