Altar dedicated to the god Malakbel (Sun), Capitoline Museums (Rome).
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20160807020108im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/PalmyreneDeities.jpg/220px-PalmyreneDeities.jpg)
Palmyrene deities: from left to right: the lunar god Aglibôl, the supreme god Beelshamên, the sun god Malakbêl. 1st century CE slab, found near Bir Wereb, Wadi Miyah, Syria, Louvre Museum.
Part of the myth series on |
Religions of the ancient Near East |
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Pre-Islamic Arabian deities |
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Malakbêl was a sun deity of the city of Palmyra in pre-Islamic Syria. The meaning, in Aramaic, is “Messenger of Baal" or "Messenger, or Angel, of the Lord".
The Greek identified Malakbel with Hermes, and the Romans with Sol. He was also similar to the Babylonian sun god Shamash.
Malakbel is usually accompanied by the Moon god Aglibol, and sometimes the goddess Allat.