Fall of Harran
{{Short description|Ancient battle}}
{{Distinguish|Siege of Harran|Battle of Harran}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| image =
| caption =
| conflict = Fall of Harran
| partof = the Medo-Babylonian conquest of the Assyrian Empire
| place = Harran, Şanlıurfa, Turkey
| result = {{ublist|Medo-Babylonian victory}}
- Fall of the Assyrian Empire{{Cite book|last=Liverani|first=Mario|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0d1JAgAAQBAJ&q=neo-assyrian+empire+medes+harran&pg=PA539|title=The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy|date=2013-12-04|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-75084-9|language=en|page=539}}{{Cite book|last=Frahm|first=Eckart|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhsmDwAAQBAJ&q=a+companion+to+Assyria+assur-uballit+failed+attempt+to+reconquer+Harran&pg=PA192|title=A Companion to Assyria|date=2017-06-12|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-3593-4|language=en|page=192}}[https://books.google.com/books?id=bTyeXEicBfkC&q=fall+of+harran+medes%2F&pg=PA37 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"
| combatant1 = Neo-Babylonian Empire
Median Kingdom
| combatant2 = Neo-Assyrian Empire
| commander1 = Nabopolassar
Cyaxares
| commander2 = Ashur-uballit II
| strength1 = Unknown
| strength2 = Unknown
| casualties1 = Unknown
| casualties2 = Unknown
}}
{{Battles involving Assyria}}
The Fall of Harran refers to the siege and capture of the Assyrian city of Harran by the Median and Neo-Babylonian empires.
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.{{cite book|author=Stephen Bertman|title=Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1C4NKp4zgIQC&pg=PA80|date=14 July 2005|publisher=OUP USA|isbn=978-0-19-518364-1|page=80}} Establishing Harran as a capital for the Assyrians caught the attention of the Babylonian King Nabopolassar and Median King Cyaxares, who were determined to forever destroy the threat of Assyrian resurgence.
Siege
Assyrian annals record no more after 610 BC - the presumed date of the siege. The siege lasted for another year before the city finally fell in 609 BC.{{cite book|last=Grant|first=R.G.|title=Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5000 Years of Combat|location=London|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|year=2005|pages=18}}
Aftermath
With the fall of Harran, the Assyrian empire ceased to exist as a state.{{Cite book|last=Liverani|first=Mario|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0d1JAgAAQBAJ&q=neo-assyrian+empire+medes+harran&pg=PA539|title=The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy|date=2013-12-04|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-75084-9|language=en|page=539}}{{Cite book|last=Frahm|first=Eckart|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhsmDwAAQBAJ&q=a+companion+to+Assyria+assur-uballit+failed+attempt+to+reconquer+Harran&pg=PA192|title=A Companion to Assyria|date=2017-06-12|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-3593-4|language=en|page=192}}[https://books.google.com/books?id=bTyeXEicBfkC&q=fall+of+harran+medes%2F&pg=PA37 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" 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
{{reflist}}
{{coord missing|Turkey}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fall Of Harran}}
Category:7th century BC in Assyria