CSAI

Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions


al-Ghūl 1959 a: 1-22, pl. 1
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INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Qatabanic » Central Qatabanic
AlphabetAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Writing techniqueIncision
Chronology
PeriodB2
Textual typologyDedicatory text

GENERAL NOTES

Previously loaned to the British Museum, the object was then returned to van Lessen.

TEXT


   1  ywm ḥrg-s¹ mrʾ-s¹ Ydʿʾb Ḏbyn bn S²hr Ġyln |
   2  Ṣḥwm bn Yʾzl ḏ-Krs¹ s¹qny |
   3  ʿm ḏ-Dymtm bḥt mrtn b-ḏtm
   4  s¹wfy ʿm ʿbd-s¹ Ṣḥwm b-tḥrg
   5  ʾmrʾ-s¹ S²hr Ygl w-bn-s¹ Ydʿʾb Y—
   6  hnʿm w-S²hr Hll w-bn-s¹ Ydʿʾb Y—
   7  gl ʾmlk Qtbn w-ʾmrʾ-s¹ rs²ww y—
   8  wm drf w-ntṣf b-mrs²wmyw ʾrb—
   9  [ʿ]t w-ḫms¹y ḫrwf s¹tlwt rṯd ʿm
  10  [nfs¹-s¹ w-ʾḏn]-s¹ w-bn-s¹ww S²krʿm w-
  11  [... ...]-s¹ Ys²rḥʿm Yʾzl
  12  [... ...]ʿly w-Yṣr—
  13  [... ...]

Apparatus
1on the basis of palaeography, the first line is more ancient than the lines below, and probably belongs to another text written above this inscription.
11[w-ʾḫhy]-s¹ (Ghul).
12-13Yṣr[ʿm] (Ghul).

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  when his lord Ydʿʾb Ḏbyn son of S²hr Ġyln commanded him.
   2  Ṣḥwm, son of Yʾzl, from the family of Krs¹ dedicated
   3  to ʿm ḏ-Dymtm a limestone slab as
   4  ʿm protected his servant Ṣḥwm under the command
   5  of his lords S²hr Ygl and his son Ydʿʾb Y-
   6  hnʿm and S²hr Hll and his son Ydʿʾb Y-
   7  gl, kings of Qatabān - and his lords were priests
   8  while he was in charge of the rites during two priesthoods for a period of
   9  54 years, continuously. He has committed to ʿm
  10  [... ...] and his sons S²krʿm and
  11  [... ...] Ys²rḥʿm Yʾzl
  12  [... ...]ʿly and Yṣr-
  13  [... ...]

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeArtefact » Slab
MaterialMarble
Measuresh. 44.5, w. 32
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin
Modern sitean-Nuqūb
Ancient siteUnknown
Geographical areaWādī Bayḥān
CountryYemen
Archaeological contextReligious context: Temple of ʿm ḏ-Dymtm
Link to site record

BIBLIOGRAPHY

al-Ghūl 1959 a: 1-22, pl. 1al-Ghūl, Maḥmūd ʿA. 1959. New Qatabāni Inscriptions - [I]. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 22: 1-22.
Beeston 1986 b: 7-11Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1986. The Qatabanic Text VL 1. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 16: 7-11.