Bag is a figure cataloged in the 19th-century occult text, Dictionnaire Infernal, where it is identified as a Persian idol from which the city of Baghdad purportedly derived its name. This assertion, however, is a historical and linguistic fiction. No evidence from Persian archaeology, religious texts, or historical records supports the existence of a specific deity or idol named Bag. The entry is the result of a misunderstanding of the ancient Iranian languages.
The origin of the confusion lies in the Old Persian word baga and its Middle Persian descendant, bagh. This term was not a proper name but a common noun meaning “god,” “lord,” or “divine patron.” It was used in a generic sense to refer to a deity, much like the Latin deus or the Greek theos. For instance, Achaemenid inscriptions frequently use the term to refer to the supreme Zoroastrian god, Ahura Mazda, hailing him as vazraka baga (“the great God”). The word shares its roots with the Sanskrit bhaga (भग), which denotes a bestower of fortune or a lord.
The city of Baghdad was founded long after the pre-Islamic Persian era, in 762 CE, by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur. The name itself, however, was adopted from a pre-existing Persian settlement in the area. Its etymology is widely accepted as a compound of two Middle Persian words: Bagh-dād, which translates literally to “Given by God” or “God’s Gift.” It signifies a place founded under divine benevolence, not a city named in honor of a specific idol called Bag.
The creation of Bag as an idol in Collin de Plancy’s Dictionnaire Infernal reflects a common practice in 19th-century European demonology, where foreign gods and religious terms were often reinterpreted as specific demonic or pagan entities. By isolating the first element of “Baghdad” and misinterpreting its generic meaning, the author constructed a fictional idol to fit into his compendium. Therefore, the significance of Bag is not found in the history of Persian religion but in the study of European occult folklore and its perception of the East.
