CSAI

Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions


Arbach and Bāfaqīh 1998: 111 (fig. 1/b), 112 (fig. 2: facsimile)

INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Ḥaḍramitic
AlphabetAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Script cursusBoustrophedon
Writing techniqueIncision
Chronology
PeriodA
Textual typologyCommemorative text - fragmentary
Royal inscriptionYes

TEXT


   1  Ydʿʾl Byn mlk Ḥḍ—
   2  rmt mḫḍ Qtbn b-ḫl S¹yn
   3  [w]-ḫl Ḥwl[ ... ...] (r)[.]l Ḥḍ(r)mt
   4  s²wʿ S¹y[n ... ...]
   5  [... ...](ḏm)[... ...]

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  Ydʿʾl Byn king of Ḥaḍramawt
   2  defeated Qatabān by the power of S¹yn
   3  and the power of Ḥwl [... ...] Ḥaḍramawt
   4  minister of S¹yn [ ... ...]
   5  [... ...]

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeRock inscription
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin and provenance
Modern siteal-ʿUqla
Ancient siteʾnwdm
Geographical areaShabwa
CountryYemen
FoundIn situ
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

This one of the few HAD texts in boustrophedic script that have come to light. "Commissioned in the 7th or 6th century BC by one of the earliest Ḥaḍramitic kings to celebrate his victory against Qatabān, the text is written in an extremely archaic language with a marked Sabaean character. The divine couple Sīn and Ḥawl are invoked as the founding deities of the state, with a status equal to that of the Sabaean gods Almaqah and Hawbas, and the verb mẖḍ “to break” – a verb that was used by the first Sabaean mukarribs, symbolizing the act of breaking the enemy − is employed. At the same time the text contains some interesting HAD innovations, such as the formula b-ẖl “by the power of”, which represents the earliest occurrence of this noun in ASA." (Prioletta 2013 b).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bāfaqīh 1967: 80-81, fig. 10Bāfaqīh, Muḥammad ʿA. 1967. Āṯār wa-nuqūš al-ʿUqla. al-Qāhira: Laǧna al-Tallīf wa-l-Tarǧama wa-l-Našr.
Arbach and Bāfaqīh 1998: 110-114, figs 1/a-b (almost illegible photo), fig. 2 (facsimile)Arbach, Mounir and Bāfaqīh, Muḥammad ʿA. 1998. Nouvelles données sur la chronologie des rois du Ḥaḍramawt. Semitica, 48: 109-126.
Prioletta 2013 b: 97Prioletta, Alessia 2013. Remarks on some processes of assimilation and innovation in the language and culture of Ḥaḍramawt during its ancient history. Aula Orientalis, 31/1: 93-108.