Editing Sin (mythology) (section)

==Later influence==
[[File:Clipeus Selene Terme.jpg|thumb|Selene, the Greek goddess of the moon, incorrectly described as the deity worshiped in Harran by Herodian.]]

Sources postdating the reign of [[Antigonus I Monophthalmus]] do not contain much information about the fate of the cult of Sin in [[Harran]], and it remains uncertain how it developed in the last centuries BCE and first two centuries CE, though the official visit of [[Caracalla]] in 217 confirms that the city retained a degree of importance.{{sfn|Blömer|2023|p=312}} [[Herodian]] asserts that this emperor aimed to visit a temple of [[Selene]].{{sfn|Blömer|2023|p=313}} However, according to Tamara Green today it is agreed that both this account and [[Ammianus Marcellinus]]' reference to [[Luna (goddess)|Luna]] as the deity worshiped in Harran, as well as a number of other [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Latin]] and later [[Arabic]] sources asserting that a moon goddess being the central deity of this city, are incorrect.{{sfn|Green|1992|p=27}} The anonymous author of ''[[Historia Augusta]]'' is a notable exception, correctly referring to the deity of Harran as a male figure, "Lunus".{{sfn|Green|1992|p=28}}

In Arabic sources the inhabitants of Harran were described as pagan "[[Sabians]]"{{sfn|Green|1992|p=124}} but there are too few reliable accounts of their beliefs to determine to what degree they were a continuation of the cult of Sin known from earlier periods.{{sfn|Green|1992|p=144}} It has been pointed out that many rituals and deities from late accounts of Harranian religion do not appear to have clear forerunners in earlier sources.{{sfn|Green|1992|pp=148-149}} Michael Blömer has suggested that the reports of the survival of "pagan" traditions in Harran might have been exaggerated to disparage the city and contrast it with its political rival, [[Edessa]].{{sfn|Blömer|2023|p=332}} Medieval sources assert that the fortress located in Harran was originally a Sabian temple, but it is not known if this claim is rooted in historical truth, and furthermore it cannot be ascertained if this hypothetical house of worship was identical with the ancient temple of Sin.{{sfn|Blömer|2023|p=313}} The latter was most likely demolished shortly after the visit of [[Egeria (pilgrim)|Egeria]] in the city,{{sfn|Blömer|2023|p=332}} dated to 383.{{sfn|Blömer|2023|p=331}} Local religious traditions of Harran survived the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|Muslim conquest]] of the city in 640 and continued to flourish in the subsequent centuries, until it was destroyed by [[Mongols]] in 1260.{{sfn|Groß|2014|p=149}} However, while it is agreed that a part of the local population was neither [[Christianity|Christian]] nor Muslim, according to Blömer it should be called into question if their practice reflected the ancient worship of Sin in any meaningful capacity.{{sfn|Blömer|2023|p=333}} He notes that unreliable testimonies might have been prioritized in their evaluation due to
"the allure of portraying the enigmatic Sabians of medieval Ḫarrān as worshippers of Sîn and the last pagans".{{sfn|Blömer|2023|p=334}} He points out inscriptions from the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] period indicate that churches of multiple Christian denominations existed in the city,{{sfn|Blömer|2023|pp=332-333}} and suggests already by the time of the Muslim conquest most of its inhabitants were Christians, much like in Edessa or [[Amida (Mesopotamia)|Amida]].{{sfn|Blömer|2023|p=334}}

References to Sin are also known from [[List of Mandaean texts|Mandaic literature]].{{sfn|Krebernik|1997|p=367}} In [[Mandaean cosmology]], the name for the moon is ''[[Sin (Mandaeism)|Sin]]'' ({{lang|myz|ࡎࡉࡍ}}), which is derived from the name of the corresponding Mesopotamian deity, much like the Mandean names of many other celestial bodies.{{sfn|Bhayro|2020|pp=572–573}}