The site of Charchemish (Jerablus) is located on the west bank of the Euphrates River, straddling the modern Turkey-Syria border. The site consists of a citadel, an inner town, and an outer town. The citadel and inner town lie in Turkey, and most of the outer town, about 40 percent of the entire site, lies in Syria. It is situated at the northern end of a river plain about 3 miles (4.8 km) wide on the Charchemish side of the river, and 5 miles (8 km) in length, surrounded by limestone hills.
Charchemish is mentioned in the Ebla texts at the end of the Early Bronze Age, and in the letters from Mari in the Middle Bronze II, when it was a dependency of the kingdom of Yamhad (Aleppo). In the 14th century BC, the Hittite king Suppiluliuma I conquered Mitanni and appointed one of his sons as viceroy at Charchemish and another son as ruler in Aleppo. After the fall of the Hittite empire, the Hittite dynastic line continued at Charchemish for several generations into the Neo-Hittite period. It has produced the largest number of Neo-Hittite sculptures and Hieroglyphic Luwian inscriptions from any single site.
Charchemish is mentioned in the western campaigns of several Assyrian kings. In 717 BC, Sargon II made Charchemish an Assyrian province and appointed a governor. After the fall of Nineveh, the Assyrian kings removed to Harran, and then to Charchemish. In 605 BC, Pharaoh Necho II and the Egyptian army came to Assyria’s aid and faced Nebuchadnezzar II in battle at Charchemish (Jer. 46:2). In a pro-Babylonian move, King Josiah attempted to prevent the Egyptian advance at Megiddo, but he was fatally wounded (2 Chr. 35:20-25).
The Berlin-Baghdad railway was constructed in 1903-1940. In 1910-1911, German engineers constructed a bridge for the rail line over the Euphrates River at Charchemish. The bridge now lies on the border between Turkey and Syria and is no longer in use. Its location provides a modern confirmation of Charchemish’s strategic geographic position.
Basalt statue is about 1.6m in height and dates to about 9th century BCE. It was located at the King’s Gate in Charchemish. The base and statue were smashed by looters during the First World War. The inscription at the bottom part of the statue is a curse against those who does not make offerings to the god. Fragments of heavily damaged top section is currently at the museum depot in Ankara. The head of one of the lions (shown below) is in British Museum. Reign of Katuwas, 10th or early 9th century BCE. The base cane be seen in Museum of Anatolian Civilizations Ankara.
Charchemish (Jerablus),