Sulaymaniyah Museum

Archaeological museum in Kurdistan Region, Iraq

The Slemani Museum

School children visiting the Sulaymaniyah Museum

Established| July 14, 1961
Location| Sulaymaniyah, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Type| Archaeological museum
Director| Hashim Hama Abdullah
Website| slemanimuseum.org

The Sulaymaniyah Museum (Kurdish: مۆزه‌خانه‌ی سلێمانی; Arabic: متحف السليمانية), or Slemani Museum, is an archeological museum located in Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It is the second largest museum in Iraq, after the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad.[1] It houses artifacts dating from the prehistoric period to the late Islamic and Ottoman periods. Several halls of the museum have undergone renovation work and the museum was closed to the public for refurbishment from October 1, 2018, to October 2019.

## History

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### Opening

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The museum was opened officially on July 14, 1961. Initially, it was composed of a small building in the Shorsh District. After several years, the museum acquired a new and large building in the heart of Salim Street in the year 1980. The current building has an area of 6000 square meters and is a one-story building. The artifacts are displayed in one small hall (which was renovated by the UNESCO in 2023)[2] and two large and long halls which are connected by a square-shaped and open lecture hall. During the Iraq-Iran war (1980–1988), the museum was closed entirely to the public. It was reopened for a very short period in 1990. After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, the museum was closed once again. It was re-opened officially by Jalal Talabani on August 20, 2000; Talabani was the secretary general of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan at that time.[3]

### Post-2003

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After the US-led invasion of Iraq and subsequent looting of the National Museum in Baghdad, the Sulaymaniyah Museum helped to recover and return stolen artifacts through the controversial practice of buying looted artifacts.[4]

### UNESCO

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Since 2011, the museum has been collaborating with the UNESCO to develop and renovate the museum and expand its building.[5]

### Paikuli Gallery

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The Paikuli Gallery at the Sulaymaniyah Museum, final preparations before official opening

The Sulaymaniyah Museum in collaboration with the Sapienza University of Rome opened a new gallery on June 10, 2019. The gallery was sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAECI) and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage (MiBAC). All of the inscribed stone blocks (including many newly discovered ones after 2006) of the commemorative monument of the Sassanian king Narseh (c. 293 CE) were displayed for the very first time to the public. In addition, many building stone blocks and some Sassanian coins and bullae were also included in this permanent exhibition.[6]

### Slemani Museum Kids

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Slemani Museum Kids

On September 5, 2019, the Sulaymaniyah Museum inaugurated a hall dedicated to children and called it "Slemani Museum Kids." The hall has many teaching and demonstrative tools for children. This small museum is the first bespoke museum space for children in Iraq. The Consul General of the UK in Kurdistan, Slemani governor, and Director-General of the Directorate of Archaeology and Antiquities in Kurdistan have attended the event, as well as many other high-ranking officials in Kurdistan Region in addition to the public. Slemani Museum Kids was a co-creation of the project Archaeological Practice and Heritage Protection in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The project is led by the University of Glasgow (UK) in collaboration with the Slemani Directorate of Antiquities and Inherit (UK) and is funded by the British Council's Cultural Protection Fund, in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport.[7]

### Narseh Gallery

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Three days before the official inauguration of Narseh Gallery at Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraqi Kurdistan

The Sulaymaniyah Museum and Directorate of Antiquities in collaboration with the Italian Archaeological Mission in Iraqi Kurdistan (MAIKI) created a new permanent gallery displaying for the very first time four large busts of the Sassanian king Narseh (in high reliefs) and one large bust carved in the round. These once decorated the Paikuli Tower, Southern West Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan, and date back to c. 293 CE. The gallery was officially inaugurated on October 24, 2021.[8]

### Prehistory Gallery

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The day of the official inauguration of the Prehistory Gallery at the Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraqi Kurdistan

The Sulaymaniyah Museum renovated two large halls in order to open a new permanent exhibition displaying hundreds of artifacts dating back to the prehistoric period. The artifacts mainly came from Iraqi Kurdistan and its Paleolithic caves, in addition to several recently excavated ancient sites and mounds. The project was sponsored by the Embassy of the United States of America. The exhibition was supposed to be opened in early March 2020, but because of the coronavirus pandemic, the inauguration date was deferred.[9][dead link] It was officially inaugurated on February 2, 2021.[10]

### Tablet V of the Epic of Gligamesh

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The newly discovered tablet V of the Epic of Gilgamesh, which dates back to the old Babylonian period, 2003–1595 BC is currently housed in the Museum. In 2023, a new Kurdish translation was made by the Sulaymaniyah Museum for the film Where is Gilgamesh? (Karzan Kardozi, 2024) a Kurdish feature film based on the Epic of Gilgamesh.[11]

### Gallery

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* Tablet V of the Epic of Gilgamesh

* Stela of Iddi-Sin, King of Simurrum, Old-Babylonian Period

* Stone block with Paikuli inscription in Middle Persian

* "The lady at the window," one of the famous Nimrud ivories' plaques

* Gold earrings, the name of king Shulgi of Ur is inscribed

* An Inscribed stand's head, mentioning the name of Entemena, c. 2400 BCE[12]

* A brick stamped with the name of Ur-Nammu of Ur, 2112-2094 BCE

## References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sulaymaniyah Museum.

1. ^ "Sulaymaniyah Museum opens its first renovated halls to public". UNESCO. 2013-07-26. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
2. ^ "Archaeological museums in Iraq UNESCO". Retrieved 12 September 2024.
3. ^ "History". Slemani Museum. Archived from the original on 29 Sep 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
4. ^ "Slemani Museum tires to return stolen artifacts". www.kurdsat.tv. Kurdsat Television. 2011-12-13. Archived from the original on January 4, 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
5. ^ "The Museum". www.slemanimuseum.org. Archived from the original on 29 Sep 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
6. ^ "Sapienza in Iraq: Italo-Kurdish Collaboration to Protect the Archaeological Heritage of Paikuli". Retrieved 18 March 2020.
7. ^ "The Slemani Museum Kids has been opened officially". Slemani Museum. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
8. ^ "Inauguration of the King Narseh Gallery Exhibition Hall". Sapienza University, Rome. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
9. ^ "Grants". Retrieved 18 March 2020.
10. ^ "CG Waller Participates in Opening Ceremony of Prehistoric Life Gallery in Sulaymaniya Museum". U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Iraq. 8 Feb 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
11. ^ "Where Is Gilgamesh?". IMDB. 2 September 2023.
12. ^ Cf. Khwshnaw, A., Zólyomi, G. 2020: An abbreviated version of En-metena 1 from the Sulaymaniyah Museum. Hungarian Assyriological Review 1, 21-37. (https://harjournal.com/article/har01a02/)

* http://www.unesco.org/new/en/iraq-office/culture/museum-sector/sulaymaniyah-museum/
* http://www.unesco.org/new/en/iraq-office/about-this-office/single-view/news/sulaymaniyah_museum_opens_its_first_renovated_halls_to_public/#.VLlfLicVlRk
* http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/?s=sulaymaniyah

* v
* t
* e

List of museums in Iraq

List of museums in Iraq

Museums|

* National Museum of Iraq
* Baghdadi Museum
* Natural History Museum, Baghdad
* Mosul Museum
* National Museum of Modern Art (Baghdad)
* Tikrit Museum
* Illusion Museum Erbil
* Erbil Civilization Museum
* Erbil Stones and Gems Museum
* Kurdish Textile Museum
* Sulaymaniyah Museum
* Dahuk National Museum
* Basrah Museum
* Museum of Nasiriyah
* Museum of Samawa
* Abd al-Karim Qasim Museum
* Museum of Samarra
* Iraqi Post Museum

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Islamic museums

Africa|

* Egypt (Museum of Islamic Art, Museum of Islamic Ceramics)
* Libya (Islamic Museum of Tripoli, Red Castle Museum)
* Morocco (Dar Batha Museum, Majorelle Garden, Marrakech Museum)
* Tunisia (Bardo National Museum, Mahdia Museum, National Museum of Islamic Art)

Asia|

| South|

* Afghanistan (Museum of Islamic Art)
* India (Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences)
* Maldives (National Museum)
* Pakistan (Multan Museum, National Museum of Pakistan)

|

South
East|

* Malaysia (Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Islamic Heritage Museum, Kelantan Islamic Museum, Malay and Islamic World Museum, Malacca Al-Quran Museum, Malacca Islamic Museum, Penang Islamic Museum, Sabah Islamic Civilisation Museum, Sabah Museum)
* Philippines (Aga Khan Museum of Islamic Arts)
* Singapore (Asian Civilisations Museum)

West|

* Bahrain (Beit Al Quran)
* Iran (Astan Quds Razavi Central Museum, Museum of the Islamic Era)
* Iraq (National Museum of Iraq, Sulaymaniyah Museum)
* Israel/Palestine (Islamic Museum, Museum for Islamic Art)
* Jordan (Prophet Mohammad Museum)
* Kuwait (Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah, Tareq Rajab Museum)
* Qatar (Museum of Islamic Art, National Museum of Qatar)
* Syria (National Museum of Damascus, National Museum of Aleppo, Raqqa Museum)
* Turkey Bursa Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, İstanbul Archaeology Museums, Istanbul Museum of the History of Science and Technology in Islam, Museum of Turkish Calligraphy Art, Sadberk Hanım Museum, Topkapi Palace Museum, Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum)
* United Arab Emirates (Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization, Zayed National Museum)

Europe|

* Denmark (David Collection)
* France (Arab World Institute, Louvre)
* Germany (Museum of Islamic Art)
* Greece (Benaki Museum)
* United Kingdom (British Museum, Burrell Collection, Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage, Victoria and Albert Museum)

North
America|

* Canada (Aga Khan Museum)
* United States (America's Islamic Heritage Museum, Harvard Art Museums, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Walters Art Museum, Shangri La (Doris Duke))

Oceania|

* Australia (Islamic Museum of Australia)

Virtual|

* Museum with No Frontiers

Part of Islamic arts

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