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Arbach-Bāfaqīh al-ʿUqla 1
Arbach and Bāfaqīh 1998: 111 (fig. 1/b), 112 (fig. 2: facsimile)
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Ḥaḍramitic | ||
| Script | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Text direction | Boustrophedon | ||
| Text appearance | Recessed | ||
| Execution technique | Incision | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Commemorative text - fragmentary | ||
| Royal inscription | Yes |
TEXT
1 Ydʿʾl Byn mlk Ḥḍ—
2 rmt mḫḍ Qtbn b-ḫl S¹yn
3 [w]-ḫl Ḥwl[ ... ...] (r)[.]l Ḥḍ(r)mt
4 s²wʿ S¹y[n ... ...]
5 [... ...](ḏm)[... ...]
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Ydʿʾl Byn king of Ḥaḍramawt 2 defeated Qatabān by the power of S¹yn 3 and the power of Ḥwl [... ...] Ḥaḍramawt 4 minister of S¹yn [ ... ...] 5 [... ...] |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Rock |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | al-ʿUqla |
| Ancient site | ʾnwdm |
| Geographical area | Shabwa |
| Country | Yemen |
| Found | In situ |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
This one of the few HAD texts in boustrophedic script that have come to light. "Commissioned in the 7th or 6th century BC by one of the earliest Ḥaḍramitic kings to celebrate his victory against Qatabān, the text is written in an extremely archaic language with a marked Sabaean character. The divine couple Sīn and Ḥawl are invoked as the founding deities of the state, with a status equal to that of the Sabaean gods Almaqah and Hawbas, and the verb mẖḍ “to break” – a verb that was used by the first Sabaean mukarribs, symbolizing the act of breaking the enemy − is employed. At the same time the text contains some interesting HAD innovations, such as the formula b-ẖl “by the power of”, which represents the earliest occurrence of this noun in ASA." (Prioletta 2013 b).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Bāfaqīh 1967: 80-81, fig. 10 | Bāfaqīh, Muḥammad ʿA. 1967. Āṯār wa-nuqūš al-ʿUqla. al-Qāhira: Laǧna al-Tallīf wa-l-Tarǧama wa-l-Našr. |
| Arbach and Bāfaqīh 1998: 110-114, figs 1/a-b (almost illegible photo), fig. 2 (facsimile) | Arbach, Mounir and Bāfaqīh, Muḥammad ʿA. 1998. Nouvelles données sur la chronologie des rois du Ḥaḍramawt. Semitica, 48: 109-126. |
| Prioletta 2013 b: 97 | Prioletta, Alessia 2013. Remarks on some processes of assimilation and innovation in the language and culture of Ḥaḍramawt during its ancient history. Aula Orientalis, 31/1: 93-108. |