OCIANA

Online Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ancient North Arabia

DASI

U 019 ASNL M/7-13; BILS 32/7-13; Stiehl A 08; DLI 15; QDNL 008; AH 046; D 101; FFP 3


INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient North Arabian » Oasis North Arabian » Dadanitic
AlphabetAncient North Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Writing techniqueRelief
Textual typologyDedicatory text

GENERAL NOTES

Line 1. The third letter of the first name is almost identical to the ẓ in ʾẓlh and h-ẓl and different from the form of ṭ in other Dadanitic texts, such as U 085 where the central stroke is shorter than the others and the lower one is parallel with it, the whole looking more like a "3". However, rhẓ is not known in Arabic (the only source of comparison), and so it would seem that either it is a badly formed ṭ or an error on the part of the mason.
Line 3-4. Note that the verb here is in the dual of the suffix conjugation ʾẓlh but that the 3rd person enclitic pronouns in lines 5-7 are in the plural (cf. the dual enclitic pronoun -hmy in U 069/4).
Line 6-7. The rock face must have been damaged below the beginning of line 5 before the text was carved, or else already occupied by the two incised letters and the two in relief which do not seem to belong to any of the neighbouring inscriptions. Lines 6 and 7, which are complete, were therefore carved to the left of this space.
Altheim and Stiehl and van den Branden consider this inscription and U 018, as one text.
For discussion see Déroche and Macdonald.
For the place names, see Hidalgo-Chacón Díez.

TEXT


   1  Rhṭ bn Tḥmh w-
   2  ʾmtʿzh s¹lḥt
   3  ḏ-Ġbt ʾẓlh h-ẓl—
   4  l l-ḏ-Ġbt b-Kh—
   5  l bʿd ml-hm b-B—
   6  dr f-rḍ-hm
   7  w-ʾḫrt-hm

Apparatus
1Altheim and Stiehl read Rṭḫ for Rhṭ. This is also erroneously read as Rṭḥ by van den Branden.
2Van den Branden interpreted the h of the name ʾmtʿzh as the definite article before the word s¹lḥt. However, this is clearly incorrect since the h is separated from s¹lḥt by a word-divider."
3-4Drewes followed by Abū l-Ḥasan: ʾṭlh h- ṭll rather than ʾẓlh h- ẓll.
4Altheim and Stiehl followed by van den Branden: ʿrḍ for f rḍ. The later does not read the beginning of this line.
5Altheim and Stiehl do not read the beginning of this line.

TRANSLATIONS

OCIANA
English

   1  Rhṭ son of Tḥmh and
   2  ʾmtʿzh priestess
   3  of ḏ-Ġbt performed the
   4  ẓll-ceremony for ḏ-Ġbt at Kh-
   5  l for the sake of their property in
   6  Bdr and so favour them
   7  and their descendants.
5The phrase mlhm can either be taken as ml-hm "their property", or as m l-hm "that which (belongs) to them" (see Macdonald, p. 508 §2). The translation "their winter crops" (Macdonald, p. 507 §10) on the basis of Sabaic mly (see Beeston et al., p. 86) is more problematic phonologically and orthographically and so seems less likely.
For other translations and commentaries see the bibliography.
Altheim and Stiehl 1968: 26-27 (M/7-13), pls 4 and 5Altheim, Franz and Stiehl, Ruth 1968. Neue liḥyānische Inschriften. Mit einem Beitrag Gonzague Ryckmans. Die Araber in der alten Welt, 5/1: 24-33.
van den Branden 1969: 70-73 (no. 32/7-13)Van den Branden, Albert 1969. Les inscriptions Liḥyanites de R. Stiehl. Al-Machriq, 63: 67-79.
Stiehl 1971: 17-18 (A 08), pl. 15Stiehl, Ruth 1971. Neue liḥyānische Inschriften aus al-‛Uḏaib. Pages 3-40 in Altheim, Franz and Stiehl, Ruth (ed.). Christentum am Roten Meer I. Berlin, New York: de Gruyter.
Beeston et al. 1982 (=SD): 86Beeston, Alfred F.L., al-Ghūl, Maḥmūd ʿA., Müller, Walter W. and Ryckmans, Jacques 1982. Sabaic Dictionary (English-French-Arabic). Dictionnaire Sabéen (anglais-français-arabe). Louvain-la-Neuve: Éditions Peeters / Beirut: Libraire du Liban.
Drewes 1983: 428 (no. 15)Drewes, Abraham J. 1983. Liḥyanitische Inscripties. Pages 424-429 in Klaas R. Veenhof (ed.). Schrijvend verleden. Documenten uit het Oude Nabije Oosten vertaald en toegelich. Leiden: Ex Oriente Lux.
Déroche 1987: 103, 236Déroche, François 1987. Recherches sur l’oasis de Dedan/Al-‘Ulā. (2 Mikrofiches), (PhD).
al-Qudra 1993: 17 (L 008)al-Qudra, Ḥusayn M. 1993. Dirāsa muʿǧamīya li-ʾalfāẓ an-nuqūš al-liḥyānīya fī ʾiṭār al-luġāt as-sāmīya al-ǧanūbīya. (MA).
Abū l-Ḥasan 1418/1997: 149-151 (AH 046), pl. 6 (facsimile)Abū l-Ḥasan, Ḥusayn 1418/1997. Qirāʾa li-kitābāt liḥyānīya min ǧabal ʿIkma bi-minṭaqat al-ʿUlā. ar-Riyāḍ: maktabat al-malik Fahd al-waṭanīya.
Sima 1999c: 10 (U 019), pls 3a, 4a, 4b, 5a and 6aSima, Alexander 1999. Die lihyanischen Inschriften von al-ʿUḏayb (Saudi-Arabien). (Epigraphische Forschungen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, 1). Rahden/Westf.: Leidorf.
Macdonald 2004: 507 §10 and 508 §2Macdonald, Michael C.A. 2004. Ancient North Arabian. Pages 488-533 in Roger D. Woodard (ed.). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Farès-Drappeau 2005: 195-196 (D 101)Farès-Drappeau, Saba 2005. Dédan et Liḥyân. Histoire des Arabes aux confins des pouvoirs perse et hellénistique (IVe-IIe s. avant l'ère chrétienne). (Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient et de la Mediterranée, 42). Lyon: Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée; J. Pouilloux.
Farès 2009: 184 (no. 3) and 191-192, fig. 3Farès, Saba 2009. Les femmes prêtresses dans les religions arabes préislamiques. Le cas des Liḥyanites. Pages 183-195 in Françoise Briquel-Chatonnet (ed.). Femmes, cultures et sociétés dans les civilisations méditerranéennes et proche-orientales de l'antiquité. (Topoi Orient-Occident. Supplément, 10). Lyon: Maison de l'orient méditerranéen-Jean Pouilloux.

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeRock inscription
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin
Modern siteal-ʿUlā
Ancient siteDdn
Geographical areaḤijāz
CountrySaudi Arabia
NotesFound in Al-ʿUḏayb (Ǧabal ʿIkmah). The inscription is carved amongst a mass of others on one side of the huge rock, which Stiehl called ‘Block A’. It is below U 018, to the left of U 015 and U 016, to the right of U 022 and U 023, and above U 020.
Link to site record

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Altheim and Stiehl 1968: 26-27 (M/7-13), pls 4 and 5Altheim, Franz and Stiehl, Ruth 1968. Neue liḥyānische Inschriften. Mit einem Beitrag Gonzague Ryckmans. Die Araber in der alten Welt, 5/1: 24-33.
van den Branden 1969: 70-73 (no. 32/7-13)Van den Branden, Albert 1969. Les inscriptions Liḥyanites de R. Stiehl. Al-Machriq, 63: 67-79.
Stiehl 1971: 17-18 (A 08), pl. 15Stiehl, Ruth 1971. Neue liḥyānische Inschriften aus al-‛Uḏaib. Pages 3-40 in Altheim, Franz and Stiehl, Ruth (ed.). Christentum am Roten Meer I. Berlin, New York: de Gruyter.
Drewes 1983: 428 (no. 15)Drewes, Abraham J. 1983. Liḥyanitische Inscripties. Pages 424-429 in Klaas R. Veenhof (ed.). Schrijvend verleden. Documenten uit het Oude Nabije Oosten vertaald en toegelich. Leiden: Ex Oriente Lux.
al-Qudra 1993: 17 (L 008)al-Qudra, Ḥusayn M. 1993. Dirāsa muʿǧamīya li-ʾalfāẓ an-nuqūš al-liḥyānīya fī ʾiṭār al-luġāt as-sāmīya al-ǧanūbīya. (MA).
Abū l-Ḥasan 1418/1997: 149-151 (AH 046), pl. 6 (facsimile)Abū l-Ḥasan, Ḥusayn 1418/1997. Qirāʾa li-kitābāt liḥyānīya min ǧabal ʿIkma bi-minṭaqat al-ʿUlā. ar-Riyāḍ: maktabat al-malik Fahd al-waṭanīya.
Sima 1999c: 10 (U 019), pls 3a, 4a, 4b, 5a and 6aSima, Alexander 1999. Die lihyanischen Inschriften von al-ʿUḏayb (Saudi-Arabien). (Epigraphische Forschungen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, 1). Rahden/Westf.: Leidorf.
Macdonald 2004: 507-508, 515, 524, 526Macdonald, Michael C.A. 2004. Ancient North Arabian. Pages 488-533 in Roger D. Woodard (ed.). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Farès-Drappeau 2005: 195-196 (D 101)Farès-Drappeau, Saba 2005. Dédan et Liḥyân. Histoire des Arabes aux confins des pouvoirs perse et hellénistique (IVe-IIe s. avant l'ère chrétienne). (Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient et de la Mediterranée, 42). Lyon: Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée; J. Pouilloux.
Farès 2009: 184 (no. 3), fig. 3Farès, Saba 2009. Les femmes prêtresses dans les religions arabes préislamiques. Le cas des Liḥyanites. Pages 183-195 in Françoise Briquel-Chatonnet (ed.). Femmes, cultures et sociétés dans les civilisations méditerranéennes et proche-orientales de l'antiquité. (Topoi Orient-Occident. Supplément, 10). Lyon: Maison de l'orient méditerranéen-Jean Pouilloux.
Déroche 1987: 103-104, 136Déroche, François 1987. Recherches sur l’oasis de Dedan/Al-‘Ulā. (2 Mikrofiches), (PhD).
Hidalgo-Chacón Díez 2014Hidalgo-Chacón Díez, María del Carmen 2014. Place Names in the Dadanitic Inscriptions of al-'Uḏayb. Adūmātū, 30: 15-30.