Wadd

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Wadd ( Old South Arabic wd (-m) 'love'; Arabic ود, DMG wadd ) was an important ancient South Arabian moon god .

In addition to individual mentions from Saba, he is mainly mentioned in Ma'in , where he held the function of god of the empire. The formula can be found on buildings and amulets: Wadd ʿāb (Wadd is father) . In Ausan , too , Wadd was evidently the god of the empire, which is why the Ausanian kings referred to themselves as "sons of Wadd". Wadd was also worshiped in large parts of northern and central Arabia in pre-Islamic times. In the Qur'an , Wadd is named in sura 71 as a god who was worshiped at the time of Noah .

Between Ma'rib and Sirwah in Yemen was in honor of the god who around 700 BC Wadd Dhu-Masma '(DMG Wadd ḏū-Masmaʿ) temple was built in BC. The ruins that can be found today fell victim to stone looting in the 1970s, and the peristasis pillars also completely disappeared.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. Jacques Ryckmans: Die Altsüdarabische Religion Frankfurt am Main 1988, p. 112