Almaqah
Al-maqah or Al-muqh (Musnad: 𐩱𐩡𐩣𐩤𐩠; Arabic: المقه) was the moon God of the ancient Yemeni kingdom of Saba'. He was also worshipped in the kingdoms of Dʿmt and Aksum in Eritrea and Northern Ethiopia.
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Part of the myth series on |
Religions of the ancient Near East |
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Pre-Islamic Arabian deities |
Arabian deities of foreign origin |
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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][2][3]
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.[4]
See also
References
- Ryckmans, Jacques (1992). "South Arabia, Religion of". In Freedman, D.N. (ed.). The Anchor Bible Dictionary. 6. p. 172.
- Ryckmans, Jacques (1989). "Le Panthéon de l'Arabie du Sud préIslamique: Etat des problèmes et brève synthèse". Revue de L'Histoire des Religions. 206 (2): 163.
- For similar comments also see Ryckmans, Jacques (c. 1987). "The Old South Arabian Religion". In Daum, W. (ed.). Yemen: 3000 Years of Art and Civilization in Arabia Felix. p. 107.
- "معبد برَّان.. هنا عاشت بلقيس سبأ". aljazeera (in Arabic). 24 March 2014.