The battle was fought during a campaign ordered by Emperor Gordian III to retake the Roman cities of Hatra, Nisibis and Carrhae.
In Roman times, Harran was known as Carrhae, and was the location of the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE, in which the Parthians, commanded by general Surena, defeated a large Roman army under the command of Crassus, who was killed.
Surena appears as a minor character in The Catiline Conspiracy, the second volume of John Maddox Roberts' SPQR series, taking place in 63 BC, several years before Carrhae.