The Battle of Carchemish
Carchemish was the eastern capital of the ancient Hittite empire.
It was a highly strategic military and commercial center of Northern
Syria for many centuries, under one ruler or another. It lay on
the Euphrates river, about 65 miles northeast of Aleppo.
There were several battles fought at Carchemish, the most decisive
of which is the so--called "Battle of Carchemish," in
which the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptians,
who were led by Pharaoh Necho.
Assyria had lost its capital at Nineveh to the Babylonians in
612 BC. The capital was moved to Haran, but the Babylonians captured
that city in 610 BC, forcing the Assyrians to set up another headquarters
in Carchemish, about 35 miles east of Haran.
Pharaoh Necho was allied with the Assyrians, and he was on his
way to Carchemish to help them fight the Babylonians when King
Josiah moved the Jewish forces into his path at Megiddo as a delaying
action. Josiah was killed in the battle of Megiddo (2 Chron. 35:20).
Necho's army was delayed again at Riblah (2 Kings 23:31), and
when he finally approached Carchemish, he was too late. Nebuchadnezzar
had surprised the Assyrians and had captured Carchemish. He turned
on the Egyptians and thoroughly defeated them. He pursued them
to Hamath and killed almost all of the Egyptian combatants.
The Battle of Carchemish was the end of the Assyrian Empire, and
Egypt was reduced to a second--rate power. Babylon was master
of the Middle East.
The site of Carchemish was excavated during 1912 to 1914 by Sir
Leonard Wooley and T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) for the
British Museum. They found substantial remains of that powerful
city, with forts, palaces, temples, market places, and a great
wall sculptured with a procession of warriors, with the king and
crown prince celebrating a great victory.