Temple of Awwam

Temple of Awwam
محرم بلقيس
	Mahram Bilqis or Awam Temple in 2017 in Marib, Yemen
	Shown within Yemen
Location	Awwam, Marib Governorate, Yemen
Coordinates	15°24′15″N 45°21′21″E / 15.404247°N 45.355705°E
History
Builder	Sabaeans
Founded	1500–1200 BCE
Periods	Ancient Yemen
Satellite of	Almaqah
Site notes
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Part of	Landmarks of the Ancient Kingdom of Saba, Marib
Criteria	Cultural: (iii), (iv)
Reference	1700
Inscription	2023 (45th Session)
Endangered	2023–...

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"^[2]), near Ma'rib in what is now Yemen. The temple is situated 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) southeast of ancient Marib, and was built in the outskirts of the city. Although usually major Sabaean sanctuaries are located outside urban centers, its placement was probably for reasons of religious privacy, and to facilitate the conduct of rituals by arriving pilgrims from remote areas of Sabaean territories.^[3] Such patterns are observed in several temples from Al-Jawf and the Hadramawt.

In pre-Islamic times, numerous pilgrims gathered in Ma'rib city and headed to Almaqah temple of Harunum to perform their cultic rituals, and continued to the sanctuary of Awwam using processional road.

In 2023, along with other landmarks of the ancient Kingdom of Saba, Awam Temple was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.^[4]

^ Zaid & Marqten (2008) pp. 228-240
^ A. V. Korotaev (1996). Pre-Islamic Yemen: Socio-political Organization of the Sabaean Cultural Area in the 2nd and 3rd Centuries AD. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 82. ISBN 978-3-447-03679-5.
^ Robin, 1996
^ "Landmarks of Ancient Kingdom of Saba added to UNESCO's World Heritage List". Marib Governorate. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.

[1] Zaid & Marqten (2008) pp. 228-240

[Korotaev1996-2] A. V. Korotaev (1996). Pre-Islamic Yemen: Socio-political Organization of the Sabaean Cultural Area in the 2nd and 3rd Centuries AD. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 82. ISBN 978-3-447-03679-5.

[3] Robin, 1996

[4] "Landmarks of Ancient Kingdom of Saba added to UNESCO's World Heritage List". Marib Governorate. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.

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