| Part of themyth series on Religions of the ancient Near East |
| Pre-Islamic Arabian deities |
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| Arabian deities of other Semitic origins |
Abgal (Arabic:أبغال) was a pre-Islamic Arabian god, whose worship is attested by inscriptions dating to thePalmyrene Empire – he is thought to have been primarily worshipped by nomads.
Abgal is known as atutelary deity of the Arabs (orjinn) in thePalmyra region. Representations of him are of a youth with long hair and a moustache, wearing local garb, and holding alance. He had a Greco-Roman style temple at Khirbet Semrin where he is portrayed on a relief riding a horse, equipped with bow and quiver attached to the saddle.[1]
Astele with imagery of Abgal and Ashar, and earlier inscriptions at Kirbet-Semrin dates the active 'worship' of this jinn to between 154 and 270 AD – references to the deity appear in thePalmyrene Empire but none have been found atPalmyra itself.[2] A monument fromJebel al-Abiad (153AD) mentions him together with the deitiesBel,Baalshamin,Aglibol,Malakbel,Astarte,Nemesis, andArsu,[3] though according toTeixidor 1979 he was a god of nomads, and usually mentioned in association with nomadic gods such asAzizos,Maan, Ashar, or Shalman.
According to (Drijvers 1980) representation of such deities (alsoArsu,Asar, andAzizu) as armed and mounted men in statuary in a pair together was common across the desert regions of Syria/Mesopotamia – and together these representations may have represented divine protection.[4]
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