CSAI

Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions


Beeston 1988: 7, photo
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INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

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

TEXT


   1  ʿmyṯʿ bn Ḥrmm ḏ-Ḏrʾn ʿs¹y ẓrb bny byt-
   2  hw S²bʿn w-ḫṭb-hw w-ms³wd-hw w-ṣrḥty-hw
   3  w-gnʾy-hw w-fnwty-hw w-bʾr-hw glm b-ḥg
   4  ʾnby w-ʾl tʿly w-rṯd-hw ʿṯtr w-ʿm w-ʾnby
   5  w-ʾlhy-s¹m w-ʾmlk Qtbn l-hw w-l wld-hw
   6  w-ḏ-ʿḏr-hw b-ʿṯtr w-b ʿm w-b ʾnby w-b ḏt Ṣ—
   7  ntm w-b ḏt Ẓhrn w-b Ydʿʾb Ḏbyn Yhn<ʿ>—
   8  m w-b S²hr Ġyln w-bn-hw Bʿm ʾmlk Qtbn
   9  Wdm ʾbm

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  ʿmyṯʿ son of Ḥrmm ḏ-Ḏrʾn made, gained legal possession, built his
   2  house S²bʿn and its lower room and its hall and its upper rooms
   3  and its walls and its canals and its well in its entirety, according to the orders
   4  of ʾnby, and let there be no violation thereof; he has committed it to the protection of ʿṯtr and ʿm and ʾnby
   5  and their gods and the kings of Qatabān for himself and for his son
   6  and his successors; by ʿṯtr and by ʿm and by ʾnby and by ḏt Ṣ-
   7  ntm and by ḏt Ẓhrn and by Ydʿʾb Ḏbyn Yhnʿ-
   8  m and by S²hr Ġyln and his son Bʿm kings of Qatabān.
   9  Wdm is father.

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeInscription on architectural structure
MaterialStone
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin and provenance
Modern siteHajar Kuḥlān
Ancient siteTmnʿ
Geographical areaWādī Bayḥān
CountryYemen
FoundIn situ
Archaeological contextUrban context: Private house S²bʿn
NotesTo the north-west of the Timnaʿ palace, there is a complex of buildings. This inscription is on the wall of the main building.
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

ʾnby is part of the official Qatabanian pantheon. In the inscriptions commemorating the construction of houses by private citizens, after the mention of the name and of all the parts of the house, the god appears in the fixed expression "according to the orders of ʾnby, and let there be no violation thereof".
This phrase decrees the conclusion of works by the will of the god, and the ratification of ownership.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beeston 1988: 6-8, photoBeeston, Alfred F.L. 1988. Miscellaneous Epigraphic Notes II. Raydān, 5: 5-31.