Tash

Tash was the patron god of the ruling class of Calormen. The Calormene capital is named Tashbaan and the Tisrocs, Tarkaans and Tarkheenas claim descent from Tash. The worship of Tash was the only formal religion depicted in the world of Narnia: there are temples to Tash, Calormenes regularly used ritual phrases such as 'Tash the inexorable, the irresistible' and 'Tash preserve us', and he was the only being referred to by characters as a god.

Worship and Belief
"They have a god called Tash. They say he has four arms and the head of a vulture. They kill men on his altar."

- A lamb, talking about Tash.

Tash was the chief god in the Calormene pantheon. (Two other Calormene gods, Azaroth and Zardeenah, Lady of the Night and Maidens, were minor deities.) Ritual human sacrifice was apparently commonplace in the Temple of Tash. The name of Tash was frequently invoked in oaths and exclamations. Prince Rabadash, frustrated and maddened by defeat, tried to call on Tash to inflict vengeance on the Narnians and Aslan - such as 'lightning in the shape of scorpions'. But this resulted in nothing but mockery and pity from his captors, because Aslan, after repeatedly warning Rabadash to repent of his anger, turned Rabadash into a donkey. Aslan told Rabadash that his transformation would be lifted when he visited the temple of Tash in Tashbaan.

Tashlan
By the twenty-sixth century, few Calormenes believed in Tash anymore. Together with Shift the scheming ape, Ginger the duplicitous cat and other treacherous Narnians, they concocted a story that Aslan and Tash were the same person, known as Tashlan. They disguised Puzzle the donkey in a lion's skin and kept him in a stable. Many Narnians saw this as ridiculous, given Aslan's and Tash's antithetical natures, but were powerless to contradict the Calormene soldiers.

The Stable
The Calormenes placed a soldier with a sword in the stable wherein Tashlan was supposed to reside. Sending dissenters to 'meet Tashlan' in Puzzle's stable was meant to be a way to secretly murder them. Ginger found Tash inside the stable, and was terrified into losing the power of speech and "returning" into a dumb animal. When Shift was thrown in by King Tirian, Tash appeared and devoured him. After Tirian dragged Rishda into the stable, Tash seized Rishda and was then banished by the command of High King Peter and the name of Aslan.

Emeth
However, one Calormene soldier, Emeth, was so devout that he insisted on going in to meet Tash, and vanished into Aslan's Country. Emeth, who expected Tash to smite unbelievers with heavenly fire, went searching for Tash in Aslan's Country, but instead met Aslan. Aslan told Emeth 'all the service thou hast done to Tash, I accept as service done to me' and further explained 'no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him'. He told Emeth that his pious devotion was really to Aslan, rather than to Tash, although Emeth had not been aware of this, and Emeth found great happiness in this revelation.

Appearance
Tash appeared to be roughly humanoid, but much larger than a man, with four arms and the head of a vulture. His presence brought cold and the sickening stench of death. Narnians described him as a god or a demon.

Christian Relevance
It is suggested in the book that Tash is opposed to Aslan; by implication, he is Satan to Aslan's Christ-like representation. This is illustrated by the reactions of the main characters to his presence: they talk of smelling a foul smell and of the air growing cold when he passes near to them. However Tash fits the image of a satanic character much less accurately that Lewis's other Satan figure, Jadis. It is much more likely that he is an amalgamtion of the various pagan deities which were worshipped in Biblical times such as Baal, Molech, Nisroch, and others. 'Tash' and 'Aslan' are respectively the Turkish words for 'stone' and 'lion'. The name Tash can also mean "disgrace" or "stain". Tash is depicted as a dark lord figure so this is accurate as dark lords in fiction are often described by fellow fantasy characters as "a stain on the land."

It should be noted that those Calormenes who have done good in the name of Tash are rewarded after their death for having really honored Aslan; likewise those Narnians who do evil in Aslan's name are counted as having done that evil in the name of Tash. This illustrates Lewis' inclusivist belief that the idea of being worshiped and the honesty with which it is worshiped are more important than the name by which it is referred to. This is made clear in The Last Battle, where an honest Calormene soldier enters "Aslan's Country". In fact, the Calormene capital city has an existence in Aslan's Country.