CIAS 47.11/b 2 Q 769; Ja 2436 (TSb+RES 3881); CSAI I, 5
By kind permission of K. Noman
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Qatabanic » Central Qatabanic | ||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Writing technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 9 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Construction text | ||
| Royal inscription | Yes |
TEXT
1 [S²h]r Ġyln bn ʾbs²bm mlk Qtbn w-kl wld ʿm w-ʾws¹n w-Kḥd↯ [w-Dhs¹m w-Tbnw bkr ʾnby ]w-Ḥwkm ḏ-ʾmr w-S²mr qẓr qyn rs²w ʿmm((ʿmm)) bny w-s¹ḥdṯ kl mbny w-mhlk
2 [ḫ](lf)n (ḏ)-(S³)dw w-nmr-s¹ww Ḥmrr w-S²ḫb ʾbn-s¹ w-blq-s¹ w-ʿḍ-s¹ w-mr(t)↯[-s¹ ... ...]b-mns²ʾ Qtbn b-ʿṯtr w-b ʿm w-b ʾnby w-b ḏt Ṣntm w-b ḏt Ẓhrn
| 1 | integrations by Pirenne. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 S²hr Ġyln son of ʾbs²bm king of Qatabān and of all the children of ʿm and of Awsān and of Dhs¹m and of Tbnw, first-born of ʾnby and Ḥwkm ḏ-ʾmr and S²mr, Collector, qyn, Priest of ʿmm (or, great Priest), built and restored whole the construction and the realization 2 of the gate ḏ-S³dw and of its two bastions Ḥmrr and S²ḫb, its stone, its sandstone, its wood and its limestone[... ...] through the mobilization of Qatabān; by ʿṯtr and by ʿm and by ʾnby and by ḏt Ṣntm and by ḏt Ẓhrn. |
| Avanzini 2004 a | Avanzini, Alessandra 2004. Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions I-III. Qatabanic, Marginal Qatabanic, Awsanite Inscriptions. (Arabia Antica, 2). Pisa: Edizioni Plus-Università di Pisa. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Inscription on architectural structure |
| Material | Stone |
| Measures | TSb: h. 75, w. 165; RES 3881: h. 87, w. 192 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Hajar Kuḥlān |
| Ancient site | Tmnʿ |
| Geographical area | Wādī Bayḥān |
| Country | Yemen |
| Found | In situ |
| Archaeological context | Urban context: City gate ḏ-S³dw |
| Notes | A part of the inscription is now detached and placed on the ground. The stone block with the first half of the two lines is on the gate. |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
Most construction inscriptions of B1 Period were commissioned by the king himself, or the king's name is mentioned in the final invocations. The close relation between the construction inscriptions and royal power is evident and is confirmed by the presence of invocations to the major gods of the Qatabanian pantheon: ʿṯtr, ʿm, ʾnby, ḏt Ṣntm, and ḏt Ẓhrn.
The king S²hr Ġyln son of ʾbs²bm always bears the title of king, never that of mukarrib. We know from this inscription that he extended the Timnaʿ city walls and built the bastions for the city's southern gate.
The king S²hr Ġyln son of ʾbs²bm always bears the title of king, never that of mukarrib. We know from this inscription that he extended the Timnaʿ city walls and built the bastions for the city's southern gate.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| CIAS: i, 109-116, photo | Beeston, Alfred F.L., Pirenne, Jacqueline and Robin, Christian J. 1977-1986. Corpus des inscriptions et antiquités sud-arabes: Vol. I (1977): Tome 1. Inscriptions. Tome 2. Antiquités; Vol. II (1986): Le Musée d’Aden. Tome 1. Inscriptions. Tome 2. Antiquités. Louvain: Peeters. [Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres] |
| Breton 1994 c: 117-119, 69 (plan) | Breton, Jean-François 1994. Les fortifications d'Arabie méridionale du 7e au 1er siècle avant notre ère. (Archäologische Berichte aus dem Yemen, 8). Mainz: Verlag Philipp von Zabern. |