ARBELA (modern Erbil), an important foothill town in north-eastern Mesopotamia, about 48m. E. by S. of Mosul in 36° N. and 44° West. In ancient times Arbela (Arba-'ilu) formed one of the group of cities of Ashur, the other members of the group being Ashur, Nineveh and Nimrud, all close to one another. It was, however, an old Sumerian settlement and its goddess ap pears to have been Ninlil, who there became the consort of the god Ashur. The town lies in the centre of a very productive wheat country, lying as it does on the edge of the mountains between the greater and lesser Zab, with a more abundant supply of water than to the south.
The modern district still is engaged in the production of cereals, which are traded down the Tigris to Baghdad. Arbela has at pres ent an estimated population of 25,00o, mostly Kurds. It lies on the caravan route between Mosul and Baghdad, and Mosul and Rowanduz. It is also the projected terminus of a branch line from Mosul. Owing to its command of the foothill routes and its water supply, Arbela, unlike most other ancient cities in Mesopotamia, has preserved its position ever since early times.
Arbela is the name popularly but not quite correctly given to the decisive battle in which Alexander the Great overthrew Darius and the Persian empire in 331 B.C. (See GAUGAMELA.)