Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic | ||
Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
Writing technique | Incision | ||
Chronology |
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Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
9 | ʿẓn instead of ʿm-n (Iryānī). |
13 | According to Beeston 1976 b: 54, s¹fln is a noun meaning "the lowlanders". |
14 | ḏ-Yġrw according to Wissmann. |
English | |
1 S¹ʿdtʾlb Ytlf, of the family Gdnm, kbr of the Arabs 2 of the king of Sabaʾ and Kdt and Mḏḥgm and Ḥrmm 3 and Bhlm and Zydʾl and all the Arabs of Sabaʾ, 4 Ḥimyar, Ḥaḍramawt and Ymnt, dedicated to his Lord 5 ʾlmqh, Lord of ʾwm, the statue in bronze in praise 6 because, when His servant S¹ʿdtʾlb of Gdnm 7 and his contingent of Arabs were sent as a garrison in Ns²qm against 8 the Ḥaḍramawt, orders and commands were sent to them 9 by their lord Ḏmrʿly Yhbr, king of Sabaʾ 10 and ḏu-Raydān and the Ḥaḍramawt and Ymnt that they go on an expedition 11 and wage war; let S¹ʿdtʾlb of Gdnm lead the tribe of 12 Sabaʾ, the inhabitants of Mrb and the Arabs of Sabaʾ, Kdt, 13 Ngrn and S¹fln, and they marched to the temple of 14 Yġrw and their whole contingent waited for seven days. 15 And they did not march until (they were) three hundred Sabaean soldiers 16 and three hundred Arab soldiers and twenty 17 horsemen, that they sent them 18 as garrison in the town of Ns²qm and fifty horsemen 19 joined them; and they went on expedition and plundered the town 20 of Ṣwʾrn, and the inhabitants of Ṣwʾrn confronted them 21 in the vicinity of the town of Ṣwʾrn, but the one of Gdnm and 22 his contingent inflicted on them casualties, prisoners of war and civil prisoners 23 and booty in great number, and after that they surrendered 24 to them; and the soldiers of Ṣwʾrn made an expedition with them against 25 the inhabitants of S²bm and Ṣdfn and confronted and fought with 26 Ṣdfn and the inhabitants of S²bm in the vicinity of S²bm and killed 27 among them seventy soldiers and (the rest) was routed towards their town 28 and fortified there and they carried on the struggle with them for thirteen days 29 until they surrendered; and after that, they made a raid and besieged 30 Rṭġtm, S¹yʾn, Mrymtm and Ḥdb and made them surrender, 31 and they made a raid up to ʿrʾhln and Trm and confronted with 32 the inhabitants of Trm and they killed a great number of the inhabitants of Trm and 33 they routed to their town, and they encircled them and besieged 34 for twelve days, and devastated two thousand vineyards; and 35 they offered their submission and asked for protection and gave pledges and surrendered to them and 36 from there they made a raid to Dmn and Ms²ṭt and ʿr Klybm 37 and surrendered to them, and so they took control of all the towns of the Ḥaḍramawt and of the 38 Valley and from there then they went back home with spoils and 39 war prisoners and civil prisoners and booty in great quantity; and they killed 40 a thousand and three hundred (soldiers) in combat and made seven hundred war prisoners and 41 three thousand civil prisoners; and they went back home to the town of Ẓfr 42 to their lord the king, and brought with them ʾnmrm 43 whom they had made the king of the Ḥaḍramawt and Rbʿt, son of Wʾlm and 44 ʾfṣy, son of Gmn and Gs²m, son of Mlkm and ʾs¹dm, son of 45 S¹lmn and ʿdyt, son of Nmrm and Qys¹m, son of Bs²rʾl and 46 Bhṯm, son of S³kym and Ṯwbn, son of Gḏmt, those of Ṣdf and 47 Ydʿ[...], the one of S¹ybn, and Qḍʿm, the one of S¹ybn, and four 48 [... ...] and with them [… …] 49 [... ...] |
11 | ys¹bʾnn is in the plural while yqtdmn is in the singular. A scribal error should probably be envisaged (the omission of a conjunction w- before the name of the author of the text). |
24 | mṭww ʿm-hmw: “zogen mit ihnen” (Nebes 2005: 354) |
Beeston 1976 b: 53-55 | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1976. Warfare in ancient South Arabian (2nd.-3rd. centuries A.D.). Qahtan. Studies in Old Arabian Epigraphy. 3. London: Luzac and Co. |
Nebes 2005: 353-355 | 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. |
Deposit | Ṣanʿāʾ, al-Kuhālī collection (Private collection) |
Support type | Artefact » Base » Of statue with dedicatory inscription |
Material | Stone |
Link to object record |
Modern site | Maḥram Bilqīs |
Ancient site | ʾwm |
Geographical area | Maʾrib |
Country | Yemen |
Archaeological context | Religious context: Temple of ʾlmqh Ṯhwn bʿl ʾwm |
Link to site record |
Wissmann 1964 b: 491, n. 168 | Wissmann, Hermann von 1964. Ḥimyar, ancient history. Le Muséon, 77: 429-497. |
Ryckmans, Jacques 1975 a: 209-215 | Ryckmans, Jacques 1975. Ḥimyaritica 5. Le Muséon, 88: 199-219. |
Beeston 1976 b: 54-55 | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1976. Warfare in ancient South Arabian (2nd.-3rd. centuries A.D.). Qahtan. Studies in Old Arabian Epigraphy. 3. London: Luzac and Co. |
ʿInān 1976: 383-387 | ʿInān, Zaid b. ʿA 1976. Taʾriḫ ḥaḍāra al-Yaman al-qadīm. Cairo. |
Müller, Walter W. 1981: 225-256 (photo) | Müller, Walter W. 1981. Das Ende des antiken Königreichs Ḥaḍramaut. Die sabäische Inschrift Schreyer-Geukens = Iryānī 32. Pages 225-256 in Roswitha G. Stiegner (ed.). al-Hudhud. Festschrift Maria Höfner zum 80. Geburtstag. Graz: Karl-Franzens-Universität. |
al-Iryānī 1990: 196-205 | al-Iryānī, Muṭahhar 1990. Fī-taʾrīḫ al-Yaman. Nuquš musnadiya wa-taʿliqāt. Ṣanʿāʾ: Markaz al-dirāsāt wa-l-buḥūṯ al-Yamanī. |