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{{short description|Title applied to various gods of ancient Mesopotamian religions}}{{refimprove|date=April 2013}}{{Use dmy dates|cs1-dates=l|date=February 2024}}{{Mesopotamian myth|expanded=6}}{{Fertile Crescent myth (Arabian)}}Bêl ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|eɪ|l}}; from ) is a title signifying 'lord' or 'master' applied to various gods in the Mesopotamian religion of Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia. The feminine form is Bêlit ('Lady, Mistress') in Akkadian. Bel is represented in Greek as Belos and in Latin as Belus. Belit appears in Greek form as Beltis (Βελτις). Linguistically, Bel is an East Semitic form cognate with the Northwest Semitic Baal with the same meaning.Bel was especially used for the Babylonian god Marduk in Assyrian and neo-Babylonian personal names or mentioned in inscriptions in a Mesopotamian context. Similarly, Bêlit mostly refers to Marduk's spouse Sarpanit. Marduk's mother, the Sumerian goddess often referred to in the Sumerian language as Ninhursag, Damkina, and Ninmah, was often known as Belit-ili ('Lady of the Gods') in Akkadian.Other gods called "Lord" were sometimes identified totally or in part with Bel Marduk. The god Malak-bel of Palmyra is an example, attested as a messenger of Bel but existing as a deity separate to Bel/Marduk. Similarly, Zeus Belus mentioned by Sanchuniathon as born to Cronus/El in Peraea is unlikely to be Marduk. Early translators of Akkadian believed that the ideogram for the god called Enlil in Sumerian was to be read as Bel in Akkadian. Current scholarship holds this as incorrect, but Bel is used in referring to Enlil in older translations and discussions.BOOK, James, Orr, The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia,weblink 4 April 2013, 1915, Howard-Severance Company, 349–, In Mandaean cosmology, the name for Jupiter is Bil (), which is derived from the name Bel.BOOK, Bhayro, Siam, Hellenistic Astronomy, Cosmology in Mandaean Texts, Brill, 10 February 2020,weblink 3 September 2021, 572–579, 10.1163/9789004400566_046, 9789004243361, 213438712,

Bel of Palmyra, Syria

A god named Bel was the chief-god of Palmyra, Syria in pre-Hellenistic times, being worshipped alongside the gods Aglibol and Yarhibol.JOURNAL, The Caravan-Gods of Palmyra, M. I., Rostovtzeff, The Journal of Roman Studies, 22, 1932, 107–116, Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, 10.2307/297093, 297093, 163542083,weblink Originally, he was known as Bol,BOOK,weblink The Pantheon of Palmyra, Teixidor, Javier, 1979, Brill Archive, 9004059873, en, after the Northwestern Semitic word Ba'alBOOK,weblink Cults and Beliefs at Edessa, Drijvers, H. J. W., 1980, Brill Archive, 9004060502, en, (usually used to refer to the god Hadad), until the cult of Bel-Marduk spread to Palmyra and by 213 BC, Bol was renamed to Bel. The Temple of Bel in Palmrya, Syria was dedicated to this god. The temple has since been destroyed by ISIS.NEWS,weblink How Ancient Palmyra, Now in ISIS's Grip, Grew Rich and Powerful, Kristin, Romey, 26 August 2015, 30 November 2019, National Geographic News, National Geographic Society, National Geographic Partners, LLC., {{Gallery

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Bel of Palmyra, Syria, depicted on the far left alongside Baalshamin

, Yarhibol and Aglibol on a relief from Palmyra>File:Gate of the fortified Temple of Bel Palmyra Syria.jpg

Temple of Bel in Palmyra, Syria>title=}} See also Ba‘al Bel and the Dragon Belial Belus (disambiguation) Belus (Assyrian) Belus (Babylonian) Belus (Egyptian) EN (cuneiform) Marduk List of Mesopotamian deities References {{reflist}} External links {{commons category|Baal}} Bartleby: American Heritage Dictionary: Semitic Roots: bcl (Dead link. {{webarchive |url=weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20081015192734weblink">weblink |date=15 October 2008 }})