M 321 JSMin 17; RES 3346
Jaussen and Savignac 1914: pls LXXIV (photo), XCIX/17 (facsimile)
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INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Minaic » Marginal Minaic | ||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Writing technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 3.2 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text - fragmentary (conjectural) |
TEXT
1 [... ...]rb k-ydh-s¹mn (ʿd) [...]rr[... ...]
2 [... ... H]nʾ k-Wd rytm w-rṯd Hnʾ w-ḏ (ʾ)ḏ(n)[... ...]
3 [... ...ʿṯtr ḏ-Qb]ḍ w-Wd w-Nkrḥ <w->ʾlʾlt Mʿn bn (ḏ)-[... ...]
4 [... ...] bn mqmh-s¹m (w)-[.] ʾ[ḫ](ḫ)r (ʾ)wl ḏ-yṯw[b... ...]
5 [... ...] b-ʾḥly Hnʾ (w)-(qnyh)-(s¹) w-fdyth-s¹ h[... ...]
6 [... ...]-s¹ w-s¹wfy k-Ḫl(d)( ʿnn ʿ)lyt ḏt ṣḥ[ftn ... ...]
7 [... ...]Wqhʾl Ṣdq (w)-(ʾb)krb Yṯʿ mlky [Mʿn ... ...]
8 [... ...](Y)fʿn (kbrh )(Mʿn)( b)-[... ...]
| 1 | Mordtmann reads w-ḏ, while Jaussen and Savignac (and consequently RES and Garbini) ʿd; the editors read ys¹brr. |
| 3 | the editors integrate w- before ʾlʾlt Mʿn, as it is usual in the Minaic texts. However, we cannot exclude that "the gods of Maʿīn" is an apposition to the list of divinities previously mentioned. |
| 4 | w-h (Mordtmann); hm (Jaussen and Savignac, RES and Garbini); probably (w-l) ʾḫḫr; ʾwl (cf. as-Sawdāʾ 40) or maybe ʾw-l. An empty space before ḏ-yṯw[b has not been considered as a lacuna: the stone was probably originally damaged. |
| 6 | on the basis of a parallel in Arabic, the editors consider k-ḫld a phrase meaning "for ever", but in Minaic Ḫld is attested only as a proper name. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 [... ...] to their hand [... ...] 2 [... ...] Hnʾ to Wd as an obligation and Hnʾ and who is in his faculty (?) put [... ...] 3 [... ...] under the protection of ʿṯtr ḏ-Qbḍ and Wd and Nkrḥ and the gods of Maʿīn from anyone [... ...] 4 [... ... who would remove them] from their place ? [... ...] 5 [... ...] among the goods of Hnʾ and his property and his purchase [... ...] 6 [... ...] and save for Ḫld on the basis of this document [... ...] 7 [... ...]Wqhʾl Ṣdq and ʾbkrb Yṯʿ kings of [Maʿīn ... ...] 8 [... ... of the clan] Yfʿn, the kabir of Maʿīn [... ...] |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Deposit | Istanbul, Ancient Orient Museum |
| Support type | Stone inscription |
| Material | Stone |
| Measures | h. 32, w. 52 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | al-ʿUlā |
| Ancient site | Ddn |
| Geographical area | Ḥijāz |
| Country | Saudi Arabia |
| Notes | According to Jaussen and Savignac, the inscription was on the city wall, but it is not clear whether it was in situ or had been reemployed. |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
This text was written during the reign of Wqhʾl Ṣdq and ʾbkrb Yṯʿ.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Müller, David H. 1889: pl. I/XI | Müller, David H. 1889. Epigraphische Denkmäler aus Arabien. (Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna. Philosophisch-historische Klasse. Denkschriften, 37/2). Vienna: In Commission bei F. Tempsky. |
| Mordtmann 1897: 32, facsimile | Mordtmann, Johannes H. 1897. Beiträge zur minäischen Epigrafik. (Ergänzungshefte zur Zeitschrift für Assyriologie, 12. Semitistische Studien). Weimar: E. Felber. |
| Jaussen and Savignac 1914: 270, pls LXXIV, XCIX/17 (facsimile) | Jaussen, Antonin J. and Savignac, M. Raphael 1914. Mission archéologique en Arabie. II. El-ʿEla, d'Hégra à Teima, Harrah de Tebouk. (Publications de la Société française des fouilles archéologiques, 2). Paris: Librairie orientaliste Paul Geuthner. |