CSAI

Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions


Pirenne 1981: pl. XII
Image free from copyright

INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Qatabanic » Central Qatabanic
AlphabetAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Writing techniqueIncision
Chronology
PeriodB1
Textual typologyConstruction text
Royal inscriptionYes

TEXT


   1  (Y)dʿʾ(b) Ḏby[n ] Y(h)nʿm
   2  (b)n S²hr mkrb Qtbn w-wld ʿm w-(ʾ)[ws¹]—
   3  n w-Kḥd w-Dhs¹m w-Tbnw bkr ʾnby w-Ḥw(k)[m]
   4  ḏ-ʾmr w-S²m(r) bny w-gnʾ w-ṣyr w-s¹ḥdṯ gnʾ w-m(ḥ)—
   5  fd hgrn ʿbr glm ʾbnm w-ʿḍm w-blqm bn s²rs¹m
   6  ʿd frʿm b-ḍr Ḥḍrmt b-ʾḫyl s²(ʿ)b-s¹ ḏ-Ḍrʾ w-ġb(r)-
   7  s¹m b-ʿ(ṯt)r w-b ʿm w-b ʾnby w-b ḏt Ṣntm w-b ḏt Ẓ(h)—
   8  rn w-b ḏt Rḥbn w-b ʾlhw Rḍḥm w-b Blw ḏ-Rymn w-
   9  b Wb ḏ-Rḍḥm w-b ḏt Ḥmym ʿṯtr Rḍḥm

Apparatus
4the letter r in ṣyr is engraved twice.
5the letter r in hgr is engraved twice.
9previously, we thought that wb was a mistaken repetition of the scribe, instead of a god’s name: Wb.
But some inscriptions of the Museum of the University of Aden (CSAI III, 10 =UAM 212) confirm the existence of a god Wb.

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  Ydʿʾb Ḏbyn Yhnʿm,
   2  son of S²hr, mukarrib of Qatabān, and of the children of ʿm and of Awsān
   3  and of Kḥd and of Dhs¹m and of Tbnw, the first born of ʾnby and Ḥwkm,
   4  the one of ʾmr and S²mr, built and walled and raised and restored the city wall and the to-
   5  wers of the town ʿbr entirely made of stone, wood and sandstone from foundation
   6  to top, during the war against the Ḥaḍramawt, through the power of his tribe, ḏ-Ḍrʾ, and their settlers;
   7  by ʿṯtr and by ʿm and by ʾnby and by ḏt Ṣntm and by ḏt Ẓh-
   8  rn and by ḏt Rḥbn and by the gods of Rḍḥm and by Blw ḏ-Rymn and
   9  by Wb ḏ-Rḍḥm and by ḏt Ḥmym, the divinity of R-
  10  ḍḥm.
9the Robin's hypothesis that ʿṯtr, following ḏt Ḥmym, was a substantive is here accepted (see Robin 2012: 338).

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeInscription on architectural structure » Walls
MaterialStone
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Provenance
Modern siteḤuwaydar
Ancient siteʿbr
Geographical areaWādī Ḍura'
CountryYemen
FoundReemployed. In modern times
Archaeological context: City walls
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

Ydʿʾb Ḏbyn Yhnʿm bn S²hr is assuredly the main king of this period. This text, together with Pi. Ḥuwaydar B=CSAI I, 20, testifies the annexation by the king of the territory of wādī Ḍuraʾ after his victory over Ḥaḍramawt.
The wars against Ḥaḍramawt and against Sabaʾ are also mentioned in MuB 673=CSAI I, 18, where the king Ydʿʾb Ḏbyn Yhnʿm bn S²hr, bearing the long title of mukarrib, commemorates the construction of the bastions of the north gate of Timnaʿ.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Pirenne 1981: 226-227, pl. XIIPirenne, Jacqueline 1981. Deux prospections historiques au sud-Yémen. Raydān, 4: 205-248.
Jamme 1987: 40-42Jamme, Albert W.F. 1987. Miscellanées d'ancient arabe XV. Washington. 2019/07/23; https://cuislandora.wrlc.org/islandora/object/cuislandora%3A203057#page/1/mode/1up. [Privately printed]