CSAI

Corpus of Sabaic Inscriptions (work in progress)

DASI

Šibām Kawkabān 1


INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic
AlphabetAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Writing techniqueIncision
Measure of letters5-6
Chronology
PeriodE
Date487 ḥim
Textual typologyConstruction text

TEXT


   1  Gḥḍm ʾyhr w-ʾḫy-hw Nmrn Ynf w-Nwfm Yrm w-bny-hmw [... ...]
   2  w-Mrṯdʾln w-Brlm w-Lḥyʿt w-ʾbkrb w-S²rḥʾl w-ʾbs²mr [...] Kbr [ʾqynm ... ...] —
   3  dr w-ḏ-Ryb w-ḏ-Qms²m w-ḏ-ʿlwn w-Ṯnym w-ḏ-Ḫs³mtm w-kbwr Ṣydn S²ddm [... ...]
   4  w-Ḥfs²m brʾw w-hwṯrn w-hqḥ w-hs²qrn byt-hmw Ḥḍrn w-ms³wd-hw br[dʾ mrʾ-yhm]
   5  w-ʾbkrb ʾs¹ʿd w-Ḏrʾʾmr ʾymn mlky S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn w-Ḥḍrmwt w-Ym[nt w-b-ḫyl s²ʿb-h]—
   6  mw Bklm wrḫ-hw ḏ-Qyṣn ḏ-b-ḫrfn ḏ-l-s¹bʿt w-ṯmny w-ʾrbʿ mʾtm

Apparatus
3ḏ-Ḫs³mtm: unknown lineage name.

Ṣydn: could be another spelling of Ṣdn.
4Ḥḍrn: mentioned here for the first time as house name; often occurs as a lineage name.

TRANSLATIONS

Sholan and Gajda 2015
English

   1  Gāḥiḍum ʾAyhar, his brothers Nimrān Yanūf and Nawfum Yarīm, and their sons [...
   2  Marṯadʾilān, Barīlum, Luḥayʿt, ʾAbīkarib, Šaraḥʾīil und ʾAbīšamar, [...] Kabīr [Aqyānum ...
   3  .., ḏū-Rayb, ḏū-Qamišum, ḏū-ʿAlwān, Ṯanīm, and ḏū-Ḫaśmatum, chiefs of Ṣaydān of Šaddātum [...
   4  and Ḥufāšum, have built, laid foundations, finished off (plastered) and elevated their house Ḥaḍrān and its assembly/reception hall [with the assistance of their two lords]
   5  ʾAbīkarib ʾAsʿad and Ḏaraʾʾamar ʾAyman, kings of Sabʾ, ḏū-Raydān, Ḥaḍramawt and Yam[anat and with the power of their tribe]
   6  Bakīlum. Its date is (the month of) ḏū-Qiyāṣān of the year 487.
Sholan and Gajda 2015: 161-166Sholan, Amida and Gajda, Iwona 2015. A new Ḥimyaritic inscription from Šibām Kawkabān dated to the year 487 of the Ḥimyaritic era. Pages 161-169 in Iris Gerlach (ed.). South Arabia and its neighbours. Phenomena of intercultural contacts. 14. Rencontres Sabéennes. (Archäologische Berichte aus dem Yemen, 14). Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag.

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeStone inscription
MaterialStone
Measuresh. 42, w. 120
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin and provenance
Modern siteShibām-Kawkabān
Ancient siteS²bm
Geographical areaal-Maḥwīt
CountryYemen
FoundReemployed. In modern times
Archaeological contextUrban context: Private house Ḥḍrn
NotesThe stone inscription is reemployed as a part of pillar inside the mosque of Shibām Kawkabān.
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

History
In the year 487 of the Ḥimyaritic era, the two kings Abīkarib Asʿad and Ḏaraʾʾamar Ayman ruled together with their father Malkīkarib Yuhaʾmin, as shown by two later (493 Ḥim) royal inscriptions Bayt al-Ašwal 2 and RES 3383 (cf. Sholan and Gajda 2015: 165-166).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sholan and Gajda 2015: 161-167, figs 1-4Sholan, Amida and Gajda, Iwona 2015. A new Ḥimyaritic inscription from Šibām Kawkabān dated to the year 487 of the Ḥimyaritic era. Pages 161-169 in Iris Gerlach (ed.). South Arabia and its neighbours. Phenomena of intercultural contacts. 14. Rencontres Sabéennes. (Archäologische Berichte aus dem Yemen, 14). Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag.