A relief representing two gods , the first is seated on a camel, turned to the left, with head facing front ; he wears a cuirass of Roman type, trousers and shoes ; in his right hand he holds a heavy spear, in his left possibly the hilt of a sword or dagger. He sits on a saddle covered with an embroidered rug or cloth, the edge of which seems to be ornamented with a series of round metal plaques. The saddle is attached to the body of the camel by a strap which is also covered with metal plaques; an embroidered and fringed camel-bag hangs down from the saddle; to the saddle is fastened a small circular shield. The second god, behind the camel-rider, is on horseback, turned to the left, the head facing front ; he wears a civil, not a military, dress ; in his right hand he holds a spear; his left arm and hand have been broken away. He sits, apparently, not on a saddle, but on a richly ornamented rug or cloth ; to the croup of his horse is attached a small circular shield decorated with a rosette in repousse. Before the two gods there stands a priest, turned to the right, offering them a sacrifice of incense over a burning altar of the usual Palmyrene type. An inscrip-tion of four lines in Palmyrene runs beneath the relief, which may be translated: ‘To

‘Arsu and ‘Azizu, the good gods who reward, Ba’lai has made [this], son of Jarhibo le, priest of ‘Azizu the good and merciful benevolent god, for his safety and that of his brothers; month Tisri’, the year xxv. Let Iarhai, the sculptor, be remembered.’

The date is probably A.D. II3, the hundreds in the date being omitted.2 It is evident that the gods mentioned in the dedication are our camel-rider and horseman, while the man who makes the incense offering is Ba’lai. The camel-rider no doubt is ‘Arsu, the first-named in the inscription, the horseman ‘Azizu. The cults of ‘Arsu and ‘Azizu were well established at Palmyra; a place sacred to ‘Arsu is mentioned on an altar dedicated to him ;1 a cult of ‘Azizu is attested by Ba’lai being his priest. ‘Arzu and ‘Azizu are well-known figures of Syrian mythology. ‘Azizu is no doubt one of the many names for the rider-god of North Syria, one of whose other names was Genneas,2 but ‘Azizu was as well known as Genneas. The Emperor Julian knew him as one of the 7tCp?pOL of the sun-god3 (the other being Monimos) at Edessa. Dedications to him are found in the Hauran.4 His cult was even carried by Syrian soldiers as far as Apulum in Dacia, where it was well established in the time of Valerian and Gallienus. It seems that the god had his own sanctuary at Apulum and was called deus bonusp uer Phosphorus ApolloP ythius.5 There is no doubt, therefore, that ‘Azizu, the rider-god, the protector of horses-Syria was the famous ‘ mother of horses’ of the Near East-reached Palmyra from Syria and became there the companion and associate of ‘Arsu. As to the latter, Dussaud6 suggested the ‘Arsu was another name for the camel-god, Roudha or Radhou, whose name often appears in Safaitic inscriptions; it seems, however, that Roudha originally was a goddess, not a god.

The popularity of the cult of Arsu at Palmyra is attested by a series of clay tesserae on which his figure or sometimes his name appears.

Arsu was certainly the more important at Palmyra, and it will be remembered that he occupies the first place on the relief mentioned above. His nature is. evident. He is the divine star (and perhaps the moon also) who leads caravans in the desert by night, while Samas and perhaps Bel (another form of Samas) does the same by day. For caravans, however,

the night is more important than the day, and the stars and moon are more. likely to be regarded as divine protectors of caravans. The sacred animal connected with ‘Arsu, his ‘ alter ego ‘ in animal form, is the camel.

‘Arsu and ‘Azizu, and especially ‘Arsu, besides being the night-lights of the desert sky and the sacred means of transport across the desert, were also powerful protectors of caravans against all the forces of evil, especially brigands and raiders, who might attack the clever organisers of the complicated machine the ancient caravan was.