CSAI
Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions


CIH: i/iv, pl. XXXV
photo
CIH: i/iv, pl. XXXV
photo
By kind permission of British Museum

INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic
ScriptAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Text directionRight-to-left
Text appearanceRecessed
Execution techniqueIncision
Measure of letters3.4
Chronology
PeriodB
Textual typologyDedicatory text - fragmentary

GENERAL NOTES

Gl 1209=CIH 338 presents a similar phraseology to our text.

TEXT

marker


   1  [... ...] Qbbn bn Ghḍm bn [... ...]
   2  [... ... b]ʿl Trʿt hqny w-r[... ...]
   3  [... ...]-hw w-bn-hw ʾws¹n[ ... ...]
   4  [... ...] ʾws¹n ʿṯtr w-ʾnm[... ...]
   5  [... ...]-hw ywm ts²ym Tʾl[b ... ...]
   6  [... ...] ywm s¹tyfʿ Tʾlb[... ...]
   7  [... ...] b-Trʿt s²lṯt ʾʾw[... ...]
   8  [... ...] ʿs¹nm ʿdy s²qr[m ... ...]
   9  [... ...]ny Tʾlb mṣrbn[... ...]
  10  [... ... t]qdm kwrn w-hḥdṯ[... ...]
  11  [... ...]rn w-ms¹ḫntn [... ...]
  12  [... ... T]ʾlb l-qyf[... ...]

Apparatus
4ʾ*ʿ*s¹n "munimenta" (CIH).
7ʾʾw[dn (CIH).

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  [... ...] Qbbn of the family Ghḍm ibn [... ...]
   2  [... ...] lord of Trʿt, he dedicated [... ...]
   3  [... ...] and his son ʾws¹n[... ...]
   4  [... ...] ʾws¹n ʿṯtr and ʾnm[... ...]
   5  [... ...] when Tʾlb appointed (him as a priest) [... ...]
   6  [... ...] when Tʾlb declared His will [... ...]
   7  [... ...] in Trʿt three [... ...]
   8  [... ...] the foundation to the top [... ...]
   9  [... ...] to Tʾlb the altar [... ...]
  10  [... ...] he was in charge of the fireplace (?) and he restored [... ...]
  11  [... ...] and the landlords [... ...]
  12  [... ...] Tʾlb for the stela (?) [... ...]
1in Gl 1209=CIH 338, 1 the name of the family is Ghḍ.
5-6the lines can be compared with Gl 1209=CIH 338, 6: bkn ts²m Tʾlb Mʿhrm mnṣfm ym s¹tyfʿ Tʾlb.
10CIH integrates the preposition b- before the lacuna and translates "quae in anteriore parte pagi", but the comparison with Gl 1209=CIH 338, 13: w-ym tqdm w-ʿs¹n kwr Tʾlb suggests the integration t]qdm.
kwr is mentioned several times in Gl 1209=CIH 338, SD's translation as "hill" is improbable; following ʿs¹n in Gl 1209=CIH 338, 13, we would expect some kind of building. SD's translation is essentially based on CIH 353 and Ir 17; the two inscriptions refer to a military conflict that has taken place b-krwnhn, but in these two contexts we can imaginee that Krwnhn was the name of a place.
Beeston 1937 a: 37 suggests the translation "fire-altar", based on line 8 of Gl 1209=CIH 338. After mentioning the construction of a temple, the inscription goes on to list a series of ritual objects and temple furnishings. I would translate it as "fireplace" based on the hypothesis that it refers to an architectural feature of the temple.
Beeston 1937 aBeeston, Alfred F.L. 1937. Sabaean inscriptions. Oxford.

OBJECT INFORMATION

DepositLondon, The British Museum, BM 125163=1887,0629.30
Support typeArtefact » Stela » Stela with framework
MaterialStone
Dimensionsh. 56, w. 27, th. 9
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin
Modern siteJabal Riyām
Ancient siteTrʿt
Geographical areaArḥab
CountryYemen
Link to site record