CSAI

Corpus of Sabaic Inscriptions (work in progress)


INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic
AlphabetAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Writing techniqueIncision
Measure of letters4.2 (min.), 4.4 (max.)
Chronology
PeriodD
Date(second half of the 2nd century AD)
Textual typologyDedicatory text

TEXT


   1  [S¹ḫ](mn) (Y)hṣbḥ bn Btʿ ʾbʿl byt—
   2  n Wklm ʾqwl s²ʿbn S¹mʿy ṯlṯn ḏ-Ḥ—
   3  mln hqnyw ʾlmqhw bʿl ʾwm ṣlmn ḥ—
   4  mdm b-ḏt hws²ʿ-hmw b-s¹twfyn ʾtyt m—
   5  rʾ-hmw ʾnmrm Yhʾmn mlk S¹bʾ bn W—
   6  hbʾl Yḥz mlk S¹bʾ ʿdy bytn S¹lḥ—
   7  n bn byt bny ḏ-Ġymn ḥg-n tqnʿ-hw ʾ—
   8  dm-hw ʾs¹bʾn w-ʾqwln w-ḫms¹n w-l s¹ʿd
   9  ʾlmqhw bʿl ʾwm ʿbd-hw S¹ḫmn bn Bt—
  10  [ʿ] rḍw w-ḥẓy mrʾ-hmw ʾnmrm Yhʾmn ml—
  11  [k] S¹bʾ bn Whbʾl Yḥz mlk S¹bʾ w-l-s¹—
  12  [ʿd]-hmw ʾlmqhw bʿl ʾwm ʾṯmr w-ʾfql ṣ—
  13  [dqm] bn kl ʾrḍ-hmw w-ʾs¹rr-hmw w-ms²ym—
  14  [t-hmw] w-l-ḏt nʿmt w-tnʿmn l-S¹ḫmn w-bny [B]—
  15  [tʿ w-... ...]lw Ḥmln w-l ḫryn-hmw ʾlmqhw
  16  [w-mtʿn-hmw ](b)n bʾs¹tm w-nkym w-nḍʿ w-s²ṣy
  17  [s²nʾm ḏ-r]ḥq w-qrb b-ʿṯtr w-Hbs¹ w-ʾlm—
  18  [qhw w-b]-ḏt Ḥmym w-b-ḏt Bʿdnm w-b-s²ms¹
  19  mlkn Tnf w-b-s²ym-hmw Tʾlb Rymm bʿl S²—
  20  ṣrm w-rṯdw hqnyt-hmw ʿṯtr S²rqn w-ʾlmqh—
  21  w bʿl ʾwm bn hnkrn-hw bn brṯ[.]-hw

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  Sḫmn Yhṣbh of the family Btʿ, owners of the house
   2  Wklm, ʾqwl of the tribe S¹mʿy, the third of ḏu-Ḥmln,
   3  dedicated to ʾlmqh, Lord of ʾwm, the statue, in
   4  praise because He aided them in giving protection for the return of
   5  their lord ʾnmrm Yhʾmn, king of Sabaʾ, son of
   6  Whbʾl Yḥz, king of Sabaʾ, to the house S¹lḥn
   7  from the house of the clan Ġymm, as he accepted to an action him, his servants,
   8  the Sabaeans, the ʾqwl and the main army. Might
   9  ʾlmqh, Lord of ʾwm, grant to His servant S¹ḫmn of the family Btʿ
  10  the goodwill and the satisfaction of their lord ʾnmrm Yhʾmn, king
  11  of Sabaʾ, son of Whbʾl Yḥz, king of Sabaʾ; and might
  12  ʾlmqh, Lord of ʾwm, grant to them perfect crops and
  13  harvests in all their land and their valleys and [their] fields;
  14  and for what has been and will be favourable for S¹ḫmn and the descendants of the clan Btʿ
  15  and [... ...] of Ḥmln; and that might ʾlmqh preserve them
  16  and save them from misfortunes and mischief and maleficence and malice
  17  of the enemy, who is distant and nearby; by ʿṯtr and Hwbs¹ and ʾlmqh
  18  and by ḏt-Ḥmym and by ḏt-Bʾdnm, and by the solar deity
  19  of the king Tnf, and by their Patron, Tʾlb Rymm, Lord of S²ṣrm;
  20  and they committed their dedication to ʿṯtr S²rqn and ʾlmqh,
  21  Lord of ʾwm, against the damage of it from its place.

OBJECT INFORMATION

DepositMārib
Support typeArtefact » Base
MaterialStone
Measuresh. 147, w. 49, th. 35.8
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin and provenance
Modern siteMaḥram Bilqīs
Ancient siteʾwm
Geographical areaMaʾrib
CountryYemen
Archaeological contextReligious context: Temple of ʾlmqh bʿl ʾwm
Link to site record

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jamme 1962 a: 39-42Jamme, Albert W.F. 1962. Sabaean Inscriptions from Maḥram Bilqîs (Mârib). (Publications of the American Foundation for the Study of Man, 3). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.
Korotayev 1996: 99Korotayev, Andrey V. 1996. Pre-Islamic Yemen. Socio-political organization of the Sabaean cultural area in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
Robin 1996 a: 1104-1105Robin, Christian J. 1996. Sheba. II. Dans les inscriptions de l'Arabie du Sud. Pages Coll. 1047-1254 in Jacques Briend and Édouard Cothenet (eds). Supplément au Dictionnaire de la Bible. Fasc. 70. Paris: Letouzey & Ané.