Manbij is the key of history to entire region -1

AKRAM BARAKAT /NEWS DESK

Administratively, it is related to the governorate of Aleppo and its center is Manbij city. The population of the Manbej area is 408,143, according to the 2004 census.

Why is Manbij’s name derived from?

Through the stages of the history, we notice clearly the extent of the originality of this region and civilizations that passed, so now it is known as the city of the book as a result of the culture gained from these civilizations.

The most important of these names is the city of Hierapolis, which means the holy city, and the city of Abrukish or Abruklis means the city of the priests, (Lita –Ashur city) ,city of Capitals, and (Manbah city ), and (Siras city). During the reign of the Hittites, it was called Mabog. When the Assyrians took control of Manbij, it was called Nampige, which means the spring, while the Arameans called it Nappigu meaning the spring. The Greeks called Mabug, and in the Roman era, it was known as Hierapolis, the Holy City. From the Byzantine era, it became Manbij of the Euphrates region and an important military point against the Sassanian Persians, as the city enjoyed religious significance, as well as its commercial and military importance.

Historically

According to the information available about Manbij city and the studies that emerged from Manbij, it was within the Kingdom of Aramaic Beit Adini, which is located between east of al-Balikh and the banks of the Euphrates River to the west, and its capital was the city of Persip (now Tel-Ahmer ), south of Jarablus city.

A while before Alexander the Great’s conquest of the area, the city was under the rule of the family of Abdul Hadad, an Aramaic family, and became a center of worship for the goddess Atargatis.

After Alexander the Great dominated over the area, the wife of Selux I (Alexander's successor) rebuilt its temple to demonstrate how the Seleucids respected these gods. Manbij became more important and became the first line of defense in the face of the Persians in the Hellenistic era and continued to play this role in the Roman and Byzantine eras.

The city was fortified by a wall that was subjugated and destroyed after it was abandoned. In the reign of Emperor Justinian, he took his base after he ordered the restoration of the Asuraha and the armies began to raid the Persia countries. In later times, the stones of the wall and city buildings were used by the people to build their houses as well as to the stones of the other city buildings. To date, these pieces of stone are still found in houses that represent parts of columns, column bases.

When the Islamic conquest began, it was under the Byzantine rule, but it was liberated by Abu Obaida. The city remained the point of the Abbasid period, especially during the reign of Caliph Harun al-Rashid 786 AD, which reorganized the northern border of the Abbasid Caliphate, So he separated Manbij for the soldiers of Qansrin and made it the center of the new capitals and made it the center of the new capitals which includes of Syrian borders areas and High al-Jazeeraو thus it became the first line of contact with the Byzantines.

In the time of Saif al-Dawalh al-Hamdani, the battles between the Hamdanids and the Byzantines raged, and the burden of Saif al-Dawlah increased, even though it signed with Ikshidids the successors of the Tulunids in 945 AD, which resulted in the conquest of a large area consisting of the capitals of Antioch and Manbij while the latter restored its importance because of its closeness to Aleppo city and its agricultural wealth and its proximity to the river Euphrates near the crossing of the river was called the bridge of Manbij where the castle of Najim exists, and Manbij remained a goal of the Byzantines during the second half of the tenth century AD, making the war between the two parties almost continuing.

Manbij then became under the authority of the Zengids, until Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi liberated it in 1176 A.D. Upon the death of King Ayyub King of Egypt and assassination of his son Tauran Shah, the rule was transferred to the Mamelukes. During their rule, the Levant was invaded.

The first was led by Mongol Hulagu Khan in 1258 AD. Turco-Mongol Tamerlane invaded in 1401 north of Syria, leading the second invasion. He took over to Aleppo city and Manbij, and destroyed the latter after its soldiers killed its inhabitants, as they did in Aleppo and Damascus.

In 1517, the Ottomans, in the battle of Marj Dabek near Aleppo, defeated the last Mameluke Sultans, Qunsuh al-Ghuri. The sovereignty transferred from Mamelukes the Ottomans and Manbij city became part of the property of the new masters. The city lost its importance after that date and there was no change under the Ottoman rule, but it received a group of Circassians immigrants from the Caucasus in 1878 to live in and become of its citizens.

Many a time completely or partially destroyed across history

The first destruction of Manbij city according to historical sources was the time of Pharaoh the lame who burnt the city in 600 BC. In 53 BC, the Crusader looted the Temple of Manbij, after killing a large number of the city's population. The Sasanians destroyed it in 363 AD. In the year 540 AD, the Emperor Kasrā attacked Mesopotamia and Syria and destroyed Manbij city. The city of Constantinople was overthrown in 462 .and hundreds of its children were killed and captured in that period. In 1240, the Khwarizmians seized the city of Manbij after killing and capturing their sons and looting all their possessions. The Khwarizmids era was regarded as one of the ugliest and most times that passed through Manbij.

In 598 AH, the king of al-Zaher Ghayath al-Din Ghazi bin al-Nassir Salah al-Din Yussef destroyed Manbij castle (a castle located in the center of the city in al-Tuba neighborhood near the water reservoir) was demolished for fear of being taken away. In 657 AH / 1258 AD Hulagu destroyed the city. In the year 744 AH / 1344 AD, Manbij city was completely destroyed by an earthquake of the (6.5 degrees magnitude) in January 2, 1344, and the city became desolate and the number of victims reached 57,000.

In the year 804 AH / 1401 AD, Tamerlane conquered Manbij northern Syria, and seized Manbij and made it the headquarters of his campaign on Syria and then demolished and no stone remained on the stone, and left his soldiers to mop up its inhabitants, and thus Manbij city became completely empty and in this period life stopped in Manbij, and remained abandoned and destroyed for almost 500 years.

What was said about Manbij?

Dr. Waleed Mashouh, a Syrian writer born in 1944 in Deir –ez-Zor wrote about Manbij in his book "Euphrates Valley Civilization": "An ancient city of prehistoric history had an interest before and after Islam, dating back to pre-Hittites in this country and was the religious capital of all countries of the Arameans who had kingdoms on the shores of the Euphrates, Mesopotamia and within Syria.

Abdul Qadir Ayyash, a researcher, historian, writer, journalist, lawyer and Syrian judge, published more than 117 books and pamphlets about the Euphrates valley in general and Deir-ez-Zor in particular. His writings are a scientific source and a basic reference for each scholar. Saying about Manbij "The Emperor" Constantine raised the status of Manbij making it the capital of the Syrian Euphrates, and the Emperor "Justinian" Asura built fortified walls where Kasra "Ano Shurwan" was unable to break in 540 AH when the 30-thousand troops marched to Syria, only he claimed them 3 thousand dinars paid and sought the safety, Byzantine was one of the most important centers for the owners to believers of the one nature of Christ. In the year 1302 AH, Sultan Abdul Hamid ordered the restoration of its old mosque, a monument of Nur al-Din al-Zenki, built in 551 AH, as it is numbered on a stone in his minaret, and he ordered the construction of a school at his expense as well."

Andalusian traveler Abu al-Hussein Muhammad ibn Ahmad Jubair Manbij described in his book "Journey of Ibn Jubair" in 580 AH, saying "Manbij is a spacious town, surrounded by a lengthy wall, its atmosphere is cool with refreshing breeze, it is also surrounded in the west and east by orchards of wrapped trees of different fruits brought from the ancient Roman cities and they have the buildings that speak of great care and has a fortress castle.

In view of the ancient and modern history of the Manbij area, it is evident that the city was subjected to destruction and genocide from time to time. However, these campaigns and destruction did not discourage the city's determination to survive and preserve its splendor and existence. It has gained historical and strategic status to its location between the eastern Euphrates and the western Euphrates, its proximity to the Euphrates River and the Syrian-Turkish borders and Aleppo city, so it has always been a center of cultural and social activity

Tomorrow: Manbij ... between Ottoman and Baathist policies

(T/S)

ANHA