Baaltars
Encyclopedia
Baaltars (Aramaic: בעלתרז) was a deity of the Persian Empire, the Baal
or Zeus
of the city of Tarsus. His depiction appears on coins of the Persian kings or satraps of Cilicia
at Tarsus
before Alexander the Great in the 5th and 4th century BCE, such as Datames
, Pharnabazes
or Mazaios, or also on coins of the early Seleucids
. The equivalent of Baaltars for the Greeks was Zeus
.
Baal
Baʿal is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant and Asia Minor, cognate to Akkadian Bēlu...
or Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
of the city of Tarsus. His depiction appears on coins of the Persian kings or satraps of Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
at Tarsus
Tarsus (city)
Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...
before Alexander the Great in the 5th and 4th century BCE, such as Datames
Datames
Datames was a general and satrap of Cappadocia under the Persian empire. A Carian by birth, he was the son of Camissares by a Scythian or Paphlagonian mother...
, Pharnabazes
Pharnabazes
Pharnabazes was a satrap in Tarsus, Cilicia, from 380-375 BCE, and a general of the Persian army. Together with Iphicrates, he attempted in 373 BCE to reconquer Egypt. Due to mutual distrust however, King Nectanebo I was able to gather his forces and repulse their invasion....
or Mazaios, or also on coins of the early Seleucids
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
. The equivalent of Baaltars for the Greeks was Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
.