Harran

Traditional mud brick "beehive" houses in the village of Harran, Turkey.

Harran, also known as Carrhae, is a district of Şanlıurfa Province in the southeast of Turkey.

Harran is an ancient city which was a major Mesopotamian commercial, cultural, and religious center. It is a valuable archaeological site. It is often identified as the place in which Abraham lived before he reached Canaan.

The city was the chief home of the Mesopotamian moon-god Sin, under the Babylonians and even into Roman times.

Carrhae is an ancient town on the site that doesn't exist anymore. It gave its name to the Battle of Carrhae (53 BC), fought between the Roman Republic and the Parthian Empire.

Harran's ruins are from Roman, Sabian, and Islamic times. T. E. Lawrence surveyed the site, and an Anglo-Turkish excavation was begun in 1951.

Harran Media

• 

  Harran, Şanlıurfa in 2007

• 

  Harran and other major cities of ancient Syria

• 

  The Harran Stela, discovered at Harran in 1956, depicting the Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus (r. 556–539 BC)

• 

  Asia Minor in the early 1st century AD - general map - provinces, client states and main settlements - bleached - English legend

• 

  Harran depicted on the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome

• 

  Harran was briefly the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate 744–750

• 

  Ruins of the medieval Harran University

• 

  The Numayrid dynasty at its height. By 1061, the Numayrids controlled the western parts of Upper Mesopotamia, including the cities of Harran, Raqqa, Saruj, al-Qarqisiyah (Circesium) and al-Rahba. Their leading prince, Mani' ruled from the city of Harran, but the tribe generally controlled events in the cities through their agents, while they resided in the pastures.

• 

  Photograph of Harran, Turkey in the 19th century

References

• Chwolsohn, Daniil Abramovic, Die Ssabier und der Ssabismus, 2 vols. St. Petersburg, 1856. [Still a valuable reference and collection of sources]
• Green, Tamara, The City of the Moon God: Religious Traditions of Harran. Leiden, 1992.
• Heidemann, Stefan, Die Renaissance der Städte in Nordsyrien und Nordmesopotamien: Städtische Entwicklung und wirtschaftliche Bedingungen in ar-Raqqa und Harran von der beduinischen Vorherrschaft bis zu den Seldschuken (Islamic History and Civilization. Studies and Texts 40). Leiden, 2002 .
• Rice, David Storm, "Medieval Harran. Studies on Its Topography and Monuments I", Anatolian Studies 2, 1952, pp. 36–84.

Other websites

• Pictures of the city
• More pictures Archived 2015-05-03 at the Wayback Machine
• Harran Guide and Photo Album
• Livius.org: Harran (Carrhae) Archived 2015-05-03 at the Wayback Machine