U 021 ASNL P/1-5; BILS 39/1-5; Stiehl A 02; DLI 16; DROP, pp 120-121; QDNL 002; AH 042; D 095
By kind permission of
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient North Arabian » Oasis North Arabian » Dadanitic |
| Alphabet | Ancient North Arabian |
| Script typology | Monumental writing |
| Writing technique | Relief |
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
GENERAL NOTES
| Line 5. The final letter, h, is placed beyond the shallow recess containing the inscription and intrudes on line 4 of U 025. |
TEXT
1 ʿf bn ʿ(y)ḏh ʾ—
2 ẓll h-ẓll nḏr
3 bʿd d(ṯ)ʾ-h w-nfs¹-
4 h f-rḍ-h w-ʾṯb-
5 h w-s¹ʿd-h w-ʾṯb-h
| The inscription is contained within a shallow recess and it is clear that nothing has been lost on the right or the left. It is therefore difficult to explain the assumption by Altheim and Stiehl followed by van den Branden that there is a lacuna of between three to six letters at the end of each line. Their restorations are therefore inappropriate. Altheim and Stiehl followed by van den Branden also read U 022 as a continuation of this text. However, U 022 is by a priestess and it is difficult to see what connection it could have with the present text. | |
| 1-2 | Drewes followed by Abū l-Ḥasan reads ʾṭll h- ṭll rather than ʾẓll h- ẓll. Farès-Drappeau reads ʿm for ʿf. |
| 3 | Altheim and Stiehl followed by van den Branden read dḫn-h for dṯʾ-h. |
| 4 | Altheim and Stiehl followed by van den Branden read bnw-h for f-rḍ-h. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 ʿf son of ʿ(y)ḏh per- 2 formed the ẓll-ceremony (in fulfillment of) a vow 3 for the sake of his crop(s) of the season of later rains and for himself 4 and so favour him and reward him 5 and help him and reward him. |
| 2 | For the translation of nḏr as an adverbial accusative ‘in fulfilment of a vow’, see Wehr apud Sima (p. 99). |
| 3 | For the translation of dṯʾ see Macdonald. |
| For other translations and commentaries see the bibliography. |
| Altheim and Stiehl 1968: 31-32 (P/1-5), pl. 4 | Altheim, Franz and Stiehl, Ruth 1968. Neue liḥyānische Inschriften. Mit einem Beitrag Gonzague Ryckmans. Die Araber in der alten Welt, 5/1: 24-33. |
| van den Branden 1969: 77-78 (no. 39/1-5) | Van den Branden, Albert 1969. Les inscriptions Liḥyanites de R. Stiehl. Al-Machriq, 63: 67-79. |
| Stiehl 1971: 11-12 (A 02), pl. 11 | Stiehl, Ruth 1971. Neue liḥyānische Inschriften aus al-‛Uḏaib. Pages 3-40 in Altheim, Franz and Stiehl, Ruth (ed.). Christentum am Roten Meer I. Berlin, New York: de Gruyter. |
| Déroche 1987: 120-121 and 240 | Déroche, François 1987. Recherches sur l’oasis de Dedan/Al-‘Ulā. (2 Mikrofiches), (PhD). |
| al-Qudra 1993: 15 (L 002) | al-Qudra, Ḥusayn M. 1993. Dirāsa muʿǧamīya li-ʾalfāẓ an-nuqūš al-liḥyānīya fī ʾiṭār al-luġāt as-sāmīya al-ǧanūbīya. (MA). |
| Abū l-Ḥasan 1418/1997: 141-144 (AH 042), pl. 6 (facsimile) | Abū l-Ḥasan, Ḥusayn 1418/1997. Qirāʾa li-kitābāt liḥyānīya min ǧabal ʿIkma bi-minṭaqat al-ʿUlā. ar-Riyāḍ: maktabat al-malik Fahd al-waṭanīya. |
| Sima 1999c: 11 (U 021), pl. 5a | Sima, Alexander 1999. Die lihyanischen Inschriften von al-ʿUḏayb (Saudi-Arabien). (Epigraphische Forschungen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, 1). Rahden/Westf.: Leidorf. |
| Macdonald 1992: 2-3 | Macdonald, Michael C.A. 1992. The Seasons and Transhumance in the Safaitic Inscriptions. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 3, 2/1: 1-11. |
| Farès-Drappeau 2005: 192 (D 095), pl. XXIV | Farès-Drappeau, Saba 2005. Dédan et Liḥyân. Histoire des Arabes aux confins des pouvoirs perse et hellénistique (IVe-IIe s. avant l'ère chrétienne). (Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient et de la Mediterranée, 42). Lyon: Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée; J. Pouilloux. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Rock inscription |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | al-ʿUlā |
| Ancient site | Ddn |
| Geographical area | Ḥijāz |
| Country | Saudi Arabia |
| Notes | Found in Al-ʿUḏayb (Ǧabal ʿIkmah). The inscription is carved amongst a mass of others on one side of the huge rock, which Stiehl called 'Block A'. It is below U 017, to the left of U 018, to the right of U 025 and above U 022. |
| Link to site record |
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Altheim and Stiehl 1968: 31-32 (P/1-5), pl. 4 | Altheim, Franz and Stiehl, Ruth 1968. Neue liḥyānische Inschriften. Mit einem Beitrag Gonzague Ryckmans. Die Araber in der alten Welt, 5/1: 24-33. |
| van den Branden 1969: 77-78 (no. 39/1-5) | Van den Branden, Albert 1969. Les inscriptions Liḥyanites de R. Stiehl. Al-Machriq, 63: 67-79. |
| Stiehl 1971: 11-12 (A 02), pl. 11 | Stiehl, Ruth 1971. Neue liḥyānische Inschriften aus al-‛Uḏaib. Pages 3-40 in Altheim, Franz and Stiehl, Ruth (ed.). Christentum am Roten Meer I. Berlin, New York: de Gruyter. |
| Déroche 1987: 120-121 | Déroche, François 1987. Recherches sur l’oasis de Dedan/Al-‘Ulā. (2 Mikrofiches), (PhD). |
| al-Qudra 1993: 15 (L 002) | al-Qudra, Ḥusayn M. 1993. Dirāsa muʿǧamīya li-ʾalfāẓ an-nuqūš al-liḥyānīya fī ʾiṭār al-luġāt as-sāmīya al-ǧanūbīya. (MA). |
| Abū l-Ḥasan 1418/1997: 141-144 (AH 042), pl. 6 (facsimile) | Abū l-Ḥasan, Ḥusayn 1418/1997. Qirāʾa li-kitābāt liḥyānīya min ǧabal ʿIkma bi-minṭaqat al-ʿUlā. ar-Riyāḍ: maktabat al-malik Fahd al-waṭanīya. |
| Sima 1999c: 11 (U 021), pl. 5a | Sima, Alexander 1999. Die lihyanischen Inschriften von al-ʿUḏayb (Saudi-Arabien). (Epigraphische Forschungen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, 1). Rahden/Westf.: Leidorf. |
| Farès-Drappeau 2005: 192 (D 095), pl. XXIV | Farès-Drappeau, Saba 2005. Dédan et Liḥyân. Histoire des Arabes aux confins des pouvoirs perse et hellénistique (IVe-IIe s. avant l'ère chrétienne). (Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient et de la Mediterranée, 42). Lyon: Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée; J. Pouilloux. |
| Macdonald (in press) | Macdonald, Michael C.A.. Towards a re-assessment of the Ancient North Arabian alphabets used in the oasis of al-ʿUlā. Arabian Epigraphic Notes. |