Malakbel, whose name means 'Messenger of Bel', was a Palmyrene sun god and the envoy or acolyte of the supreme god Bel. He carried a strong vegetative and fertilising aspect, expressed through his association with the sacred cypress of the Sacred Garden (gnt' 'ilym), and was depicted ascending in a chariot drawn by griffins. His cult is attested from an inscription of 17 BCE in which he is paired with the moon god Aglibol, with whom he formed an inseparable solar-lunar couple tended by the priestly Bene Komare. Through the Palmyrene merchant diaspora his cult reached Rome, where he was identified with Sol and honoured as Deus Sol Sanctissimus.