| Baal Hammon | |
|---|---|
 Statue of Baʿal Hammon on his throne with a crown and flanked bysphinges, 1st century. | |
| Other names | Ammon, Hammon |
| Venerated in | Carthage,Numidia |
| Major cult centre | Siwa Oasis,Jebel Boukornine,Volubilis |
| Abode | Heavens |
| Mount | Jebel Boukornine |
| Gender | Male |
| Temples | Jebel Boukornine Cirta Iol Hippo Regius Timgad[1] Volubilis |
| Genealogy | |
| Consort | Tanit |
| Children | Gurzil,Iarbas |
| Equivalents | |
| Canaanite | Baal,El |
| Greek | Cronus, Zeus-Ammon,Zeus |
| Roman | Saturn, Jupiter-Ammon,Jupiter (god) |
Baal Hammon, properlyBaʿal Ḥamon (Phoenician andPunic:𐤁𐤏𐤋 𐤇𐤌𐤍,romanized: Baʿl Ḥamōn), meaning "Lord Hammon", was aPunic-Libyansyncretic deity[2] and the chief god ofancient Carthage. He was aweather god considered responsible for thefertility of vegetation and esteemed asking of the gods. He was depicted as a bearded older man with curling ram's horns. Baal Ḥammon's female cult partner wasTanit. Baal Hammon was worshipped only inNorth Africa andCarthagenian colonies of the western mediterranean includingIberia,Sicily,Sardinia and theBalearic Islands.
In Carthage and North Africa, Baʿal Hammon was especially associated with the ram and was also worshiped as thehorned deity Baʿal Qarnaim "Lord of the Two Horns", He had several temples inVolubilis,Cirta,Iol,Hippo Regius,Timgad[2] and many others however his chief temple was in an open-air sanctuary atJebel Boukornine ("the two-horned hill") across the bay fromCarthage, inTunisia.[3]
The meaning of his first name "Baal" is identified as one of the Phoenician deities covered under the name ofBaal.[4] However, the meaning of his second name "Hammon" is asyncretic association with Ammon, the god ofancient Libya[5] whose temple was inSiwa Oasis where the onlyoracle of Ammon remained in that part of theLibyan Desert all throughout the ages[6] this connection to Ammon, makes it possible to equate Baal Hammon lord of the sky to eitherZeus orCronos.[7] Historians Crake & Walbank dismiss a claim that Hammon meaning "Brazier" inugarit which implies that Baal Hammon is equated toApollo which is a solar deity, the original author of this claim describes his own conclusions as "clearly very hypothetical".[7]
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Frank Moore also dismisses a hypothesis based on arguments presented for a connection toHamōn, theUgaritic name for Mount Amanus, a peak in theNur Mountains that separateSyria fromCilicia, this connection makes Baal Hammon a Moon god which the author sees as another reason why this connection is insufficient.[8]
Ammon was aLibyan deity, whose oracle was situated in theSiwa oasis, inSiwa there remained a solitaryoracle of Ammon near theLibyan Desert.[10] 500 km west ofMemphis, the capital ofancient Egypt, the oasis was also called Ammon; they called god of the oracle "Ammon of Siwa, lord of good counsel". The fact that the site was hard to reach, must have contributed to the feeling that an oracle from Ammon was something special - and therefore reliable.[11]
After the fall of the New Kingdom, Siwa was certainly independent, and it is no strange idea that theLibyan kings of theTwenty-Second andTwenty-Third Dynasties were somehow related to the rulers of Siwa. It finally became a fully integrated part of Egypt after the domestication of thedromedary had made desert travel easier, for example to Egypt in the east, theCyrenaica in the northwest and theNasamones in the west. Among the oasis' exports wassalt.[11]
A shrine was built by pharaohAmasis, a political act, intended to gain support from theLibyan tribes that had played a decisive role during Amasis' accession. A similar motive may have been behind the second temple, built byNectanebo II.[11]
Amasis' sanctuary has been excavated on the acropolis, a shali hill now called Aghurmi, and is remarkable because it does not look like an Egyptian temple at all. In fact, the cult seems to have remainedLibyan in nature, something that is more or less confirmed by the fact that the local ruler of the oasis is not depicted as Amasis' subject but as his equal.[11]
The worship of Ammon was introduced into Greece at an early period, probably through the medium of the Greek colony inCyrene, which must have formed a connection with the great oracle of Ammon in the Oasis soon after its establishment.Iarbas, a mythological king of Libya, was also considered a son of Ammon, theLibyan people's worship forram was widespread inLibya, this is how we obtain the famous symbol for this deity in Ancient Egypt (The ram headed Sphynx or the Coriosphynx)[9]
The worship of Baʿal Hammon flourished in thepunic colony of Carthage. His supremacy among the Carthaginian gods is believed to date from the 8th century BC after relations between Carthage andTyre were broken off at the time of theBattle of Himera (480 BC).[12] After the 5th century Tanit soon eclipsed the more established cult ofBaal Hammon was frequently listed before him on the monuments.[13]
Baal Hammon was known as the Chief of the pantheon of Carthage and the deity that made vegetation grow; as with most deities of Carthage, he was seemingly propitiated withchild sacrifice, likely in times of strife or crisis, or only by elites, perhaps for the good of the whole community. This practice was recorded by Greeks and Romans, but dismissed as propaganda by modern scholars, until archeologists unearthed urns containing the cremated remains of infants in places of ritual sacrifice. Some scholars believe this confirms the accounts of child sacrifice, while others insist these are the remains of children who died young.[14][dubious –discuss]
He has been identified with a solar deity,[15] althoughYigael Yadin thought him to be a moon god.[16]Edward Lipiński identifies him with the godDagon.[17] In Carthage and North Africa, Baʿal Hammon was especially associated with the ram and was also worshiped as thehorned deity Baʿal Qarnaim "Lord of the Two Horns" in an open-air sanctuary atJebel Boukornine ("the two-horned hill") across the bay from Carthage, inTunisia.[3]
Theinterpretatio graeca identified him with the TitanCronus. Inancient Rome, he was identified withSaturn, and the cultural exchange between Rome and Carthage as a result of theSecond Punic War may have influenced the development of the festival ofSaturnalia.[18][clarification needed]. Attributes of his Romanized form as an African Saturn indicate that Hammon (Amunus inPhilo's work) was a fertility god.[19]
Baal Hammon synthesized with the Italic god Saturnus became the supreme deity of Roman Africa, includingNumidia, representing agriculture, cosmic order, and life forces, Asdominus,deus,sanctus, andaeternus, Saturn/Baal Hammon exercised absolute cosmic and temporal authority—master of the world, sky, and life cycles. The divine role resonated with Numidian agrarian and pastoral concerns, blending local traditions and Punic influences long before Romanization[2]
Saturn/Baal Hammon was characterized as frugifer (god of growth, fertility of crops and livestock).Iconography often paired him with symbols of vegetation, celestial bodies, and agricultural implements, indicating control over life cycles. The cult involved sacrifices intended to ensure fertility and life’s continuity. Early Punic practices included molch (sacrifices of firstborn); later animal substitution rites (molchomor) appeared in Numidian and African sanctuaries.[2]
Thousands of steles found in Numidian sites (e.g.,Sitifis,Djémila,Thuburnica) reflect popular devotion, showing Saturn with sun/moon motifs, agricultural symbols, and funeral imagery. These steles illustrate an iconographic continuity localized within Numidia, blending Punic symbolism and Roman visual language. 35 temples recorded inNumidia, including in theTimgad–Lambaesis–Khenchela zone, indicate widespread worship among rural agrarian communities. Punic votive steles and urn deposits at the sacred area of Baal Hammon–Saturn atDougga demonstrate multicultural ritual continuity from thePunic era throughNumidian-Roman phases.[2]
Numidian sanctuaries often located on elevations outside urban cores, preserving indigenous religious spatial logic later adapted with Roman temple plans.
ThroughoutNorth Africa, from the firstcentury B.C. in the fourthcentury AD, the stelae of Saturn have preserved most of Saturn's iconography: Theberbers appear to have integrated the cult of Baal Hammon with the berber cult of the worship of the Sun deity "Tafukt" and the Lunar deity "Ayyur", the same agrarian symbols and offerings, the same ritual attitudes, the same sacrificial victims. Among the local iconographic particularities inCuicul, Mons andSitifis, Saturn and the deities of the Sun and the Moon occupy the same register or are put on the same level.[2]
Roman identification of Baal Hammon with Saturnus did not erase local traditions; rather, it expanded the deity’s role across cultures in Africa. Dedications and art show Severan era resurgence, indicating enduring cult importance even into the later Roman period.[20][2]
In 1910, the earliest archeology done byRené Basset founded that the cult of Ammon first developed in ancient Libya before spreading to ancient Egypt[21] a famous nickname given to Ammon by ancient people was 'Ammon Lord ofLibya'[22] this suggests that the origin of Ammon is notEgyptian-Libyan but onlyLibyan (berber), this is further proven by the etymological origin of the name, many other scholars have since expanded upon this conclusion after René's archeological findings referring to the deity in literature as 'the Libyan god Ammon'[23] modern scholars such as the Hellenic scholar Wynne-Thomas also confirms theLibyan connection.[24]
According to the 6th century AD authorCorippus, a Libyan people known as theLaguatan carried an effigy of their godGurzil, whom they believed to be the son of Ammon, into battle against theByzantine Empire in the 540s AD.[25]
InRoman mythology andLibyan mythology,Iarbas was the son ofJupiter-Hammon (Hammon was a North African godassociated by the Romans withJupiter, and known for his oracle) and aGaramantiannymph.[26][27] Iarbas was said to have led an army across the Libyan desert, however he and his army began suffering from severe thirst.Iarbas implored for the assistance of his fatherAmmon for aid, the god sent him aram (the animal of the god) and Iarbas and his army followed the ram to a location, where, the ram struck his hooves to the ground and up sprang a water source, and this is how the libyans began attributing the animal to Ammon (libyans origin of the cult of ram worship).[27]
Algerians and Tunisians refer to "Baali farming" to mean non-irrigated agriculture.[28]
There is a survival in modern times inonomastics with somefirst names in use particularly inTunisia grafted onto the name of the god. Algerian, Tunisian and many other spoken forms of Arabic refer to "Baali farming" to refer to non-irrigated agriculture.[29] Such usage is attested inHebrew, aCanaanite language sister toPhoenician, already in the 2nd century CEMishnah.[30]
A street inmodern Carthage, located near the Punic Ports, bears the name ofBaal Hammon.[31]
The city ofCarmona (Andalusia, Spain) is believed to derive its name fromKar-Hammon, "city of Hammon."[32]
178 temples have been discovered and listed for the deity in the following:[2]
| Region | Number of Temples | Most important Temples |
|---|---|---|
| Africa Proconsularis | 118 | Jebel Boukornine |
| Numidia | 35 | Cirta |
| Mauritania Caesarensis | 25 | Sitifis |
| Tripolitania | 1 | Leptis Magna |
During the fourth century BC there were public sacrifices in Athens to Zeus-Ammon, whose original cult was at the Siwa Oasis in Egypt
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