Ἀγβάτανα

Agbatana: a town in Syria. Herodotos, book 3. People now call it Bataneia. The ethnonym is 'Bataneotai', as 'Rhaphaneotai' is from Rhaphaneia. Demetrios says that there are two places called Agbatana, one in Media and the other in Syria. Ktesias, throughout his Persika, writes the Agbatana among the Medes with α. Among the ancients, however, the Persian name is written with ε, as will be shown. In Charax this place too is written with ε, and they say that it is also named Epiphaneia. Herodianos, in his On the Combination of Letters, approves the spelling with κ, rejecting that with γ, and says: ‘Surely β perhaps risks being placed after γ, in those instances in which it is placed after it in “lagbata horkia”.’ We shall also clarify the spelling with γ under ε. Helladios too, under the letter α, cited the ethnonym 'Agbatanenos', for this form is customary among the Persians. They say 'Kambysenoi', 'Paraitakenoi', and 'Sophenoi', as will be shown. In Greek usage, however, it is 'Agbataneus'. We shall show under β that our Batanea is also called Bataneia and that the ethnonym is 'Bataneotai'.