CSAI

Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions


Pirenne 1981: pl. XIV
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INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Qatabanic » Central Qatabanic
AlphabetAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Writing techniqueIncision
Chronology
PeriodC
Textual typologyConstruction text

TEXT


   1  [M]r[ṯ]dʾl w-(Y)s²fʾl w-Nʿm[g]d ḏtw Ḏrḥn s²ʾmw w-brʾ w-
   2  ẓrb byt-s¹m Ygrʾl w-ʾḫṭb-s¹ w-ṣrḥt-s¹ww w-ʾmtʿ-s¹m
   3  w-nfs¹hy-s¹m [k]l-[s¹]m glm b-ḥg ʾnby w-ʾl tʿly b-ʿṯtr
   4  [w]-ʿm w-ʾnby w-b[... ...] w-Ḥrmn w-b-ḏt Ṣntm w-b
   5  [ʾmr]ʾ-s¹m Wrwʾl Ġyln Yhnʿm w-ʾḫh-s¹ww ʾmlk Qtbn

Apparatus
1Rydʾl (Jamme); Nʿmwd (Jamme).
2byt-hm Ygrl (Jamme); facsimile reads: ʾḫṭ ḏbs; in the retouched photo: w-s¹rḥs²-s¹ww, ʾmtʿ-ʾḏ.
4after ʾnby Jamme integrates: w-Bs²mm Yṯʿn.
5ʾḫy-s¹ww (Pirenne).

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  Mrṯdʾl and Ys²fʾl and Nʿmgd of the family Ḏrḥn purchased and constructed and
   2  gained legal possession of their house Ygrʾl and its lower rooms and its upper rooms and their conduits
   3  and their inner rooms all in their entirety, according to the orders of ʾnby, and let there be no violation thereof; by ʿṯtr
   4  and ʿm and ʾnby and by [... ...] and Ḥrmn and by ḏt Ṣntm and by
   5  their lords Wrwʾl Ġyln Yhnʿm and his brothers, the kings of Qatabān.

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeStone inscription
MaterialStone
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Provenance
Modern siteḤuṣn al-Wuṣr
Ancient siteUnknown
Geographical areaNiṣāb
CountryYemen
FoundReemployed. In modern times
Archaeological contextUrban context: Private house Ygrʾl
NotesThe stone is reused in a modern tower.
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

ʾnby is part of the official Qatabanian pantheon. In the inscriptions commemorating the construction of houses by private citizens,
after the mention of the name and of all the parts of the house, the god appears in the fixed expression "according to the orders of ʾnby, and let there be no violation thereof".
This phrase decrees the conclusion of works by the will of the god, and the ratification of ownership.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jamme 1972: 51-52, pl. 14Jamme, Albert W.F. 1972. Miscellanées d'ancient arabe III. Washington. 2019/07/23; https://cuislandora.wrlc.org/islandora/object/cuislandora%3A206336#page/1/mode/1up. [Privately printed]
Pirenne 1981: 229-230, pl. XIV (retouched photo)Pirenne, Jacqueline 1981. Deux prospections historiques au sud-Yémen. Raydān, 4: 205-248.