Şanlıurfa has an extraordinary history because the region around the city preserves evidence of human activity going back roughly 12,000 years, while the history of the city of Urfa itself is somewhat later and is best understood as a succession of ancient civilizations.
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A simple timeline of Şanlıurfa
Period Approx. date What happened
Prehistoric Şanlıurfa region 10,000+ BCE Göbekli Tepe, Karahantepe, Nevali Çori and other Neolithic sites show some of humanity's earliest monumental architecture, ritual activity and settled-life developments.
Early farming societies ~9,000–7,000 BCE Agriculture, animal domestication and permanent settlements become increasingly important in the region.
Bronze/Iron Ages ~3000–500 BCE The wider region was influenced by successive Mesopotamian powers including Hurrians, Mitanni, Assyrians, Babylonians and Persians.
Hellenistic period 4th–2nd c. BCE Alexander the Great reached the region; the city became known as Edessa under the Seleucid/Hellenistic world.
Kingdom of Osrhoene / Edessa 132 BCE–244 CE This is one of Urfa's most important periods. Edessa became the capital of an independent kingdom ruled by the Abgar dynasty.
Early Christianity 1st–4th c. CE Edessa became one of the most important centers of Syriac Christianity. The famous traditions concerning King Abgar and Jesus belong to this period, although the correspondence is regarded as a religious tradition rather than established historical fact.
Roman/Byzantine 244–639 CE Roman and then Byzantine control. Edessa became a major Christian intellectual and literary center.
Islamic period 639 onward Arab Muslim forces captured Urfa in 639. Umayyad and Abbasid periods followed.
Crusader period 1098–1144 The County of Edessa, the first Crusader state, was established here.
Zengid/Ayyubid periods 1144–13th c. Zengids captured the city in 1144; later it came under Ayyubid control, including the era of Saladin.
Ottoman 1516–1923 Urfa became part of the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Selim I.
Modern Şanlıurfa 20th c.–today The city became part of the Republic of Turkey; the name Şanlıurfa was officially adopted in 1984 in recognition of its role in the Turkish War of Independence.
The really remarkable part
There are actually two different histories to keep in mind:
Şanlıurfa region — ~12,000 years
This includes Göbekli Tepe and Karahantepe. Göbekli Tepe dates to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, around 12,000 years ago.
The historic city of Urfa — ancient urban history
The city became particularly important as Edessa, capital of the Osrhoene Kingdom from 132 BCE to 244 CE.
And this explains why Şanlıurfa is so interesting for your trip
You can visit sites representing almost the entire development of civilization within a relatively small region:
Göbekli Tepe → ~12,000 years
↓
Karahantepe → ~11,000+ years
↓
Harran → several thousand years of continuous history
↓
Edessa/Urfa → Hellenistic/Roman/Christian city
↓
Islamic Urfa → medieval mosques, bazaars and architecture
↓
Ottoman Urfa → historic houses and markets
↓
Modern Şanlıurfa
尚勒乌尔法（Şanlıurfa）拥有非凡的历史：该市周边地区保留了可追溯至约12,000年前的人类活动遗迹，而乌尔法（Urfa）城本身的建城史则稍晚一些，其历史演变最好被理解为一系列古代文明的更迭。
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尚勒乌尔法简要时间表
时期 大致年代 主要事件
史前尚勒乌尔法地区 公元前10,000年以前 哥贝克力石阵（Göbekli Tepe）、卡拉汉特佩（Karahantepe）、内瓦利·乔里（Nevali Çori）及其他新石器时代遗址，展示了人类最早的一些纪念性建筑、仪式活动及定居生活形态。
早期农业社会 约公元前9,000–7,000年 农业、动物驯化及永久性定居点在该地区变得日益重要。
青铜/铁器时代 约公元前3,000–500年 该广大地区先后受到美索不达米亚各势力的影响，包括胡里安人（Hurrians）、米坦尼人（Mitanni）、亚述人（Assyrians）、巴比伦人（Babylonians）和波斯人（Persians）。
希腊化时期 公元前4–2世纪 亚历山大大帝抵达该地区；在塞琉古帝国/希腊化世界统治下，该城被称为埃德萨（Edessa）。
奥斯罗埃内（Osrhoene）/埃德萨王国 公元前132年–公元244年 这是乌尔法历史上最重要的时期之一。埃德萨成为由阿布加尔王朝（Abgar dynasty）统治的独立王国的首都。
早期基督教时期 公元1–4世纪 埃德萨成为叙利亚基督教（Syriac Christianity）最重要的中心之一。关于阿布加尔王与耶稣的著名传说便源于这一时期，尽管相关的书信往来通常被视为宗教传说，而非确凿的历史事实。
罗马/拜占庭时期 公元244–639年 先后处于罗马和拜占庭的控制之下。埃德萨成为基督教重要的学术与文学中心。
伊斯兰时期 公元639年起 阿拉伯穆斯林军队于639年攻占乌尔法。随后经历了倭马亚王朝（Umayyad）和阿拔斯王朝（Abbasid）时期。
十字军时期 1098–1144年 埃德萨伯国（County of Edessa）——即第一个十字军国家——在此建立。赞吉王朝/阿尤布王朝时期 1144年–13世纪 赞吉王朝于1144年攻占该城；此后该城归入阿尤布王朝（包括萨拉丁统治时期）的版图。
奥斯曼帝国时期 1516–1923年 在苏丹塞利姆一世统治下，乌尔法（Urfa）成为奥斯曼帝国的一部分。
现代尚勒乌尔法（Şanlıurfa） 20世纪至今 该城成为土耳其共和国的一部分；1984年，为表彰其在土耳其独立战争中的贡献，该城正式更名为“尚勒乌尔法”。
真正引人注目的地方
这包括哥贝克力石阵（Göbekli Tepe）和卡拉汉特佩（Karahantepe）。哥贝克力石阵的历史可追溯至前陶新石器时代（Pre-Pottery Neolithic），距今约12,000年。
作为奥斯若恩王国（Osrhoene Kingdom，公元前132年–公元244年）的都城“埃德萨”（Edessa），该城曾具有极高的重要性。
因此，当您漫步于巴勒克勒湖（Balıklıgöl）、乌尔法城堡、古老集市及周边历史街区时，您看到的不仅仅是一座中世纪的土耳其城市。您正置身于一个在两千多年间先后成为希腊化、阿拉米/叙利亚、罗马、拜占庭、伊斯兰及十字军时期重要城市的历史胜地。这正是尚勒乌尔法（Şanlıurfa）成为绝佳旅行目的地的原因所在。
你可以在这片相对较小的区域内，探访见证了人类文明几乎全过程的各类遗址：
哥贝克力石阵（Göbekli Tepe）→ 约 12,000 年前
↓
卡拉汉特佩（Karahantepe）→ 约 11,000 多年前
↓
哈兰（Harran）→ 数千年的连续历史
↓
埃德萨/乌尔法（Edessa/Urfa）→ 希腊化、罗马及基督教时期的城市
↓
伊斯兰时期的乌尔法 → 中世纪清真寺、集市与建筑
↓
奥斯曼时期的乌尔法 → 历史悠久的民居与市场
↓
现代尚勒乌尔法
此外，尚勒乌尔法考古博物馆（Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum）尤为珍贵，因为它汇集了旧石器时代、新石器时代、铜石并用时代、青铜时代及铁器时代的各类文物，其中包括来自哥贝克力石阵和内瓦利·乔里（Nevali Çori）的珍贵展品。
Şanlıurfa has an extraordinary history because the region around the city preserves evidence of human activity going back roughly 12,000 years, while the history of the city of Urfa itself is somewhat later and is best understood as a succession of ancient civilizations.
6
A simple timeline of Şanlıurfa
Period Approx. date What happened
Prehistoric Şanlıurfa region 10,000+ BCE Göbekli Tepe, Karahantepe, Nevali Çori and other Neolithic sites show some of humanity's earliest monumental architecture, ritual activity and settled-life developments.
Early farming societies ~9,000–7,000 BCE Agriculture, animal domestication and permanent settlements become increasingly important in the region.
Bronze/Iron Ages ~3000–500 BCE The wider region was influenced by successive Mesopotamian powers including Hurrians, Mitanni, Assyrians, Babylonians and Persians.
Hellenistic period 4th–2nd c. BCE Alexander the Great reached the region; the city became known as Edessa under the Seleucid/Hellenistic world.
Kingdom of Osrhoene / Edessa 132 BCE–244 CE This is one of Urfa's most important periods. Edessa became the capital of an independent kingdom ruled by the Abgar dynasty.
Early Christianity 1st–4th c. CE Edessa became one of the most important centers of Syriac Christianity. The famous traditions concerning King Abgar and Jesus belong to this period, although the correspondence is regarded as a religious tradition rather than established historical fact.
Roman/Byzantine 244–639 CE Roman and then Byzantine control. Edessa became a major Christian intellectual and literary center.
Islamic period 639 onward Arab Muslim forces captured Urfa in 639. Umayyad and Abbasid periods followed.
Crusader period 1098–1144 The County of Edessa, the first Crusader state, was established here.
Zengid/Ayyubid periods 1144–13th c. Zengids captured the city in 1144; later it came under Ayyubid control, including the era of Saladin.
Ottoman 1516–1923 Urfa became part of the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Selim I.
Modern Şanlıurfa 20th c.–today The city became part of the Republic of Turkey; the name Şanlıurfa was officially adopted in 1984 in recognition of its role in the Turkish War of Independence.
The really remarkable part
There are actually two different histories to keep in mind:
This includes Göbekli Tepe and Karahantepe. Göbekli Tepe dates to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, around 12,000 years ago.
The city became particularly important as Edessa, capital of the Osrhoene Kingdom from 132 BCE to 244 CE.
And this explains why Şanlıurfa is so interesting for your trip
You can visit sites representing almost the entire development of civilization within a relatively small region:
Göbekli Tepe → ~12,000 years
↓
Karahantepe → ~11,000+ years
↓
Harran → several thousand years of continuous history
↓
Edessa/Urfa → Hellenistic/Roman/Christian city
↓
Islamic Urfa → medieval mosques, bazaars and architecture
↓
Ottoman Urfa → historic houses and markets
↓
Modern Şanlıurfa