(ORDO NEWS) — The identity of the unknown god described in inscriptions from the ancient city of Palmyra, located on the territory of modern Syria, has long baffled scientists. But now the researcher claims that the secret is solved.
Palmyra has existed for thousands of years, and the city flourished about 2000 years ago as a center of trade that connected the Roman Empire with trade routes in Asia.
The anonymous deity is mentioned in numerous Aramaic inscriptions in Palmyra and is referred to as “one whose name is blessed forever”, “ruler of the universe“, and “merciful”. Many of these inscriptions date back to around 2000.
To unravel this mystery, Alexandra Kubiak-Schneider, a researcher at the University of Wroclaw in Poland, compared the inscriptions from Palmyra with inscriptions found throughout Mesopotamia that date back to the first millennium BC.
She found that the gods worshiped in Mesopotamia were called by similar names, like the anonymous god from Palmyra.
For example, “Bel-Marduk” – the supreme god of Babylon – was also referred to as “merciful”. The phrase ‘master of the world‘, a title similar to ‘master of the universe’, was sometimes used to refer to Baalshamin, the god of the sky.
Kubiak-Schneider said that the anonymous “god” mentioned in the Palmyrene inscriptions is not one god, but several deities, including Bel-Marduk and Baalshamin. She also claims that people did not mention the names of deities as a mark of respect.
In addition, when people wrote inscriptions calling for divine intervention, they did not always refer to a specific god, but rather to any god who listened to their prayers.
“There was not a single anonymous god, every god who listened and showed favor to requests deserved eternal praise,” Kubiak-Schneider said.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.