Carchemish was an ancient city on the Euphrates River where the Babylonians decisively defeated the Egyptians.
Carchemish was an important ancient city located on the Euphrates River, near the modern border between Syria and Turkey. It is mentioned three times in the Bible, all in the context of significant historical events. In 2Ch.35.20, King Josiah of Judah confronted Pharaoh Necho of Egypt at Carchemish, resulting in Josiah's death.
Isaiah 10:9 mentions Carchemish as one of the cities conquered by the Assyrians, along with Calno, Arpad, Hamath, and Samaria, illustrating the extent of Assyrian power. In Jeremiah 46:2, the prophet describes the decisive battle at Carchemish between the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar and the Egyptians in 605 BC. The Babylonian victory marked the end of Egyptian influence in the region and the beginning of Babylonian supremacy.
Archaeologically, Carchemish has been identified with the modern site of Karkamış in southeastern Turkey. Excavations have revealed a rich history dating back to the Hittite Empire, with the city serving as an important center of trade and military power in the region.
Approximate location: 36.829, 38.016 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
Fortress of Chemosh, a city on the west bank of the Euphrates (Jer. 46:2; 2 Chr. 35:20), not, as was once supposed, the Circesium at the confluence of the Chebar and the Euphrates, but a city considerably higher up the river, and commanding the ordinary passage of the Euphrates; probably identical with Hierapolis. It was the capital of the kingdom of the northern Hittites. The Babylonian army, under Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar, here met and conquered the army of Pharaoh-necho, king of Egypt (B.C. 607). It is mentioned in monuments in B.C. 1600 and down to B.C. 717.
(fortress of Chemosh) occupied nearly the site of the later Mabug or Hierapolis. It seems to have commanded the ordinary passage of the Euphrates at Bir or Birekjik . Carchemish appears to have been taken by Pharoah Necho shortly after the battle of Megiddo (cir. B.C. 608), and retaken by Nebuchadnezzar after a battle three years later, B.C. 605. (Jeremiah 46:2)
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
3 verses in 3 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H3751
After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco king of Egypt marched up to fight at Carchemish by the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to confront him.
“Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus?
concerning Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah:
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.