CSAI

Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions


By kind permission of GOAM

INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Late Sabaic
AlphabetAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Writing techniqueRelief
Measure of letters3
Chronology
PeriodE
Date464 Ḥim
Textual typologyConstruction text

TEXT


   1  [..]md w-ḥs²kt-hw Mrṯd(t)
   2  w-bn-hmy ʿfzlm mqtwt (m)—
   3  (lk)n brʾw w-hwṯr w-hs²qrn
   4  gyrt-hmw T(k)rb b-rdʾ ʾln
   5  bʿl-s¹myn w-b-rdʾ mrʾ-hmw
   6  Ḏrʾʾmr ʾymn wrḫ-hw ḏ-Ḫrf—
   7  n (ḏ)-(b) ḫryfn ḏ-l-ʾrbʿt w-s¹ṯy w-(ʾr)[bʿ]
   8  mʾ(tm)

Apparatus
1[Yḥ]md is a likely integration.
8mʾtm is written in small size on the lower edge of the stone.

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  [..]md and his wife Mrṯdt
   2  and their son ʿfzlm, assistants to the
   3  king, construted, laid the foundations and completed
   4  their gyrt-construction Tkrb, by the help of ʾln,
   5  master of heaven, and with the help of their lord
   6  Ḏrʾʾmr ʾymn, in the month of ḏ-Ḫrf‒
   7  n of the year four hundred and
   8  sixty-four.
4Possible interpretions of the word gyrt are "construction to produce plaster" (<GYR) or, less likely, "guest house" (<GWR).
Prioletta 2012Prioletta, Alessia 2012. A new monotheistic inscription from the Military Museum of Ṣanʿāʾ. Pages 315-332 in Alexander V. Sedov (ed.). New research in archaeology and epigraphy of South Arabia and its neighbors. Proceedings of the "Rencontres Sabéennes 15" held in Moscow, May 25th –27th, 2011. Moscow: The State Museum of Oriental Art.

OBJECT INFORMATION

DepositṢanʿāʾ, Military Museum, B 8457
Support typeStone inscription
MaterialStone
Measuresh. 40, w. 49, th. 7
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin
Modern siteUnknown
Ancient siteUnknown
Geographical areaUnknown
CountryUnknown
NotesOn the basis of some linguistic and cultural data, we can maintain that the text originates somewhere between Ṣanʿāʾ and Ẓafār, perhaps from the latter city.
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

The inscription is most likely dated according to the era of Ḥimyar and is one of the earliest monotheistic documents found in Ancient South Arabia (cf. the inscription Ag 2, dated to 355 ± AD).
This inscription attests to the existence of a ruler named Ḏrʾʾmr ʾymn, who carried out royal duties under the reign of the king Ṯʾrn Yhnʿm II. This Ḏrʾʾmr ʾymn could have been either the son of Ys¹rm Yhnʿm II or the "son" of Mlkkrb Yhʾmn; both options are chronologically tenable, although a general consideration of the data makes the identification with the later Ḏrʾʾmr ʾymn preferable (Prioletta 2012: 324).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Prioletta 2012: 315-332, fig. 1Prioletta, Alessia 2012. A new monotheistic inscription from the Military Museum of Ṣanʿāʾ. Pages 315-332 in Alexander V. Sedov (ed.). New research in archaeology and epigraphy of South Arabia and its neighbors. Proceedings of the "Rencontres Sabéennes 15" held in Moscow, May 25th –27th, 2011. Moscow: The State Museum of Oriental Art.