Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic |
Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian |
Script typology | Monumental writing |
Writing technique | Incision |
Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
The photographs published in CIH are of copies of parts of the original inscription. One is Glaser's manuscript (Glaser 29) based on one of the rabbi Yaḥyā Qāfiḥ's notes. The other two are modern bronze copies of Rehatšek XI (in the middle) and Rehatšek X (on the left). The original text could be restored comparing Glaser 29 (or Glaser 1209, the same text), Prideaux III, Miles 3, Rehatšek XI, Rehatšek X and Prideaux I. Beeston in 1984 published the photo of the inscription by Ch. Robin. Grjiaznevič in 1998 provided measures and new photos. |
We have adopted Beeston's reading, based on Gl 1209. The main points which differ between Beeston's and CIH's edition are the reading of some nouns (see down here) and the subdivision of the words in the lines. | |
1 | Dhrm; nṣf (CIH); final word separator (Rhodokanakis). |
2 | [w]-bn-hw (CIH); Yhrḫm (Rhodokanakis). |
3 | Rḥbm (CIH). |
4 | b-Ybyn (CIH). |
5 | Rḥbm; wṣf instead of wḥrt; M[ʿ]hrm instead of Mḥr; hnṣf b-kn instead of hnṭf b-ḏn (CIH). |
5-6 | yhnʿmn instead of ẓrn ʿmn (CIH). |
6 | b-ktnfm instead of b-kn ts²m (CIH) |
7 | ḏ-Ybyn Ns¹rn Byḥn w[k]-ḏt w-Ḫlqn w-Ytʿ w-ʿḏb byn ms¹bʾ instead of ḏt-(Ẓ)[by]n w-ḫlqn yrtʿ w-ʿḏb ms¹bʾ (CIH). |
8 | Ybyn instead of Ẓbyn (CIH). |
8-9 | w-lknhn instead of w-lbʾnhn (CIH). |
9 | w-mkrbn instead of w-mṣrbn; Ybyn instead of Ẓbyn (CIH). |
11 | mqltm instead of mqldtm; ʾdf instead of ʾḫlf (CIH). |
11-12 | w-hʿhn w-ẓrn instead of w-ywm ʿs¹n w-ḍrk (CIH). |
12 | Ryd kwrn instead of Ryd-hw [ʿ]dy (CIH). |
13 | Qdm instead of Qmm; Ytʿ instead of Yṯʿt; w-gnʾn instead of w-gnʾ (CIH). |
14 | CIH restores Ṯmd; w-mḥfrn instead of w-mḥfn; mḥfdn; ḏ-Lʿn instead of Ḍlʿn (CIH). |
English | |
1 Mʿhrm son of Ghḍ of the clan Ḏḫrm, executive of Tʾlb lord of Trʿt, dedicated to Tʾlb 2 Rymm Yhrḫm himself and his sons ʾws¹ʾl and Ḥfnm and all his children and 3 possessions; for he has been put in charge of the (construction of) the "high-place" and the constructional work of on the ?shrine? Rḥbn, and the cult-stone of Nws²m and 4 all the works which had initiated for Tʾlb in Trʿt and Itwat, when he ?declared his will?, and in Ẓbyn and Myfʿ, 5 together with the canal of Rḥbt, according to the decree of Tʾlb; and he received the statute which has been promulgated on this rock from 6 Tʾlb, when Tʾlb appointed Mʿhrm as executive, when Tʾlb ?declared his will?. Also, 7 he was put in charge of (constructing) the well of Ẓbyn and the ḫlq (?channel?) Yrtʿ, and putting in order the watercourse of the citadel, and putting in order the water-supply at Mhʾnfm, 8 and the wall of Ẓbyn towards Byḥn, and the temple of Itwat and the incense-altars at the foot of the mountain,and the two lions 9 and the mṣrb-altar and the two incense-altars that are in Itwat, and the bronze ms¹lm-altar which is in front of Ẓbyn, and the bronze ms¹lm-altar of 10 Myfʿ. And Mʿhrm was in charge of all these operations in accordance with Tʾlb's decree. Furthermore 11 he was in charge of (constructing) a hundred basins in front of the high-place; and he also put in order the gates of Ḥdqn; 12 he dug out and stone-faced the cistern which belongs to the citadel; he was in charge of the construction of the approach-path of the citadel dhu-Marmar from the bottom 13 to top; and he constructed and dug (the foundations of) the high-place of Tʾlb at Yṯʿt; he built and walled the town 14 Thimād and the enclosure-wall which is at Ḍilāʿan. |
3 | Beeston 1981 b: 22 establishes for the verb hyʿ the meaning of "carry out building operations". |
Beeston and al-Ghūl 1984: 40-41 | Beeston, Alfred F.L. and al-Ghūl, Maḥmūd ʿA. 1984. The pilgrimage at Itwat. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 14: 33-41. |
Beeston 1981 b | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1981. Two epigraphic South Arabian roots: HYʿ and KRB. Pages 21-34 in Roswitha G. Stiegner (ed.). al-Hudhud. Festschrift Maria Höfner zum 80. Geburtstag. Graz: Karl-Franzens-Universität. |
Support type | Rock inscription |
Measures | h. 80, w.124 |
Link to object record |
Modern site | Hajar Zahra |
Ancient site | Unknown |
Geographical area | Arḥab |
Country | Yemen |
Found | In situ |
Archaeological context | Religious context: Temple of Tʾlb Rymm bʿl Trʿt |
Link to site record |
Rhodokanakis 1932: 173-186 | Rhodokanakis, Nikolaus 1932. Altsabäische Texte II. Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, 39: 173-226. |
Beeston 1937 a: 36-39 | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1937. Sabaean inscriptions. Oxford. |
Beeston and al-Ghūl 1984: 40-41 (photo) | Beeston, Alfred F.L. and al-Ghūl, Maḥmūd ʿA. 1984. The pilgrimage at Itwat. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 14: 33-41. |
Grjaznevič 1998: 51, photos 159 а, б, в, г, д | Grjaznevič, Petr A. 1998. Materiali ekspedicii P.A. Grjaznevičia 1970-1971 gg. Južnaja Aravija. Part 2: Epigraficheskie pamjiatniki drevnego Jemena. 2. (2 vols), Moscow: Glavnaya redakziya vostochnoy literatury. |