What is "harran"

Harran (, ,) was a major ancient city in Upper Mesopotamia whose site is near the modern village of Altınbaşak, Turkey, 44 kilometers southeast of Şanlıurfa. The location is in a district of Şanlıurfa Province that is also named "Harran".

A few kilometers from the village of Altınbaşak are the archaeological remains of ancient Harran, a major commercial, cultural, and religious center first inhabited in the Early Bronze Age III (3rd millennium BCE) period. It was known as Ḫarrānu in the Assyrian period; possibly Ḫaran in the Hebrew Bible; Carrhae ( in Greek) under the Roman and Byzantine empires; Hellenopolis ( 'Greek city') in the Early Christian period; and Ḥarrān in the Islamic period.