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History
Two Amazon Queens, Hippolyta and Antiope, split the Amazon nation three-thousand years ago. Hippolyta's tribe traveled to the isolated island of Themyscira to live immortal lives and to protect the doorway to the Underworld called Doom's Doorway. Antiope's tribe was never given immortality and was forced to mate with common men in order to guarantee their tribe's survival. They migrated from Greece to various European and Middle Eastern countries before finally settling in Egypt. As Antiope and her tribe had renounced the Gods of Olympus once the two Queens parted ways, they eventually began to assimilate various religions and goddesses from the many lands to which they traveled. It was in Egypt that they finally built the city of Bana-Mighdall, which in their language translates to The Temple of Women.
The city was magically protected, when one of their new goddesses created a powerfully consistent sandstorm to surround and protect their city from "ariadnas," any outsiders who could not be trusted. It also was shown to suppress the powers of outside gods.[1]
Eventually, in the 20th century, the Amazon Princess Diana of Themyscira, also known as Wonder Woman, accidentally found the city of Bana-Mighdall while searching for the villain the Cheetah. A battle took place between her and the Bana-Mighdallian's chief warrior or Shim'Tar. Soon an enraged Olympian god Hermes, who was in love with Diana, took vengeance on the desert Amazons for attacking his beloved, and the city of Bana-Mighdall was destroyed. It was decided by the remaining Amazons that since the Themyscirian princess was the initial cause of their city being destroyed, they would take over her Amazon city in lieu of their own.
During the attack on Themyscira, the witch Circe teleported the island into a dimension of demons in order for both tribes to be destroyed. The two tribes stopped their private war to fight the demons. Wonder Woman learned about Circe's spell and had the island returned.
After Themyscira was put back into place the Amazons of Bana-Mighdall were offered the most desolate section of the island to live upon by Queen Hippolyta as thanks for their aid against the demons. A section of the Banas, who still held animosity toward Hippolyta and her Amazons, refused and returned to Man's World. The Banas who agreed to live among the Themyscirian Amazons agreed and created their own city. They christened the city Bana-Mighdall in honor of their former city in Egypt. Civil war broke out between the two groups of Amazons due to their shared animosity. The Amazon Artemis had to take up the title of Shim'Tar and join Wonder Woman in guiding both tribes to peaceful negotiations. Queen Hippolyta and Princess Diana eventually renounced their crowns, thus ending the war and leaving the island without a structured government. It was later decided that General Phillipus of the Themysciran Royal Guard and Artemis would be co-rulers of the island, under the titles of Supreme Grand Chancellors.
During Our Worlds At War, the island of Themyscira was destroyed and thus, both Amazon cities no longer physically existed. Wanting to put past angers aside, Artemis and Philippus unified the tribes by rebuilding one city on the remains of the islands for everyone to live in.
Rogue tribe
During the event known as Amazons Attack, an off-shoot tribe of Bana Amazons revealed itself. The tribe is led by an Amazon named Karna[2], whose lieutenant is named Magda.[3] The new technologically advanced, dark-skinned tribe of Amazons carry out violent acts of terrorism across America that have not been approved by war general Hippolyta. The new sect attempts to recruit various female metahumans and villains, such as Grace and Catwoman, to join their tribe. The rogue Bana Amazons use their fighting skills and knowledge of technology to destroy male oppressors. They consider the Themyscirian Amazons and their former Bana sisters who have joined with them to be their enemies. At the conclusion of the war, New God and extraterrestrial supervillain Granny Goodness capture the entire Themyscirian and Bana Amazon population, with the exceptions of Wonder Woman, Troia, Wonder Girl, Nu'Bia, Mercy and Grace Choi. She then erases their memories, replacing them with false personas, and scatters them throughout the world where they live as ordinary humans.
