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Sulaymaniyah Museum

Archaeological museum in Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 10, 2026
Entity authorityQ19414891
Source-derived summary

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. 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

Opening

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) 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.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Sulaymaniyah Museum” as archaeological museum in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Sulaymaniyah, Museum and Archaeological.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2018, 2019, 1961, 1980—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1961. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Sulaymaniyah, Museum and Archaeological providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Sulaymaniyah Museum”, the useful work is to connect “archaeological museum in Kurdistan Region, Iraq” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q19414891. Authority coordinates are 35.558, 45.426. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2018, 2019, 1961 and 1980.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Sulaymaniyah Museum”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Sulaymaniyah Museum primary sources, Sulaymaniyah Museum archive and Sulaymaniyah research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Sulaymaniyah Museum”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Sulaymaniyah Museum” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.