Barran Temple ( ar, معبد بران) is a

Sabaean Sabean or Sabaean may refer to: *Sabaeans, ancient people in South Arabia **Sabaean language, Old South Arabian language *Sabians, name of a religious group mentioned in the Quran, historically adopted by: **Mandaeans, Gnostic sect from the marshl ...

temple near Marib,

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...

; also known as "Throne of Bilqis", it was dedicated to the god

al-Maqah Almaqah or Almuqh ( xsa, 𐩱𐩡𐩣𐩤𐩠; ar, المقه; gez, አልመቀህ) was the Moon god of the ancient Yemeni kingdom of Saba'. He was also worshipped in the kingdom of Dʿmt, which later became the kingdom of Aksum in Ethiopia ...

Background

The temple is located to the west of the

Temple of Awwam The Temple of Awwam or "Mahram Bilqis" ("Sanctuary of the Queen of Sheba") is a Sabaean temple dedicated to the principal deity of Saba, Almaqah (frequently called "Lord of ʾAwwām"), near Ma'rib in what is now Yemen. The temple is situated s ...

, also dedicated to the god

Almaqah Almaqah or Almuqh ( xsa, 𐩱𐩡𐩣𐩤𐩠; ar, المقه; gez, አልመቀህ) was the Moon god of the ancient Yemeni kingdom of Saba'. He was also worshipped in the kingdom of Dʿmt, which later became the kingdom of Aksum in Ethiopia ...

. The main features of the structure are the six columns and the sacred well in the middle of the courtyard. Until the 1988 excavations only five columns were known to exist, when remains of another were discovered. The temple is considered to be the largest pre-Islamic temple in

. It was partly excavated by Wendell Phillips' expedition of 1951–1952. In addition to its religious functions the complex may have also served as a documentation center, as the inscriptions describing the events surrounding the Sabaean state were found on the walls.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=September 2019 Archaeological sites in Yemen History of Yemen Sabaean architecture Religious buildings and structures in Yemen Temples