Haran

Haran is a name that can refer to more than one subject. In the Hebrew Bible, Haran is the son of Terah and the brother of Abram (later Abraham) and Nahor, and the father of Lot. He dies in Ur of the Chaldeans, before the family leaves for Canaan, leaving Lot as his son.

Harran, sometimes spelled Haran, is an ancient city in Upper Mesopotamia on the Balikh River, near what is now Şanlıurfa in southeastern Turkey. It stood at a strategic crossroads linking Anatolia, Syria, and Mesopotamia and flourished under several empires. The city is associated with the worship of the moon god Sin and is known for its distinctive beehive-shaped mud-brick houses. In late antiquity and the early medieval period, Harran housed a scholarly community often referred to as the School of Harran, which played a role in the translation and transmission of Greek scientific and philosophical texts into Arabic.

Archaeological remains at Harran include city walls, gates, temple precincts, and the characteristic architecture of the beehive houses. The site continues to be studied by archaeologists and is a protected historic ruin near the modern town that bears the name Harran, adjacent to Şanlıurfa.