| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic | ||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Writing technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 2.4 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
| 9 | The interpretation of ʾs¹bʾn as a nisbe referrring to the descendants of the aristocratic clans who founded the Sabean state, settled in the region of Mārib and the Jawf, is proposed by Robin 1996 a: 1104-1105. |
| 19 | Jamme's transliteration: hwt wymn is an oversight. |
| English | |
1 Mrṯdm Y[... ...] and his son Ḏrḥn ʾs²wʿ, of the family ḏ-Grfm, ʾqwl 2 of the tribe Yhbʿl, dedicated to ʾlmqh Ṯhwn, Lord of ʾwm, the statue 3 in bronze, in praise because He granted and bestowed favours to His servant Ḏrḥn of the family Grfm, 4 when they went on an expedition to perform service for their lords S¹ʿds²ms¹m ʾs¹rʿ and his son Mrṯdm 5 Yhḥmd, kings of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān, sons of ʾls²rḥ Yḥḍb, king of Sabaʾ 6 and ḏu-Raydān, to the land of the tribe Rdmn in the war that initiated Whbʾl bn Mʿhr 7 and ḏ-Ḫwln and Ḥaḍramawt and Qataban and Rdmn and Mḍḥym and all the soldiers and the Arabs 8 who were their supporters against their lords the kings of Sabaʾ; and their lords 9 S¹ʿds²ms¹m and Mrṯdm embarked on a campaign - and with them their servants among the Sabaeans and the ʾqwln 10 and the army of the king of Sabaʾ - up to the vicinity of the town of Wʿln and came to confrontation with Ydʿʾl, 11 king of the Ḥaḍramawt and the Ḥaḍramawt and Nbṭm, king of Qataban and Qataban and Whbʾl of 12 Mʿhr and ḏ-Ḫwln and ḏ-Hṣbḥ and Mḍḥym and all their supporters; Mrṯdm 13 and Ḏrḥn, of the family ḏ-Grfm, praised the might and the power of ʾlmqh because He granted their lords 14 S¹ʿds²ms¹m and Mrṯdm, kings of Sabaʾ, to crush and rout all the army of Ydʿʾl , 15 king of Ḥaḍramawt and Whbʾl of Mʿhr and all their supporters; 16 and Mrṯdm and Ḏrḥn of the family Grfm continued to praise the might and the power of ʾlmqh Lord of 17 ʾwm because He granted favours to His servant Ḏrḥn and the men and the mqtt who performed service with him among their tribe 18 Fys²n and Yhbʿl with proper killings and booty, that satisfied them, from the tribes 19 they confronted with that day and because ʾlmqh Lord of ʾwm 20 fulfilled His servant Ḏrḥn and the men and the mqtt that performed service with him in that war in all the favours 21 Ḏrḥn requested from ʾlmqh for that expedition. Mrṯdm 22 and Ḏrḥn continued to praise ʾlmqh because their lords S¹ʿds²ms¹m 23 and Mrṯdm kings of Sabaʾ and their army marched safe and sound to the town of Mryb; 24 and Mrṯdm and Ḏrḥn of the family Grfm continued to praise the might and the power of ʾlmqhw, 25 Lord of ʾwm, because He granted favours and protected His servant Ḏrḥn of the family Grfm and the men and the mqtt 26 who performed service with him, when they went on an expedition to perform service with their lords S¹ʿds²ms¹m and Mrṯdm, kings of 27 Sabaʾ, to the vicinity of the town of Ḥlzwm and in the oriental area and they besieged and invested the 28 town of Ḥlzwm and ravaged all their valleys and destroyed and overthrew the sanctuaries and the forts 29 and the wells and the irrigation system which are in its vicinity; and because He granted to their lords S¹ʿds²ms¹m 30 and Mrṯdm to force the town of Mnwbm to capitulation and humiliation and all the towns and the fortresses of the tribe of 31 ʾws¹n and the town of S²yʿn; and Mrṯdm and Ḏrḥn continued to praise the might and the power of ʾlmqh 32 because He saved and protected His servant Ḏrḥn ʾs²wʿ of the family Grfm and Rbs²ms¹m Yʿrr 33 of the family ʿlfqm from a military operation in which they attacked and pursued the Ḥaḍramis and the nomads that had marched to 34 the vicinity of Tmnʿ. Mrṯdm and Ḏrḥn continued to praise the might and the power of ʾlmqh, Lord of 35 ʾwm, because He saved and let their lords S¹ʿds²ms¹m and Mrṯdm return to the town 36 of Mryb in safety and with a triumph that satisfied them in that expedition. 37 Mrṯdm and Ḏrḥn continued to praise ʾlmqh because was successful (or: because He gave success to) the mission of Mrṯdm of the family Grfm 38 in the town of Ṣnʿw and of the ʾqwl, whom their lords S¹ʿds²ms¹m and Mrṯdm commanded to go on the mission in 39 Rḥbtn, in those two expeditions; and was successful (or: He gave success to) the mission of Mrṯdm and of the ʾqwl who went on mission with him (or: whom he brought on mission with himself): 40 Rḥʾl, of the family Ḏrnḥ, and S²rḥṯt, of the family Btʿ, and ʾlrm, of the family S¹ḫymm and Yrʿd, of the family 41 S¹ʾrn, and Yrm, of the family Hmdn; may ʾlmqh continue to grant to His servants Mrṯdm and Drḥn, of the family 42 ḏ-Grfm, the goodwill and the satisfaction of their lords S¹ʿds²ms¹m and Mrṯdm, kings of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān, 43 and may ʾlmqh grant them soundness of faculties and material resources and may He deliver from Wʿln 44 their servants Mrṯdm and Ḏrḥn and their tribe Fys²n and Yhbʿl from evil and mischief 45 and all the malice and the maleficence of any enemy, far or near. By ʿṯtr and Hwbs¹ and by 46 ʾlmqh, Lord of ʾwm and Ḥrwnm, and ʾlmqh, Lord of Mtbʿm and Rwẓn, and by ḏt 47 Ḥmym and by ḏt Bʿdnm and by the solar deity of the king Tnf and by their solar deity, the Lady of Ṣyḥyn. |
| 28-29 | This is the only attestation of the plural noun hyklt. The translation is based on a possible comparison with Heb. hêkel “manor” (Avanzini). |
| 29 | b-ḫlf-hy: here, as in Sh 18§2, -hy is the genitive feminine suffix pronoun referred to hgrn (Stein 2003 a: 133). |
| 30 | Mnwb could be the ancient name of Hajar an-Nāb in the wādī Markha. |
| 38-39 | Rḥbtn is the region north of Ṣanʿāʾ. |
| Stein 2003 a | Stein, Peter 2003. Untersuchungen zur Phonologie und Morphologie des Sabäischen. (Epigraphische Forschungen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, 3). Rahden: Marie Leidorf GmbH / Westf.: Marie Leidorf GmbH. |
| Support type | Artefact » Base » Of statue with dedicatory inscription |
| Material | Stone |
| Link to object record |
| Modern site | Maḥram Bilqīs |
| Ancient site | ʾwm |
| Geographical area | Maʾrib |
| Country | Yemen |
| Found | Reemployed. In ancient times |
| Archaeological context | Religious context: Temple of ʾlmqh Ṯhwn bʿl ʾwm |
| Notes | Re-used in the western pavement. |
| Link to site record |
| Jamme 1962 a: 128-131 | Jamme, Albert W.F. 1962. Sabaean Inscriptions from Maḥram Bilqîs (Mârib). (Publications of the American Foundation for the Study of Man, 3). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. |
| ʿInān 1976: 342-347 | ʿInān, Zaid b. ʿA 1976. Taʾriḫ ḥaḍāra al-Yaman al-qadīm. Cairo. |
| Beeston 1976 b: 43-45 | Beeston, 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. |
| Robin 1996 a: 1044-1045 | Robin, Christian J. 1996. Sheba. II. Dans les inscriptions de l'Arabie du Sud. Pages Coll. 1047-1254 in Jacques Briend and Édouard Cothenet (eds). Supplément au Dictionnaire de la Bible. Fasc. 70. Paris: Letouzey & Ané. |