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

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.

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.