CIAS 47.82/o 2 Q 244; CSAI I, 156
By kind permission of GOAM
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Qatabanic » Central Qatabanic | ||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Writing technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | about 3 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
TEXT
1 (G)dnʿm w-Ḥmdʿly w-bn-s¹m(y) ʾb—
2 krb w-Nʿmgd ḏtw Ms²fr(t)
3 w-Thṯkn w-Fqḍtn s¹qnyn (m)—
4 rʾ-s¹(n) [ʿm ḏ-Dw]nm ʿd (m)[ḥ]—
5 rm-s¹ Ḥṭbm (b)-hgrn[ ḏ-Ġ]—
6 ylm ṣlm ḏhbm ḥg (m)[... ...]
7 ḏm s²ftn-s¹ l-wfy mr(ʾ)-(s¹)[n Nb]—
8 ṭm Yhnʿm mlk Qtbn b-y(w)—
9 m b-s¹ s¹bʾ ʿd Rḥbtn ʿbr
10 mlk S¹bʾ w-ʾrḍ Ḥmyrm w-ʿm l-y(z)—
11 ʾ ṣdq-s¹n b-kl mngw b-yktrbwn ʿ—
12 m-n tḥrg-s¹ l-wfy mrʾ-s¹n Nbṭm Y—
13 hnʿm mlk Qtbn w-wfy-s¹n w-wfy
14 ʾbrṯ-s¹n rṯdw ʿm ḏ-Dwnm ṣ(l)m—
15 n bn-kl ms¹nkrm bn brṯ-s¹ b-ʿ—
16 (ṯt)r S²r(qn) w-ʿm ḏ-Dwnm w-ʾnby
17 ←S²ymn w-Ns²bt
18 w-ʿzyn mnḍḥw Ḥrb
| The last two lines are engraved on the left lateral side of the block. | |
| 9 | The toponym Rḥbtn could be identified with Raḥbān, which lies north of al-Misʿsāl (see Cultural remarks), or with Raḥbatān, north of Ṣanʿāʾ. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Gdnʿm and Ḥmdʿly and the sons of both of them ʾb- 2 krb and Nʿmgd of the family Ms²frt 3 and Thṯkn and Fqḍtn dedicated to their Lord 4 ʿm ḏ-Dwnm in his 5 temple Ḥṭbm in the town ḏ-Ġ- 6 ylm a bronze statue as[... ...] 7 that they had promised to Him for the safety of (their) lord Nb- 8 ṭm Yhnʿm king of Qatabān in the day 9 in which he carried out a military expedition as far as Rḥbtn against 10 the king of Sabaʾ and the land of Ḥimyar; may ʿm grant 11 them again the favour in each enterprise they will undertake 12 under His command for the safety of their lord Nbṭm Y- 13 hnʿm king of Qatabān and their own safety and the safety in 14 their actions. They committed this statue to ʿm ḏ-Dwnm 15 against everyone may damage it from its place; by ʿ- 16 ṯtr S²rqn and ʿm ḏ-Dwnm and ʾnby 17 S²ymn and Ns²bt 18 and ʿzyn the two protectors of Ḥrb. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Deposit | Aden, The National Museum, NAM 511=AM 757 |
| Support type | Artefact » Base » Of statue with dedicatory inscription |
| Measures | h. 50, w. 24, th. 16 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Hajar Ibn Ḥumayd |
| Ancient site | ḏ-Ġylm / ḏt-Ġylm |
| Geographical area | Wādī Bayḥān |
| Country | Yemen |
| Archaeological context | Religious context: Temple of ʿm ḏ-Dwnm ʿd Ḥṭbm |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
Ns²bt and ʿzyn are the "protectors" of the royal palace of Ḥrb in the last capital of the Qatabanian kingdom, ḏ-Ġylm.
This inscription, which has a parallel in CSAI I, 157=CIAS 95.11/o2, is one text that may speak of the "autonomous role" of women in South Arabian society.
In a dramatic situation, two women and their children leave two inscriptions for divine protection for their king, praying the god to grant them again the favour "in each enterprise they will undertake under His command" for the safety of their king.
In a dramatic situation, two women and their children leave two inscriptions for divine protection for their king, praying the god to grant them again the favour "in each enterprise they will undertake under His command" for the safety of their king.
This text dates back to short before the end of the Qataban kingdom, at the middle of the second century AD. At that time, the capital had been moved to ḏ-Ġylm. From there, the last Qatabanian king Nbṭʿm Yhnʿm departs for his last disastrous military campaign against Sabaʾ and Ḥimyar in the territories of the high plateau, which in ancient times had been dominated by Qataban kings.
This war is probably the one mentioned in the Sabaic text Ja 629, where Sabaʾ and Ḥimyar fought firstly in the territory of Radmān, then of Qataban and Awsan, an "Oriental" coalition made by the tribes of Radmān, Khawlān and Maḍḥī together with Qataban and Ḥaḍramawt.
This war is probably the one mentioned in the Sabaic text Ja 629, where Sabaʾ and Ḥimyar fought firstly in the territory of Radmān, then of Qataban and Awsan, an "Oriental" coalition made by the tribes of Radmān, Khawlān and Maḍḥī together with Qataban and Ḥaḍramawt.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| CIAS: i, 147-157, photo | Beeston, Alfred F.L., Pirenne, Jacqueline and Robin, Christian J. 1977-1986. Corpus des inscriptions et antiquités sud-arabes: Vol. I (1977): Tome 1. Inscriptions. Tome 2. Antiquités; Vol. II (1986): Le Musée d’Aden. Tome 1. Inscriptions. Tome 2. Antiquités. Louvain: Peeters. [Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres] |
| Robin and Vogt 1997: 182, cat. 235 | Robin, Christian J. and Vogt, Burkhard (eds) 1997. Yémen, au pays de la reine de Saba. Exposition présentée à l'Institut du monde arabe du 25 octobre 1997 au 28 février 1998. Paris: Flammarion, Institut du Monde Arabe. |