The Pantheon of Tayma’

Tayma’ had an Aramean pantheon. Its pantheon was made up of the gods Ṣalam (صلم) of Maḥram, Ašima (أشيما), and Šangila (شنجلا). The personality of this triad is mostly unknown to us. There was another deity called Ṣalam of Hagam. Maḥram and Hagam were most likely temples or sanctuaries. The word maḥram is of course familiar to Arabic speakers, it usually designates a sacred area. Ṣalam is related to the Arabic word Ṣanam صنم, and it meant icon, image or baytel. Some researchers have tried to interpret Šngl’ as a compound with the name of the Mesopotamian moon god Sin. Others say these deities are from Syria. It’s difficult to say, however, because of the lack of evidence on early Aramaean deities and the early history of the Aramaeans themselves. Regardless, at this point in the development of Arabian Paganism deities were probably represented by baytels and standing stones which might have had simple features but were usually unworked. Foreign influences made the Arabs adopt more anthropomorphic statues of the gods later on.

See also

• The Pantheon of Qedar
• List of Deities
• Baytels

Sources

• Archaeology and epigraphy at Tayma
• The Aramaic pantheon of Tayma’

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