Editing Manbij (section)

===Antiquity===
[[File:Coin of Bambyce, Achaemenid Eber-Nari.jpg|thumb|Silver ''didrachm'' of 'Abyati, [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] dynast/priest of Manbog (Bambyce), dated c. 340-332 BC. '''Obv''': "[[Hadad]] and Ateh" in [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]], facing female bust, wearing necklace. '''Rev''': "Abyaty" in Aramaic, high priest and driver in [[chariot]].]]
The [[Arameans]] called the city "Mnbg" (Manbug).<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sew9Lby_MVsC&pg=PA285|title='Al Kanfei Yonah: Collected Studies of Jonas C. Greenfield on Semitic Philology|editor1-first=Shalom M.|editor1-last=Paul|editor2-first=Michael E.|editor2-last=Stone|editor3-first=Avital|editor3-last=Pinnick|first=Jonas Carl|last=Greenfield|publisher=Brill|volume=1|chapter=Aspects of Aramean Religion|isbn=978-9-004-12170-6|series=Biblical Studies and Religious Studies|year=2001|page= 285}}</ref> Manbij was part of the kingdom of [[Bit Adini]] and was annexed by the Assyrians in 856 BC. The Assyrian king [[Shalmaneser III]] renamed it '''Lita-Ashur''' and built a royal palace. The city was reconquered by the Assyrian king [[Tiglath-Pileser III]] in 738 BC.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E1aF0hq1GR8C&pg=PA497|title=The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Early Bronze Age to the Fall of the Persian Empire|author= Trevor Bryce|year=2009|page= 479|isbn=9781134159086}}</ref> The sanctuary of Atargatis predates the Macedonian conquest, as it seems that the city was the center of a dynasty of Aramean priest-kings ruling at the very end of the [[Achaemenid Empire]];<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IA-YlZqHv90C&pg=PA244|title=The Roman Near East, 31 B.C.-A.D. 337|author= Fergus Millar|year=1993|page= 244|isbn=9780674778863}}</ref> two kings are known, 'Abyati and Abd-Hadad.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rrMKKtiBBI4C&pg=PA633|title=The Aramaeans: Their Ancient History, Culture, Religion|author=  Edward Lipiński|year=2000|page= 633|isbn=9789042908598}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9FlmAAAAMAAJ|title=Coinage in Roman Syria: Northern Syria, 64 BC-AD 253|author= Kevin Butcher|year=2004|page= 24|isbn=9780901405586}}</ref> The fate of Abd-Hadad is not known but the city came firmly under the Macedonian empire,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0r3KAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA147|title=Seleukos Nikator (Routledge Revivals): Constructing a Hellenistic Kingdom|author=  John D Grainger|year=2014|page= 147|isbn=9781317800996}}</ref> and prospered under the rule of the [[Seleucid]]s who made it the chief station on their main road between [[Antioch]] and [[Seleucia on the Tigris]]. The temple was sacked by [[Crassus]] on his way to meet the [[Parthia]]ns (53 BC). The [[coin]]age of the city begins in the 4th century BC with the coins of the priest-kings followed by the [[Aramaic]] series of the Macedonian and Seleucid monarchs. They show Atargatis either as a bust with [[mural crown]] or as riding on a [[lion]]. She continues to supply the chief type even during imperial Roman times, being generally shown seated with the [[Timpani|tympanum]] in her hand. Other coins substitute the legend Θεάς Συρίας Ιεροπολιτόν ''Theas Syrias Ieropoliton'' within a [[wreath]].<ref name="EB1911"/>

In the third century, the city was the capital of [[Euphratensis]] province and one of the great cities of [[Roman Syria]]. It was, however, in a ruinous state when [[Julian the Apostate|Julian]] gathered his troops there before marching to his defeat and death in [[Mesopotamia]]. Sassanid Emperor [[Khosrau I of Persia|Khosrau I]] held it to ransom after [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] Emperor [[Justinian I]] had failed to defend it.<ref name="EB1911"/>