The religious thought in ancient Arab East

Abstract

The religious thought in the ancient Arab East (Mesopotamia, Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula) was characterized by religious pluralism and a multitude of deities. They believed in death and described it as not absolute annihilation, as they did not have a clear idea about the afterlife. The worship of women as symbols of fertility was widespread, and they also regarded important natural phenomena such as fire, the sun, the moon, and certain animals as objects of worship. Later on, religious thought evolved to become associated with the concept of fertility (human, plant, and animal), especially in Mesopotamia and the Levant. As a result, temples emerged as institutional religious systems to manage rituals and religious ceremonies and offer sacrifices, believed by the inhabitants of ancient societies to have an impact on various aspects of life.