Language | Ancient South Arabian » Qatabanic » Central Qatabanic | ||
Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
Writing technique | Incision | ||
Chronology |
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Textual typology | Legal text | ||
Royal inscription | Yes |
9 | Avanzini 2004 a: 287: w-mn-ḏ. |
20 | RES and CSAI read l-s²tyṭ. For l-s²tyṭ(m), see Mazzini 2020: 185, note 129. |
English | |
1 [... ...] the king of Qatabān and the ma- 2 gistrate of S²mr will not remove 3 the seeds-privilege 4 on the merchandise trad- 5 ed and sold by the Qatabanians and 6 those whom the magistrate of S²mr has previously taxed 7 the commercial activity (any sallings and purchases) 8 with Qatabān on the market of S²mr, 9 being a property of Qatabān. And whoever 10 should have used, among the Qatabanians 11 or among the Minaeans or among the inhabi- 12 tants of Tmnʿ his own house and 13 dwelling as a shopkeeper who exchanges merchandise 14 in Tmnʿ, he must assign the profit 15 of his possessions and his goods in the shop 16 to the king of Qatabān and he who 17 removes the goods in the shop muist assign 18 his person. No trade of 19 any sort is to be conducted by anyone 20 who comes into Tmnʿ to exchange merchandise 21 with a foreign tribe instead of 22 with Qatabān and with 23 S³fln; the Qatabanians may have their rights 24 according to the order that was grant for them 25 by the kings of Qatabān. And may it be placed 26 the trade that will be done 27 by Qatabān from S²mr from 28 shops under the authority of the magistrate of Qatabān 29 [and according to the laws] of ʾnby that He has [issued 30 for them] and the command of Qatabān. 31 And he who shall enlarge or 32 increase the trade of Qatabān [... ...] |
English | |
1 ... 2 [vi] they shall not reckon 3 a "seeds-privilege" 4 on any merchandise which is tra- 5 ded and purchased by Qatabanians or 6 by those in respect of whom the overseer of S²mr 7 has assessed a trading-tax on N gold pieces, over and above what 8 the Qatabanians pay in the market of S²mr, 9 in Qataban coinage. [vii] Any 10 Qatabanian, 11 Minaean, or (other) in- 12 habitant of Tmnʿ who uses his house or 13 residence as a place of business, shall 14 pay the market-tax in Tmnʿ 15 to the king of Qataban, 16 either out of that which is included in his (the stall-holder's) possessions and stock-in-trade 17 or, insofar as it exceeds such stock-in-trade, by means of 18 his own personal effects. [viii] No business 19 of any sort may be conducted by any person 20 who pays the Tmnʿ market-tax with the intention of doing business 21 with a foreign tribe instead of 22 with Qataban and S³fln; 23 (this is) in the order that Qatabanians may have their just rights 24 according to the sanction which 25 the kings of Qataban have granted them. [New clause, viii bis] Whatever 26 trading activity 27 Qatabanians (themselves) carry on, from S²mr from 28 stalls (there), shall be by (authorization of) the overseer of Q[ataban ... 29 (and according to the laws of?)] ʾnby which He has [laid down] 30 [for them, and] the command of the Qatabanian 31 people. [Clause viii ter] But any (such activity) which is 32 more extensive and goes beyond the trade of Qataban ... |
1-25 | translation by Beeston 1959. |
25-32 | translation by Beeston 1971. |
Beeston 1959 | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1959. The mercantile code of Qataban. Qahtan. Studies in Old Arabian Epigraphy. 1. London: Luzac and Co. |
Beeston 1971 | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1971. The Labakh texts. Qahtan. Studies in Old Arabian Epigraphy. 2. London: Luzac and Co.. |
Support type | Monumental stela |
Material | Stone |
Link to object record |
Modern site | Hajar Kuḥlān |
Ancient site | Tmnʿ |
Geographical area | Wādī Bayḥān |
Country | Yemen |
Found | In situ |
Archaeological context | Urban context: Market square S²mr |
Link to site record |
Beeston 1959: 2-16 | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1959. The mercantile code of Qataban. Qahtan. Studies in Old Arabian Epigraphy. 1. London: Luzac and Co. |
Beeston 1971: 2-5 | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1971. The Labakh texts. Qahtan. Studies in Old Arabian Epigraphy. 2. London: Luzac and Co.. |
Helfritz 1977: 173, fig. 45 | Helfritz, Hans 1977. Entdeckungsreisen in Sud-Arabien. Auf unbekannten Wegen durch Hadramaut und Jemen (1933 und 1935). (DuMont Reiseberichte und Dokumente). Cologne: DuMont Buchverlag. |
Mazzini 2020 | Mazzini, Giovanni 2020. The Ancient South Arabian royal edicts from the Southern Gate of Timnaʿ and the Ǧabal Labaḫ. (Epigraphische Forschungen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, 8). |