Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic | ||
Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
Writing technique | Incision | ||
Measure of letters | 3-2.4 | ||
Chronology |
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Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
English | |
1 Wfym ʾḥbr, of the family Ḥbb and Hynn 2 and Ṯʾrn, he of ʿmd and S¹ʾryn and Ḥwlm, 3 ʾqwl of the tribe Ṣrwḥ and Ḫwln Ḫḍlm and 4 Hynn, mqtwy of S²mr Yhrʿs², king of Sabaʾ 5 and ḏu-Raydān, dedicated to their lord ʾlmqh Ṯhwn, 6 Lord of ʾwm, the statue in bronze in praise because 7 He fulfilled them with His oracle in all the expeditions 8 they went on and in which they performed service for their lord S²mr Yhrʿs², king of 9 Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān, in S¹hrtn Lyt and 10 Ḫywn and Ḍdḫn and Tnʿm and Nbʿt and killed 11 in that expedition five men in combat and one 12 (was taken as) prisoner – good casualties and a notable succes in the view of 13 the contingent – and he and his tribe came back with killings and 14 prisoners and booty in quantity, that satisfied them; and in praise 15 for the expedition on which they went again and in which they performed service for their lord 16 S²mr Yhrʿs², king of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān, in the valley of 17 Ḍmdm and they made a sally in its defiles against the tribe of Ḥrt 18 and in it he killed five men in combat - a notable success 19 in view of the contingent - and in it he was wounded with five wounds penetrating 20 his tights and his feet, and his horse was also wounded, 21 and he was in fear that his feet might be injured and his horse might die, 22 and ʾlmqh Ṯhwn, Lord of ʾwm, saved him, and he and his tribe came back 23 with killings and prisoners and booty that satisfied them; 24 and in praise (because) they went on expedition and performed service for their lord S²mr 25 Yhrʿs², king of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān, to the valley of Ḥrb at 26 Qrytnhn and thereon their lord S²mr 27 Yhrʿs², king of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān, ordered them – him and a hundred and seventy 28 men whom he summoned from their tribe Ṣrwḥ and Ḫwln, 29 and with them (there were) six cavalrymen – to confront and attack the tribes 30 of ʿkm and ḏ-S¹hrtm and they attacked and confronted all the tribes 31 and the nomad groups of ʿkm and ḏ-S¹hrtm at the fortress ḏ-Rgzgzn 32 and they fought them from the appearance of dawn until the setting 33 of the sun and throughout the entire night until the appearance of the star 34 of the morning, and they routed them and made them surrender and killed among 35 them - a notable success in the view of the contingent - one man in combat and two 36 (were taken as) prisoners and the casualties that they inflicted at the fortress 37 ḏ-Rgzgzn were one hundred and ten men (killed) in combat and 38 forty-six men captured and four hundred and twenty 39 prisoners and three hundred and sixteen 40 riding camels with their equipment, and they took as booty and loot camels and 41 cattle and sheep in abundance, and on the following day they performed service [... ...] |
Translation in Beeston 1976 b: 31-32. | |
21 | Stein (2003 a: 93, fn. 376) notes that this occurrence of rgl has to be considered an exceptional writing for the dual rgly (cf. l.20). Ryckmans (1966: 487) had already pointed out that it could not be a singular (as Jamme 1962 a and later Beeston 1976 b did), due to the ending of the verb, but he considered it a plural used for a dual. |
41 | For the interpretation of w-l-ḏ-mḫr hwt ywmn, see Beeston 1974: 427-428. |
Jamme 1962 a: 152 | Jamme, Albert W.F. 1962. Sabaean Inscriptions from Maḥram Bilqîs (Mârib). (Publications of the American Foundation for the Study of Man, 3). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. |
Ryckmans, Jacques 1966: 487 | Ryckmans, Jacques 1966. Himyaritica 2. Le Muséon, 79: 475-500. |
Beeston 1974: 427-428 | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1974. Sabaean Marginalia II. Annali dell'Istituto Orientale di Napoli, 34/3: 421-428. |
Beeston 1976 b: 31-32 | 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. |
Stein 2003 a: 93, fn. 376 | Stein, Peter 2003. Untersuchungen zur Phonologie und Morphologie des Sabäischen. (Epigraphische Forschungen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, 3). Rahden: Marie Leidorf GmbH / Westf.: Marie Leidorf GmbH. |
Support type | Artefact » Base » Of statue with dedicatory inscription |
Material | Stone |
Measures | h. 123.2, w. 35.7, th. 17.4 |
Link to object record |
Modern site | Maḥram Bilqīs |
Ancient site | ʾwm |
Geographical area | Maʾrib |
Country | Yemen |
Found | Reemployed. In ancient times |
Archaeological context | Religious context: Temple of ʾlmqh Ṯhwn bʿl ʾwm |
Link to site record |
Jamme 1962 a: 151-153, pl. 15 | Jamme, Albert W.F. 1962. Sabaean Inscriptions from Maḥram Bilqîs (Mârib). (Publications of the American Foundation for the Study of Man, 3). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. |
ʿInān 1976: 168-173 | ʿInān, Zaid b. ʿA 1976. Taʾriḫ ḥaḍāra al-Yaman al-qadīm. Cairo. |