Carchemish

or Char·che·mish

[ kahr-kuh-mish, kahr-kee- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

an ancient city in S Turkey, on the upper Euphrates: important city in the Mitanni kingdom; later the capital of the Hittite empire.

Carchemish

/ ˈkɑːkəmɪʃ; kɑːˈkiː- /

an ancient city in Syria on the Euphrates, lying on major trade routes; site of a victory of the Babylonians over the Egyptians (605 bc )

Its merchants grew rich, and "the mina of Carchemish" became a standard of value in the ancient world.

But Sargon was not allowed to retain possession of Carchemish without a struggle.

The plunder of Carchemish brought eleven talents and thirty manehs of gold and 2,100 talents of silver into the treasury of Calah.

The fall of Carchemish and the overthrow of the Phnician cities enabled them to carry out their design.

The standard was the silver mina of Carchemish (as the Assyrians called it) which contained 8656 grains.

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

Browse