Aglibol Angel

The Syrian god Aglibol comes from a community of north Syrian immigrants. It was believed that he formed part of the trinity whose members included the sun god Malakbel, the moon god Bel and the monarch Yarhibol in ancient Palmyra.

Aglibol’s worship can largely be inferred from epigraphic evidence. Inscriptions from 17 BCE associate Aglibol with the sun god Malakbel, as we learn from the oldest known inscription. In a bilingual inscription from 122 CE, Aglibol and Malakbel publicly praise a citizen named Manai in honor of his piety in line with other Bene Komare inscriptions.

As a result of several inscriptions from the second century CE, it is known that Aglibol and Malakbel were revered together in a sanctuary known as the “Sacred Garden,” which was one of the four most important sanctuaries in the city. This sanctuary was tended by the Bene Komare. An altar, a sacred cypress, and a bath adorned the sanctuary. The two altars and the two gods are depicted on one of the reliefs found in the Temple of Bel.