Shaddad

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Mythical and perhaps historical king of lost Arabian city of Iram of the Pillars. Various sources suggest Shaddad was the son of Ad/Aad, the son of Utz/Uz/Aus, the son of Aram, the son of Shem, the son of Noah.

His story is found in the 277th through 279th nights of the Tales of the Arabian Nights (The Book of One Thousand and One Nights).

Brothers Shadid and Shedad reigned in turn over the 1,000 Adite tribes, each consisting of several thousands of men. It is said Shedad subdued all Arabia and Irak. Many Arab writers tell of an expedition of Shedad that caused the Canaanite migration, their settling in Syria, and the Shepherd invasion of Egypt.

Iram of the Pillars was a city of occult worsippers of stone idols. Shaddad defied the warnings of the prophet Hud. To punish them, God sent a drought. But the people would not repent, so they were destroyed in a large storm, from which only Hud and a few believers emerged. God smote Iram, driving it into the sands, never to be seen again.