All Topics  
Dushara

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Dushara
 
 
  Topics Dushara Topic Home

Šu Shara (Arabic,?? ??? )"Lord of the Mountain", also transliterated as 'Dusares', was an aniconic
Aniconism

Aniconism is the practice or belief in avoiding or shunning the graphic representation of divine beings or religious figures, or in different manifestations, any human beings or living creatures....
 deity
Deity

A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divinity, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by human beings....
 in the ancient Middle East
Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
 worshipped by the Nabataeans
Nabataeans

The Nabataeans were an ancient Semitic people, Arabs of southern Jordan, Canaan and the northern part of Arabia, whose oasis settlements in the time of Josephus gave the name of Nabatene to the borderland between Syria and Arabia, from the Euphrates to the Red Sea....
 at Petra
Petra

Petra is an Archaeology site in the Arabah, Ma'an Governorate, Jordan, lying on the slope of Mount Hor in a Depression among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah , the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba....
 and Madain Saleh (of which city he was the patron). In Greek times, he was associated with Zeus
Zeus

Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky father and List of thunder gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull , and oak....
 because he was the chief of the Nabataean pantheon as well as with Dionysus
Dionysus

In classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos , is the God of wine, the inspirer of ritual madness and ecstasy, and a major figure of Greek mythology, and one of the twelve Olympians, among whom Greek mythology treated Dionysus as a late arrival....
. His sanctuary at Petra
Petra

Petra is an Archaeology site in the Arabah, Ma'an Governorate, Jordan, lying on the slope of Mount Hor in a Depression among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah , the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba....
 contained a great temple in which a large cubical stone (Ka'ba) was the centrepiece.

The existence of this deity was mentioned by the 9th century CE historian Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi
Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi

Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi, full name Abu al-Mundhir Hisham b. Muhammed b. al-Sa'ib b. Bishr al-Kalbi was an Arab historian.Al-Kalbi was born in Kufa, but spent much of his life in Baghdad....
, who wrote in The Book of Idols (Kitab al-Asnam) that: "The Banu al-Harith ibn-Yashkur ibn-Mubashshir of the ?Azd had an idol called Šu Shara."








Discussion
Ask a question about 'Dushara'
Start a new discussion about 'Dushara'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Šu Shara (Arabic,?? ??? )"Lord of the Mountain", also transliterated as 'Dusares', was an aniconic
Aniconism

Aniconism is the practice or belief in avoiding or shunning the graphic representation of divine beings or religious figures, or in different manifestations, any human beings or living creatures....
 deity
Deity

A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divinity, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by human beings....
 in the ancient Middle East
Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
 worshipped by the Nabataeans
Nabataeans

The Nabataeans were an ancient Semitic people, Arabs of southern Jordan, Canaan and the northern part of Arabia, whose oasis settlements in the time of Josephus gave the name of Nabatene to the borderland between Syria and Arabia, from the Euphrates to the Red Sea....
 at Petra
Petra

Petra is an Archaeology site in the Arabah, Ma'an Governorate, Jordan, lying on the slope of Mount Hor in a Depression among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah , the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba....
 and Madain Saleh (of which city he was the patron). In Greek times, he was associated with Zeus
Zeus

Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky father and List of thunder gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull , and oak....
 because he was the chief of the Nabataean pantheon as well as with Dionysus
Dionysus

In classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos , is the God of wine, the inspirer of ritual madness and ecstasy, and a major figure of Greek mythology, and one of the twelve Olympians, among whom Greek mythology treated Dionysus as a late arrival....
. His sanctuary at Petra
Petra

Petra is an Archaeology site in the Arabah, Ma'an Governorate, Jordan, lying on the slope of Mount Hor in a Depression among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah , the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba....
 contained a great temple in which a large cubical stone (Ka'ba) was the centrepiece.

The existence of this deity was mentioned by the 9th century CE historian Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi
Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi

Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi, full name Abu al-Mundhir Hisham b. Muhammed b. al-Sa'ib b. Bishr al-Kalbi was an Arab historian.Al-Kalbi was born in Kufa, but spent much of his life in Baghdad....
, who wrote in The Book of Idols (Kitab al-Asnam) that: "The Banu al-Harith ibn-Yashkur ibn-Mubashshir of the ?Azd had an idol called Šu Shara."

External links

  • : translation as posted by an evangelical Christian site.
  • in the original Arabic (description on p. 5)
  • The Meaning of the Name