Malakbel

File:Relief of the divine trinity-AO 19801-IMG 4334-gradient.jpg

1st century AD relief from Palmyra depicting, from left to right, Aglibol, Baalshamin, and Malakbel

Malakbel (Palmyrene Aramaic 𐡬𐡫𐡪𐡡𐡫 mlkbl) was a sun god worshipped in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, frequently associated and worshipped with the moon god Aglibol as a party of a trinity involving the sky god Baalshamin.

Etymology

Malakbel's name means "Messenger of Baal",Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn attesting to his mythological role as Bel's messenger and acolyte.Template:Sfn

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.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn

Attestations of Malakbel's worship can be found in Rome,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn and as far as the province of Numidia in north Africa, as attested by a circa 178 AD inscription in the town of El Kantara,Template:Sfn where Palmyrene archers were stationed.Template:Sfn

Sanctuaries

In Palmyra

Several second century AD inscriptions from the city attest that Aglibol was venerated with Malakbel in a sanctuary known as the "Holy Garden"Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn which was one of the four principle sanctuaries of the city.Template:Sfn The Bene Komare, well-known devotees of the gods Malakbel and Aglibol, tended to this sanctuary.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

The sanctuary had two altars, and a sacred cypress. One of the reliefs found in the Temple of Bel show the sanctuary's two altars and depictions of the two gods.Template:Sfn The sanctuary also had a bath,Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn

In Rome

A shrine of Malakbel is attested around the early 2nd century AD in Rome.Template:Sfn The shrine was located on the right bank of the Tiber 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".Template:Sfn

Malakbel and Sol Invictus

In 274, following his victory over the Palmyrene Empire, emperor Aurelian dedicated a large temple to Sol Invictus in Rome;Template:Sfn most scholars consider Aurelian's Sol Invictus to be of Syrian origin,Template:Sfn either a continuation of the cult of Sol Invictus Elagabalus, or Malakbel of Palmyra,Template:Sfn as Malakbel was frequently identified with the Roman god Sol and bore the epithet Invictus.Template:Sfn Another one of his names, "Sanctissimus", was an epithet Aurelian bore on an inscription from Capena.Template:Sfn

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

See also

• List of solar deities

See also

• Yarhibol
• Aglibol
• Bene Komare

External links

• Template:Commonscatinline