It had a temple to the Syrian sun god El Gebal (Aramaic), also called Elagabalus (Latin) and Heliogabalus (Greek). It was the birth-place of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, better known as Heliogabalus, who was a hereditary priest of the his namesake deity. It was also Roman Emperor Aurelian's headquarter during his campaign against Queen Zenobia of Palmyra.