CSAI

Corpus of Sabaic Inscriptions (work in progress)

DASI

Ja 411 A/B Gl 1500+1545; CIH 660+CIH 587; Ry 176; RES 4705


Upper right fragment
By kind permission of Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale, Rome

INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic
AlphabetAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Writing techniqueRelief
Chronology
PeriodC. Conjectural
Textual typologyConstruction text

TEXT


   1  S²krwdm ʾḫṭr bn ʿmyṯʿ bn ʿmyṯʿ ↯(w)-bn-hmw S¹ʿdʾl w-Rbbs¹mʿ bnw ʿmy—
   2  ṯʿ bnyw w-brʾ mhẓllm l-byt-hmw Ġylm w-ḥẓ↯ww ḥẓy-hmw w-ṣllw bnwt-hmw Mwgl—
   3  m w-ṣllw mwṯb-hmw Ġyln (w)-qdm-hw ʿs¹mym w-mḥ↯ḍrtn l-mknt mwṯbn Mwglm w-s²rʿ—
   4  (w kl) mḏqn (ʾby)t-hmw Ġylm w-Ṣnʿn (w)-hgr-hm(w) Ḍ↯(ʿ)ṭm w-rmt hwr s²dw-hmw (Ḏ)hbm ±
   5  b-ʿṯtr w-ʾlmqhw w-b s²ym-hmw Wdm ḏ-S¹(mʿn) w-S²[ʿ](b)↯[m w-W]dm ḏ-ʾyfʿ w-b-
   6  s²ms¹-hmw w-rbʿ-hmw w-b ʾmrʾ-hmw ʾmlk S¹bʾ [w]-ʾq(w)↯l-hmw ʾly Mʾḏnm
   7  w-rṯdw bnw ʿmyṯʿ ʾbyt-hmw ʿṯtr S²rqn (b)n mhb↯(ʾ)s¹m b-ʿṯtr w-Wdm

TRANSLATIONS

CSAI
English

   1  S²krwdm ʾḫṭr, son of ʿmyṯʿ, descendant of [the family] ʿmyṯʿ, and their sons S¹ʿdʾl and Rbbs¹mʿ, descendants of [the family] ʿmy-
   2  ṯʿ, built and constructed a porch for their house Ġylm, finished off their construction and covered with flat stones (?) their building Mwgl-
   3  m, covered with flat stones (?) their temple Ġyln - of which ʿs¹mym is in charge - and the walls for the inner shrine of the residence Mwglm, and erected
   4  all the places of prayer of their houses Ġylm and Ṣnʿn and their city Ḍʿṭm, and the upper end of the watercourse (or cistern) for their cultivated land (?) Ḏhbn;
   5  by ʿṯtr, ʾlmqhw and by their patron Wdm ḏ-S¹mʿn and S²ʿbn and Wdm ḏ-ʾyfʿ and by
   6  their s²ms¹ and their rbʿ and by their lords, the kings of Sabaʾ and their ʾqwl, those of Mʾḏnm;
   7  and the descendants of ʿmyṯʿ committed their houses to the protection of ʿṯtr S²rqn against anyone who may damage (them). By ʿṯtr and Wdm.
2ḥẓww ḥẓy-hmw: "separaverunt conclavia sua" (CIH); "refait leur déclivité (i.e. la pente de leur maison)" (Jamme 1956 a).
3-4"et mundaverunt sedem suam Ġyln et ante eam posuerunt culinam et cameras pro peristylio sedis Mwglm et suspenderunt omnes projectiones domorum suarum ..." (CIH); "und mit Wasser versorgt alle maḏqanat ihrer Häuser..." (Mordtmann and Mittwoch).
For w-qdm-hw: "la sua facciata ʿs¹mym" (Mazzini 2012; cf. Ryckmans 1930: "et sa partie antérieure (de l'édifice) ʿAsamîyum"). Instead, Jamme: "et y préside en ʿAsamite".
4"et tumuli (qui est) post campum ipsorum Dhahab" (CIH); "und die rāmat des Teiches ihres šadw Ḏahabm" (Mordtmann and Mittwoch).
Italian translation by Mazzini.
Ryckmans, Gonzague 1930: 394-395Ryckmans, Gonzague 1930. Notes épigraphiques. Le Muséon, 43: 389-407.
Jamme 1956 a: 18-19Jamme, Albert W.F. 1956. Les antiquités sud-arabes du Museo Nazionale Romano. Monumenti antichi, 43: 1-120.
Mordtmann and Mittwoch 1931Mordtmann, Johannes H. and Mittwoch, Eugen 1931. Sabäische Inschriften. Rathjens-v. Wissmannsche Südarabischen-Reise. 1. Hamburg: Friederichsen, De Gruyter.
Mazzini 2012: 233Mazzini, Giovanni 2012. Catalogo. Iscrizioni. Pages 232-237 in Sabina Antonini, Paola D'Amore and Michael Jung (eds). Il trono della regina di Saba. Cultura e diplomazia fra Italia e Yemen. La Collezione Sudarabica del Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale. Rome: Artemide.

OBJECT INFORMATION

DepositRoma, Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale “Giuseppe Tucci”, inv. 13005/16017+inv. 13006/16018
Support typeStone inscription
MaterialStone
MeasuresCIH 660: h. 37.3, w. 159.8, th. 9; CIH 587: h. 30.5, w. 135.6, th. 11.5
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin
Modern siteUnknown
Ancient siteUnknown
Geographical areaUnknown
CountryUnknown
NotesThe territory of the tribe Mʾḏnm (l. 6) was located north-west of Ṣanʿāʾ, from where the inscription may thus come.
Link to site record

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mordtmann and Mittwoch 1931: 165-166, figs 146/a-bMordtmann, Johannes H. and Mittwoch, Eugen 1931. Sabäische Inschriften. Rathjens-v. Wissmannsche Südarabischen-Reise. 1. Hamburg: Friederichsen, De Gruyter.
Ansaldi 1933: figs 88, 97Ansaldi, Cesare 1933. Il Yemen nella storia e nella leggenda. (Collezione di opere e di monografie a cura del Ministero delle colonie, 17). Rome: Sindacato italiano arti grafiche.
Höfner 1935: 37-40Höfner, Maria 1935. Die qatabanischen und sabäischen Inschriften der südarabischen Expedition im Kunsthistorischen Museum in Wien (II). Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, 42: 31-66.
Pallottino 1938: 655, fig. 3 (Jamme 411 B)Pallottino, Massimo 1938. Monumenti sud-arabici del Museo Nazionale Romano. Pages 651-657 in Atti del XIX Congresso Internazionale degli Orientalisti. Rome: Tipografia del Senato di G. Bardi.
Jamme 1956 a: 8-18, pl. I/411Jamme, Albert W.F. 1956. Les antiquités sud-arabes du Museo Nazionale Romano. Monumenti antichi, 43: 1-120.
D'Amore, Jung and Messineo 2010: 71, fig. 35D'Amore, Paola, Jung, Michael and Messineo, Gaetano 2010. Yemen. Il paese della regina di Saba (VIII sec. a.C.-VII sec. d.C.). Pages 57-72 in Paola D'Amore and Michael Jung (eds). Vicino e Medio Oriente antico. (Collana Guide Brevi del Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale "Giuseppe Tucci"). Roma: Artemide.
Mazzini 2012: 233, cat. 45Mazzini, Giovanni 2012. Catalogo. Iscrizioni. Pages 232-237 in Sabina Antonini, Paola D'Amore and Michael Jung (eds). Il trono della regina di Saba. Cultura e diplomazia fra Italia e Yemen. La Collezione Sudarabica del Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale. Rome: Artemide.
Ryckmans, Gonzague 1937: 253-254Ryckmans, Gonzague 1937. Inscriptions sud-arabes. Quatrième série. Le Muséon, 50: 239-268.