Relief of the divine trinity-AO 19801-IMG 4334-gradient

Malakbel (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: ملاك بعل) was a

sun god A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...

worshiped in the ancient

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

n city of

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...

, frequently associated and worshiped with the

moon god A lunar deity or moon deity is a deity who represents the Moon, or an aspect of it. These deities can have a variety of functions and traditions depending upon the culture, but they are often related. Lunar deities and Moon worship can be found ...

Aglibol Aglibol is a god from Palmyra, originating from a north Syrian immigrant community. He is a moon god who was worshiped in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra as part of a trinity alongside Bel and Yarhibol, and associated with the sun god Malakbe ...

as a party of a trinity involving the sky god

Baalshamin Baalshamin ( arc, ܒܥܠ ܫܡܝܢ ''Baʿal Šāmīn'' or ''Bʿel Šmīn'' Blit. "Lord of Heaven ), also called Baal Shamem ( phn, 𐤁𐤏𐤋 𐤔𐤌𐤌 ''Baʿl Šāmēm'') and Baal Shamaim ( he, ''Baʿal Šāmayīm''), was a Northwest Semit ...

Etymology

Malakbel's name means "Angel of Bel", attesting to his mythological role as Bel's messenger and acolyte.

Archaeological evidence

The earliest known mention of Malakbel was an inscription which dates back to 17 BC and associates him with the lunar god Aglibol. Several other inscriptions made by the Bene Komare also associate him with Aglibol, including a bilingual inscription from 122 AD in which Aglibol and Malakbel sponsor a citizen by the name of Manai for his piety. Attestations of Malakbel's worship can be found in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, and as far as the province of

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...

in north Africa, as attested by a circa 178 AD inscription in the town of

El Kantara El Kantara ( ar, القنطرة, al qantara, the bridge) is a town and commune in Biskra Province, Algeria. The 1911 Baedeker travel guide described it as "one of the most important caravan-stations in E. Algeria." The town is well known for the ...

, where Palmyrene archers were stationed.

Sanctuaries

In Palmyra

Several 2nd century AD inscriptions from the city attest that Aglibol was venerated with Malakbel in a sanctuary known as the "Sacred Garden" (gnt' 'ilym) or "Holy Garden", which was one of the four principle sanctuaries of the city. The

Bene Komare The Bene Komare were a Palmyrene tribe who were attested as one of the main four tribes of Palmyra. Name The tribe was known as the Komare (Chomarenoi in Ancient Greek) and were only once mentioned with the Greek name Choneitai; both names mean pr ...

, well known devotees of the gods Malakbel and Aglibol, tended to this sanctuary. The sanctuary had two altars, and a sacred cypress. One of the reliefs found in the

Temple of Bel The Temple of Bel ( ar, معبد بعل), sometimes also referred to as the "Temple of Baal", was an ancient temple located in Palmyra, Syria. The temple, consecrated to the Mesopotamian god Bel, worshipped at Palmyra in triad with the lunar go ...

show the sanctuary's two altars and depictions of the two gods. The sanctuary also had a bath, as attested by an 182 AD inscription mentioning Thomallachis, daughter of Haddudan, who contributed 2500 denarii towards the construction of the bath of Aglibol and Malakbel.

In Rome

A shrine of Malakbel is attested around the early 2nd century AD in

. The shrine was located on the right bank of the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Riv ...

river, in the vicinity of several wine warehouses. There, Malakbel was frequently identified with the Roman divinity Sol, known as Deus Sol Sanctissimus, and occasionally bore the epithet "Invictus".

Malakbel and Sol Invictus

In 274, following his victory over the

Palmyrene Empire The Palmyrene Empire was a short-lived breakaway state from the Roman Empire resulting from the Crisis of the Third Century. Named after its capital city, Palmyra, it encompassed the Roman provinces of Syria Palaestina, Arabia Petraea, and Egypt, ...

, emperor

Aurelian Aurelian ( la, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; 9 September 214 October 275) was a Roman emperor, who reigned during the Crisis of the Third Century, from 270 to 275. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited t ...

dedicated a large temple to

Sol Invictus Sol Invictus (, "Unconquered Sun"), sometimes simply known as Helios, was long considered to be the official sun god of the later Roman Empire. In recent years, however, the scholarly community has become divided on Sol between traditionalists a ...

in Rome; most scholars consider Aurelian's Sol Invictus to be of Syrian origin, either a continuation of the cult of Sol Invictus Elagabalus, or Malakbel of Palmyra, as Malakbel was frequently identified with the Roman god Sol and bore the epithet Invictus. Another one of his names, "Sanctissimus", was an epithet Aurelian bore on an inscription from

Capena Capena (until 1933 called Leprignano) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio region (central Italy). The town has borrowed its modern name from a pre-Roman and Roman settlement that was to its north. Geography Capena i ...

. The relation between Malakbel and Sol Invictus, if any, can not be confirmed and will probably remain unresolved.

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

*{{Commonscatinline, Malakbel Arabian gods Palmyra West Semitic gods Solar gods Messenger gods Hermes Baal Sol Invictus