CSAI

Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions


INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic
AlphabetAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Writing techniqueIncision
Chronology
PeriodD
Textual typologyDedicatory text

GENERAL NOTES

Iryānī transcribed the text in a paragraph arrangement that did not respect the original disposition of the lines.

TEXT


   1  ʿmrm Yzd w-bny-hw ʾbs²mr w-Rbʿt bnw ḏ-Ḥbbm w-S¹ʾryn ʾqwl s²ʿbn Ṣrwḥ w-Ḫwln Ḫḍlm w-Hynn mqtwy Ns²ʾkrb Yʾmn Yhrḥb mlk S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn bn ʾls²rḥ Yḥḍb w-Yʾzl Byn mlky S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn hqnyw ʾlmqh Ṯhwn bʿl-ʾwm ṣlmn ḏ-ḏhbn ḥg-n s²ft-hw ʿbd-hw ʿmrm ḏ-Ḥbb k-mʿn-mw yḫmrn ʾlmqh ʿbd-hw ʿmrm ḏ-Ḥbb ʾwldm ʾḏkrm hnʾm f-yhqnyn l-kl ġlmm ḏkrm ṣlmm ḏ-ḏhbm w-rʾ k-ḫmr ʾlmqh ʿbd-hw ʿmrm ḏ-Ḥbb bny-hw ʾbs²mr w-Rbʿt rʾ k-hwfy ʿmrm ḏ-Ḥbb l-mrʾ-hmw ʾlmqh hqnyt s²ft-hw l-bny-hw ʾbs²mr w-Rbʿt
   2  w-l-wzʾ ʾlmqh Ṯhwn bʿl-ʾwm ḫmr ʿbd-hw ʿmrm ḏ-Ḥbb ʾwldm ʾḏkrm hnʾm w-ḥẓy w-rḍw mrʾ-hmw Ns²ʾkrb Yʾmn Yhrḥb mlk S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn bn ʾls²rḥ Yḥḍb w-Yʾzl Byn mlky S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn w-l-ws¹f-hmw ʾlmqh bry ʾʾḏnm w-mqymtm w-l-hʿnn w-ḫryn ʾlmqh ʾdm-hw ʿmrm w-bny-hw ʾbs²mr w-Rbʿt bny ḏ-Ḥbb bn bʾs¹tm w-nkytm w-tṯʿt w-s²ṣy s²nʾm b-ʾlmqh bʿl-ʾwm

Apparatus
2Note the writing ws¹f instead of ws³f (presuming that Iryānī's copy was correct).

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  ʿmrm Yzd and his sons ʾbs²mr and Rbʿt, of the families ḏ-Ḥbbm and S¹ʾryn, ʾqwl of the tribe Ṣrwḥ and Ḫwln Ḫḍlm and Hynn, mqtwy of Ns²ʾkrb Yʾmn Yhrḥb, king of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān, son of ʾls²rḥ Yḥḍb and Yʾzl Byn, kings of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān, dedicated to ʾlmqh Ṯhwn, Lord of ʾwm, the statue in bronze as His servant ʿmrm of Ḥbb had promised Him that, as soon as ʾlmqh grants His servant ʿmrm of Ḥbb healthy male children, then he would dedicate for each male child a statue in bronze; indeed ʾlmqh has granted His servant ʿmrm of Ḥbb his two sons ʾbs²mr and Rbʿt, and indeed ʿmrm of Ḥbb has fulfilled for his Lord ʾlmqh the dedication that he had promised Him for his two sons ʾbs²mr and Rbʿt.
   2  May ʾlmqh Ṯhwn, Lord of ʾwm, continue to grant His servant ʿmrm of Ḥbb healthy male children and the goodwill and the satisfaction of their lord Ns²ʾkrb Yʾmn Yhrḥb, king of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān, son of ʾls²rḥ Yḥḍb and Yʾzl Byn, kings of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān, and may ʾlmqh increase for him the prosperity of faculty and material resources and may ʾlmqh protect and deliver His servant ʿmrm and his two sons ʾbs²mr and Rbʿt, of the family ḏ-Ḥbb, from evil and mischief and slander and malice of any enemy. By ʾlmqh, Lord of ʾwm.

OBJECT INFORMATION

DepositṢanʿāʾ, al-Kuhālī collection
Support typeArtefact » Base » Of statue with dedicatory inscription
MaterialStone
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin
Modern siteMaḥram Bilqīs
Ancient siteʾwm
Geographical areaMaʾrib
CountryYemen
Archaeological contextReligious context: Temple of ʾlmqh Ṯhwn bʿl ʾwm
Link to site record

BIBLIOGRAPHY

al-Iryānī 1973: 130-131al-Iryānī, Muṭahhar 1973. Fī taʾriḫ al-Yaman. Cairo.
Ryckmans, Jacques 1974 a: 511-512Ryckmans, Jacques 1974. Himyaritica 4. Le Muséon, 87: 493-521.
al-Iryānī 1990: 164-165al-Iryānī, Muṭahhar 1990. Fī-taʾrīḫ al-Yaman. Nuquš musnadiya wa-taʿliqāt. Ṣanʿāʾ: Markaz al-dirāsāt wa-l-buḥūṯ al-Yamanī.