Maʿīn 7 RES 2771; M 27
Bron 1998 a: pls 12-13
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Minaic » Central Minaic | ||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Writing technique | Incision | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
TEXT
1 ʿmydʿ w-ʿmkrb w-Ḥywm w-Bs¹lm w-Yḥmʾ±l bhn ʿmṣdq ḏ-ʿmm ʾbhy (ʾlʾw)±s¹ w-ʾbʾmr w-ʾ↯ws¹ʿṯt w-Ḫlyd↯ʿ w-Wddʾl↯ w-S¹(ʿ)dʾl |
2 w-Yḏkrʾl w-Ys¹mʿʾl ʾhl Gbʾn mwddt± ʾlyfʿ Rym w-bn-s¹ Hwfʿṯt mlk±y Mʿn s³lʾ ʿ(ṯ)↯tr ḏ-Qbḍm kl↯ mbny mḥ↯fdn Y↯hr ʾ—
3 bnm w-ʿḍm ʿd s²qrn b-kbwdt ktrb ʿm±ydʿ ʿṯtr ḏ-Qbḍ ʾhl s¹brr w-b ±frʿ frʿ-s¹ w-ʿ↯(s²)r ʿs²r-s¹ yw↯m rt(kl )(Mṣr)↯ (w)-Ġzt ↯w-ʾʾ—
4 s²r w-(s¹)lm b-ʾmr ±ʿṯtr ḏ-Qbḍ w-Wd w-ywm s³lʾ Wdm b-ṣrḥm((Ṣrḥm)) (ms³)±nd ṭyb w-ʾf(ẓ)[ḥ ]±w-ḏhb mwṯ (b)-nhmn w-yw±m s³(lʾ) N↯krḥm b-(Kb)[d ḍ]—
5 fw ṭyb mrkb ʾ±ḥly ḫhy bytn w-ywm ʿs¹y w-bny w-frrʿ b±yt-s¹m Yhr w-mḥf±dn w-ywm whb mṯʿyt W±dm w-yw↯[m w](hb) w-(ḏb)[ḥ ʿ]—
6 ṯtr ḏ-Qbḍm w-W±dm b-ʾḥḍrm ʾḏbḥm /30/ w-ywm ṣdq ʿm↯(y)±dʿ w-ʾḫh-s¹w w-b±hn-s¹m kl ḏ-dyn-s¹m w-k±(l )↯(ḏ)-(dyn)[ ʾbh-s¹m w-ʾʿmm]—
7 h-s¹m bn kl Mʿnm w-ḏ Yṯl ḥr-s¹m± w-ḥw-s¹m ʿd↯ wrḫ ḏ-(Ḥ)ḍr (k)↯(b)±(r) Wddʾl ḏ-Rym±(n) qdmn kbr-s¹ w-l-ḏ ʾ(ḫḫ)[r ... ... ʿmydʿ]
8 w-ʾḫh-s¹w w-bhn-s¹m w-ʾbh-s¹m w-ʾʿm±mh-s¹m kl ↯qnym hn mh (k)-↯(ṣ)↯dq-s¹ ʿd wrḫ w-±k↯br ngwt [ḏt ](hq)nytn (w)-(ywm)[ s¹ṯb k-s¹ ʾl]—
9 yfʿ Rym mlk Mʿn w-ms³wd Mʿn ±b-ms³wd m(n)↯ʿn tʾmnm w-(s¹)[s²]rʿ b-(ḏt ʾrḫ )[k-ʾlh-s¹ w-s²ymh-s¹ w-mlkh-s¹ w-s²ʿbh-s¹ b-ʿṯ]—
10 tr ḏ-Qbḍm w-±b Wdm w-b Nkrḥm w-b ʿṯtr[ ḏ-Yhrq ]w-b kl (ʾlʾlt )(M)[ʿn](m)( w)-[Yṯl]
11 w-rṯd ʿmydʿ± w-ʾḫh-s¹w w-bhn-s¹m hqnyt-s¹[m ... ...]m... ...
12 bn ḏ-yms³r-s¹±m [... ...]
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 ʿmydʿ, ʿmkrb, Ḥywm, Bs¹lm and Yḥmʾl, sons of ʿmṣdq ḏ-ʿmm, fathers of ʾlʾws¹, ʾbʾmr, ʾws¹ʿṯt, Ḫlydʿ, Wddʾl, S¹ʿdʾl, 2 Yḏkrʾl and Ys¹mʿʾl, of the clan Gbʾn, friends of ʾlyfʿ Rym and of his son Hwfʿṯt, the two kings of Maʿīn, dedicated to ʿṯtr ḏ-Qbḍm all the construction of the tower Yhr, 3 of stone and of wood, up to top, with the taxes that ʿmydʿ incurred towards ʿṯtr ḏ-Qbḍ, from which He released him, and with the firstfruits he offered Him and the tithe he paid to Him, when he traded with Egypt, Ġzt and As- 4 syria and he gained security by the command of ʿṯtr ḏ-Qbḍ and of Wd, and when he dedicated to Wd in the ṣrḥ an inscription made in gold, silver and bronze fixed on the wall (?), and when he dedicated to Nkrḥ in Kbd (?) a 5 covering in gold adapted to the ornamentation of the portico of the temple, and when he made, built and erected their house Yhr and the tower, and when he offered offers to Wdm, and when he offered and sacrificed to ʿ- 6 ṯtr ḏ-Qbḍm and to Wdm during the festivals 30 victims; and when ʿmydʿ, his brothers and their sons fulfilled all He levied on them and all He levied [on their fathers and their uncles], 7 from all Maʿīn and ḏ-Yṯl, their lords and their vassals, till the month of ḏ-Ḥḍr of the first kabirate of Wddʾl ḏ-Rymn, and for the future (?) [...] ʿmydʿ 8 and his brothers and their sons and their fathers and their uncles, all the possessions of which they acquitted themselves of till the month and the kabirate of the promulgation of this dedication, and when they testified for him ʾl- 9 yfʿ Rym, king of Maʿīn, and the assembly of Maʿīn in the great assembly, the aknowledgement and they granted rights for what he accomplished for his gods, his Patrons, his kings and his tribes; by ʿṯ- 10 tr ḏ-Qbḍm and by Wdm and by Nkrḥm and by ʿṯtr ḏ-Yhrq and by all the gods of Maʿīn and Yṯl. 11 ʿmydʿ, his brothers and their sons committed their dedication [... ...] 12 against anyone who may remove them [... ...] |
| Bron 1998 a: 46-48 | Bron, François 1998. Maʿīn. Fasc. A: Les documents. Fasc. B: Les planches. Inventaire des inscriptions sudarabiques. 3. Paris: de Boccard / Rome: Herder. [Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres; Istituto italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente] |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Inscription on architectural structure » Gate |
| Material | Stone |
| Measures | h. 160, w. 500 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Maʿīn |
| Ancient site | Qrnw |
| Geographical area | Jawf - Wādī Madhab |
| Country | Yemen |
| Found | In situ |
| Archaeological context | Urban context: City gate |
| Notes | The inscription is engraved on the eastern gate of the town. |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
This is one of the few texts which mention the faraway destinations of the Minaean trading activities, namely Egypt, Gaza and Assyria.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Tawfīq 1951: pls 23-34/47-69 | Tawfīq, Muḥammad 1951. Aṯār Maʿīn fī Ǧawf al-Yaman. (Les monuments de Maʿîn). (Publications de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale du Caire. Études sud-arabiques, 1). ʾal-Qāhira: ʾal-Maʿhad ʾal-ʿIlmī ʾal-Faransī lil- ʾĀthār ʾal-Sharqīyah. |
| Robin 1994 c: figs 1-4 | Robin, Christian J. 1994. L'Egypte dans les inscriptions de l'Arabie méridionale préislamique. Pages 285-301 in Catherine Berger, Gisele Clerc and Nicolas Grimal (eds). Hommages à Jean Leclant. (Bibliothéque d'étude, 106). Cairo: Institut français d'archéologie orientale. |
| Bron 1998 a: 45-48, pls 12-13 | Bron, François 1998. Maʿīn. Fasc. A: Les documents. Fasc. B: Les planches. Inventaire des inscriptions sudarabiques. 3. Paris: de Boccard / Rome: Herder. [Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres; Istituto italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente] |