RES 3943 Fa 7; Gl 418+419
Jürgen Scmidt
Schmidt 1987: pl. 14/a
Schmidt 1987: pl. 14/a
- Jürgen Scmidt
Schmidt 1987: pl. 14/a - Fakhry 1952: iii, pl. XLIV/A
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INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Early Sabaic | ||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Script cursus | Boustrophedon | ||
| Writing technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 7 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Commemorative text | ||
| Royal inscription | Yes |
GENERAL NOTES
| The author of the iscription is, most probably, the sabean mukarrib Yṯʿʾmr Byn bn S¹mhʿly Ynf. |
TEXT
1 [... ... s²]ʿbn Yrfṯ l-ʾlmqh w-l S¹bʾ w-mḫḍ Dhs¹m ʾl ḫs¹w ʾlmqh w-S¹bʾ b-ḍr S¹mhwtr w-Qtbn w-qtl-hmw ʾrbʿt ʾlfn /4000/ w-hṯb-(h)[mw l-ʾlm](qh) w-(l) (S¹bʾ) w-ywm mḫḍ Mʿnm w-(M)[hʾm]—
2 [rm] w-ʾmrm w-hrg-hmw ʾrbʿy w-ḫms¹[t ʾlf](m) (ḏ)-bḍʿ /5040/ w-s¹by ʾwld-hmw s¹dṯy w-s²lṯt ʾlfm /3060/ w-ṯll qny-hmw ʾʾblm w-bqrm w-ḥmrm w-qnym ʾḥd w-s²lṯy ʾl—
3 fm /31000/ w-ṯbr w-ḫrs² w-wfṭ Rgmtm hgr Lʿḏrʾl mlk Mhʾmrm w-Mhʾmrm w-kl ʾhgr nwyt Rgmtm w-Ngrn w-s³wk Yṯl w-gbḏ ḏhby[ Y]ṯl Dyṯ w-S²mm w-wfṭ w-s²tr mbn(y)[ ḏ]—
4 [h](b)y Yṯl w-ywm bny ḫlfy Mryb w-gn(ʾ) (M)ryb mḥfdt blqm w-ywm bny Mrs²wm byt Ns¹wr w-byt ʾl w-byt ḏ-b Rydn w-hrs²w ḏ-b Rydn w-ywm bny hwr Ḏhbm byt ḏt Bʿdn b-Ḥnn w-
5 bny ʿdmn w-hwry ḫlf mḥḍrn b-Ḏhbm w-ywm mḫḍ blq mʾḫḏn Ḥbbḍ w-mḫḍ b(l)q mzf mʾḫḏn Rḥbm ḏ-ns¹r blq mnḫy Ys¹rn w-ywm wf[... ...] Ys¹rn mḥmyn w-ywm bny mzff Mwq[r]—
6 [n w-](ml) [... ...](y) Mwqrn w-klwt mzff[ Mwqrn mnḫ]y ʾbyn w-ywm bny mʾḫḏn Yṯʿn fnwt ʾbyn w-ywm bn(y) klwt nmrn Mnhytm w-mzff nmrn w-ywm b[ny mʾ](ḫ)ḏn Khlm fnwt Ṭrqy [... ...]
| 1 | According to N. Rhodokanakis (1927 a), the verb hṯb could be restored before s²ʿbn. |
| 1 | S¹mhwtr is, most probably, the father of the Qatabanian mukarrib Hwfʿm Yhʿm, mentioned in the inscriptions from the wadi Jūba and in CSAI I, 196=Ja 2361. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 [... ...] the tribe of Yrfṯ to ʾlmqh and to Sabaʾ and he broke Dhs¹m, those who had injured ʾlmqh and Sabaʾ in the war of S¹mhwtr and Qtbn, and he killed for thousand (4000) of them and assigned them to ʾlmqh and to Sabaʾ. And when he broke Mʿnm, Mhʾmrm 2 and ʾmrm and killed five thousand and forty of them, of whom (those killed) in the field (5040), and took prisoner three thousand and sixty (3060) of their children and took as booty their property, camels and cattle and asses and small animals, thirty-one thousand 3 (31000). And he destroyed and broke down and burned Rgmtm, the city of Lʿḏrʾl, the king of Mhʾmrm and Mhʾmrm, and all the cities of the territory of Rgmtm and Ngrn. And he besieged Yṯl and devastated the two oasis of Yṯl, (that is) Dyṯ and S²mm, and burned and destroyed the construction of 4 the two oasis of Yṯl. And when he built the two doors of Mryb and the wall of Mryb with towers in stone. And when he built Mrs²wm, the temple of Ns¹wr, and the temple of ʾl and the temple of the one (the God) who is in Raydān, and appointed a priest of the one (the God) who is in Raydān. And when built the basin of Ḏhbm, the temple of ḏt Bʿdn in Ḥnn, 5 and built the ʿdmn and the two basins outside (?) the main room in Ḏhbm. And when he broke the limestone of the water intake Ḥbbḍ and broke the limestone of the canal of the water intake Rḥbm, towards the limestone in the direction of Ys¹rn. And when he [... ...] Ys¹rn the irrigated field. And when he built the canals of Mwqrn 6 and [... ...] Mwqrn and the barrage (?) of the canals Mwqrn in the direction of ʾbyn. And when he built the water intake Yṯʿn, the main canal of ʾbyn. And when he built the barrage of the dam Mnhytm and the canals of the dam. And when he built the water intake Khlm, the main canal of Ṭrqy [... ...] |
| 1 | Stein 2003, 99, n. 147 corrects the numerals of the number of enemies killed and taken prisoner, previously translated by Rhodokanakis as 45,000 and 63,000. It is to be noted that the number of enemies killed in battle is higher than that of the enemies taken prisoner. |
| 3 | Rgmtm is to be compared with the biblical Raʿmā, most probably the ancient name of the oasis of Najrān. |
| 3 | dyṯ and s²mm: they could not be proper names, but mean "downstream and upstream” (see Robin 1987 a). |
| 4 | w-hrs²w ḏ-b Rydn: "und den Kult für die (Gottheit) in Raydān einrichtete" (Nebes 2005). |
| 5 | ʿdmn: structural component of the temples, whose exact meaning is unknown (Nebes 2005). |
| 5 | ḫlf mḥḍrn: am Tor der Halle (?) (Nebes 2005). |
| 5 | ḏ-ns¹r blq mnḫy Ys¹rn: die in Richtung auf den Kalkfelsen des Hauptkanlas von Yasrān hin (liegt) (Nebes 2005). |
| 6 | klwt: could also derive from the root "kll" and specify the "whole" of the canals. |
| Robin 1987 a: 165 | Robin, Christian J. 1987. Trois inscriptions sabéennes découvertes près de Barāqish (République Arabe du Yemen). Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 17: 165-177. |
| Stein 2003 a: 26, fn. 66; 46, fn. 233; 99, n. 147; 109, n. 171, fn. 487; 148, n. 300; 220, fn. 108; | Stein, Peter 2003. Untersuchungen zur Phonologie und Morphologie des Sabäischen. (Epigraphische Forschungen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, 3). Rahden: Marie Leidorf GmbH / Westf.: Marie Leidorf GmbH. |
| Nebes 2005: 333-335 | Nebes, Norbert 2005. Sabäische Texte. Pages 331-367 in Francis Breyer and Michael Lichtenstein (eds). Staatsverträge, Herrscherinschriften und andere Dokumente zur politischen Geschichte. Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments. Neue Folge. 2. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Stone inscription |
| Material | Stone |
| Measures | w. 2.45, h. 42, th. 52 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Maʾrib |
| Ancient site | Mryb / Mrb |
| Geographical area | Maʾrib |
| Country | Yemen |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
We have here another example of broken alliances: the tribe of Dhâm, ally of Karibʾil Watar, entered in the sphere of the qatabanic influence (Avanzini in press).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Rhodokanakis 1927 a: 3-19 | Rhodokanakis, Nikolaus 1927. Altsabäische Texte I. (Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse, 206). Wien und Leipzig: Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky A.-G.. |
| Fakhry 1952: i, 97, n. 78, fig. 43 (facsimile) | Fakhry, Ahmed 1952. An archaeological Journey to Yemen (March-May 1947). (3 vols), Cairo: Government Press. |
| Fakhry 1952: iii, pl. XLIV | Fakhry, Ahmed 1952. An archaeological Journey to Yemen (March-May 1947). (3 vols), Cairo: Government Press. |
| Schmidt 1987: 138, pl. 14/a | Schmidt, Jürgen 1987. Antiken aus dem Stadtgebiet von Mārib. Archäologische Berichte aus dem Yemen, 4: 131-142. |