Mysterious 'lord of the universe' deity from ancient Palmyra finally identified
The identity of an unknown god described in inscriptions from the ancient city of Palmyra, located in modern-day Syria, has long baffled scientists. But now, a researcher declares that she has cracked the case. ...
The anonymous deity is mentioned in numerous Aramaic inscriptions at Palmyra and is referred to as "he whose name is blessed forever," "lord of the universe" and "merciful," according to Science in Poland ... Many of these inscriptions date back around 2,000 years. ...
To solve this mystery, Aleksandra Kubiak-Schneider, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wrocław in Poland, compared the inscriptions from Palmyra to inscriptions found throughout Mesopotamia that date to the first millennium B.C. She discovered that the gods worshiped in Mesopotamia were referred to with similar names as the anonymous god from Palmyra. For example, "Bel-Marduk" — the supreme god of Babylon — was also referred to as "merciful." The phrase "lord of the world" — a title similar to "lord of the universe" was sometimes used to refer to Baalshamin, a sky god Kubiak-Schneider told Science in Poland.
Kubiak-Schneider told Science in Poland that the anonymous "god" mentioned in the Palmyra inscriptions is not a single god, but rather multiple deities that include Bel-Marduk and Baalshamin. She also contends that people did not mention the name of the deities as a sign of respect.
Additionally, when people wrote the inscriptions invoking divine intervention, they were not always reaching out to a specific god but rather any god that would listen to their prayers. "There was no one anonymous god, every god who listened and showed favor to requests deserved an eternal praise," Kubiak-Schneider said.
Live Science contacted scholars not involved with the research to get their viewpoints. The researchers that replied reacted with caution toward the proposal. ...
