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174-571: Paddan Aram designates the area of Harran in upper Mesopotamia . "Paddan Aram" and "Haran" may be dialectical variations regarding the same locality as paddanū and harranū are synonyms for "road" or "caravan route" in Akkadian . Padan-aram or Padan appears in 11 verses in the Hebrew Bible , all in Genesis. Adherents of the documentary hypothesis often attribute most of these verses to

348-657: A dysphemism for the Roman Empire . Babylon, like the rest of ancient Mesopotamia, followed the Ancient Mesopotamian religion , wherein there was a general accepted hierarchy and dynasty of gods and localized gods who acted as patron deities for specific cities. Marduk was the patron deity of the city Babylon, having held this position since the reign of Hammurabi (18th century BC) in Babylon's first dynasty. Although Babylonian worship of Marduk never meant

522-603: A 127 BC legal document). At this time, two major recognized groups lived in Babylon: the Babylonians and the Greeks, who settled there during the centuries of Macedonian and Seleucid rule. These groups were governed by separate local (e.g. pertaining to just the city) administrative councils; Babylonian citizens were governed by the šatammu and the kiništu and Greeks by the epistates . Although no king lists younger than

696-520: A battle against the Turks in the year prior, motivating the abandonment, whereas another states that the Mongols themselves caused the damage during the abandonment. The Mongols are also variously stated to either have simply walled up the gates but otherwise left what remained intact or to have pillaged the city for building materials before burning down the remnants. One major reason for the abandonment

870-538: A different name from his ancient consort Ningal ), the "lord with his dogs" (identified as a localised version of the god Nergal ), Tar'atha (identified with the Syrian goddess Atargatis ), Gadlat (an Arabian goddess), and perhaps Shamash. Though Sin had in the past been the only major deity in Harran, he was by this point only the most important of several different ancient gods. The pagans of Harran became an issue in

1044-521: A family business. Slave families were most often sold as a unit, children only being separated from their parents once they reached adulthood (or working age). Though slaves probably endured harsh living conditions and poor treatment from others, it would not have been equivalent to the brutal form of slavery in the Roman Empire and in later times. Though there are occasional mentions of slaves escaping, there are no records of slave rebellions in

1218-421: A fee called the mandattu to their masters, which allowed them to work and live independently, essentially "renting" themselves from their master. There are records of slaves paying the mandattu for themselves and for their wives so that they could live freely. There are, however, no records of slaves completely buying their freedom, Babylonian slaves could only be freed by their masters. The establishment of

1392-541: A few years as a major urban center. Mongol control of Harran was immediately contested by the Sultanate of Rum and the Mamluk Sultanate . The Mongols decided to abandon Harran in 1271, deporting the population to the nearby cities of Mardin and Mosul . Accounts differ concerning the reason for the abandonment and the state in which the city was left. One account states that the city had been damaged in

1566-699: A golden age for Babylon, which became the most powerful kingdom in the Middle East. Nebuchadnezzar's most famous campaigns today are his wars in the Levant . These campaigns began relatively early in his reign and were chiefly conducted to stabilize his reign and consolidate his empire (most of the newly independent kingdoms and city-states in the Levant previously having been vassals of the Neo-Assyrian Empire). His 587 BC destruction of Jerusalem ended

1740-542: A level, completely unlike the actual architecture of real ancient Mesopotamian cities, with obelisks and sphinxes inspired by those of Egypt. Ottoman influence came in the shape of cupolas and minarets dotted through the imagined appearances of the ancient city. Babylon is perhaps most famous today for its repeated appearances in the Bible, where it appears both literally (in reference to historical events) and allegorically (symbolizing other things). The Neo-Babylonian Empire

1914-686: A long siege lasting from the winter of 610 BC to early 609 BC, Harran was captured by the Babylonians and Medes, ending the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Ekhulkhul was destroyed by the Medes at this time and was neglected for many years but was eventually restored by the Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus ( r.  556–539 BC), who was from Harran. The city itself was also significantly revitalised in Nabonidus's reign. After

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2088-575: A massive counterattack in 623 BC. Though this counterattack was initially successful and Sinsharishkun might have been ultimately victorious, he had to abandon the campaign due to a revolt in Assyria threatening his position as king. The absence of the Assyrian army allowed the Babylonians to conquer the last remaining Assyrian seats of power in Babylonia from 622 BC to 620 BC. Both Uruk and Nippur,

2262-499: A merchant colony by Sumerian traders from Ur . Over the course of its early history, Harran rapidly grew into a major Mesopotamian cultural, commercial and religious center. It was made a religiously and politically influential city through its association with the moon-god Sin ; many prominent Mesopotamian rulers consulted with and renovated the moon-temple of Ekhulkhul in Harran. Harran came under Assyrian rule under Adad-nirari I ( r.  1305–1274  BC) and became

2436-659: A peace treaty was sealed in the Ekhulkhul between Mari and the Yaminites , an Amorite tribe. Further treaties signed that invoke Sin of Harran include a 14th-century BC treaty between Šuppiluliuma I of the Hittites and Shattiwaza of Mitanni , and an 8th-century BC treaty between the Assyrian king Ashur-nirari V and Mati'ilu of Arpad . Harran grew into a major Mesopotamian cultural, commercial and religious center. In addition to its religious importance, Harran

2610-534: A population of 96,072. The Harran district ranks 857th among 872 districts in Turkey, and last among the districts of the Şanlıurfa Province , by socioeconomic development. As of 2009, Harran has a low unemployment rate (2.73%; 753rd among all districts), a low literacy rate (55.16%; 865th among all districts) and a high population increase rate (64.23%; 7th among all districts). Harran's possibilities for development are subject to several limiting factors, including

2784-756: A provincial capital often second in importance only to the Assyrian capital of Assur itself. During the collapse of the Assyrian Empire, Harran briefly served as the final capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (612–609 BC). The city continued to be prominent after the fall of Assyria and experienced varying degrees of foreign cultural influence during its time under the Neo-Babylonian (609–539 BC), Achaemenid (539–330 BC), Macedonian (330–312 BC) and Seleucid (312–132 BC) empires. During classical antiquity Harran

2958-749: A sacred tree or mythological animals and creatures. Cylinder seals increasingly fell into disuse over the course of the Neo-Babylonian century, eventually being entirely replaced by stamp seals. Terracotta figurines and reliefs, made using molds, were common during the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Preserved figurines usually represent protective demons (such as Pazuzu ) or deities but there are also examples of horsemen, naked women, boats, men carrying vases and various types of furniture. Terracotta figurines could be sacred objects intended to be kept in people's homes for magical protection or as decorations, but they could also be objects offered to deities in

3132-499: A set quota of lambs to provide for sacrificial purposes, with wool and hides also being used in the temples for various purposes. Dairy products were less important since the animals would be unavailable for most of the year as the shepherds drove them across the land. Cows and oxen, rare in Mesopotamia due to being difficult to feed and maintain through the summer months, were mainly used as draft animals for plowing. Regions with

3306-545: A swampy environment, unsuited for farming, were used to hunt birds and fish. The most common form of business partnership recorded from Neo-Babylonian sources is called the harrānu , which involved a senior financing partner and a junior working partner (who did all the work, using the money provided by the senior partner). Profit from such business ventures were divided equally between the two partners. The idea allowed rich individuals to use their money to finance businesses by capable individuals who might not otherwise have had

3480-550: A temporary settlement by local nomadic societies. One of the major semi-nomadic tribes that have continuously lived in and around Harran since the Middle Ages and still today are the Nmēr , descendants of the medieval Numayrid lords of the city. By the 1840s, Harran had once more become a semi-permanent village settlement, although the inhabitants spent the summer months encamped outside the village to avoid vermin in their houses. By

3654-459: A usurper proclaimed king by the Oracle of Nusku from Harran, managed to rally widespread support in the empire before he was defeated. The reign of Esarhaddon in particular marked the rise of the Ekhulkhul into one of the most prominent religious sanctuaries in the ancient Near East , a position it would retain for centuries. The Neo-Assyrian Empire was defeated in the late seventh century BC by

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3828-427: A victory for Tiamat until Marduk convinced the other gods to proclaim him as their leader and king. The gods agreed, and Marduk was victorious, capturing and executing Kingu and firing a great arrow at Tiamat, killing her and splitting her in two. With these chaotic primordial forces defeated, Marduk created the world and ordered the heavens. Marduk is also described as the creator of human beings, which were meant to help

4002-450: A wife among his kinfolk for his son, Isaac. The steward found Rebecca. Isaac and Rebecca's son Jacob was sent there to avoid the wrath of his brother Esau . There Jacob worked for Laban, fathered eleven sons and daughter, Dinah , ( Gen. 35:22–26 ; 46:15 ), and amassed livestock and wealth. ( Gen. 31:18. ) From there, Jacob went to Shechem and the Land of Israel , where his twelfth son

4176-445: Is assumed to have died. Sinsharishkun's successor, Ashur-uballit II , the final king of Assyria, was defeated at Harran in 609 BC. Egypt, Assyria's ally, continued the war against Babylon for a few years before being decisively defeated by Nabopolassar's crown prince Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish in 605 BC. Nebuchadnezzar II succeeded Nabopolassar in 605 BC upon the death of his father. The empire Nebuchadnezzar inherited

4350-408: Is curiously stated to have consulted the female moon deity Luna . The oracles warned the emperor of impending disaster but Julian proceeded anyway and was killed in the war. Harran was the only city in the Roman Empire to declare citywide mourning after Julian's death. Later sources indicate that the deities worshipped by the pagans of Harran in late antiquity included Sin, Bat-Nikkal (consort of Sin;

4524-512: Is expected to in the future once more transform Harran into an important local center. Economic issues caused by the Syrian civil war across the nearby Syrian border has recently caused many Harranian families to migrate elsewhere for work, such as to the cities Urfa (ancient Edessa), Adıyaman and Gaziantep . The Harran Castle is a large brick fortress of unknown date, though ancient Greek inscriptions found at one of its gates suggest that it

4698-507: Is featured in several prophecies and in descriptions of the destruction of Jerusalem and subsequent Babylonian captivity. Because of its sordid reputation for atrocities, including sexual abuse , in Jewish tradition, Babylon symbolizes an oppressor. In Christianity , Babylon symbolizes worldliness and evil. Prophecies sometimes symbolically link the kings of Babylon with Lucifer . Nebuchadnezzar II, sometimes conflated with Nabonidus, appears as

4872-464: Is from 35 BC and contains a prayer to Marduk. The latest known other documents written in Akkadian are astronomic predictions (e.g. planetary movements) for the year 75 AD. The way the signs are written in these astronomic texts means that readers would not have to be familiar with Akkadian to understand them. If the Akkadian language and Babylonian culture survived beyond these sparse documents, it

5046-462: Is higher up the water table than Harran and as more wells were constructed in Edessa, those in Harran gradually dried up. Harran was in the 12th century still renowned for its ancient origins; a now lost work by Hammad al-Harrani made the claim that Harran had been the first city founded after the great flood . Despite the threat of water scarcity , Harran continued to be an important town under

5220-431: Is its ancient burial mound , spread over a large area and partially surviving intact at the center of the city's archaeological site. The burial mound preserves inscriptions and architectural elements from several different cultures and appears to have been in continuous use from the 3rd century BC to the 13th century AD. The burial mound may be older than Harran itself since ceramic dated to c. 5000 BC has been found at

5394-495: Is known to have completely renovated at least 13 cities but spent most of his time and resources on the capital, Babylon. By 600 BC, the Babylonians and possibly their subject peoples saw Babylon as the literal and figurative center of the world. Nebuchadnezzar widened Processional Street and fitted it with new decorations, making the annual New Year's Festival , celebrated in honor of the city's patron deity Marduk , more spectacular than ever before. After Nebuchadnezzar II's reign,

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5568-505: Is located in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey, approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Urfa. Harran is situated 360 metres (1,180 feet) above sea level, which is the lowest point in the surrounding lowland region. Harran has a hot and dry climate. The precipitation rate is rarely more than 40 centimetres. During the summer, Harran experiences significant temperature differences between

5742-534: Is not seen elsewhere in Turkey and is rare in the rest of the world. Houses similar to the modern beehive houses have long been present in Harran; the earliest known buildings from Harran appear to have been circular and Assyrian reliefs from the 7th century BC depict domed buildings architecturally similar to the present beehive houses. They have not been consistently present on the site, instead being built, ruined, forgotten and rebuilt multiple times throughout Harran's history. Beehive houses were recorded at Harran by

5916-490: Is noted that the walls of Harran were in poor condition. This issue was not rectified until repairs conducted in the reign of Justinian I ( r.  527–565 ). From the time of the Christianization of Mesopotamia and Syria until long into the Middle Ages, Harran developed a rivalry with the nearby city of Edessa due to the cities having polarised attitudes concerning Christianity. Whereas Edessa adopted

6090-413: Is recorded to have launched an expedition to conquer the region around Harran and secure the trade routes there from hostile forces. After the fall of Shamshi-Adad I 's kingdom in the early 18th century BC, Harran was an independent city-state for a time; archives from Mari from the time of Zimri-Lim ( r.  1775–1761 ) record that Harran in his time was ruled by a king named Asdi-Takim . Harran

6264-814: Is rendered as ܚܳܪܳܢ ( hrn ) in Aramaic , חָרָן ( Ḥaran ) in Hebrew , حَرَّان ( Ḥarrân ) in Arabic , حران ( Harrān ) in Ottoman Turkish , and Harran in modern Turkish . The ancient Assyrians called the city Huzirina . Ḫarrānu was Hellenised to Kárrhai (Kάρραι) in the Hellenistic period . The Romans later Latinised the Greek name into Carrhae . Due to the prominence of both Harran and Carrhae in historical literary sources, some scholars use

6438-436: Is suggested by ancient sources to have had dire consequences for the city. Though no direct evidence exists , Babylon appears to have been severely punished for the revolt. Its fortifications were destroyed and its temples damaged as Xerxes ravaged the city. It is possible that the sacred statue of Marduk , which represented the physical manifestation of Babylon's patron deity, was removed by Xerxes from Babylon's main temple,

6612-606: The Book of Genesis as the town where Abraham and his family stopped on their way from Ur of the Chaldees to Canaan . The last pagan Roman emperor, Julian ( r.  361–363 ) intentionally avoided the Christian Edessa and instead stopped at Harran in 363 to consult the oracles of the moon temple on his upcoming Persian campaign . Although it is known that Sin was still worshipped at Harran in this time Julian

6786-613: The Esagila , at this time. Xerxes also divided the previously large Babylonian satrapy (composing virtually all of the Neo-Babylonian Empire's territory) into smaller sub-units. Babylonian culture endured for centuries under the Achaemenids and survived under the rule of the later Hellenic Macedonian and Seleucid Empires , with the rulers of these empires also listed as kings of Babylon in Babylonian civil documents. It

6960-711: The King of Babylon in 626 BC and being firmly established through the fall of the Assyrian Empire in 612 BC, the Neo-Babylonian Empire was conquered by the Achaemenid Persian Empire in 539 BC, marking the collapse of the Chaldean dynasty less than a century after its founding. The defeat of the Assyrian Empire and subsequent return of power to Babylon marked the first time that the city, and southern Mesopotamia in general, had risen to dominate

7134-551: The Kingdom of Judah and scattered its populace, with many of its elite citizens sent back to Babylon, initiating a period known as the Babylonian Captivity . Nebuchadnezzar subsequently besieged Tyre for 13 years. Though he did not capture the city, it surrendered to him in 573 BC, agreeing to be ruled by vassal kings. The length of the siege can be ascribed to its difficulty: Tyre was on an island 800 metres from

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7308-476: The Medes , also ancient enemies of Assyria, under King Cyaxares entered Assyria and conquered the region around the city of Arrapha . In July or August of 614 BC, the Medes began attacking the cities of Kalhu and Nineveh . They then besieged Assur , the ancient political (and still religious) capital of Assyria. The siege was successful and the city endured a brutal sack. Nabopolassar arrived at Assur only after

7482-548: The Neo-Assyrian Empire , incorporating Babylonia into its empire in 729 BC. The Assyrian conquest began a century-long struggle for Babylonian independence against Assyria. Although the Assyrians incorporated the region into their empire and used the title King of Babylon in addition to the title King of Assyria , Assyrian control of Babylonia was neither stable nor entirely continuous and the century of Assyrian rule included several unsuccessful Babylonian revolts. Early in

7656-482: The ancient Near East since the collapse of the Old Babylonian Empire (under Hammurabi ) nearly a thousand years earlier. The period of Neo-Babylonian rule thus saw unprecedented economic and population growth throughout Babylonia , as well as a renaissance of culture and artwork as Neo-Babylonian kings conducted massive building projects, especially in Babylon itself, bringing back many elements from

7830-834: The priestly source and the remainder to a later redactor . The city of Harran , where Abraham and his father Terah settled after leaving Ur of the Chaldees , while en route to Canaan , according to the Genesis 11:31, was located in Paddan Aram, that part of Aram-Naharaim "Aram between the Rivers" that lay along the Euphrates . Abraham's brother Nahor settled in the area. Abraham's nephew Bethuel , son of Nahor and Milcah , and father of Laban and Rebecca , lived in Padan-aram. Abraham sent his steward back there to find

8004-470: The statue of Marduk usually refers to Marduk's primary statue, placed prominently in the Esagila and used in the city's rituals. The Babylonians themselves conflated the statue with the actual god Marduk – the god was understood as living in the temple, among the people of his city, and not in the heavens. As such, Marduk was not seen as some distant entity, but a friend and protector who lived nearby. This

8178-650: The 11–13th centuries when the region surrounding Harran experienced considerable political turmoil. The castle has recently been partially excavated and reconstructed with the support of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism . Harran was the site of the oldest mosque built in Anatolia, known as the Grand Mosque or Paradise Mosque. The mosque was built by the Umayyad caliph Marwan II in 744–750, at

8352-504: The 1270s. The Mamluks repaired the castle at some point, most likely in the 1330s or 1340s, and it became the seat of a local military governor, but there was otherwise little effort spent on trying to revive the city. By this point Harran was no longer on any of the major trade routes. A small village-sized settlement sprung up at the site, probably in the immediate vicinity of the castle. The space within Harran's city walls gradually filled up with dirt and sand through natural means. Over

8526-527: The 12th century, Harran at times fell under the influence of the County of Edessa , a short-lived crusader state . There is no record of the crusaders ever conquering Harran but the Harran Castle preserves remnants of a Christian chapel with distinct crusader architecture, perhaps suggesting a peaceful crusader presence. The growth of Edessa under Christian rule contributed to the decline of Harran. Edessa

8700-428: The 12th-century explorer Ibn Jubayr but not by the 17th-century explorer Evliya Çelebi . The majority of the present beehive houses in Harran date to the early twentieth century and none have been standing for longer than since the mid-19th century. The architecture of the beehive houses has subtly changed since the twentieth century; photographs from that time show the houses erected on the grounds like tents whereas

8874-430: The Achaemenids, like the Assyrians had been resented a century earlier. At least five rebels proclaimed themselves King of Babylon and revolted during the time of Achaemenid rule in attempts at restoring native rule; Nebuchadnezzar III (522 BC), Nebuchadnezzar IV (521–520 BC), Bel-shimanni (484 BC), Shamash-eriba (482–481 BC) and Nidin-Bel (336 BC). The revolt of Shamash-eriba against Xerxes I in particular

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9048-443: The Assyrians had been resented by the Babylonians as impious and warlike and the Neo-Babylonian kings preferred to present themselves as devout kings. The king was also the single most important landowner within the empire, with there being several large swaths of land placed under direct royal control throughout Babylonia. There were also large domains placed under other members of the royal family (for instance, there are mentions of

9222-549: The Assyrians had recaptured Nippur and besieged Nabopolassar at the city of Uruk . Sinsharishkun failed to capture Babylon and Nabopolassar endured the Assyrian siege of Uruk, repulsing the Assyrian army. In November of 626 BC, Nabopolassar was formally crowned as King of Babylon, restoring Babylonia as an independent kingdom after more than a century of direct Assyrian rule. With only small successes during campaigns in northern Babylonia from 625 to 623 BC and more southern cities, such as Der , joining Nabopolassar, Sinsharishkun led

9396-465: The Babylonian rump state . The population of Babylonia in this so-called Post-Kassite or Middle Babylonian period comprised two main groups, the native Babylonians (composed of the descendants of the Sumerians and Akkadians and the assimilated Amorites and Kassites) and recently arrived, unassimilated tribesmen from the Levant ( Suteans , Arameans and Chaldeans ). By the 8th century BC,

9570-456: The Babylonian political scene and by 730 BC, all the major Chaldean tribes had produced at least one Babylonian king . The 9th to 8th century BC was catastrophic for the independent Babylonian kingdom, with many weak kings either failing to control all the groups composing Babylonia's population, failing to defeat rivals, or failing to maintain important trade routes. This collapse eventually resulted in Babylonia's powerful northern neighbor,

9744-518: The Bishop of Harran, Stephen, to persecute the pagans of Harran. Many who refused to convert to Christianity, including the governor Acindynus , were executed. By this time, the Christians and pagans of Harran lived in separate quarters of the city. Maurice's persecution of the pagans of Harran had little effect on the strength of the pagan community and Harran remained a largely pagan city. When

9918-791: The Great , the Achaemenid king of Persia , revolted against his suzerain Astyages , king of Media , at Ecbatana . Astyages' army betrayed him and Cyrus established himself as ruler of all the Iranic peoples, as well as the pre-Iranian Elamites and Gutians , ending the Median Empire and establishing the Achaemenid Empire . Ten years after his victory against the Medes, Cyrus invaded Babylon. Nabonidus sent Belshazzar to head off

10092-608: The Great , who invaded Babylonia in 539 BC by portraying himself as a champion of Marduk divinely restoring order to Mesopotamia. After the conquest, Babylon remained culturally distinct for centuries, with references to people with Babylonian names and to the Babylonian religion known from as late as the Parthian Empire in the 1st century BC. Although Babylon revolted several times during the rule of later empires, it never successfully restored its independence. Babylonia

10266-660: The Harranians to aid him against Mu'awiya I , the first Umayyad caliph, but the Harranians instead sided with Mu'awiya at the Battle of Siffin in the same year. In response, it is said that Ali enacted a brutal massacre in Harran, exterminating most of the inhabitants. Under the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750), Harran was renovated and prospered once more. In 717, Caliph Umar II founded the first Muslim university at Harran, bringing many scholars from other cities in

10440-592: The Islamic period. The city retained a highly heterogenous population that practiced many different religions. Some adopted syncretistic faiths tolerable by the Muslims, others continued to honor the old deities of ancient Mesopotamia and Syria, and some primarily worshipped the stars and planets. The Harranian pagans considered themselves the heirs of ancient star-worshipping civilizations such as Babylonia, Greece, India, Persia and Egypt. In addition to pagans, Harran

10614-739: The Islamic period. It flourished as a center of science and learning and was the site of both the first Islamic university (the Harran University ) and the oldest mosque in Anatolia (the Harran Grand Mosque  [ tr ] ). Harran twice served as a capital city in the Middle Ages, first briefly under the Umayyad Caliphate (744–750) and later under the Numayrid Emirate (990–1081). The city

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10788-405: The Jews. Accordingly, one of his first acts was to allow these exiles to return to their homelands, carrying with them the images of their gods and their sacred vessels. The permission to do so was explicitly written in a proclamation, today called the Cyrus Cylinder , wherein Cyrus also justified his conquest of Babylonia as the will of Marduk. Babylon fell as an independent political entity in

10962-404: The Khwarazmians by the Ayyubids in 1240 by An-Nasir Yusuf of Aleppo. Harran was captured by the Mongol Empire under Hulagu Khan in 1259 or 1260 through the peaceful surrender of its governor. The Harran Castle, as was traditional placed under a different governor, continued to resist for some time until one of the towers were breached. Under the Mongols, Harran continued to flourish for

11136-440: The Middle East forever. The early Achaemenid rulers had great respect for Babylonia, regarding it as a separate entity or kingdom united with their own kingdom in something akin to a personal union . The region was a major economical asset and provided as much as a third of the entire Achaemenid Empire's tribute. Despite Achaemenid attention and the recognition of the Achaemenid rulers as kings of Babylon, Babylonia resented

11310-471: The Neo-Babylonian 182, with the average size of these settlements also increasing. This population growth was probably because of increasing prosperity in Babylonia, combined with the resettlement of subjugated peoples and the possible return of peoples that had been resettled under the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Neo-Babylonian period also saw a dramatic increase in urbanization , reversing a trend of ruralization which southern Mesopotamia had experienced since

11484-462: The Neo-Babylonian Empire meant that for the first time since the Assyrian conquest, tribute flowed into Babylonia rather than being drained from it. This reversal, combined with building projects and the relocation of subjugated peoples stimulated both population and economic growth in the region. Although the soil in Mesopotamia was fertile, the average rainfall in the region was not enough to sustain regular crops. As such, water had to be drawn from

11658-735: The Neo-Babylonian Empire were valuable resources, typically sold for money matching several years of income for a paid worker. Slaves were typically from lands outside of Babylonia, becoming slaves through the slave trade or through being captured in times of war. Slave women were often given as part of a dowry to help daughters of free men and women in their household or in raising children. Slaves were not cheap to maintain as they had to be clothed and fed. Because they were expensive to begin with, many Neo-Babylonian slave-owners trained their slaves in professions to raise their value or rented them out to others. Sometimes slaves who showed good business sense were allowed to serve in trade or through managing part of

11832-416: The Neo-Babylonian Empire. Slaves mentioned in connection to farming and agriculture are usually not forced laborers. As farming required diligence and care, slaves at farms were typically given contracts and were allowed to work independently, which would make the slaves more interested in the result of their labor. Some slaves acted as proxies or junior partners of their masters. Slaves were also allowed to pay

12006-400: The Neo-Babylonian Empire. The punishment for these types of crimes and disputes appears, for the most part, to have been money-related, with the guilty party paying a specified amount of silver as compensation. Crimes such as adultery and lèse-majesté were apparently punishable by death , but little surviving evidence exists for the death penalty actually being carried out. Artists in

12180-477: The Neo-Babylonian period continued the artistic trends of previous periods, showing similarities with the artwork of the Neo-Assyrian period in particular. Cylinder seals of the period are less detailed than in previous times and shows definite Assyrian influence in the themes depicted. One of the most common scenes depicted in such seals are heroes, sometimes depicted with wings, about to strike beasts with their curved swords. Other common scenes include purification of

12354-417: The Old or First Babylonian Empire . After his death, his dynasty lasted another century and a half, but the Babylonian Empire quickly collapsed, and Babylon once more became a small state. Babylonia fell to the Hittite king Mursili I c.   1595 BC, after which the Kassites took control and ruled for almost five centuries before being deposed by native Babylonian rulers, who continued to rule

12528-600: The Seleucid Empire survive, documents from the early years of Parthian rule suggest a continued recognition of at least the early Parthian kings as kings of Babylon. Although Akkadian-language legal documents continued in a slightly reduced number through the rule of the Hellenic kings, they are rare from the period of Parthian rule. The astronomical diaries kept since the days of ancient Babylon survived through Persian and Hellenic rule but stopped being written in

12702-585: The Temple at Sippar , had to make repeated excavations until he found the foundation deposit of Naram-Sin of Akkad . The discovery then allowed him to rebuild the temple properly. Neo-Babylonians also revived the ancient Sargonic practice of appointing a royal daughter to serve as priestess of the moon-god Sîn . As in most ancient empires, slaves were an accepted part of Neo-Babylonian society. In contrast to slavery in ancient Rome , where slave-owners often worked their slaves to death at an early age, slaves in

12876-532: The Umayyads. The move of the capital to Harran caused some outrage; the Banu Kalb tribe saw it as an abandonment of Syria and under Yazid ibn Khalid al-Qasri besieged the former capital of Damascus before being suppressed. Harran did not continue to function as a capital under the succeeding Abbasid Caliphate , though the city enjoyed some special privileges. When Al-Mansur ( r.  754–775 ) ordered

13050-414: The amount of productive land and the relatively limited area reserved for urban development. In his seyahatnâme from the 17th century, Evliya Çelebi mentioned that the vicinity of Harran was inhabited by Bedouins of Qays and Mawali tribes. The local culture is predominantly Arabic in terms of lifestyle, clothing and food. Harran has close social, cultural, commercial and urban relations with Urfa,

13224-411: The ancient ruins since the 1950s, newer houses constructed in Harran are mostly concrete structures with no architectural relation to the beehive houses. Concrete houses have been built both alongside beehive houses and outside the ancient city walls. The majority of the population of Harran today live in a more newly constructed village about 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) from the old city center. Harran

13398-419: The ancient walls they only produced brackish water and were thus only useful for providing water to animals. The water at Harran had perhaps been contaminated from seeping saltpeter from its ancient ruins. Since the middle of the 20th century, Harran has re-transitioned into a permanently inhabited settlement due to local advancements in irrigation and agriculture. Particularly important in this development

13572-551: The armies of the Rashidun Caliphate , led by the general Iyad ibn Ghanm , besieged Harran in the winter of 639–640 it was the pagans of the city who negotiated its peaceful surrender. Ibn Ghanm is recorded to have given the pagans of Harran a new moon temple after the capture of the city. Harran under Islamic rule became one of the most important settlements in the Diyar Mudar district. In 657, Caliph Ali asked

13746-568: The assassination, the influential courtier Nabonidus and his son Belshazzar , then took power. Despite the turmoil that had surrounded his rise to the throne, the empire itself had remained relatively calm through the difficult period. Nabonidus began his reign with traditional activities associated with the king: renovating buildings and monuments, worshipping the gods and waging war (also campaigning in Cilicia). Nabonidus wasn't of Babylonian ancestry, originating from Harran in former Assyria, one of

13920-498: The book " protected under Islamic law). Unable to claim that they were, the people of Harran instead claimed that they were " Sabians ", a mysterious religious group also protected according to the Quran but who no one at the time knew who they were. Upon being inquired who their prophet was, the Harranians claimed that their prophet was the legendary Hellenistic figure Hermes Trismegistus . There were many Islamic writers who saw through

14094-461: The border between the ancient Mesopotamian and Anatolian cultures. The earliest known settlements in the region surrounding Harran date to 10000–8000 BC and settlements in its close vicinity are known to have existed by 6000 BC. The region initially shifted between the control of the Sumerians and Hittites before being occupied by ancient Semitic-speaking people around 2750 BC. The earliest written records concerning Harran suggest that

14268-435: The caliphate (including Alexandria ) and installing them in Harran. Harran was made the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate under its last caliph, Marwan II , from 744 to 750. The reason for Marwan moving his court to Harran is not known, but might be either to better monitor the troublesome eastern provinces of the caliphate or due to the anti-Christian sentiment of the city's pagan population, who had never been disloyal to

14442-417: The campaign) in northern Arabia . His son Belshazzar was left to govern Babylonia (though with the title crown prince rather than king, a title Nabonidus continued to hold). Why Nabonidus spent a decade away from his capital there is unknown. Nabonidus' return c.   543 BC was accompanied with a reorganization of his court and the removal of some of its more influential members. In 549 BC Cyrus

14616-541: The canals was seen as a royal task and the resources required to construct and maintain the infrastructure necessary, and the manpower itself, was provided by the many temples which dotted the region. The most detailed economical records from Neo-Babylonian times are from these temples. The people who cultivated the temple lands of Babylonia were mostly unfree personnel, so-called temple dependents ( širāku ), which were usually given larger work assignments than they could accomplish. In later times, to increase productivity,

14790-434: The capital of Assur itself. In the 10th century, Harran was one of the few cities, along with Assur, to be exempt from needing to pay tribute to the Assyrian king and in the 9th and 8th centuries BC, Harran was made the seat of the turtanu , the Assyrian commander-in-chief. Since Harran was the sacred city of the moon-god, many Mesopotamian kings travelled there to receive the blessing and confirmation of their rule from

14964-471: The capital of the Şanlıurfa Province . The majority of the district's population is composed of tribal Arabs. Neo-Babylonian Empire The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire , historically known as the Chaldean Empire , was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to Mesopotamia until Faisal II in the 20th century. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as

15138-511: The centuries, few structures remained above the soil; the castle survived owing to its position on a hill and its continued usage. The remnants of the mosque were also kept clear due to its religious and historical significance. Under the Ottoman Empire , which captured the region in the early 16th century, Harran was the capital of a nahiyah (a local administrative unit composed of a group of villages). The demolished Harran University

15312-409: The cities who had shifted the most between Assyrian and Babylonian control, were firmly in Babylonian hands by 620 BC, and Nabopolassar had consolidated his rule over all of Babylonia. After further Babylonian conquests and further failures by Sinsharishkun to stop Nabopolassar, despite receiving military aid from Egypt , the Assyrian Empire quickly began to fall apart. In October or November 615 BC,

15486-485: The city from paying the tribute he demanded from Edessa on account of Harran not being Christian like his enemies but rather a stronghold of the "old religion". The endurance of paganism at Harran in the Christian late Roman Empire is likely only explainable through the pagans there offering regular bribes to church officials and civil administrators in the region. In 590, Emperor Maurice ( r.  582–602 ) ordered

15660-469: The city from the earliest documents mentioning it and has remained in continuous use and largely unchanged since ancient times. Harran is mentioned in early cuneiform records of the Sumerians and Hittites as 𒌷𒊮𒆜 ( URU.ŠÀ.KASKAL ), sometimes shortened to 𒆜 ( KASKAL ), transliterated as Ḫarrānu ( m ). Ḫarrānu literally means "journey", "caravan" or "crossroad". It is often interpreted as "caravan path" or "intersection of routes and travel". Harran

15834-521: The city itself was founded c. 2500 –2000 BC as a merchant outpost by traders from the Sumerian city of Ur . Harran was from early on associated with the Mesopotamian moon-god Nanna (later known as Sin) and soon became regarded as a sacred city of the moon. The Ekhulkhul ("Temple of Rejoicing"), Harran's great moon temple, was already present in the city by c. 2000 BC. Sin

16008-633: The city steadily declined in importance. Harran was captured by Khwarazmians in 1237, driven from their homeland following the fall of the Khwarazmian Empire , but the castle was retained and fortified by the Ayyubid ruler As-Salih Ayyub though he soon had to give it up to broker a deal with the Khwarazmians for military aid against Badr al-Din Lu'lu' of Mosul. Harran was later regained from

16182-510: The city was Sin's son Nusku , the god of light. Although next to nothing is known of the architecture and layout of Harran prior to the Middle Ages, the city is believed to have been designed according to a vaguely moon-shaped plan since Medieval sources allude to this. What kind of moon shape is meant by the sources is not clear. The religious authorities of Harran, speaking on behalf of Sin, were considered suitable guarantors and signatories in political treaties. Already c. 2000 BC,

16356-550: The city's religious officials and in turn renovated and expanded Harran and its temples. The Ekhulkhul was renovated twice in the Neo-Assyrian period by the kings Shalmaneser III ( r.  859–824 BC) and Ashurbanipal ( r.  669–631  BC). Prophecies made by prophets and oracles of the moon cult of Harran were held in high regard; in the 670s BC the Harranians correctly prophesied that Esarhaddon ( r.  681–669  BC) would conquer Egypt and Sasi ,

16530-486: The claims of Harranians and still considered them to be pagans and not Sabians, and thus lacking any special right to toleration or protection. In 933, the Harranian pagans were ordered through a decree to convert to Islam, but a visitor to the city in the following year found that there were still pagan religious leaders operating a remaining public temple. Toleration of the pagans at Harran appears to have been renewed in

16704-428: The clothes used by the deity's cult, cleaned and moved around the statues of the deities, maintained the rooms within the temple and performed the important rituals, represented the skilled and free urban elite of Babylonian society and were paid through leftovers from meals intended for the gods, barley and beer. The surviving sources suggest that the justice system of the Neo-Babylonian Empire had changed little from

16878-426: The coast and could not be taken without naval support. Though it withstood numerous sieges, it was not captured until Alexander the Great 's siege in 332 BC. It is possible that Nebuchadnezzar campaigned against Egypt in 568 BC, given that a fragmentary Babylonian inscription from that year, given the modern designation BM 33041, records the word "Egypt" as well as possibly traces of the name "Amasis" (the name of

17052-537: The collapse of the Seleucid Empire, Harran became part of the Kingdom of Osroene in 132 BC, ruled by the Nabatean Arab Abgarid dynasty and most frequently a vassal state of the Parthian Empire . Abgarid rule may have encouraged the local moon cult; the moon was important in both the ancient Bedouin and Nabatean Arab religions. From the first century BC until the end of antiquity, Harran

17226-473: The compound name "Carrhae-Harran" for the ancient city. Under the Byzantine Empire , the city continued to be called Carrhae (Kάρραι) but was also sometimes referred to as Hellenopolis (Eλληνóπoλις), "city of the pagan Greeks", in reference to the strong pagan traditions there. Harran is situated at an important geographical crossroad, both between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and at

17400-463: The constituent groups of the native Babylonians, the main population in the large cities, had lost their old identities and had assimilated into a unified "Babylonian" culture. At the same time, the Chaldeans, though retaining their tribal structure and way of life, were becoming more "babylonized", many adopting traditional Babylonian names. These Babylonized Chaldeans became important players in

17574-473: The converted moon temple. The castle being on the site of the ancient temple is further supported by its higher elevation whereas the mosque is further supported by the finds of Babylonian inscriptions and four stelae of Nabonidus among its ruins. These inscriptions and stelae directly mention the Elkhulkhul. Additionally, the remains of an ancient altar with moon iconography have also been recovered from

17748-573: The days and nights. There are 136 neighbourhoods in Harran District: In its most prosperous periods in ancient and medieval history Harran was probably home to around 10,000–20,000 residents. As a result of Harran's retransition into a permanent settlement over the course of the late 20th century and early 21st century, the city and surrounding district has experienced a rapid population increase. Despite this, Harran retains predominantly rural characteristics. As of 2022, Harran had

17922-520: The denial of the existence of the other gods in the Mesopotamian pantheon , it has sometimes been compared to monotheism . The history of worship of Marduk is intimately tied to the history of Babylon itself and as Babylon's power increased, so did the position of Marduk relative to that of other Mesopotamian gods. By the end of the second millennium BC, Marduk was sometimes just referred to as Bêl , meaning "lord". In Mesopotamian religion, Marduk

18096-420: The destruction of Solomon's Temple and the subsequent Babylonian captivity . Babylonian sources describe Nebuchadnezzar's reign as a golden age that transformed Babylonia into the greatest empire of its time. Religious policies introduced by the final Babylonian king Nabonidus , who favoured the moon god Sîn over Babylon's patron deity Marduk , eventually served as a casus belli for Persian king Cyrus

18270-463: The destruction of the walls of all cities in northern Mesopotamia, Harran was a notable exception. The Harran University underwent its golden age in the 8th century, particularly under the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid ( r.  786–809 ). Many prominent scholars of this time were educated at the university in subjects such as mathematics, philosophy, medicine and astrology. The university

18444-399: The elder gods and Abzu decided to rid himself of them by killing them. Alarmed by this, Tiamat revealed Abzu's plan to Enki, who killed his father before the plot could be enacted. Although Tiamat had revealed the plot to Enki to warn him, the death of Abzu horrified her and she too attempted to kill her children, raising an army together with her new consort Kingu . Every battle in the war was

18618-456: The empire fell into political turmoil and instability. Nebuchadnezzar's son and successor, Amel-Marduk , reigned for only two years before being assassinated in a coup by the influential courtier Neriglissar . Neriglissar was a simmagir , a governor of one of the eastern provinces, and had been present during several of Nebuchadnezzar's campaigns. Importantly, Neriglissar was also married to one of Nebuchadnezzar's daughters and thus linked to

18792-448: The everyday tongue, Akkadian was retained as the language of administration and culture. Ancient artworks from the heyday of Babylonia's imperial glory were treated with near-religious reverence and were painstakingly preserved. For example, when a statue of Sargon the Great was found during construction work, a temple was built for it, and it was given offerings. The story is told of how Nebuchadnezzar II , in his efforts to restore

18966-585: The fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 539 BC, Harran was successively under the control of the Achaemenid (539–330 BC), Macedonian (330–312 BC) and Seleucid (312–132 BC) empires. Under the Seleucids, Harran largely functioned as a military colony and from the time of the Macedonian conquest onwards, many Greeks settled in Harran. Under the centuries of Hellenic control, Harran gradually underwent some Hellenization of its culture. After

19140-559: The fall of the Old Babylonian Empire. At the top of the Neo-Babylonian Empire social ladder was the king ( šar ); his subjects took an oath of loyalty called the ade to him, a tradition inherited from the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Neo-Babylonian kings used the titles King of Babylon and King of Sumer and Akkad . They abandoned many of the boastful Neo-Assyrian titles that claimed universal rule (though some of these would be reintroduced under Nabonidus), possibly because

19314-473: The foremost ruler in this narrative. The Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible refers to Babylon many centuries after it ceased to be a major political center. The city is personified by the " Whore of Babylon ", riding on a scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns and drunk on the blood of the righteous. Some scholars of apocalyptic literature believe this New Testament "Babylon" to be

19488-401: The goddess Ishtar ) flowers, mušḫuššu (a mythological creature associated with the god Marduk) and oxen (associated with the god Adad ). After Babylonia regained its independence, Neo-Babylonian rulers were deeply conscious of the antiquity of their kingdom and pursued a highly traditionalist policy, reviving much of the ancient Sumero-Akkadian culture. Even though Aramaic had become

19662-414: The gods and for conducting various rituals. Because of their religious significance, temples were present in all major cities, with trade and population growth being stimulated by the presence of a temple. Workers within the temples had to be "fit" for service and were not slaves or temple dependents (unlike those who served the temples by cultivating food and other supplies). These temple workers, who created

19836-469: The gods in defeating and holding off the forces of chaos and thus maintain order on Earth. The Statue of Marduk was the physical representation of Marduk housed in Babylon's main temple, the Esagila . Although there were actually seven separate statues of Marduk in Babylon; four in the Esagila, one in the Etemenanki (the ziggurat dedicated to Marduk) and two in temples dedicated to other deities,

20010-475: The huge Persian army, but the Babylonian forces were overwhelmed at the Battle of Opis . On 12 October, after Cyrus's engineers diverted the waters of the Euphrates, the soldiers of Cyrus entered Babylon without the need for battle. Nabonidus surrendered and was deported. Gutian guards were placed at the gates of the great temple of Marduk, where services continued without interruption. Cyrus claimed to be

20184-604: The increasingly Christianised late Roman Empire. As late as the early 5th century, the theologian Theodoret wrote that Harran was "a barbarous place, full of the thorns of paganism". At the Second Council of Ephesus (449), the Bishop of Harran , Stephen, was accused of accepting bribes from pagans to let them practice their rituals in peace. Harran was briefly captured by the Sasanian king Khosrow I in 549, who exempted

20358-531: The last moon temples were closed and destroyed. The precise date when this happened and the events surrounding it are unknown, perhaps coinciding with the city falling under the control of the Fatimid Caliphate in 1038 through the submission of the Numayrid ruler Shabīb ibn Waththāb , or more likely with a failed anti-Uqaylid rebellion in 1083. Izz al-Din ibn Shaddad reported that a Sabian temple

20532-593: The late 10th century. The power of the Abbasid Caliphate and its vassals in the region around Harran (the Hamdanid dynasty ) declined at the end of the 10th century. A new local Arab dynasty emerged during this time, the Numayrid dynasty , who ruled a small realm with Harran as its capital from 990 to 1081. The toleration of paganism at Harran was at last revoked for the final time in the 11th century and

20706-400: The legitimate successor of the ancient Babylonian kings and the avenger of Marduk, who Cyrus claimed to be wrathful at Nabonidus's supposed impiety. Cyrus's conquest was welcomed by the Babylonian populace, though whether it was because he was genuinely seen as a liberator or out of fear is unknown. Cyrus's invasion of Babylonia may have been helped along by the presence of foreign exiles such as

20880-446: The local courts would be headed by royal representatives, usually titled sartennu or šukallu . For the most part, surviving sources related to the Neo-Babylonian justice system are tablets containing letters and lawsuits. These tablets document various legal disputes and crimes, such as embezzlement , disputes over property, theft , family affairs, debts and inheritance and often offer considerable insight into daily life in

21054-518: The main places of worship of the god Sîn (associated with the moon). For this, Nabonidus may have faced opposition from the Babylonian clergy. Nabonidus was also opposed by the clergy when he increased governmental control over the temples in an attempt to solve ongoing management problems with the empire's religious institutions. Nabonidus left Babylonia to campaign in the Levant and then settled for ten years in Tayma (which he had conquered during

21228-534: The many cultures that have inhabited Harran constructed them is not known. The walls were most likely constructed under either Roman or Byzantine rule. Inscriptions in both Greek and Syriac have been discovered during excavations of parts of the walls. The walls of Harran resemble those of the nearby Edessa, though are slightly smaller. They are vaguely elliptical in layout, normally around 3 metres (9.8 feet) thick and approximately 4.5 kilometres (2.8 miles) long and 5 metres (16 feet) high. Before they fell into ruin,

21402-416: The means to carry out their trade (for instance second sons who had not inherited as much money as first-born sons). Records show that some junior partners worked their way up through their businesses to eventually become senior partners in new harrānu arrangements. The Neo-Babylonian period saw marked population growth in Babylonia, with the number of known settlements increasing from the previous 134 to

21576-484: The middle of the 1st century BC. It is likely that only a small number of scholars knew how to write Akkadian by the time of the Parthian kings, and the old Babylonian temples became increasingly undermanned and underfunded as people were drawn to the new Mesopotamian capitals, such as Seleucia and Ctesiphon . The latest dated document written in accordance with the old scribal tradition in Akkadian cuneiform

21750-449: The middle of the 20th century, Harran comprised about a hundred houses, inhabited by semi-settled nomadic Arabs, most of whom still did not stay at the site for the duration of the entire year. The city's ancient water systems had long fallen into disrepair and Harran in the 20th century had only a single source of drinking water, Jacob's Well, about 1.6 kilometres (0.99 miles) west of its walls. Although six wells were still operational within

21924-429: The nations. (Zohar, Bereshit 1:137a.) Harran Harran is a municipality and district of Şanlıurfa Province , Turkey . Its area is 904 km , and its population is 96,072 (2022). It is approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Urfa and 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the Syrian border crossing at Akçakale . Harran was founded at some point between the 25th and 20th centuries BC, possibly as

22098-414: The new religion very early, Harran remained a pagan stronghold for centuries and became the largest center of pagan cults in eastern Syria. Harran was still overwhelmingly pagan in the 4th century, to the degree that the bishop appointed to Harran in 361 refused to reside in the city and instead lived in Edessa. Despite its paganism, Harran was a site of interest to Christians since the city is mentioned in

22272-414: The newly established Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Medes . The Assyrian capital of Nineveh fell in 612 BC but the remnants of the Assyrian army, led by Crown Prince Aššur-uballiṭ II , rallied at Harran. Harran is therefore typically regarded as the short-lived final capital of ancient Assyria. Aššur-uballiṭ II underwent a coronation ceremony at Harran, being invested with rulership by Sin. After

22446-466: The nomadic lifestyle of the locals since they can be built and dismantled rapidly, like a tent, but also efficiently resist both heat and cold. Because of the weak materials used for plastering the beehive houses require repair every 1–3 years. Their walls are usually 50–60 centimetres thick and their domes are about 20–30 centimetres thick. The domes have an opening at the top which provides natural air circulation and ventilation. This feature, combined with

22620-615: The oldest extant buildings in Harran is a beehive complex that today serves as the Harran Culture House ( Harran Kültür Evi ), a local museum and restaurant. The Culture House building was originally built c. 1800 but fell into ruins at some point and was rebuilt for tourism purposes in 1999. The museum showcases artefacts as well as traditional jewelry and clothes from the region surrounding Harran. Since prohibitions relating to conservation of historical monuments has hindered locals from gathering building materials from

22794-518: The one it had from inside the temple. The statue was traditionally incorporated into the coronation rituals for the Babylonian kings , who received the Babylonian crown "out of the hands" of Marduk during the New Year's festival, symbolizing them being bestowed with kingship by the patron deity of the city. The temples of southern Mesopotamia were important as both religious and economic centers. The temples were chiefly institutions for caring for

22968-415: The one which functioned during the Old Babylonian Empire a thousand years prior. Throughout Babylonia, there were local assemblies (called puhru ) of elders and other notables from society which among other local roles served as local courts of justice (though there were also higher "royal" and "temple courts" with greater legal prerogatives). In these courts, judges would be assisted by scribes and several of

23142-477: The plunder had already begun and met with Cyaxares, allying with him and signing an anti-Assyrian pact. In April or May 612 BC, at the start of Nabopolassar's 14th year as King of Babylon, the combined Medo-Babylonian army marched on Nineveh. From June to August of that year, they besieged the Assyrian capital and in August the walls were breached, leading to another lengthy and brutal sack during which Sinsharishkun

23316-437: The political history, society and appearance of ancient Babylonia was largely a mystery. Western artists typically envisioned the city and its empire as a combination of known ancient cultures—typically a mixture of ancient Greek and Egyptian culture—with some influence from the then-contemporary Middle Eastern empire, the Ottoman Empire . Early depictions of the city show it with long colonnades , sometimes built on more than

23490-467: The present conical domes are built on larger cubical bases. Since wood is rare in the region around Harran owing to its climate, locals have traditionally built houses from materials they could easily gather such as stone, brick and mud. The modern beehive houses were constructed by locals who learnt how to build them by examining excavated ancient buildings and used bricks gathered from the ruins as building material. The beehive houses were compatible with

23664-473: The previous 2,000 years of Sumero-Akkadian culture. The Neo-Babylonian Empire retains a notable position in modern cultural memory due to the invidious portrayal of Babylon and its greatest king Nebuchadnezzar II in the Bible . The biblical description of Nebuchadnezzar focuses on his military campaign against the Kingdom of Judah and particularly the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BC, which resulted in

23838-482: The reign of the Neo-Assyrian king Sinsharishkun , the southern official or general Nabopolassar used ongoing political instability in Assyria, caused by an earlier brief civil war between Sinsharishkun and the general Sin-shumu-lishir , to revolt. In 626 BC, Nabopolassar assaulted and successfully seized the cities of Babylon and Nippur . Sinsharishkun's response was quick and decisive; by October of that year

24012-457: The royal family. Possibly due to old age, Neriglissar's reign was also short, some of its few recorded activities being the restoration of some monuments in Babylon and a campaign in Cilicia . Neriglissar died in 556 BC and was succeeded by his underage son, Labashi-Marduk . Labashi-Marduk's reign was even briefer; he was assassinated after reigning for just nine months. The perpetrators of

24186-418: The ruins of the mosque. As a result, the mosque enjoys more scholarly support as the most likely site of the ancient temple. The old town of Harran is still largely surrounded by Harran's ancient city walls. Though they are in generally poor condition, some stretches are well-preserved in good condition and give an idea of how the settlement once looked. The exact date of the current walls and which of

24360-554: The rule of the Ayyubid Sultanate , which followed the Zengids. Saladin ( r.  1174–1193 ) at some point enlarged Harran's Grand Mosque  [ tr ] and thereafter granted Harran to his brother Al-Adil I (later sultan 1200–1218). Al-Adil later gave Harran to his son Al-Kamil (later sultan 1218–1238). Harran was then under the rule of Al-Kamil's brother Al-Ashraf Musa 1202–1228/1229, after whose death

24534-599: The scholar Thābit ibn Qurra in the late 9th century, who could have learnt Neoplatonism in Baghdad. Alternatively, Neoplatonism might have been brought to Harran as early as the 6th century by Neoplatonists such as Simplicius of Cilicia , who fled persecution in the Byzantine Empire. The local Harranian religion continued to develop as a blend of ancient Mesopotamian religion and Neoplatonism and Harran remained notorious for its strong pagan traditions long into

24708-412: The site. The precise location of the ancient great Ekhulkhul temple is unknown and no certain archaeological evidence of it has yet been found. It is likely that one of the major medieval buildings of Harran displaced the Elkhulkhul and were constructed on top of it, either the Harran Castle or the Grand Mosque. Writings from the Islamic period contradictingly claim that the castle or the mosque were

24882-431: The temple as compensation. Although animal husbandry was practiced throughout Mesopotamia, it was the most common form of farming in the south. In Uruk, animals, rather than some type of plant, were the main cash crop . Shepherds could be temple dependents or independent contractors and were entrusted with herds of either sheep or goats. Similar to other farmers working in connection to the temples, these shepherds had

25056-403: The temple of Sin. Harran, along with the nearby cities of Nisibis and Hatra , were captured by the Sasanian king Ardashir I in 238–240 but was swiftly retaken by Emperor Gordian III . Later in 296, Harran was also the site of a battle where the future emperor Galerius suffered a crushing defeat against the Sasanian king Narseh . In the writings of Ammianus Marcellinus (359), it

25230-471: The temples began hiring "rent farmers". These rent farmers were given a portion or all of a temple's farming grounds and fields, including the temple dependents and equipment there, in exchange for money and a fixed quota of commodities to supply to the temple. Rent farmers were personally liable for accidents and falling short of the quota and there are many records of rent farmers giving up or sometimes being required to sell their own possessions and assets to

25404-497: The temples. The technique of colored glaze was improved and perfected by Neo-Babylonian artists. In reliefs, such as the ones on the Ishtar Gate in Babylon and along the city's Processional Street (where parades passed through during religious festivals in the city), colored glaze was combined with bricks molded in various shapes to create decorations in color. Most of these decorations are symbols of lions (associated with

25578-519: The then incumbent Pharaoh, Amasis II , r.   570–526 BC). A stele of Amasis, also fragmentary, may also describe a combined naval and land attack by the Babylonians. But the evidence for this campaign is scant, and historians believe that if Nebuchadnezzar launched another campaign, he was unsuccessful. In addition to his military exploits, Nebuchadnezzar was a great builder, famous for his monuments and building works throughout Mesopotamia, such as Babylon's Ishtar Gate and Processional Street. He

25752-427: The thick walls, provide relatively good indoor conditions throughout the year, even in the extreme summer heat. As of a count conducted in 2002, Harran had 2,760 beehive houses though the number in the old town has since declined to a few dozen. Some of the beehive houses remained inhabited until the 1980s but they are today mainly used as store houses and barns and have been under conservation since 1979. One of

25926-467: The time the city was his capital. The masonry of the mosque indicates that it was restored several times throughout its history. Measuring 104 by 107 metres (341 ft × 351 ft) at its height, the mosque has fallen into ruin over the centuries and little of it remains standing today. Remaining portions include the eastern wall, the mihrab , a fountain, and the 33.3-metre (109-foot) tall minaret . Another important historical monument in Harran

26100-500: The two major rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris, for use in irrigation. These rivers tended to flood at inconvenient times, such as at grain harvest time. To solve these issues and allow for efficient farming, Mesopotamia required a sophisticated large-scale system of canals, dams and dikes, both to protect from floods and to supply water. These structures required constant maintenance and supervision to function. Digging and maintaining

26274-480: The walls had 187 bastions and 6–8 gates, most of which are in ruined condition today. Only one of the medieval gates of Harran, the Aleppo Gate, remain standing today. The walls were once surrounded by a great moat filled with water. Harran mainly attracts attention today due to the distinctive vernacular architecture of the houses in its old town, known as beehive houses ( kümbets ). This building type

26448-465: The worst military defeats in Roman history. Osroene (and thus also Harran) first came under Roman control as a result of the wars of Lucius Verus and Avidius Cassius in 162–166 AD. Harran gained colonial status under Emperor Septimius Severus in 195. Sources from Roman times describe Harran as a fortified garrison town. In 217, the Roman emperor Caracalla was murdered in Harran while visiting

26622-690: Was a creator god . Going by the Enûma Eliš , the Babylonian creation myth, Marduk was the son of Enki , the Mesopotamian god of wisdom, and rose to prominence during a great battle between the gods. The myth tells how the universe originated as a chaotic realm of water, in which there originally were two primordial deities; Tiamat (salt water, female) and Abzu (sweet water, male). These two gods gave birth to other deities. These deities (including gods such as Enki) had little to do in these early stages of existence and as such occupied themselves with various activities. Eventually, their children began to annoy

26796-456: Was a Turkish district until 1946, after when it was downgraded to a sub-district of the Akçakale district. It regained its status as a district in 1987. Today, it is a major local tourist spot. The town is particularly famous for its unique beehive houses , which are reminiscent of buildings that were already present at Harran in ancient Mesopotamian times. The name Harran is recorded for

26970-475: Was a major deity in Ur, which also housed his main temple, but Harran's devotion to the moon can perhaps also be explained by its geography and climate. According to Donald Frew, the sun was a natural enemy in the hot and desolate landscape surrounding Harran whereas the night (and thus the moon) were more comforting. The sun-god Shamash is however also thought to have had a temple in Harran. Another prominent deity in

27144-475: Was also an important site for translations of documents from Syriac and Greek into Arabic and Harran flourished as a center of science and learning. Al-Rashid furthermore supplied Harran with a new water supply, constructing a canal from the Balikh River . At some point, Neoplatonism was introduced to Harranian intellectuals, though the precise timing is not clear. It might have been brought to Harran by

27318-400: Was also home to Muslims, Christians, Jews, Samaritans , Zoroastrians , Manicheans , and other groups. In 830, Harun al-Rashid's son Al-Ma'mun ( r.  813–833 ) arrived at Harran with an army on his way to raid in the Byzantine Empire and intended to destroy the city due to its large pagan population. Al-Ma'mun asked the populace if they were Muslims, Christians or Jews (" people of

27492-460: Was also important due to its strategic placement on an intersection of trade routes. Because Harran had an abundance of goods that passed through its region, it often became a target for raids. In the 19th century BC, the lands surrounding Harran were occupied by confederations of semi-nomadic tribes. In the following century the Amorite king Shamshi-Adad I ( r.  1808–1776  BC)

27666-578: Was among the most powerful in the world and he quickly reinforced his father's alliance with the Medes by marrying Cyaxares's daughter or granddaughter, Amytis . Some sources suggest that the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon , one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World , were built by Nebuchadnezzar for his wife as to remind her of her homeland (though the existence of these gardens is debated). Nebuchadnezzar's 43-year reign brought with it

27840-489: Was born to him. ( Gen. 33:18. ) In the Midrash , Isaac bar Judah taught that the people of Padan-aram were rogues and Rebekah was like a lily among the thorns. ( Genesis Rabbah 63:4 see also Leviticus Rabbah 23:1 (deceivers); Song of Songs Rabbah 2:4 (tricksters); Zohar , Bereshit 1:136b (wicked); Rashi to Gen. 25:20 (wicked).) Rabbi Isaac thus considered Rebecca's sojourn in Padan-aram as emblematic of Israel 's among

28014-535: Was conquered by the Mongol Empire in 1260 but was largely destroyed and left abandoned in 1271. Although Harran was kept as a military outpost under some later regimes, it has over the last five centuries mainly been used as a temporary settlement by local nomadic societies. Harran transitioned back into a semi-permanent village settlement in the 1840s, but has only recently grown into a permanent town through advancements in local irrigation and agriculture. Harran

28188-631: Was decisively wiped out c.   230 AD with the religious reforms introduced in the Sasanian Empire . By this time, the ancient Babylonian cult centres had already been closed and razed. Some temples had been closed during the early Parthian period, such as many temples in Uruk, whilst others lingered on to near the end of the Parthian Empire, such as the Esagila in Babylon. Before modern archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia,

28362-614: Was destroyed by the Uqaylid dynasty governor Yahya ibn as-Shatir, who conquered Harran in 1081. In 1059, the Harran Castle , presumably constructed in Byzantine times, was rebuilt and strengthened by the Numayrid ruler Manīʿ ibn Shabīb . By the 1180s, Harran was fully devoted to Islam with little to no traces of its former moon cult. In the late 11th and early 12th century, political control in northern Mesopotamia and Syria

28536-407: Was first under the rule of the Parthian Empire that Babylon was gradually abandoned as a major urban center and the old Akkadian culture truly disappeared. In the first century or so of Parthian rule, Babylonian culture was still alive, and there are records of people in the city with traditional Babylonian names, such as Bel-aḫḫe-uṣur and Nabu-mušetiq-uddi (mentioned as the receivers of silver in

28710-434: Was founded as an independent state by an Amorite chieftain named Sumu-abum c.   1894 BC. For over a century after its founding, it was a minor and relatively weak state, overshadowed by older and more powerful states such as Isin , Larsa , Assyria and Elam . But Hammurabi ( r.   c.   1792–1750 BC) turned Babylon into a major power and eventually conquered Mesopotamia and beyond, founding

28884-428: Was founded at some point during Byzantine rule (4th–7th centuries). It is also possible that it was built under Muslim rule in the 9th century. If it was not built in the 9th century, it is likely to at least have been expanded in the early Islamic period. Before its fall into ruin, the castle was a three-story structure. It was probably initially a palace but was converted into a more castle-like militaristic building in

29058-684: Was fragmented. Harran was an important city to the various local Muslim rulers as a counterweight to the nearby crusader states . Numayrid control of Harran came to an end in 1081 when the city was captured by the Uqaylid dynasty. It was then under the control of various Turkish princes; first Jikirmish of Mosul (1102–1106), then the Artuqids of Mardin (1106–1127) and then the Zengid dynasty , which captured Harran under Imad al-Din Zengi in 1127. In

29232-479: Was later incorporated into the Mitanni kingdom in the 16th century BC. Harran was conquered from Mitanni by the Assyrian king Adad-nirari I ( r.  1305–1274  BC). The city would not be firmly incorporated into Middle Assyrian Empire until the 1100s BC, before which it was often occupied by Arameans . Under Assyria, Harran grew into a fortified provincial capital second in importance only to

29406-419: Was likely the decreasing water supply. It was impossible to sustain the population size of Harran with its water storage systems in disrepair and its wells no longer producing enough water. Another possible reason for the abandonment was the difficulty to retain and defend Harran and the little strategic value offered by the city in return. Harran was regained from the Mongols by the Mamluk Sultanate later in

29580-412: Was no different from other Mesopotamian cities, who similarly conflated their gods with the representations used for them in their temples. During the religiously important New Year's festival at Babylon, the statue was removed from the temple and paraded through Babylon before being placed in a smaller building outside the city walls, where the statue received fresh air and could enjoy a different view from

29754-542: Was often contested between the Roman and Parthian (later Sasanian ) empires. In 53 BC Harran was the site of the Battle of Carrhae , one of the worst military defeats in Roman history. The Harranian moon cult of Sin proved to be enduring and lasted long into the Middle Ages , known to have existed as late as the 11th century AD. Harran was captured by the Rashidun Caliphate in 640 and remained an important city in

29928-491: Was repaired under the Ottoman sultan Selim I ( r.  1512–1520 ) though it again declined in importance after his reign. The Ottomans continued to use the castle, and also built a new smaller mosque in the southern part of the city, but Harran gradually declined over the course of Ottoman rule and was eventually entirely abandoned as a permanent settlement. Harran has over the last five hundred years mainly been used as

30102-581: Was the Turkish Southeastern Anatolia Project , launched in the 1970s, which through irrigation efforts transformed the formerly dry desert plains surrounding Harran into productive agricultural fields. Harran received its own plan for future development in 1992. The ruins of the ancient city were placed on the Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey in 2000. Accelerated economic and demographic growth in Harran

30276-488: Was typically located near or on the border of the Roman (later Byzantine) and Parthian (later Sasanian ) empires. Harran frequently changed hands between the two empires but was in practice often more or less independent. In 53 BC, the city was the site of the Battle of Carrhae between the Romans and Parthians, in which the Parthian general Surena defeated and killed the Roman triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus , one of

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