Language | Ancient South Arabian » Minaic » Central Minaic | ||
Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
Writing technique | Incision | ||
Measure of letters | 7.5 | ||
Chronology |
| ||
Textual typology | Dedicatory text | ||
Royal inscription | Yes |
14 | lʾ-ʿtny (Ryckmans, Gonzague 1952); ms¹ʿtny (Wissmann 1982); ls¹-ʿtny or l-s¹ʿtny (Gnoli 1993). |
15 | Gnoli restores s¹[ʾl]; Jamme 1972: 72 s¹[qb]. |
English | |
1 ʿmyṯʿ Nbṭ son of 2 ʾbkrb, king of Maʿīn, 3 with (the people of) Maʿīn and Yṯl, paid (for the damage) 4 and did penance to ʿṯtr ḏ- 5 Yhrq, because they removed the documents 6 which (came) from their temples 7 in the city of Y- 8 ṯl, documents (of the people) of Maʿīn, and 9 their dedications; and because 10 they transgressed the decree that was promulgated for the 11 irrigated land of Yṯl, which is under the protection of 12 the gods of Maʿīn and Yṯl, 13 with the condition that the irrigated land should not be 14 colonised by immigrants; and because they did not respect (?) 15 the communities [...] of Maʿīn 16 for the estates of Yṯl, for ʿṯtr 17 S²rqn and for the gods 18 [of Maʿīn and Yṯl]. |
2 | the meaning of the term ʾrs² is debated. For "pay for the damage" see von Wissmann 1982: 363, n. 301; for "se lacérer le visage" see G. Ryckmans 1945: 6. We accepted here Gnoli's translation. |
14 | the difficult reading of the last word of the line prevents from understanding the third reported misdeed. The presence of the verb ʿtny, though unsure if in a positive or negative context, suggests that problems occurred with some kind of responsibility of or over some communities; up to now it is not possible to discern if those were political or religious entities. |
Gnoli 1993 | Gnoli, Gherardo 1993. Shaqab al-Manaṣṣa. Con diciotto tavole fuori testo. Inventaire des inscriptions sudarabiques. 2. Paris: de Boccard / Rome: Herder. [Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres; Istituto italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente] |
Ryckmans, Gonzague 1945 | Ryckmans, Gonzague 1945. La confession publique des péchés en Arabie méridionale préislamique. Le Muséon, 58: 1-14. |
Wissmann 1982 | Wissmann, Hermann von 1982. Die Geschichte von Sabaʾ II. Das Grossreich der Sabäer bis zu seinem Ende im frühen 4. Jh. v. Chr. (Sitzungsberichte der Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophischhistorische Klasse, 402). Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. [Walter W. Müller (ed.)] |
Support type | Inscription on architectural structure » Pillar |
Material | Stone |
Measures | h. 150, w. 36 |
Link to object record |
Modern site | Barāqish |
Ancient site | Yṯl |
Geographical area | Southern Jawf |
Country | Yemen |
Notes | The pillar was found in Baraqish, but it is thought to come from Shaqab al-Manaṣṣa. |
Link to site record |
Modern site | Shaqab al-Manaṣṣa |
Ancient site | Yhrq (?) |
Geographical area | Southern Jawf |
Country | Yemen |
Archaeological context | Religious context: Temple of ʿṯtr ḏ-Yhrq |
Link to site record |
Fakhry 1952: i, 150, fig. 106 (facsimile) | Fakhry, Ahmed 1952. An archaeological Journey to Yemen (March-May 1947). (3 vols), Cairo: Government Press. |
Fakhry 1952: iii, pl. LV (photo) | Fakhry, Ahmed 1952. An archaeological Journey to Yemen (March-May 1947). (3 vols), Cairo: Government Press. |
Pirenne 1956: pl. XIX/b (photo, partim) | Pirenne, Jacqueline 1956. Paléographie des inscriptions sud-arabes. Contribution à la chronologie et à l'histoire de l'Arabie du sud antique. (Verhandelingen van de Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie voor Wetenschappen, Letteren en Schone Kunsten van België. Klasse der letteren, 26). Brussels: Paleis der Academiën. |
Wissmann 1982: 362-366, fig. 119 (facsimile) | Wissmann, Hermann von 1982. Die Geschichte von Sabaʾ II. Das Grossreich der Sabäer bis zu seinem Ende im frühen 4. Jh. v. Chr. (Sitzungsberichte der Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophischhistorische Klasse, 402). Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. [Walter W. Müller (ed.)] |
Gnoli 1993: 100-112, pl. 18 | Gnoli, Gherardo 1993. Shaqab al-Manaṣṣa. Con diciotto tavole fuori testo. Inventaire des inscriptions sudarabiques. 2. Paris: de Boccard / Rome: Herder. [Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres; Istituto italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente] |
Ryckmans, Gonzague 1952 | Ryckmans, Gonzague 1952. Epigraphical texts. Ahmed Fakhry, An archaeological Journey to Yemen (March-May 1947). ii. Cairo: Government Press. |
Jamme 1972 | Jamme, Albert W.F. 1972. Miscellanées d'ancient arabe III. Washington. 2019/07/23; https://cuislandora.wrlc.org/islandora/object/cuislandora%3A206336#page/1/mode/1up. [Privately printed] |