MB 2006 I-54
Maraqten 2018: 451, fig. 2
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic | ||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Writing technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 1.5/1.7 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
TEXT
1 [Mlkm bn Mʿw]yt mlk
2 Kdt w-Mḏḥgm hqny
3 ʾlmqw-Ṯhwn-bʿl-ʾwm |
4 ṣlmn ḏ-ḏhbn b-kn mẓʾ
5 w-nfṣ l-s¹tlmn b-yd mr—
6 ʾ-hmw S²mr Yhrʿs² mlk
7 S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn bn Ys¹rm
8 Yhnʿm mlk S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Ryd—
9 n b-hgrn Mryb w-l-wzʾ
10 ʾlmqh-Ṯhwn-bʿl-ʾwm ḫm—
11 r ʿbd-hw Mlkm bn Mʿwyt
12 ḥẓy w-rḍw mrʾ-hmw S²m—
13 r Yhrʿs² mlk S¹bʾ w-ḏ-R—
14 ydn b-ʾlmqh-Ṯhwn-bʿl-ʾwm
| 9 | The writing Mryb, instead of Mrb, is unusual for this period. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 [Mālikum son of Muʿāw]iyat king 2 of Kiddat and Maḏḥigum has dedicated 3 to Almaqah Ṯahwān, Lord of Awām, 4 the bronze statue when he marched 5 and hurried to gain security by the performance of loyalty with 6 his lord Šammar Yuharʿiš, king 7 of Sabaʾ and Ḏū-Raydān, son of Yāsirum 8 Yuhanʿim, king of Sabaʾ and Ḏū-Raydān 9 In the city of Maʾrib. And may 10 Almaqah Ṯahwān, Lord of Awām continue to grant 11 for his servant Mālikum son of Muʿāwiyat 12 the favour and goodwill of their lord Šammar 13 Yuharʿiš, king of Sabaʾ and Ḏū-Raydān. 14 By Almaqah Ṯahwān, Lord of Awām. |
| Maraqten 2018: 450-451 | Maraqten, Mohammed 2018. The visit of Mālik bin Muʿāwiyah, king of Kindah and Maḏḥiǧ to the Himyarite Šammar Yuharʿiš in Maʾrib. Pages 449-460 in Laïla Nehmé and Ahmad al-Jallad (eds). To the Madbar and back again. Studies in the languages, archaeology, and cultures of Arabia dedicated to Michael C.A. Macdonald. (Studies in Semitic languages and linguistic, 92). Leiden: Brill / Boston: Brill. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Artefact » Base » Of statue with dedicatory inscription |
| Material | Stone |
| Measures | h. 35, w. 22 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Maʾrib |
| Ancient site | Mryb / Mrb |
| Geographical area | Maʾrib |
| Country | Yemen |
| Archaeological context | Religious context: Temple of ʾlmqh Ṯhwn bʾl ʾwm |
| Notes | The inscription has been discovered in the Annex of the Awām temple, reused in the pavement in ancient times. |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
As supposed by the text editor (Maraqten 2018: 456), the visit of Mālikum to Marib took place before the invasion of Ḥaḍramawt by Šammar Yukarʿiš, since the inscription does not mention the long title of this king known in other texts (king of Sabaʾ and dhū-Raydān and Ḥaḍramawt and Yamanat). This visit seems to establish an alliance between the Arab tribes of Kiddat and Maḏḥiǧ and the Ḥimyarite kingdom in view of the occupation of Ḥaḍramawt; military contingents from Kiddat took part to this occupation.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Maraqten 2018: 449-453, fig. 2 | Maraqten, Mohammed 2018. The visit of Mālik bin Muʿāwiyah, king of Kindah and Maḏḥiǧ to the Himyarite Šammar Yuharʿiš in Maʾrib. Pages 449-460 in Laïla Nehmé and Ahmad al-Jallad (eds). To the Madbar and back again. Studies in the languages, archaeology, and cultures of Arabia dedicated to Michael C.A. Macdonald. (Studies in Semitic languages and linguistic, 92). Leiden: Brill / Boston: Brill. |