as-Sawdāʾ 92 al-Jawf 04.3
Arbach and Schiettecatte 2006: pl. 1/3
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Minaic » Central Minaic | ||
| 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 | S¹mhyfʿ Ys¹rn bn Lbʾn mlk Ns²n s¹ḥ(dṯ b)yt (W)[d ... ...](k)rb |
2 | Ydʿʾb ḏ-s¹brr w-bny b-brʾ((b-Brʾ)) mnfs¹ w-s¹bkl b-s¹ ʾns¹ b-ʾmr Wd |
| 1 | W(d ḏ-Nṣb b)r(ʾ|) (Robin and Arbach 2004); Wd (ḏ-Nṣ)b s¹krb| (Arbach and Schiettecatte 2006). The integration of the epithet of Wd is suggested on the basis of as-Sawdāʾ 4. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 S¹mhyfʿ Ys¹rn son of Lbʾn, king of Nshshān, restored the temple of Wd [... ...] as obligation of 2 Ydʿʾb, from which He released him, and he built in the construction (or: in Brʾ) a mnfs¹, in which he settled a man by the command of Wd. |
| 1-2 | "le temple de Wadd dhu-Naṣab qu'avait fondé Yadaʿʾab en exécution de ses obligations" (Robin and Arbach 2004). |
| Robin and Arbach 2004: 37 |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Deposit | Ṣanʿāʾ, The National Museum |
| Support type | Artefact » Architectural element » Architectural decoration |
| Material | Stone |
| Measures | h. 85, w. 156, th. 28 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | as-Sawdāʾ |
| Ancient site | Ns²n |
| Geographical area | Jawf - Wādī al-Buhayra |
| Country | Yemen |
| Archaeological context | Religious context: Temple of Wd |
| Notes | According to the integrations by Robin and Arbach 2004, this text comes from the temple of Wd ḏ-Nṣb. |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
This text records the construction of a temple of Wd in Nashshān, carried out by S¹mhyfʿ as discharge of an obligation of his grandfather Ydʿʾb. In particular, it commemorates the building of a part of the temple (mnfs¹), which probably was a particularly sacred place. In the mnfs¹, S¹mhyfʿ "settles" (s¹bkl) a man.
This has possibly to be read as a hint of the authority that the king had over the priestly class, as he held the power of appointing priests in the temples.
This has possibly to be read as a hint of the authority that the king had over the priestly class, as he held the power of appointing priests in the temples.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Robin and Arbach 2004: 37, figs 39-41 | |
| Arbach and Schiettecatte 2006: 17-18, pl. 1/3 | Arbach, Mounir and Schiettecatte, Jérémie 2006. Catalogue des pièces archéologiques et épigraphiques du Jawf au Musée National de Ṣanʿâʾ. Ṣanʿâʾ National Museum. Ṣanʿāʾ: Centre français d'archéologie et de sciences sociales de Ṣanʿâʾ. [Text in French and Arabic] |
| Arbach and Rossi 2011: fig. 12 | Arbach, Mounir and Rossi, Irene 2011. Réflexions sur l'histoire de la cité-État de Nashshân (fin du IXe - fin du VIIe s. av. J.-C.). Egitto e vicino Oriente, 34: 149-176. |