Almaqah

Almaqah or Almuqh (Sabaean: 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.

Sabaean inscription addressed to the god Almaqah, mentioning five ancient Yemeni gods, two reigning sovereigns and two governors, 7th century BCE
Part of the myth series on
Religions of the
ancient Near East
Pre-Islamic Arabian deities
Arabian deities of foreign origin

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
  1. Ryckmans, Jacques (1992). "South Arabia, Religion of". In Freedman, D.N. (ed.). The Anchor Bible Dictionary. 6. p. 172.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. "معبد برَّان.. هنا عاشت بلقيس سبأ". aljazeera (in Arabic). 24 March 2014.
  • Media related to Almaqah at Wikimedia Commons


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