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Manbij () is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, west of the Euphrates. The 2004 census gives its population as nearly 100,000. General Census of Population and Housing 2004 . Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Aleppo Governorate. The population of Manbij is largely Arabs, with Kurdish, Syrian Turkmen, Circassian, and Chechen minorities. Many of its residents practice Naqshbandi Sufism.
During the Syrian Civil War, the city was first captured by rebels in 2012, overrun by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in 2014 and finally captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in 2016, bringing it into the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). From 2018 to 2024, after an agreement with the SDF, the Syrian Arab Army had been deployed on the city's periphery as a buffer between the Turkish occupation of Northern Syria and the AANES. On December 9, 2024, it was reported that the city came under the control of the Syrian Interim Government after a deal was reached between the U.S. and Turkey to allow the safe exit of SDF fighters.
As the center of the worship of the Syrian fertility goddess Atargatis, it became known to the Greeks as Hieropolis (Ἱερόπολις, Hierópolis), the "City of the Sanctuary", and then as Hierapolis (Ἱεράπολις, Hierápolis), the "Holy City".
The temple contained a holy chamber into which only priests were allowed to enter. A great bronze altar stood in front, set about with statues, and in the forecourt lived numerous sacred animals and birds (but not swine) used for sacrifice.
Some three hundred priests served the shrine and there were numerous minor ministrants. The lake was the centre of sacred festivities and it was customary for votaries to swim out and decorate an altar standing in the middle of the water. Self-mutilation and other Orgy went on in the temple precinct, and there was an elaborate ritual on entering the city and first visiting the shrine.
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 gathered his troops there before marching to his defeat and death in Mesopotamia. Sassanid Emperor Khosrau I held it to ransom after Byzantine Empire Emperor Justinian I had failed to defend it.
The Crusaders never captured Manbij during their 11th–12th century invasions of the Levant, but the Latin Church archbishopric of Hierapolis was re-established in the town of Duluk by 1134. (2025). 9789042917354, Peeters Publishers. ISBN 9789042917354 By 1152, Duluk and Manbij were captured by the Zengid dynasty under Nur ad-Din, who reconstructed and strengthened the city's fortress. The Ayyubid dynasty sultan, Saladin, conquered it from its Zengid lord, Qutb ad-Din Inal, in 1175. In 1260, the Mongol Empire under Hulagu destroyed Ayyubid Manbij, which was consequently abandoned by its Turkmen and Assyrian people inhabitants as they migrated to Aleppo.
Travellers in the 19th century had recorded some of its ancient remains, but now almost all of them, including Atargatis' temple, its sacred lake, colonnades, Roman baths, Roman theatres, walls and churches built by the Byzantine Empire as well as madrassas built in the medieval era, have been destroyed. The sacred lake of Atargatis has disappeared and has been converted into a football field. Only a part of the wall that enclosed the lake has survived but no ruins of Atargatis' temple remains. Some ancient Roman military stele also exist. Ruins of the southern wall that enclosed Atargatis' temple still survive. Ross Burns. "Aleppo: A History", p. 36 The walls of the city still exist but have been plundered. A. Asa Eger. "The Islamic-Byzantine Frontier: Interaction and Exchange Among Muslim and Christian Communities", p. 36
The Ottoman Empire resettled the area with Circassian refugees from the Russo-Turkish War in 1878.Sir Ernest Alfred Wallis Budge, By Nile and Tigris: A Narrative of Journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on Behalf of the British Museum Between the Years 1886-1913, Volume 1, p. 390, [5] As of 1911, its 1,500 inhabitants were all Circassians. Armenian people refugees settled in Manbij during the Armenian genocide. In autumn 1915 Djemal Pasha ordered the establishment of a camp for about 1000 families of the Armenian Clergy. In January and February 1916 the sub prefect of Manbij ordered the camp to be cleared and the Armenians to be deported to Meskene. The destruction of pre-modern Manbij has been attributed to its resettlement by Circassians and Armenians.
During the civil war, on 20 July 2012, Manbij fell to local rebel forces who thereafter administered the city. In December, there was an election to appoint a local council. In January 2014, forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took over the city after ousting the rebels. The city has since become a hub for trading in looted artifacts and archaeological digging equipment. In June 2016, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched an offensive to capture Manbij, and by 8 June had fully encircled the city. On 12 August the SDF had established full control over Manbij after a two-month battle.
By 15 August, thousands of previously displaced citizens of Manbij were reported returning. On 19 August 2016, the Manbij Military Council issued a written statement announcing it had taken over the security of Manbij city center and villages from the SDF, of which it is a component.
Today Manbij is self-administered by the Manbij City Council, co-chaired by Sheikh Farouk al-Mashi and Salih Haji Mohammed, as part of Shahba region within the de facto autonomous Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava framework. While public administration including public schools has regained secular normalcy after the ISIL episode, a reconciliation committee to overcome rifts created by the civil war was formed, and international humanitarian aid has been delivered, the democratic confederalist political program of Rojava is driving political and societal transformations in terms of direct democracy and gender equality. Reconstruction after devastations of civil war combat remains a major challenge.
Until October 2019, when US and other Western forces withdrew from northern Syria, Manbij was also a hub for Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve training of new SDF recruits in the fight against ISIL and other Islamism militias in Syria. On 26 February, the United States announced its support for the security of the Manbij Military Council. The United States also reportedly sent special forces and several military convoys to Manbij after the announcement.
On 12 March 2017, the Legislative Assembly of Manbij approved the elected co-presidents who then took office. During the meeting the departments of the committee members, co-presidents and committees were determined after speeches and evaluations. 13 committees were determined. The 13 new committees include 71 Arabs, 43 Kurds, 10 Turkmen, 8 Circassians, an Armenian and a Chechens.
On 1 November 2018, Turkish and US troops began joint patrols around Manbij along the front lines of the Euphrates Shield rebel territory and the Manbij Military Council. The joint patrols were seen as part of a "roadmap" for easing tensions between militants in the region and tensions between the two NATO allies.
On 28 December 2018, the YPG asked the Assad government via Twitter to protect Manbij from attacks by the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army. The Syrian government's media said the Syrian army had entered Manbij, a claim that was disputed by other sources the same day. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Syrian Army was still outside of the town. Syria army enters Kurdish-held Manbij: state media: Reported troop entry into Manbij comes after Kurdish YPG asked for government help in preventing a 'Turkish invasion'. Aljazeera, 28 December 2018. Syria war: Government forces 'enter Manbij' amid Turkey threats. BBC, 28 December 2018.
On 15 January 2019, a suicide attack in Manbij claimed by ISIL left at least 19 casualties. Among them, four U.S. military personnel were reported dead and three wounded. One of the dead was a U.S. Army soldier, one was U.S. Navy sailor Shannon M. Kent, one was a U.S. Department of Defense civilian working in support of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and one was an employee of Valiant Integrated Services, a contractor supporting American operations.
During the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria, following the withdraw of US and other Western troops from northern Syria, the Syrian Arab Army and Russian Military Police entered Manbij to preempt a Turkish and TFSA offensive.
On 6 December 2024, the Syrian National Army launched an offensive on Manbij against the Syrian Democratic Forces. On 9 December 2024, it was reported, that the SNA took control of the city. Since the takeover, Manbij has faced a sharp rise in security incidents and looting, mirroring trends in other areas under SNA control. The SOHR reported that SNA militants had looted the houses of Kurdish residents. On February 3, 2025, a Car bomb detonated near the Hassin station, just outside Manbij City, killing at least 19 people. The following day, residents of the city conducted a general strike to protest the negligence of pro-Turkish factions in maintaining security and order.
Hierapolis in Syria is the nominal see of three Catholic successor titular sees:
There is no airport near Manbij, the nearest is in Aleppo.
Syrian Civil War
Before and in the early years of the Syrian Civil War, Manbij had an ethnically diverse population of Arab, Kurdish, Syrian Turkmen, and Circassian , many of whom followed the Naqshbandi Sufi order. The city's socio-political life was dominated by its main tribes. Tribal leaders served as the mediators and arbiters of major disputes in Manbij, while the state's security forces largely dealt with petty offenses. The city was relatively liberal compared to other Sunni Muslim-majority cities in the countryside of Aleppo.
Ecclesiastical history
Lequien names ten bishops of Hierapolis. Or. Christ. II 925-8 Among the best-known are Alexander of Hierapolis, an ardent advocate of Nestorianism, who died in exile in Egypt; Philoxenus of Mabbug, a famous Miaphysite scholar; and Stephen of Hierapolis (c. 600), author of a life of St. Golindouch. In the sixth century, the metropolitan see had nine suffragan bishoprics. Échos d'Orient 14:145 Chabot mentions thirteen Jacobite archbishops from the ninth to the twelfth century. Revue de l'orient chrétien VI:200 One Latin bishop, Franco, in 1136, is known.Lequien, III, 1193
Geography
Climate
Manbij has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk) with influences of a continental climate during winter with hot dry summers and cool wet and occasionally snowy winters. The average high temperature in January is and the average high temperature in August is . The snow falls usually in January, February or December.
Transportation
Manbij is served by two major roads, Route M4 and Route 216.
Notable person
Notes
External links
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