Azriel - formerly a mortal young man of Babylon in 539 B.C., now a spirit bound to obey whoever possesses his gold-encased mortal bones.
Jonathan Ben Isaac - the history professor whom Azriel seeks to hear and write his tale.
Aseneth—The witch who betrays Azriel and kills him in order to turn him into the Servant of the Bones. She dies before she is able to complete the ritual.
Cyrus the Great or Cyrus the Persian—The man who conquered Babylon. Made a deal with Azriel that if Azriel became the new Marduk statue, all his people could return to the Holy Land and rebuild their temple.
Marduk—A spirit who is worshiped as a Babylonian god. He befriends the mortal Azriel, and becomes his 'personal god' throughout his mortal existence. Sadly, Azriel's stunning resemblance to the statue of Marduk causes him to be chosen for the ceremony to create a new statue every one hundred years, thusinadvertently turning him into the Servant of the Bones.
Nabonidus—the diseased king of Babylon
Zurvan—the magus who becomes Azriel's first master and teacher. Azriel does not remember his time with Zurvan until 2000 years has passed and he awakes in New York, Zurvan's teachings of kindness and virtues stay with him throughout the centuries.
Samuel—a wealthy Jewish merchant. He made a deal with some Gentiles that he would give Azriel's bones to them to do what he pleased if they would bring his daughters to safety. Whether Azriel truly loved him in the end or not is a matter of debate, because the scene begins with Azriel begging Samuel tofly him away from the oncoming pogrom, but ends on a sad note with Azriel being forced back into the bones cursing his master for being a martyr. This begins Azriel's onslaught of all his subsequent masters.
Avram the Rebbe - Gregory's estranged Grandfather; a Jewish holy man and keeper of the Bones (although he never called upon Azriel).
Esther Belkin- the girl who was assassinated on Gregory—her stepfather's—orders. Azriel is there to witness this, and for reasons he can't explain wants to get revenge for the girl he knew for only a few seconds.
Gregory Belkin- founder and leader of the Temple of the Mind of God. Also owns a considerable commercial and merchanting empire. Uses Esther as a ploy to begin a worldwide genocide to bring world peace, with his Temple as the new world government. Although he likens himself to be the Messiah, Azriel groups him with Hitler and Stalin, saying he is an insane murderer. His idol is Alexander the Great.
Rachel Belkin - Gregory's wife; dying of a terminal illness, she claims Gregory is poisoning her and begs Azriel to fly with her to Miami so she may die in her own home. Last few minutes of her life are spent having intercourse with Azriel.
Billy Joel Eval - Eldest of the three Eval brothers who are the paid assassins of Esther.
Nathan - Gregory's estranged identical twin is a diamond merchant in New York City; he met Esther by chance and told her of his familial connection to her stepfather, Gregory.
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