Almaqah

Almaqah or Almuqh (Sabaean: 𐩱𐩡𐩣𐩤𐩠; Arabic: المقه) was the Moon god of the ancient Yemeni kingdom of Saba'. He was also worshipped in Dʿmt and Aksum in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

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 other Semitic origins

Characteristics

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]

The Temple of Meqaber Gaʿewa near Wuqro is dedicated to Almaqah[5] and contains an altar which represents a miniature model of the Great Temple in Yeha.[6]

Altar at Almaqah Temple of Meqaber Gaʿewa

See also

References
  1. Ryckmans, Jacques (1992). "South Arabia, Religion of". In Freedman, D.N. (ed.). The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 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. doi:10.3406/rhr.1989.1830.
  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.
  5. Wolf, Pawel (July 25, 2009). "The Almaqah temple of Meqaber Gaʿewa near Wuqro (Tigray, Ethiopia)". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 40. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  6. Nebes, Norbert (2017). "The Inscriptions of the Aksumite King Hafil and their Reference to Ethio-Sabaean Sources". Deutsches Archäologisches InstitutOrient-Abteilung Zeitschrift fürOrient-Archäologie. 10. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  • Media related to Almaqah at Wikimedia Commons
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.