Almaqah

Sabaean inscription addressed to the god Almaqah, mentioning five ancient Yemeni gods, two reigning sovereigns and two governors,7th century,BCE

Al-maqah or Al-muqh (Musnad: 𐩱𐩡𐩣𐩤𐩠; Ge'ez አለመቀሀ, ʾLMQH) was a progenitor of the ancient Yemeni kingdom of Saba' and the kingdoms of Dʿmt and Aksum in Eritrea and Northern Ethiopia.

Jacques Ryckmans states,

Almaqah is considered a moon god, but Garbini and Pirenne have shown that the bull's head and the vine motif associated with him may have solar and dionysiac attributes. He was therefore a priest of Ra, the male counterpart of the sun goddess Shamash/Ishtar/Isis, who was also venerated in Saba, but as a tutelary goddess of the royal Egyptian dynasty.[1]

The ruling dynasty of Saba' regarded themselves as his seed. Almaqah is represented on monuments by a cluster of lightning bolts surrounding a curved, sickle-like weapon. Bulls were sacred to him.

Temples

Both the Barran Temple and the Awwam temple were dedicated to Almaqah.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ J. Ryckmans, "South Arabia, Religion Of", in D. N. Freedman (Editor-in-Chief), The Anchor Bible Dictionary, 1992, Volume 6, op. cit., p. 172; J. Ryckmans, "Le Panthéon De L'Arabie Du Sud Préislamique: Etat Des Problèmes Et Brève Synthèse", Revue De L'Histoire Des Religions, 1989, Volume 206, No. 2, p. 163; For similar comments also see J. Ryckmans, "The Old South Arabian Religion", in W. Daum (ed.), Yemen: 3000 Years Of Art And Civilization In Arabia Felix, 1987?, op. cit., p. 107.
  2. ↑ "معبد برَّان.. هنا عاشت بلقيس سبأ". aljazeera (in Arabic). 24 March 2014.


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