CSAI

Corpus of Sabaic Inscriptions (work in progress)


INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Late Sabaic
AlphabetAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Writing techniqueRelief
Measure of letters8
Chronology
PeriodE
Textual typologyConstruction text - fragmentary
Royal inscriptionYes

TEXT


   1  Mlkkrb Yhʾmn w-bn-h(w) [ʾbkrb ʾs¹ʿd mlky]
   2  S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn w-Ḥḍrmwt w-[Ymnt ... ...]
   3  (h)s²qrn mkrbn Bryk l-wfy-hmw w[... ...]

Apparatus
2for Ymnt see Robin 2013: 131-133.
Possible restoration brʾw w-hwṯrn w-].

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  Mlkkrb Yhʾmn and his son ʾbkrb ʾs¹ʿd, the two kings of
   2  Sabaʾ, ḏu-Raydān, Ḥaḍramawt and Yamnat built completed and
   3  completed their synagogue Brk for their prosperity and [... ...]

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeInscription on architectural structure
MaterialStone
Measuresh. 29, w. 120
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Provenance
Modern siteMaʾrib
Ancient siteMryb / Mrb
Geographical areaMaʾrib
CountryYemen
FoundReemployed. In modern times
Archaeological contextReligious context: Synagogue Bryk
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

Even though this inscription has no clearly religious reference, the term mkrbn probably means "synagogue" in the texts of the monotheistic times. Here the mkbrn is named Bryk "blessed" (like in Ry 534+Rayda 1), which is considered a loanword from Aramaic (Robin 2003: 122-123).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fakhry 1952: 104-105, fig. 48Fakhry, Ahmed 1952. An archaeological Journey to Yemen (March-May 1947). (3 vols), Cairo: Government Press.
Ryckmans, Gonzague 1952: 33-35Ryckmans, Gonzague 1952. Epigraphical texts. Ahmed Fakhry, An archaeological Journey to Yemen (March-May 1947). ii. Cairo: Government Press.
Jamme 1960: 3-5, pl. IJamme, Albert W.F. 1960. The Late Inscription Ja 856. Bibliotheca Orientalis, 17: 3-5.
Schmidt 1987: 141, pl. 20/dSchmidt, Jürgen 1987. Antiken aus dem Stadtgebiet von Mārib. Archäologische Berichte aus dem Yemen, 4: 131-142.
Gajda 1997: 5-6Gajda, 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).
Robin 2013Robin, 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.