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  S²fʿṯt ʾs²wʿ w-bn-hw Zydm ʾymn bnw Hmdn w-ḏ-Fys²n w-S¹ʾrn [... ... S]¹mʿy ṯlṯn ḏ-Ḥs²dm rbʿyn ḏ-Rydt hqnyw mrʾ-hmw ʾlmqh-Ṯhwn-bʿl-ʾwm ḏn ṣlmn [... ...] l-ḫmr-hmw ḥẓy w-rḍw mrʾ-hmw S²mr Yhrʿs² mlk S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn
   2  w-ḥmdm b-ḏt ḫmr-hw hwfyn w-mtʿn ʿbd-hw S²fʿṯt ʾs²wʿ bn Hmdn w-ḏ-Fys²n w-S¹ʾrn bn s¹bʾt s¹bʾ w-hʿnn b-ʿly ʿs²r S¹fln w-Yʾmm w-ḏ-Qryt w-Ḏʾbn w-ʾrs²m b-kn ḥrbw ʾrḍ Ḥs²dm w-hdrk-hmw b-Kwrnhn w-hrgw bn-hmw ʿs²ry w-ṯlṯ mʾtm ʾs¹dm bḍʿm w-hqḏw kl s¹by-hmw w-mlt-hmw
   3  w-bn s¹bʾt s¹bʾw ʿdy Tdḥn b-ʿly ʿkm w-s¹bʾt s¹bʾw ʿdy ʿtwd w-Rymm b-ʿly Dwʾt w-ʾtww bn kl ʾln s¹bʾtn b-mhrgtm w-ʾḥllm w-s¹bym w-ġnmm w-mltm ḏ-hrḍw ʾlbb-hmw
   4  w-l wzʾ ʾlmqh-Ṯhwn-bʿl-ʾwm ḫmr-hmw ʾʾrḫ ṣdqm w-ḥẓy w-rḍw mrʾ-hmw S²mr Yhrʿs² mlk S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn w-l-ḫmr-hmw wfy grybt ʿbd-hw S²fʿṯt ʾs²wʿ w-bn-hw Zydm bny Hmdn w-Fys²n w-S¹ʾrn w-l-ḫmr-hmw ʾfql ṣdqm ʿdy ʾs¹rr-hmw w-mfnt-hmw w-ms²ymt-hmw w-l-hʿnn-hmw bn ṭwʿ [... ...]s²nʾm b-ʾlmqh-bʿl-ʾwm

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  S²fʿṯt ʾs²wʿ and his son Zydm ʾymn of the family Hmdn and ḏ-Fys²n and S¹ʾrn [... ...] S¹mʿy, the third of Ḥs²dm, the quarter of Rydt, dedicated to their Lord ʾlmqh Ṯhwn, Lord of ʾwm, this statue [... ...] may He grant them the goodwill and the satisfaction of their lord S²mr Yhrʿs², king of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān,
   2  and in praise because He granted him the protection and the safety of His servant S²fʿṯt ʾs²wʿ of the family Hmdn and of Fys²n and S¹ʾrn from the expedition he undertook and conducted against the nomad groups of S¹fln and Yʾmm and of Qryt and Ḏʾbn and ʾrs²m, when they waged war on the land of Ḥs²dm, and he caught them at Kwrnhn, and they killed among them three hundred and twenty men, fatally wounded, and seized all their prisonsers and their booty;
   3  and from the expedition they undertook in Tdḥn against ʿkm and the expedition they undertook in ʿtwd and Rymm against Dwʾt, and they came back from all those expeditions with enemy casualties and spoils and prisoners and booty and loot that satisfy their hearts;
   4  may ʾlmqh Ṯhwn, Lord of ʾwm, grant them good undertakings and the goodwill and the satisfaction of the their lord S²mr Yhrʿs², king of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān, and may He grant them the safety of the persons of His servant S²fʿṯt ʾs²wʿ and his son Zydm of the family Hmdn and Fys²n and S¹ʾrn, and may He grant them good harvests in their valleys and their fields irrigated by canals and their cultivated areas, and may He deliver them from the subjection [... ...] of any enemy. By ʾlmqh, Lord of ʾwm.
2For the identification of the toponyms, see Ryckmans 1974 a: 500-502.
Ryckmans, Jacques 1974 a: 500-502Ryckmans, Jacques 1974. Himyaritica 4. Le Muséon, 87: 493-521.
Beeston 1976 b: 32Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1976. Warfare in ancient South Arabian (2nd.-3rd. centuries A.D.). Qahtan. Studies in Old Arabian Epigraphy. 3. London: Luzac and Co.

OBJECT INFORMATION

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

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin and provenance
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: 99-106al-Iryānī, Muṭahhar 1973. Fī taʾriḫ al-Yaman. Cairo.
Ryckmans, Jacques 1974 a: 500-502Ryckmans, Jacques 1974. Himyaritica 4. Le Muséon, 87: 493-521.
Beeston 1976 b: 32Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1976. Warfare in ancient South Arabian (2nd.-3rd. centuries A.D.). Qahtan. Studies in Old Arabian Epigraphy. 3. London: Luzac and Co.
al-Iryānī 1990: 134-142al-Iryānī, Muṭahhar 1990. Fī-taʾrīḫ al-Yaman. Nuquš musnadiya wa-taʿliqāt. Ṣanʿāʾ: Markaz al-dirāsāt wa-l-buḥūṯ al-Yamanī.