Ja 547+Ja 546+Ja 544+Ja 545 Sadd Maʾrib 6
Ch.J. Robin
Darles, Robin and Schiettecatte 2014: 31, fig. 10
Darles, Robin and Schiettecatte 2014: 31, fig. 10
- Ch.J. Robin
Darles, Robin and Schiettecatte 2014: 31, fig. 10 - D. Ky
Darles, Robin and Schiettecatte 2014: 32, fig. 12
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Late Sabaic | ||||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||||
| Writing technique | Incision | ||||
| Chronology |
| ||||
| Textual typology | Construction text |
GENERAL NOTES
| Lines 1-6=Ja 547; 7-10=Ja 546; 11-14=Ja 544; 15-18=Ja 545. In previous editions (e. g. Müller 2010: 120-121): Lines 1-6=Ja 547; 7-10=Ja 544; 11-14= Ja 546; 15-18=Ja 545. This inscription is dated to 558 CE. |
TEXT
1 Rbbm w-ʾfʿ ḏy Ms²ʿrn w-ʾs¹—
2 dm ḏ-Ḏnmm ʾqdm w-kbwr
3 s²ʿb ḏ-Hmdn w-mḫdr-h—
4 mw Trym w-k-ms¹rw b-ʿrm Mrb((ʿrm Mrb))
5 b-ʿm s²ʿby-hmw Ḥs²dm w-Bklm w-ʾ—
6 ʿrbn S¹fln w-Ṣdn w-ʾẓrfn ±
7 w-ʿl-s¹m Rḥmnn mrʾ s¹my(n) w-ʾrḍ—
8 n w-b-rdʾ mrʾ-hmw mlkn ʾbrh mlk S¹bʾ w-
9 ḏ-Rdn w-Ḥḍrmt w-Ymnt w-ʾʿrb-hmw Ṭdm
10 w-Thmt rmḥs³ ʿl-s¹m Rḥmnn mlkn ±
11 w-b-rdʾ ʾmrʾ-hmw ʿbt w-Nmrn |
12 w-Mrṯdʾl ʾlt Hmdn w-S¹ʾrn
13 l-ḫmr-hmw ḥywm ks³ḥm
14 w-mrḍytm l-Rḥmnn ±
15 b-wrḫ ḏ-Mh—
16 ltn ḏ-l-ṯmnt
17 w-s¹ṯy w-s¹ṯ mʾt—
18 m s¹lm w-s¹lm
| 1 | ʾfʿ in Darles et alii, previously: ʾqʿ. |
| 5-6 | Reading suggested by Robin 1988: 96, Jamme read: S¹wrbn S¹qln. |
| 6 | ẓrfn in Darles et alii, previously: ʾs¹rqn. |
| 9 | We emend Jamme's transcription ʾs³ḥmt in ks³ḥm on the basis of Garbini Nuove iscrizioni 4, 8 and Ibrahim al-Hudayd, 10 (see also Sima 2000: 30). |
| 13 | for Ymnt see Robin 2013: 131-133. |
| 17 | Jamme read: s¹ṯm. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Rbbm and ʾfʿ those of the clan of Ms²ʿrn and ʾs¹- 2 dm of Dnmm leaders and kabirs 3 of their tribe ḏ-Hmdn and their camp 4 Trym, when they raised the dam of Mrb 5 with their tribes Ḥs²dm, Bklm, the arabs 6 of S¹fln, Ṣdn and ʾẓrfn. 7 in the name of Rḥmnn, the Lord of the heavens and the earth, 8 and with the help of their lord, the king Abraha, king of Sabaʾ, 9 ḏu-Raydān, Ḥaḍramawt, Ymnt and their Arabs of Ṭwdm 10 and of Thmt, Rmḥs³, in the name of Rḥmnn, the King; 11 with the help of their lords ʿbt, Nmrn, 12 Mrṯdʾl those of Hmdn and S¹ʾrn 13 in order to He grant them a decent life 14 and satisfactory for Rḥmnn. 15 In the month of Mh- 16 ltn of six hundred 17 sixty-eight. 18 Peace, peace. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Rock inscription |
| Measures | Ja 547: h. 100, w. 178; Ja 546: h. 55, w. 230; Ja 544: h. 55, w. 263 (l.1); Ja 545: h. 82, w. 71 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Maʾrib |
| Ancient site | Mryb / Mrb |
| Geographical area | Maʾrib |
| Country | Yemen |
| Notes | The inscription is engraved on a rock near the Maʾrib dam. |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
See Ry 534+MAFY-Rayda 1 on mrʾ s¹myn w-ʾrḍn.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Jamme 1955 h: 275-279, pl. II | Jamme, Albert W.F. 1955. South-Arabian Inscriptions. Pages 506-513 in James B. Pritchard (ed.). Ancient Near Eastern Texts relating to the Old Testament. Princeton: Princeton University Press. |
| Jamme 1979: 22-28 | Jamme, Albert W.F. 1979. Miscellanées d'ancient arabe IX. Washington. 2025/04/17; https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.38250306. [Privately printed] |
| Gajda 1997: 148-150 | Gajda, Iwona 1997. Ḥimyar gagné par le monothéisme (IVe-VIe siècle de l'ère chrétienne). Ambitions et ruine d'un royaume de l'Arabie méridionale antique. (Université d'Aix-en-Provence). |
| Müller, Walter W. 2010: 120-121 | Müller, Walter W. 2010. Sabäische Inschriften nach Ären datiert. Bibliographie, Texte und Glossar. (Veröffentlichungen der Orientalischen Kommission, 53). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. |
| Robin 1988 a | Robin, Christian J. 1988. Quelques observations sur la date de construction et la chronologie de la première digue de Maʾrib, d'après les inscriptions. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 18: 95-114. |
| Sima 2000 | Sima, Alexander 2000. Tiere, Pflanzen, Steine und Metalle in den altsüdarabischen Inschriften. Eine lexikalische und realienkundliche Untersuchung. (Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur. Veröffentlichungen der Orientalischen Kommission, 46). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. |
| Robin 2013 | Robin, Christian J. 2013. À propos de Ymnt et Ymn: « nord » et « sud », « droite » et « gauche », dans les inscriptions de l'Arabie antique. Pages 119-140 in Françoise Briquel-Chatonnet, Catherine Fauveaud and Iwona Gajda (eds). Entre Carthage et l’Arabie heureuse. Mélanges offerts à François Bron. (Orient & Méditerranée, 12). Paris: de Boccard. |
| Darles, Robin and Schiettecatte 2014: 30-39, fig. 11-17 | Darles, Christian, Robin, Christian J. and Schiettecatte, Jérémie 2014. Contribution à une meilleure compréhension de l'histoire de la digue de Maʾrib au Yémen. Pages 9-70 in François Baratte, Christian J. Robin and Elsa Rocca (eds). Regards croisés d'orient et d'occident. Les barrages dans l'antiquité tardive. Actes du colloque, 7-8 janvier 2011, Paris, Fondation Simone et Cino del Duca. Organisé dans le cadre du programme ANR EauMaghreb. (Orient & Méditerranée, 14). Paris: Éditions de Boccard. 2019/11/29; https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1b7x6sv. |