Postdoctoral researcher Aleksandra Kubiak-Schneider of the University of Wroclaw in Poland compared the Palmyra inscriptions to inscriptions found throughout Mesopotamia and found some similarities.
The mysterious god referred to as o “Lord of the Universe” in inscriptions on ancient Palmyrain today’s Syria, in the past has puzzled scientists enough, however, now a Polish researcher claims to have solved the mystery of his identity.
Postdoctoral researcher Aleksandra Kubiak-Schneider of the University of Wroclaw in Poland compared the Palmyra inscriptions with inscriptions which have been found throughout Mesopotamia and found certain similarities.
Palmyra is a city that flourished 2,000 years ago as the center of trade connecting the Roman Empire with Asia, but it existed as a city long before that. The nameless deity found in many inscriptions in the city is referred to as “the Lord of the Universe”, “he whose name is blessed forever” and as “merciful”.
Comparing the Mesopotamian gods, he found that the Babylonian supreme god, Bel-Marduk, was often referred to as “merciful,” while the phrase “lord of the world” referred to the sky god Baalshamin.
The researcher believes that the nameless god mentioned in the Palmyra inscriptions is not one deity but many including both we mentioned and that people did not mention the name of the gods out of respect. Furthermore, when people wrote the inscriptions asking for divine intervention, they were not asking for it from a specific god but from anyone who would listen to their prayers.
It is not surprising that the image of the deity is not present on the altars, while in this case it is not connected with the prohibition of depicting a divine person. There was no nameless god. Any god who listened and favored requests deserved eternal gratitude.
The researcher’s proposal remains to be studied and adopted or rejected by members of the scientific community who have been studying Palmyra for years.
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