H 2c CSAI I, 62
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Qatabanic » Central Qatabanic | ||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Writing technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 6 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Construction text | ||
| Royal inscription | Yes |
TEXT
1 [Nbṭm] Yhnʿm bn S²hr Hll w-bn-s¹ Mrṯdm mlkw Q—
2 [tbn b]rʾw w-s¹wṯr w-s¹s²qr mwrtn Yfʿn mwrt b—
3 [yt-s¹m](y) Ḥrb w-bʾr-s¹ Bḥrm b-ws²ʿn ʿṯtr S²rqn w-ʿ—
4 [m ḏ-Dw]nm w-ʾnby S²ymn w-Wrfw ʾmr ʿm
5 [w-ḏt Ṣ](n)tm w-ḏt Ẓhrn w-Ns²bt w-ʿz(yn)[ mnḍḥw]
6 [Ḥrb w-s²m]s¹-s¹my (bʿlt) [Qly] w-ws²[ʿn mlkw Qtbn]
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Nbṭm Yhnʿm, son of S²hr Hll, and his son Mrṯdm, kings of Qa- 2 tabān, constructed and laid the foundation and completed the fortification Yfʿn, the fortification of their 3 palace Ḥrb and its well Bḥrm; by favour of ʿṯtr S²rqn and ʿ- 4 m ḏ-Dwnm and ʾnby S²ymn and Wrfw ʾmr ʿm 5 and ḏt Ṣntm and ḏt Ẓhrn and Ns²bt and ʿzyn protectors of 6 Ḥrb and their solar deity, the Lady of Qly, and by favour of the two kings of Qatabān. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Stone inscription |
| Material | Stone |
| Measures | h. 58, w. 140, th. 32 |
| 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 | Urban context: Royal palace Ḥrb |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
Nbṭm Yhnʿm son of S²hr Hll is the last king of Qataban. During his reign (after 160 AD) Qataban loses its independence and is annexed by Ḥaḍramawt. With his son Mrṯdm he has left one of the only two construction inscriptions dated at period D. The text comes from Hajar ibn Ḥumayd, at that time capital of the kingdom. It commemorates the construction of the royal palace Ḥrb and its well by the will of ʿṯtr S²rqn.
The two divinities mentioned in the concluding invocations, Ns²bt and ʿzyn, seem to be the protectors of the royal palace Ḥrb (see CSAI I, 156=CIAS 47.82/o 2 and CSAI I, 157=CIAS 95.11/o 2). The divinities are followed by "their solar divinities" (referred to both Ns²bt and ʿzyn), an expression that evokes "and their gods" of earlier periods.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Beeston 1962 a: 47-49, pl. 10/4 | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1962. Epigraphic and Archaeological Gleanings from South Arabia. Oriens Antiquus, 1: 41-52. |
| Jamme 1969 a: 338-41 | Jamme, Albert W.F. 1969. Inscriptions from Hajar bin Ḥumeid. Pages 331-354 in Gus W. Van Beek. Hajar bin Ḥumeid. Investigations at a Pre-Islamic Site in South Arabia. (Publications of the American Foundation for the Study of Man, 5). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. |
| Beeston 1971: 19-20 | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1971. The Labakh texts. Qahtan. Studies in Old Arabian Epigraphy. 2. London: Luzac and Co.. |
| Jamme 1985: 101-106 | Jamme, Albert W.F. 1985. Miscellanées d'ancient arabe XIV. Washington. 2019/07/23; https://cuislandora.wrlc.org/islandora/object/cuislandora%3A203545#page/1/mode/1up. [Privately printed] |