Harran Airport

Lore & Background

The earliest name of the city was Admaʾ, recorded in Assyrian cuneiform in the Old Assyrian period. Modern names are likely derived from Urhay or Orhay, the site's Syriac name before the re-foundation by Seleucus I Nicator. After the defeat of the Seleucids in the Seleucid–Parthian Wars, Edessa became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene, with a mixed Syriac and Hellenistic culture. The ancient town was refounded as a Hellenistic military settlement by Seleucus I Nicator in c. 303 BC, and named Edessa after the ancient capital of Macedonia. Fikret Işıltan states that although the city was renamed Edessa under the Seleucids, the indigenous Syriac population continued to refer to it as Urhâi, and the local inhabitants never fully adopted the Greek name. In 1984, the Turkish National Assembly granted Urfa the title 'Şanlı', meaning 'glorious', in honor of its citizens' resistance against British and French troops at the end of the First World War, hence the present name 'Şanlıurfa'.

In Their Own Story

Urfa shares the Balikh River Valley region with two other significant Neolithic sites at Nevalı Çori and Göbekli Tepe. Settlements in the area originated around 9000 BC as a PPNA Neolithic sites located near Abraham's Pool. In Urfa itself, there was a prehistoric settlement at Yeni Mahalle Höyüğü, located immediately north of Balıklıgöl in the heart of the old town. The findings included flint tools, arrowheads dated to the early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B phase, and two round buildings with terrazzo floors. The village at Yeni Mahalle is radiocarbon dated to roughly 9400–8600 BCE. During the Uruk expansion period, around 3200 BC, the villages of Urfa and Harran began to transform into cities. By the Early Bronze Age (2900–2600 BCE) Urfa had grown into a walled city of 200ha. This city is located at the archeological site Kazane Tepe adjacent to modern Urfa.

Reader's Guide

Urfa was founded as a city under the name Edessa by the Seleucid king Seleucus I Nicator in 302 or 303 BC. Ancient sources describe Seleucid Edessa as following the typical plan for Hellenistic military colonies: its streets were laid out in a grid pattern, with four main streets that intersected each other. There were four city gates, and the main citadel was outside the walls. Edessa was an important commercial center in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. In 132 BC, following the decline of the Seleucids, Edessa became the capital of the kingdom of Osrhoene, which was ruled by the Abgarids, an Arabized tribal dynasty with origins in Nisibis. In the early second century AD, Abgar VII supported the Roman emperor Trajan's campaign in Mesopotamia and received him 'sumptuously' at his court, but later rebelled. In retaliation, the Romans captured and destroyed Edessa, and Abgar VII was killed. In 201, much of Edessa was destroyed by a major flood. According to the Chronicle of Edessa, over 2,000 people died. Abgar the Great reportedly converted to Christianity around the turn of the 3rd century, which if true would make Edessa the first Christian polity in the world.

Did You Know?

• The city was known as Edessa from Hellenistic times and into Christian times.
• About 12 km northeast of the city is Göbekli Tepe, the world's oldest known temple, founded in the 10th millennium BC.
• In 1984, the Turkish National Assembly granted Urfa the title 'Şanlı', meaning 'glorious', in honor of its citizens' resistance against British and French troops at the end of the First World War.
• The earliest recorded name of the city was Admaʾ, found in Assyrian cuneiform from the Old Assyrian period.
• Abgar the Great reportedly converted to Christianity around the turn of the 3rd century, which would make Edessa the first Christian polity in the world.