Edessa (modern Urfa), located today in south-east Turkey but once part of upper Mesopotamia on the frontier of the Syrian desert, was an important city throughout antiquity and the Middle Ages. A city within the Seleucid Empire, then capital of the kingdom of Osroene, then a Roman provincial city, Edessa found itself perennially caught between empires, especially between Rome and Parthia. Conquered by the Muslim Arabs c. 638 CE, it would be incorporated into the Byzantine Empire from 944 CE. Still a major Christian and cultural centre and capital of the County of Edessa, the city's capture by the Muslim leader Zangi in 1144 CE, was the original motivation for the launch of the unsuccessful Second Crusade (1147-1149 CE) in order to reclaim it for Christendom. Following its destruction by the Muslim leader Nur ad-Din (sometimes also given as Nur al-Din) in 1146 CE, Edessa largely disappears from history, but today many fine mosaics from the city survive and attest to the wealth of some of Edessa's citizens in Late Antiquity and the early medieval period.
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Definition
Timeline
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304 BCESeleucos I refounds and renames the ancient city thereafter known as Edessa.
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132 BCEOsreoene, with its capital at Edessa, declares itself an independent kingdom.
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68 BCE - 53 BCEReign of Abgar II, king of Osroene.
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109 CE - 116 CEReign of Abgar VII, king of Osroene.
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179 CE - 216 CEReign of Abgar IX, king of Osroene.
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202 CEThe earliest record of a Christian church at Edessa.
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242 CEOsroene, with its capital at Edessa, is made into a Roman province.
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260 CEShapur I captures the Roman emperor Valerian at Edessa.
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503 CEKavad, king of the Sasanian Empire, unsuccessfully besieges Edessa.
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544 CEChosroes I, king of the Sasanian Empire, unsuccessfully besieges Edessa. n
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c. 640 CEEdessa is ruled by Muslim Arabs.
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c. 654 CEAccording to Theophanes, a Jewish merchant transports the pieces of the fallen Colossus of Rhodes to Edessa for melting down.
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944 CEA Byzantine army led by John Kourkouas besieges Edessa. The Mandylion icon is taken to Constantinople
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1036 CEThe Emirs of Mayyafariqin and Harran attack the Byzantine city of Edessa.
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Mar 1098 CEBaldwin of Boulogne takes control of Edessa and the County of Edessa is formed, one of four Crusader-created states in the Levant.
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24 Dec 1144 CEThe Muslim Seljuk Turks, led by Imad ad-Din Zangi, capture Edessa.
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Sep 1146 CEJoscelin II's attempt to retake Edessa fails and the city is sacked by Nur ad-Din.
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1147 CE - 1149 CEThe Second Crusade is launched to recapture Edessa for Christendom. It is not successful.
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1150 CEEnd of the County of Edessa.