Carrhae

Harran (Hebrew: חָרָן, Ḥārān) is a city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, whose ruins might be in the city of Harran, which lie within present-day Turkey. Haran first appears in the Book of Genesis as the home of Terah and his descendants, and as Abraham's temporary home. Later biblical passages list Haran among some cities and lands subjugated by Assyrian rulers and among Tyre's trading partners.

Although the placename can be found in English as Haran, Charan, and Charran, it should not be confused with the personal name Haran, one of Abram's two brothers. The biblical placename is חָרָן (with a ḥet) in Hebrew, pronounced [ħaːraːn] and can mean "parched," but is more likely to mean "road" or "crossroad," cognate to Old Babylonian ḫaranu (MSL 09, 124-137 r ii 54'). The personal name Haran is spelled הָרָן (with a hei) in Hebrew and means "mountaineer".

Haran is usually identified with Harran, now a village of Şanlıurfa, Turkey. Since the 1950s, archeological excavations of Harran have been conducted, which have yielded insufficient discoveries about the site's pre-medieval history or of its supposed patriarchal age. The earliest records of Harran come...