Editing Harran (section)

==== Late Middle Ages ====
[[File:Numayrid dynasty.png|thumb|Harran served as the capital of the [[Numayrid dynasty|Numayrid Emirate]] (990–1081)|left]]
The power of the Abbasid Caliphate and its vassals in the region around Harran (the [[Hamdanid dynasty]]) declined at the end of the 10th century. A new local Arab dynasty emerged during this time, the [[Numayrid dynasty]], who ruled a small realm with Harran as its capital from 990 to 1081.{{Sfn|Sinclair|1990|p=31}} The toleration of paganism at Harran was at last revoked for the final time in the 11th century and the last moon temples were closed and destroyed. The precise date when this happened and the events surrounding it are unknown, perhaps coinciding with the city falling under the control of the [[Fatimid Caliphate]]{{Sfn|Hutton|2006|p=141}} in 1038 through the submission of the Numayrid ruler [[Shabīb ibn Waththāb]],{{Sfn|Rice|1952|p=78}} or more likely with a failed anti-Uqaylid rebellion in 1083.{{Sfn|Hutton|2006|p=141}} [[Izz al-Din ibn Shaddad]] reported that a Sabian temple was destroyed by the [[Uqaylid dynasty]] governor Yahya ibn as-Shatir, who conquered Harran in 1081.{{Sfn|Van Bladel|2009|p=111}} In 1059,{{Sfn|Sinclair|1990|p=31}} the [[Harran Castle]], presumably constructed in Byzantine times,{{Sfn|Binici|Binici|Akcan|Yardim|2020|p=1020}} was rebuilt and strengthened by the Numayrid ruler [[Manīʿ ibn Shabīb]].{{Sfn|Sinclair|1990|p=31}} By the 1180s, Harran was fully devoted to Islam with little to no traces of its former moon cult.{{Sfn|Hutton|2006|p=141}}{{efn|The Arab geographer [[Ibn Jubayr]] visited Harran in the 1180s and noted that he found no memory or trace of the famous moon cult.{{Sfn|Hutton|2006|p=141}}}}

In the late 11th and early 12th century, political control in northern Mesopotamia and Syria was fragmented. Harran was an important city to the various local Muslim rulers as a counterweight to the nearby [[crusader states]]. Numayrid control of Harran came to an end in 1081 when the city was captured by the Uqaylid dynasty. It was then under the control of various Turkish princes; first [[Jikirmish]] of [[Mosul]] (1102–1106), then the [[Artuqids]] of [[Mardin]] (1106–1127) and then the [[Zengid dynasty]], which captured Harran under [[Imad al-Din Zengi]] in 1127.{{Sfn|Sinclair|1990|pp=31–32}}

In the 12th century, Harran at times fell under the influence of the [[County of Edessa]], a short-lived [[Crusader states|crusader state]]. There is no record of the crusaders ever conquering Harran but the Harran Castle preserves remnants of a Christian chapel with distinct crusader architecture, perhaps suggesting a peaceful crusader presence. The growth of Edessa under Christian rule contributed to the decline of Harran. Edessa is higher up the [[water table]] than Harran and as more wells were constructed in Edessa, those in Harran gradually dried up.{{Sfn|Frew|1999}} Harran was in the 12th century still renowned for its ancient origins; a now lost work by [[Hammad al-Harrani]] made the claim that Harran had been the first city founded after the [[Genesis flood narrative|great flood]].{{Sfn|Robinson|1996|p=25}}
[[File:Reconstruction of Harran.png|thumb|Harran as it looked before its abandonment in the 13th century|upright=1.3]]
Despite the threat of [[water scarcity]], Harran continued to be an important town under the rule of the [[Ayyubid Sultanate]], which followed the Zengids.{{Sfn|Sinclair|1990|p=32}} [[Saladin]] ({{Reign|1174|1193}}) at some point enlarged Harran's {{Interlanguage link|Harran Grand Mosque|lt=Grand Mosque|tr|Harran Ulu Camii}}{{Sfn|Bosworth|2003|pp=13–14}} and thereafter granted Harran to his brother [[Al-Adil I]] (later sultan 1200–1218). Al-Adil later gave Harran to his son [[Al-Kamil]] (later sultan 1218–1238). Harran was then under the rule of Al-Kamil's brother [[Al-Ashraf Musa, Emir of Damascus|Al-Ashraf Musa]] 1202–1228/1229, after whose death the city steadily declined in importance.{{Efn|As an example, the revenue from Harran declined from three million [[dirham]]s under Musa to only two million in 1242, less than fourteen years after the end of his rule.{{sfn|Rice|1952|p=45}}}} Harran was captured by Khwarazmians in 1237, driven from their homeland following the fall of the [[Khwarazmian Empire]], but the castle was retained and fortified by the Ayyubid ruler [[As-Salih Ayyub]] though he soon had to give it up to broker a deal with the Khwarazmians for military aid against [[Badr al-Din Lu'lu']] of Mosul. Harran was later regained from the Khwarazmians by the Ayyubids in 1240 by [[An-Nasir Yusuf]] of Aleppo.{{Sfn|Rice|1952|p=45}}

Harran was captured by the [[Mongol Empire]] under [[Hulagu Khan]] in 1259{{Sfn|Rice|1952|p=45}} or 1260{{Sfn|Bosworth|2003|pp=13–14}}{{Sfn|Sinclair|1990|p=32}} through the peaceful surrender of its governor.{{Sfn|Rice|1952|p=45}} The Harran Castle, as was traditional placed under a different governor, continued to resist for some time until one of the towers were breached.{{Sfn|Rice|1952|p=45}} Under the Mongols, Harran continued to flourish for a few years as a major urban center.{{Sfn|Binici|Binici|Akcan|Yardim|2020|p=1019}} Mongol control of Harran was immediately contested by the [[Sultanate of Rum]]{{Sfn|Binici|Binici|Akcan|Yardim|2020|p=1019}} and the [[Mamluk Sultanate]].{{Sfn|Sinclair|1990|p=32}} The Mongols decided to abandon Harran in 1271,{{Sfn|Frew|1999}}{{Sfn|Pingree|2002|p=34}} deporting the population to the nearby cities of [[Mardin]]{{Sfn|Pingree|2002|p=34}} and [[Mosul]].{{Sfn|Sinclair|1990|p=32}} Accounts differ concerning the reason for the abandonment and the state in which the city was left. One account states that the city had been damaged in a battle against the Turks in the year prior, motivating the abandonment,{{Sfn|Binici|Binici|Akcan|Yardim|2020|p=1019}} whereas another states that the Mongols themselves caused the damage during the abandonment.{{Sfn|Sinclair|1990|p=32}} The Mongols are also variously stated to either have simply walled up the gates but otherwise left what remained intact{{Sfn|Frew|1999}} or to have pillaged the city for building materials before burning down the remnants.{{Sfn|Sinclair|1990|p=32}} One major reason for the abandonment was likely the decreasing water supply. It was impossible to sustain the population size of Harran with its water storage systems in disrepair and its wells no longer producing enough water.{{Sfn|Lloyd|Brice|Gadd|1951|p=|pp=83–84}} Another possible reason for the abandonment was the difficulty to retain and defend Harran and the little strategic value offered by the city in return.{{Sfn|Rice|1952|p=45}}