Harran

Through time

The story

Harran is a municipality and district of Şanlıurfa, Turkey. Its area is 904 km2, and its population is 96,072. 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 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 Eḫulḫul in Harran.

Harran came under Assyrian rule under Adad-nirari I (r. 1305–1274 BC) and became 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 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. The last worshippers of Sin at that time migrated to the regions around Mardin and Mosul. Harran was captured by the Rashidun Caliphate in 640 and remained an important city in 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 Turkey (the Harran Grand Mosque).

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).

Adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

What you will see

1. Harran Höyüğü
2. Ulu Cami kalıntıları
3. Şehir City wallsı

Before you go

• Check opening hours and ticket rules shortly before your visit — they change seasonally.
• Plan for the heat. Most ancient sites have little shade; go early or late.
• Respect the barriers. Fragile surfaces are protected for the next visitors.