Images The temple of Bel The temple of Baal Shamin Ruins at sunset

The people of Palmyra were Arameans. The main cult was the one dedicated to the god Bel, the god of gods. During the Mesopotamian and Phoenician age, this cult spread throughout the Near East and Bel was adopted and transformed into a local Palmyrean God. There were also other gods in Palmyra: the god of the sun, Yaribol, the god of the moon, Aglibol (also the “messenger” god), the god of wisdom, Nabù, the god of fertility, Baalshamin, the goddess of war and peace, Allat (similar to Ishtar), the god of the caravans, Sharo, the protector of the city walls, Tyke, and eventually the young god of fertility of fields and flocks, Malakbel.