Ruda (deity)
Encyclopedia
Ruda is a deity
that was of paramount importance in the Arab
pantheon
of gods worshipped by the North Arabian tribes
of pre-Islamic Arabia
. The etymology
of his name gives the meaning "well disposed" an indication of his function as a protective deity. The oldest reference to Ruda is found in the annals of Esarhaddon
who ruled over the Assyrian empire from 681 to 669 BC. The name is transliterated into English from the original Akkadian
as Ru-ul-da-a-a-ú and he is mentioned among the gods of the Arabs. Known as Arsu
among the Palmyra
ns, in a later Aramaic
inscription, Arsu/Ruda is paired with the Syria
n god Resheph
, a protective deity for his worshippers from the 3rd millennium BC.
Dierk Lange writes that Ruda formed part of a trinity
of gods worshipped by what he calls the Yumu'il confederation, which he describes as a northern Arab tribal confederation of Ishmaelite
ancestry headed by the "clan of Kedar" (Qedarites). According to Lange, Ruda was the moon deity, Nuha
the sun deity, and Atarsamain
the main deity was associated with Venus
.
Inscriptions in a North Arabian
dialect found in the region of Najd
refer to Ruda and other gods of the Arab
pantheon, providing evidence of how all things good and bad were attributed to the agency of gods. Examples of such inscriptions referring to Ruda include, "by Ruda are we" and "by Ruda is weeping".
A trinity of gods representing the sun, moon and Venus is also found among the peoples of the South Arabian kingdoms of Awsan
, Ma'in, Qataban
and Hadramawt between the 9th and 4th centuries BC. There, the deity associated with Venus was Astarte
, the sun deity was Yam
, and moon deity was variously called Wadd
, Amm
and Sin
.
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
that was of paramount importance in the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
pantheon
Pantheon (gods)
A pantheon is a set of all the gods of a particular polytheistic religion or mythology.Max Weber's 1922 opus, Economy and Society discusses the link between a...
of gods worshipped by the North Arabian tribes
Tribes of Arabia
Tribes of Arabia refers to Arab clans hailing from the Arabian Peninsula.Much of the lineage provided before Ma'ad relies on biblical genealogy and therefore questions persist concerning the accuracy of this segment of Arab genealogy...
of pre-Islamic Arabia
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Pre-Islamic Arabia refers to the Arabic civilization which existed in the Arabian Plate before the rise of Islam in the 630s. The study of Pre-Islamic Arabia is important to Islamic studies as it provides the context for the development of Islam.-Studies:...
. The etymology
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
of his name gives the meaning "well disposed" an indication of his function as a protective deity. The oldest reference to Ruda is found in the annals of Esarhaddon
Esarhaddon
Esarhaddon , was a king of Assyria who reigned 681 – 669 BC. He was the youngest son of Sennacherib and the Aramean queen Naqi'a , Sennacherib's second wife....
who ruled over the Assyrian empire from 681 to 669 BC. The name is transliterated into English from the original Akkadian
Akkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
as Ru-ul-da-a-a-ú and he is mentioned among the gods of the Arabs. Known as Arsu
Arsu
The Palmyran god of the evening star. He is usually portrayed as riding a camel with his twin brother Azizos. In pre-Islamic Arabia, he is known as Ruda....
among the Palmyra
Palmyra
Palmyra was an ancient city in Syria. In the age of antiquity, it was an important city of central Syria, located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 180 km southwest of the Euphrates at Deir ez-Zor. It had long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert...
ns, in a later Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
inscription, Arsu/Ruda is paired with the Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n god Resheph
Resheph
Resheph was a Canaanite deity of plague and war. In Egyptian iconography Resheph is depicted wearing the crown of Upper Egypt surmounted in front by the head of a gazelle. He has links with Theban war god Montu and was thought of as a guardian deity in battle by many Egyptian pharaohs...
, a protective deity for his worshippers from the 3rd millennium BC.
Dierk Lange writes that Ruda formed part of a trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
of gods worshipped by what he calls the Yumu'il confederation, which he describes as a northern Arab tribal confederation of Ishmaelite
Ishmaelites
According to the Book of Genesis, Ishmaelites are the descendants of Ishmael, the elder son of Abraham.-Traditional Origins:According to the Book of Genesis, Abraham's first wife was named Sarah and his second wife Hagar. However Sarah was old and barren, and could not conceive...
ancestry headed by the "clan of Kedar" (Qedarites). According to Lange, Ruda was the moon deity, Nuha
Nuha (deity)
Nuha is a deity that was worshipped among the Northern Arabian tribes in pre-Islamic Arabia. Associated with the sun, she formed part of a trinity of gods, along with Ruda and Atarsamain.-Meaning:...
the sun deity, and Atarsamain
Atarsamain
Atarsamain was an astral deity of uncertain gender, worshipped in the pre-Islamic northern and central Arabian Peninsula. Worshipped widely by Arab tribes, Atarsamain is known from around 800 BC and is identified in letters of the Assyrian kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal...
the main deity was associated with Venus
Venus (mythology)
Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex,sexual seduction and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths...
.
Inscriptions in a North Arabian
Ancient North Arabian
Ancient North Arabian is a language known from fragmentary inscriptions in modern day Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia, dating to between roughly the 6th century BC and the 6th century AD, all written in scripts derived from Epigraphic South Arabian...
dialect found in the region of Najd
Najd
Najd or Nejd , literally Highland, is the central region of the Arabian Peninsula.-Boundaries :The Arabic word nejd literally means "upland" and was once applied to a variety of regions within the Arabian Peninsula...
refer to Ruda and other gods of the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
pantheon, providing evidence of how all things good and bad were attributed to the agency of gods. Examples of such inscriptions referring to Ruda include, "by Ruda are we" and "by Ruda is weeping".
A trinity of gods representing the sun, moon and Venus is also found among the peoples of the South Arabian kingdoms of Awsan
Kingdom of Awsan
The ancient Kingdom of Awsan in South Arabia , with a capital at Hagar Yahirr in the wadi Markha, to the south of the wadi Bayhan, is now marked by a tell or artificial mound, which is locally named Hagar Asfal. Once it was one of the most important small kingdoms of South Arabia...
, Ma'in, Qataban
Qataban
Qataban was one of the ancient Yemeni kingdoms. Its heartland was located in the Baihan valley. Like some other Southern Arabian kingdoms it gained great wealth from the trade of frankincense and myrrh incense which were burned at altars...
and Hadramawt between the 9th and 4th centuries BC. There, the deity associated with Venus was Astarte
Astarte
Astarte is the Greek name of a goddess known throughout the Eastern Mediterranean from the Bronze Age to Classical times...
, the sun deity was Yam
Yam (god)
Yam, from the Canaanite word Yam, meaning "Sea", also written "Yaw", is one name of the Ugaritic god of Rivers and Sea. Also titled Judge Nahar , he is also one of the 'ilhm or sons of El, the name given to the Levantine pantheon...
, and moon deity was variously called Wadd
Wadd
Wadd "Love, Friendship", known variously as Ilumquh, ʻAmm and Sīn, was the Minaean moon god. Snakes were believed to be sacred to Wadd. He is mentioned in the Qur'ān as a deity of the time of the Prophet Noah....
, Amm
Amm (god)
Amm was a moon god worshipped in ancient Qataban, in what is now southern Arabia. The inhabitants of the kingdom referred to themselves as the Banu Amm, or the "Children of Amm". He was also revered as a weather god, as his attributes included lightning bolts. His consort is the goddess Asherah....
and Sin
Sin (mythology)
Sin or Nanna was the god of the moon in Mesopotamian mythology. Nanna is a Sumerian deity, the son of Enlil and Ninlil, and became identified with Semitic Sin. The two chief seats of Nanna's/Sin's worship were Ur in the south of Mesopotamia and Harran in the north.- Name :The original meaning of...
.