Harran

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Harran
حران
ܚܪܐܢ
Harran beehive houses (2).JPG
Harran is located in Turkey
Harran
Harran
Location of Harran in Turkey
Coordinates: 36°52′39″N 39°02′02″E / 36.87750°N 39.03389°E / 36.87750; 39.03389Coordinates: 36°52′39″N 39°02′02″E / 36.87750°N 39.03389°E / 36.87750; 39.03389
Country Turkey
RegionSoutheastern Anatolia
ProvinceŞanlıurfa
Government
 • MayorMahmut Özyavuz (MHP)
 • KaymakamÖmer Faruk Çelik
Area
 • District1,053.78 km2 (406.87 sq mi)
Population
 (2012)[2]
 • Urban
7,375
 • District
72,939
 • District density69/km2 (180/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
63xxx
Area code(s)+(90)414
WebsiteŞanlıurfa Province Administrative District of Akçakale

Ḥarrān, also known as Carrhae, was a major ancient city in Upper Mesopotamia whose site is in the modern village of Harran, Turkey, 44 kilometers southeast of Şanlıurfa. The location is in the Harran district of Şanlıurfa Province.

The archaeological remains are in the ancient Harran, a major commercial, cultural, science and religious center first inhabited in the Chalcolithic Age (6th millennium BCE). The city was called Hellenopolis (Ancient Greek: Ἑλληνόπολις meaning "Greek city") in the Early Christian period. It is mentioned, in Movses Khorenatsi's and Mikayel Chamchian's History of Armenia, as being under the authority of prince Sanadroug, the sovereignty of which he assigned to Queen Helena of Adiabene.[3][4]

Names[]

  • Akkadian: Harrānu [5]
  • Arabic: حَرَّانḤarrān[6][7]
  • Armenian: Հառան Harran[8][9][10]
  • Byzantine Greek: Κάρραι Kárrhai
  • Classical Syriac: ܚܪܐܢ
  • Hebrew: חָרָןḤārān
  • Latin: Carrhae
  • Persian: حرانHarrân, کران Karrân
  • Ottoman Turkish: حران[11]

History[]

The settlement that would become Harran began as a typical Halaf culture village established circa 6200 BCE as part of the spread of agricultural villages across Western Asia. From its location at the confluence of the Jullab and Balikh rivers it gradually grew in size until a period of rapid urbanization in the following Uruk period. During the Early Bronze Age (3000-2500 BCE) Harran grew into a walled city. The city-state of Harran was part of a network of city-states, called the Kish civilization, centered in the Syrian Levant and upper Mesopotamia. The rise of Harran closely mirrored the similar rise of its trade partners, Ebla, Ugarit, and Alalakh, in a process called secondary urbanization. Its life as a sovereign city-state came to an end when it was annexed into the Akkadian Empire and its successor, the Neo-Sumerian Empire. After the fall of Ur it was again independent for a time, until it was abandoned in the Amorite expansion in 1800 BC. It was later rebuilt as an Assyrian city of Harrānu, meaning 'cross-roads' in the Akkadian language.

Bronze Age[]

The earliest records of Harran come from Ebla tablets (late 3rd millennium BCE).[12] From these, it is known that an early king or mayor of Harran had married an Eblaite princess, Zugalum, who then became "queen of Harran", and whose name appears in a number of documents.[citation needed] It appears that Harran remained a part of the regional Eblaite kingdom for some time thereafter.[citation needed]

Royal letters from the city of Mari on the middle of the Euphrates, have confirmed that the area around the Balikh river remained occupied in c. the 19th century BCE. A confederation of semi-nomadic tribes was especially active around the region near Harran at that time.[13]

A temple of the moon god Sin was established sometime at the end of the Neo-Sumerian Empire (circa 2000 BCE). This temple was called the House of Rejoicing (Sumerian: E-hul-hul, Cuneiform: