View source for Dedun

{{short description|Ancient Nubian deity}}{{Infobox deity
| type = Nubian
| image = Atum.svg
| caption = Dedun in his few depictions such as the temple of [[Thutmose III]] in [[Semna]] was depicted with generic iconography similar to how [[Atum]] was sometimes depicted
| god_of = God of incense, wealth, and prosperity
| venerated_in = [[Nubian mythology]]
| symbol = [[Incense]]
| cult_center = [[Napata#Late Napatan kingdom|Napata]]
| hiero = <hiero>d:d-M42-n-G7</hiero>
}}
'''Dedun''' (or '''Dedwen''') was a [[Kushite]] or Nehasi ([[C-Group culture]]) god worshipped during ancient times in [[ancient Egypt]] and [[history of Sudan|Sudan]] and attested as early as 2400 BCE. There is much uncertainty about their original nature, especially since he was depicted as a [[lion]], a role that usually was assigned to the son of another deity. Additionally, nothing is known of the earlier [[Kushite mythology]] from which the deity arose. The earliest known information in [[Egyptian writing]]s about Dedun indicates that he already had become a god of [[incense]] by the time of the writings. Since at that historical point, incense was an extremely expensive luxury commodity, and Nubia was the source of much of it, he was quite an important deity. The wealth that the trade in incense delivered to Nubia led to his being identified by them as the god of [[prosperity]] and of [[wealth]] in particular.

[[File:LD-Semna-West-ThutmosisIII-Detail (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|Dedun (left) crowning Thutmose III (kneeling). Relief from the temple of Thutmose III in Semna]]

Although he is mentioned in the [[Pyramid Texts]] of [[Ancient Egyptian religion|ancient Egypt]] as being a Nubian deity,<ref name=Lichtheim>{{cite book |last= Lichtheim |first=Miriam|author-link=Miriam Lichtheim |title=Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol 1|publisher=University of California Press|year=1975|location=London, England|isbn=978-0-520-02899-9}}</ref> there is no evidence that Dedun was worshipped by the Egyptians or that he was worshipped in any location north of [[Swenet]] (contemporary Aswan), which was considered the most southerly city of Ancient Egypt. Nevertheless, in the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt]], during the Egyptian rule over [[Kingdom of Kush|Kush]], Dedun was said by the Egyptians to be the protector of deceased Nubian rulers and their god of incense, thereby associated with funerary rites.

[[Atlanersa]], a [[Kingdom of Kush|Kushite ruler]] of the [[Napata#Late Napatan kingdom|Napatan kingdom]] of [[Nubia]], is known to have started a temple dedicated to the [[syncretism|syncretic]] god [[Osiris]]-Dedun{{sfn|Kendall|Ahmed Mohamed|2016|pp=34 & 94}} at [[Jebel Barkal]].{{sfn|Török|2002|p=158}}

== References ==
<references/>
* {{cite journal|last1=Kendall|first1=Timothy|last2=Ahmed Mohamed|first2=El-Hassan|title=A Visitor's Guide to The Jebel Barkal Temples|journal=The NCAM Jebel Barkal Mission|year=2016|publisher=Sudan. Nubian Archeological Development Organization (Qatar-Sudan)|location=Khartoum|url=http://jebelbarkal.org/frames/VisGuide.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405040623/http://jebelbarkal.org/frames/VisGuide.pdf |archive-date=2017-04-05 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Török|first=László|title=The Image of the Ordered World in Ancient Nubian Art: The Construction of the Kushite Mind, 800 BC–300 AD|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden|year=2002|series=Probleme der Ägyptologie|volume=18|isbn=9789004123069}}

{{Commons category|Dedun}}
{{Ancient Egyptian religion footer}}{{Kushite religion footer}}

[[Category:Egyptian gods]]
[[Category:Fortune gods]]
[[Category:Lion gods]]
[[Category:Nubian gods]]
[[Category:Tutelary gods]]