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Fall of Harran
Siege and capture of the Assyrian city of Harran by the Median and Neo-Babylonian empires.

The Fall of Harran refers to the siege and capture of the Assyrian city of Harran by the Median and Neo-Babylonian empires.

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Background

From the year 639 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire had been suffering from a decline in their power, culminating in Babylonian and Median invasions of their lands. The city of Arrapha fell in 615 BC, followed by Assur in 614 BC, and finally the famed Nineveh, the newest capital of Assyria, in 612 BC. Despite the brutal massacres that followed, the Assyrians survived as a political entity and escaped to Harran under their new king, Ashur-uballit II.1 Establishing Harran as a capital for the Assyrians caught the attention of the Babylonian King Nabopolassar2 and Median King Cyaxares, who were determined to forever destroy the threat of Assyrian resurgence.

Siege

Assyrian annals record no more after 610 BC3 - the presumed date of the siege. The siege lasted for another year before the city finally fell in 609 BC.4

Aftermath

With the fall of Harran, the Assyrian empire ceased to exist as a state.567 Remnants of the former Assyrian empire's army met up with the Egyptian forces that had defeated the Kingdom of Judah at Megiddo but their combined forces were defeated again the same year at the Siege of Harran and in 605 BC at the Carchemish, ending the Egyptian intervention in the Near East.

References

  1. Stephen Bertman (14 July 2005). Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. OUP USA. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-19-518364-1. 978-0-19-518364-1 ↩

  2. Stephen Bertman (14 July 2005). Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. OUP USA. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-19-518364-1. 978-0-19-518364-1 ↩

  3. Stephen Bertman (14 July 2005). Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. OUP USA. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-19-518364-1. 978-0-19-518364-1 ↩

  4. Grant, R.G. (2005). Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5000 Years of Combat. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 18. ↩

  5. Liverani, Mario (2013-12-04). The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. Routledge. p. 539. ISBN 978-1-134-75084-9. 978-1-134-75084-9 ↩

  6. Frahm, Eckart (2017-06-12). A Companion to Assyria. John Wiley & Sons. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-4443-3593-4. 978-1-4443-3593-4 ↩

  7. Oxford Bible Atlas "Ashuruballit assumed control over what remained of Assyria in Haran, but Haran too was captured by the Medes and the Babylonians in 610 and the might of Assyria was ended" https://books.google.com/books?id=bTyeXEicBfkC&q=fall+of+harran+medes%2F&pg=PA37 ↩