Harran

   An important city and trade center located several miles east of Carchemish in what is now southeastern Turkey. Harran's name came from the Akkadian word hurranu, meaning "road," which was fitting because the city lay in a strategic spot on the road leading westward from northern Assyria into Syria. (Later in antiquity the city also became known as Carrhae.) Thus, not only merchants from far and wide passed through but also armies on campaign. The Hittites captured Harran, as did the Assyrians later, in the eighth century B.C.After Nineveh was destroyed by the Babylonians and the Medes in 612 b.c., the last vestiges of the Assyrian court fled to Harran and made a last stand there until the Medes overran it. The town was also the site of later battles, including one fought in 53 b.c. between the Romans and the Parthians, in which the Roman nobleman Marcus Crassus was defeated and killed. From a cultural standpoint, Harran was important as the home of the chief Mesopotamian temple of the moon god, Sin (or Nanna). Called the Ehulhul, or "House of Rejoicing," it was refurbished and expanded by a number of Assyrian and Babylonian kings. Harran is also mentioned in the biblical book of Genesis as the place where Terah, father of the prophet Abraham, lived after fleeing from Ur.

   See also: Parthian Empire; Romans; trade