CSAI

Collection of the objects from the Museum of Baynūn


By kind permission of GOAM

INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Southern Middle Sabaic
AlphabetAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Writing techniqueIncision
Measure of letters4
Chronology
PeriodD
Date(407 Ḥim)
Textual typologyConstruction text - fragmentary
Royal inscriptionYes

TEXT


   1  S²mr Y(h)[rʿs² ml](k) S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Ry(d)n w-Ḥḍr(m)wt [w-Ymnt bn Ys¹rm Yhnʿm mlk S¹bʾ w-ḏ Ry]—
   2  dn bqlw w-hdbn w-brʾ w-ḥẓr wyn-hmw ḏ-Ḥ[... ...]
   3  w-mr-hw Ḥwl bn mwṯr ʿdy mrym-hw w-k[... ...]
   4  tḥty-hmw ʾbyt mʾdbt-hmw bny Ṯ[ʾrn ḏ-S¹lyt ... ...]
   5  Mḏrʾn ḏ-b-ḫryfn ḏ-l-s¹bʿt w-[ʾrbʿ mʾtm bn ḫryf Mb]—
   6  ḥḍ bn ʾbḥḍ |

Apparatus
1for Ymnt see Robin 2013: 131-133.
3Ḥwl as a proper name of mr is suggested by Müller, Walter W. 2010: 171.
4the integration might be either b-wrḫ(n) ḏ- or wrḫ-hw ḏ
5-6the integration of the date is proposed by Robin 2005 b: 135, note 8 and Müller, Walter W. 2010: 39.

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  S²mr Yhrʿs² king of Sabaʾ, ḏu-Raydān, Ḥaḍramawt and Yamnat son of Ys¹rm Yhnʿm king Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān
   2  planted, constructed, built and enclosed their vineyard of Ḥ[... ...]
   3  and its irrigation system (?) Ḥwl, from foundation to its top and [... ...]
   4  below them the houses of their vassals, the banū Ṯʾrn ḏ-S¹lyt [... ... in the month of]
   5  Mḏrʾn, in the year four hundred and seven of the era of Mb-
   6  ḥḍ of ʾbḥḍ.

OBJECT INFORMATION

DepositBaynūn, Museum, BynM 4
Support typeStone inscription
MaterialStone
Measuresh. 32, w. 70, th. 9.5; Monogram: h. 27.5, w. 8
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin and provenance
Modern siteBaynūn
Ancient siteBynn
Geographical areaKhawlân
CountryYemen
Archaeological contextAgricultural irrigation context
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

According to the dating proposed in the lacuna at the end of l.5, S²mr Yhrʿs² wrote this text in the year of 407 him, shortly after the conquest of Ḥaḍramawt.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Avanzini 1985: 99-101, pl. 25Avanzini, Alessandra 1985. Problemi storici della regione di al-Ḥadāʾ nel periodo preislamico e nuove iscrizioni. Pages 53-115 in Pelio Fronzaroli (ed.). Studi Yemeniti. (Quaderni di semitistica, 14). Florence: Istituto di linguistica e di lingue orientali, Università di Firenze.
Müller, Walter W. 2010: 39Müller, Walter W. 2010. Sabäische Inschriften nach Ären datiert. Bibliographie, Texte und Glossar. (Veröffentlichungen der Orientalischen Kommission, 53). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
Robin 2005 bRobin, Christian J. 2005. Ḥimyar au IV siècle de l'ère chrétienne. Analyse des données chronologiques et essai de mise en ordre. Archäologische Berichte aus dem Yemen, 10: 133-151.
Prioletta 2013 a: 82-85, no. 3Prioletta, Alessia 2013. Inscriptions from the southern highlands of Yemen. The epigraphic collections of the museums of Baynūn and Dhamār. (Arabia Antica, 8). Roma: L'«Erma» di Bretschneider.
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.