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{{short description|Ancient Egyptian deity}}
{{Other uses|IAH (disambiguation){{!}}IAH}}{{Infobox deity
| type = Egyptian
| name = Iah
| image = File:iah god.svg
| symbol = [[Moon|The Moon]]
| hiero = <hiero>M17-D36-V28-N11</hiero><ref>Allen, James P. (2000). ''Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs''. Cambridge University Press. p. 436</ref>
}}
{{Ancient Egyptian religion}}

'''Iah''' ({{langx|egy|[[wikt:jꜥḥ|jꜥḥ]]}}; 𓇋𓂝𓎛𓇹, [[Coptic language|Coptic]] {{Script/Coptic|ⲟⲟϩ}}) is a [[List of lunar deities|lunar deity]] in [[ancient Egyptian religion]]. The word ''jꜥḥ'' simply means "Moon". It is also transcribed as ''Yah'', ''Jah'', ''Aa'', or ''Aah''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ebeling|first1=Erich|authorlink1=Erich Ebeling|last2=Edzard|first2=Dietz Otto|authorlink2=Dietz Otto Edzard|title=Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hzfsfoJc1CwC&pg=PR27|year=2005|publisher=De Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-018535-5 |page=364}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Coulter |first1=Charles Russell |last2=Turner |first2=Patricia |title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities |date=4 July 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-96397-2 |page=3 |language=en |quote=Aa (Mesopotamia): Also known as: Aah, Aos, Iah, Khensu, Sirdu, Sirrida. Aa as a Chaldean deity was known as Aos. Her emblem is a disk with eight rays. As the Akkadian and Sumerian moon god- dess she is the consort of the sun god, Shamash. In this aspect, she is the mother of Tammuz. Ra, in Egypt was called Aa (the sun), as a high or sky god. Aa or Aah is another name for the Egyptian moon god, Khensu.}}</ref>

==Worship==
Iah was an early personification of the Moon in Ancient Egypt, He is the male moon god that preceded Khonsu, Iah whose name simply means “Moon.” He appears in texts from the Middle Kingdom and later became associated with Thoth and Khonsu. Iah is depicted in human form as a beautiful young man with skin as fair and white as milk in stories as could be represented as a human figure wearing a lunar disk and crescent. In later times, his role diminished as Khonsu absorbed many<ref name="Allen2005">{{cite book |last=Allen |first=James P. |title=The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts |publisher=Society of Biblical Literature |location=Atlanta |year=2005 |isbn=978-1589831828 |pages=212–215}}</ref><ref name="Hart2005">{{cite book |last=Hart |first=George |title=The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses |publisher=Routledge |location=London |year=2005 |isbn=978-0415344954 |pages=92–95}}</ref><ref name="Faulkner1972">{{cite book |last=Faulkner |first=Raymond O. |title=A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian |publisher=Griffith Institute |location=Oxford |year=1972 |isbn=978-0900416354 |pages=35, 146}}</ref><ref name="Quirke1992">{{cite book |last=Quirke |first=Stephen |title=Ancient Egyptian Religion |publisher=British Museum Press |location=London |year=1992 |isbn=978-0714119073 |pages=54–58}}</ref><ref name="Silverman1991">{{cite book |last=Silverman |first=David P. |title=Religion in Ancient Egypt: Gods, Myths, and Personal Practice |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca |year=1991 |isbn=978-0801427823 |pages=78–82}}</ref><ref name="Frankfort1948">{{cite book |last=Frankfort |first=Henri |title=Kingship and the Gods: A Study of Ancient Near Eastern Religion as the Integration of Society and Nature |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |year=1948 |isbn=978-0226260110 |pages=160–163}}</ref>
By the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] (16th century to 11th century BC) he was less prominent than other gods with lunar connections, [[Thoth]] and [[Khonsu]]. As a result of the functional connection between them, he could be identified with either of those deities.

Iah was sometimes considered an adult form of Khonsu and was increasingly absorbed by him. He continued to appear in [[amulet]]s and occasional other representations, similar to Khonsu in appearance, with the same lunar symbols on his head and occasionally the same tight garments. He differed in usually wearing a full wig instead of a [[Sidelock of youth|child's sidelock]], and sometimes the [[Atef]] topped by another symbol.<ref>Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). ''The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt''. Thames & Hudson. p. 111</ref> As time went on, Iah also became Iah-Djehuty, meaning "god of the new moon".<ref>Remler, Pat. (2000). ''Egyptian Mythology A to Z: A Young Reader's Companion''. Facts On File. p. 1.</ref> In this role, he assumed the lunar aspect of [[Thoth]] (also known as [[Djehuty]]), who was the god of knowledge, writing and calculation. The segments of the moon were also used as fractional symbols in writing.<ref>S. Quirke and A.J. Spencer, ''The British Museum Book of Ancient Egypt''. London, The British Museum Press, 1992</ref>

Iah was also assimilated with [[Osiris]], god of the dead, perhaps because, in its monthly cycle, the Moon appears to renew itself.

==See also==
* [[Iah (queen)]]
* [[List of lunar deities]]
* [[Ra]]
* [[Yarikh]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

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[[Category:Egyptian gods]]
[[Category:Lunar gods]]
[[Category:Khonsu]]