History
Originally the city was founded by Hurrian-related Zagros-Taurus dwellers who were known as Gutian people by lowland-dwellers of Southern Mesopotamia. Under its ancient name Arraphkha, Kirkuk was capital of Kingdom of Gutium which is mentioned in cuneiform records about 2400 BC.
The small Hurrian kingdom of Arraphka, of which modern Kirkuk was the capital, was situated along the southeastern edge of the area under Aryan Mittanian domination. From 1500 to 1360 BC all kings of Assyria were vassals of kingdom of Mittani. Assyria's revolt against the Hurrian kingdom of Mittani probably led to fall of the kingdom in the 14th BC century and ultimately contributed to Mittani empires’s collapse.
The city reached great prominence in the 10th and 11th centuries BC under Assyrian rule. However in 6th BC, Assyria was conquered by a union of Medes, remaining Hurrian-related tribes, and Babylonians. After Achaemenids had the region under their dominion; in the Parthian and Sassanid eras Kirkuk was capital of Beth Garmai.
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