Arbil (also written Erbil or Irbil; BGN: Arbīl; Arabic: اربيل, Arbīl; Kurish: ههولێر, Hewlêr; Syriac: ܐܪܒܝܠ, Arbela, Turkish: Erbil) is believed to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and is one of the larger cities in Iraq. The city lies eighty kilometres (fifty miles) east of Mosul. In 2005, its estimated population was 990,000 inhabitants. The city is the capital of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region and the Kurdistan Regional Government.