Qāniʾ 4 CIH 728; RES 2636; Ry 343; RES 5092
By kind permission of K. Noman
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Ḥaḍramitic | ||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Writing technique | Incision | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Commemorative text |
TEXT
1 Ṣydm ʾbrd bn Mls²n mṣdʾ ḏ-Bds² ʿ—
2 qb Qnʾ s¹tṭr b-ʿrhn Mwyt
| Corrected reading given in RES 5092. | |
| 1 | mṣdʾ as a proper name (CIH and RES). |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Ṣydm ʾbrd son of Mls²n, functionary of ḏ-Bds², 2 governor of Qanaʾ wrote (this inscription) for himself (or: was written, i.e "his name was written", Ed.) at the citadel Mwyt. |
| 1 | Mṣdʾ is translated as "mandataire" by G. Ryckmans following a suggestion by Rhodokanakis (see the commentary in Ry 362). Robin prefers "trésorier". Multhoff translates the last phrase: "der Statthalter von QNʾ, wurde auf dem Hügel MWYT aufgeschrieben". |
| Ryckmans, Gonzague 1949 a: 58 | Ryckmans, Gonzague 1949. Inscriptions sud-arabes. Huitième série. Le Muséon, 62: 55-124. |
| Robin 2010 c: 410 | Robin, Christian J. 2010. Qāniʾ et le Ḥaḍramawt à la lumière des inscriptions sud-arabiques. Pages 403-418 in Jean-François Salles and Alexander V. Sedov (eds). Qaniʾ. Le port antique du Ḥaḍramawt entre la Mediterranée, l'Afrique et l'Inde. Fouilles russes 1972, 1985-89, 1991, 1993-94. (Indicopleustoi. Archaeologies of the Indian Ocean, 6). Tournhout: Brepols. [Institut d'Etudes Orientales, Academie des Sciences de Russie; Maison de l'Orient et de la Mediterranée] |
| Multhoff 2010 b: 40, fn. 106 | Multhoff, Anne 2010. tfʿl/ftʿl − Die verbalen T-Stämme im Altsüdarabischen. Folia Orientalia, 47: 20-69. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Rock inscription |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Biʾr ʿAlī |
| Ancient site | Qnʾ |
| Geographical area | Southern Ḥaḍramawt |
| Country | Yemen |
| Found | In situ |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
The inscription, although written in Ḥaḍramitic, must date back to after the conquest of Ḥaḍramawt by Ḥimyar (5th-6th c. AD according to Robin). This is proved by the palaeographic style and by some cultural elements in the text. The author is a functionary of the lineage Bds², which could be the one with the same name belonging to the tribe of Sumhuram (see Ja 650). His patronymic is a name that is found in the Yazʾanite onomastics (ʿAbadān 1 and RES 5085). Finally, he is the governor of the port of Qanaʾ, most probably under the authority of a king of Ḥimyar.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Ryckmans, Gonzague 1939 b: 318, pl. IX | Ryckmans, Gonzague 1939. Inscriptions sud-arabes. Sixième série. Le Muséon, 52: 297-319. |
| Robin 2010 c: 410, pl. 142, fig. 137, 4 | Robin, Christian J. 2010. Qāniʾ et le Ḥaḍramawt à la lumière des inscriptions sud-arabiques. Pages 403-418 in Jean-François Salles and Alexander V. Sedov (eds). Qaniʾ. Le port antique du Ḥaḍramawt entre la Mediterranée, l'Afrique et l'Inde. Fouilles russes 1972, 1985-89, 1991, 1993-94. (Indicopleustoi. Archaeologies of the Indian Ocean, 6). Tournhout: Brepols. [Institut d'Etudes Orientales, Academie des Sciences de Russie; Maison de l'Orient et de la Mediterranée] |