CSAI

Corpus of Early Sabaic Inscriptions from Ethiopia (work in progress)


Gajda and Selassie 2009: 56-58, figs 1-3

INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Ethiopian Early Sabaic
AlphabetAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Script cursusBoustrophedon
Writing techniqueIncision
Chronology
PeriodA
Textual typologyDedicatory text
Royal inscriptionYes

GENERAL NOTES

The incense burner is similar to RIÉ 9 and it bears the same inscription.
The inscription could have the following concordance ʾAbunä Gärima 2008-1, not yet published by Nebes (See Nebes 2010 b: 217-218).

TEXT


   1  Rdʾm mlk←n (ṣ)rʿn S¹←[ryt ]mkr(b) D—
   2  ʿmt b[n bn S¹]→(l)mm [Fṭr]→[n] w-Ṣrʿt ʿ—
   3  rktn hḥ[d]←(s¹)w mqṭ←[rtn l-R]b b—
   4  ʿl (ʾ)w[.ḥ]→ ywm mlk→w Dʿmt m—
   5  s²rq-hy w-m←ʿrb-hy ←[S¹bʾ]-hy w-ʿ—
   6  br-hy [ʾdm→-h]y w-ṣlm→-(h)y b-s¹qt|
   7  ʿs¹tr w-Hb←s¹ w-ʾlmq←[y w-]ḏt-Ḥmn
   8  w-ḏt-Bʿ[dn ]→w-ʾb-k Wd→[m] bn ʿ(t)km|

Apparatus
2The reduplication of bn in the onomastic formula could be interpreted as two construct states. It remains unclear if the king intended to refer himself to his ancestors or to his father and mother. See Nebes 2010 b: 218.
3-4Rb could be interpreted as a theonym followed by the name of sanctuary (Schneider 1973: 386).
8Nebes considers ʾb-k Wdm an apotropaic formula (Nebes 2010 b: 226).

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  Rdʿm, the victorious king of S¹ryt, mukarrib
   2  of Dʿmt, descendant of S¹lmm Fṭrn and of Ṣrʿt, the wife,
   3  restored two incense burners for Rb,
   4  Lord of ʾw[.ḥ], when he became the king of Dʿmt,
   5  its east and its west, its Sabaeans and its
   6  settlers, its Red and its Black. With the protection
   7  of ʿs¹tr and Hbs¹ and ʾlmqy and ḏt-Ḥmn
   8  and ḏt-Bʿdn and may your father Wdm (save you) from any opponent (?).
1For the comment about ṣrʿn see the inscription MG 3.
S¹ryt could be interpreted as a toponym.
3The majority of the Ethio-Sabaic royal inscriptions presents the verb hḥds¹w in the form of pluralis maiestatis. It is also possible to find the singular form of this verb in the royal inscription MG 3.
5-6For the translation of s¹qt, see Gajda and Selassie 2009: 52.
8The translation of bn ʿtkm is hypothetical.
Gajda and Selassie 2009: 52Gajda, Iwona and Selassie, Yohannes Gebre 2009. Pre-Aksumite inscribed incense burner and some architectural ornaments from Addi Akaweh (Tigrai, Ethiopia). Annales d'Éthiopie, 24: 49-61.

OBJECT INFORMATION

DepositAbba Garima, Church
Support typeArtefact » Incense burner (mqṭr)
ShapeWith truncated pyramidal base
MaterialStone
Measuresh. 77
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Provenance
Modern siteʿAddi ʾAkawǝḥ (of ʿAddi ʾAkawǝḥ)
Ancient siteUnknown
Geographical areaWuqro
CountryEthiopia
NotesThe incense burner was discovered in 1995 by a farmer.
Link to site record

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Schneider 1973: 386Schneider, Roger 1973. Deux inscriptions Sudarabiques du Tigré. Bibliotheca Orientalis, 30: 385-389.
Robin and de Maigret 1998: 788-789Robin, Christian J. and de Maigret, Alessandro 1998. Le Grand Temple de Yéha (Tigray, Éthiopie), après la première campagne de fouilles de la Mission française (1998). Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, 142: 737-798.
Gajda and Selassie 2009: 49-53, 56-58, figs 1-3Gajda, Iwona and Selassie, Yohannes Gebre 2009. Pre-Aksumite inscribed incense burner and some architectural ornaments from Addi Akaweh (Tigrai, Ethiopia). Annales d'Éthiopie, 24: 49-61.
Nebes 2010 b: 217-221, 226Nebes, Norbert 2010. Die Inschriften aus dem ʾAlmaqah-Tempel in ʿAddi ʾAkawǝḥ (Tigray). Zeitschrift für Orientarchäologie, 3: 214-237.