Harran: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:56, 24 August 2005

Revision as of 19:52, 25 August 2005

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Harran was the centre of a considerable commerce, trading with [[Tyre]] ([[Book of Ezekiel|Ezekiel]] 27:23), and one of its specialities was the odoriferous gum derived from the strobus ([[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], N.H. xii. 40). This was the ___location of the [[Battle of Carrhae]], where [[Crassus]] in his eastern expedition was attacked and slain by the [[Parthia]]ns in [[53 BC]]. Centuries later, the emperor [[Caracalla]] was murdered here at the instigation of [[Macrinus]] (AD [[217]]). The emperor [[Galerius]] was defeated by the [[Sassanid dynasty|Sassanid]]s nearby in [[296]].

Haran was the chief home of the moon-god [[Sin (god)|Sin]], whose temple was rebuilt by several kings, among them [[Assur-bani-pal]] and [[Nabonidus]], and [[Herodian]] (iv. 13, 7) mentions the town as possessing in his day a temple of the moon. In the middle ages it is mentioned as having been the seat of a particular pagan sect, that of the Haranite [[Sabians]], into the period of the [[Crusades]], although it also possessed a bishop over a Christian community. In [[1104]] it was the site of [[Battle of Harran|a battle]] between the Crusaders and the [[Seljuk Turks]]. This city retained its importance down to the period of the Arab ascendancy; but bythe [[Abulfeda13th century]] it[[Arab]] ishistorian mentioned[[Abulfeda]] describes it as having before his time fallen into decay before his time. In the late nineteenth century, it was wholly in ruins.

Harran is famous for its traditional 'beehive' mud houses, constructed entirely without wood. The design of these is thought to have been unchanged for at least 3,000 years, and some were still in use as dwellings until the [[1980s]]. However, those remaining are strictly tourist exhibits, while most of Harran's population lives in a new village about 2 [[kilometre|kilometres]] away from the main site of visitor interest.