Carchemish was a strategically important city as it controlled the main Euphrates river crossing. The Hittites under Suppiluliumas I set siege to Carchemish in 1328 BC and captured it in eight days.
Piyassilis, a son of Suppiluliumas, was placed upon the throne and Carchemish became an armed vassal state of the Hittites, acting as a buffer against the Assyrians.
It is the only Hittite city with continuity after the destruction of the empire circa 1200 BC and it was one of the Neo-Hittite cities that thrived until it was absorbed by Assyria around 742 BC.
Many fine stone carvings date from the Neo-Hittite period and include this large statue of the god Artaluhas which stood on one side of the main gateway to the city. It was restored by archaeologists from the British Museum in the early 20th century but has since been destroyed.
