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Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions

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Hamilton 2 A+B + Shabwa S/75/128


Pirenne 1990: 56-58, fig. 20, pls. XLVIIa-b

INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Ḥaḍramitic
ScriptAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Text directionRight-to-left
Text appearanceRecessed
Execution techniqueIncision
Measure of letters8
Chronology
PeriodB2
Textual typologyConstruction text
Royal inscriptionYes

GENERAL NOTES

Breton dates the text to the 2nd c. AD, but the presence of s³ instead of ṯ suggests a more ancient date (see Prioletta 2006).

TEXT

marker


   1  (Yd)ʿʾl B(y)n bn (Ydʿʾb) [mlk Ḥḍrmt ... ...]± |(g)nʾ S²bwt s²ls³t m(ḥ)±[f]d w-ʾrbʿ (ṣ)[ḥf... ... w-]
   2  (b )(ḏt Ḥs³)wl[m] w-b [ḏt Ḥm](y)±[m ... ...] (Ṣd)qḏkr((Ṣdqḏkr)) kbr Ḥḍrmt ± [w-b] (Ḥ)ḍr(mt) w-(b)[ ... ...]

Apparatus
1Between the first and the second fragment, Pirenne integrates m[lk Ḥḍrmt ʿḏb w-rfd]; Beeston suggests bnʾ w-rfd.
The integration of m(ḥ)[f](d) (between the second and the third fragment) and (ṣ)[ḥf] (at the end of the third one) are suggested by Bron.
2Ṣdqḏkr could refer to the same lineage name mentioned in Shabwa VI/76/81, which also comes from the Shabwa city walls.

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  Ydʿʾl Byn son of Ydʿʾb, king of Ḥaḍramawt [... ...] the city wall of Shabwa with three towers and four curtains [... ...]
   2  by ḏt Ḥs³wlm and by ḏt Ḥmym [... ...] Ṣdqḏkr, kbr of Ḥaḍramawt, by Ḥaḍramawt and by [... ...]

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeArchitectural structure
MaterialStone
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin and provenance
Modern siteShabwa
Ancient siteS²bwt
Geographical areaShabwa
CountryYemen
NotesThe first fragment is reemployed; the second (now lost) and the third ones are in the wādī bed.
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

This is one of the rare Ḥaḍramitic construction inscriptions displayed on the façades of monumental buildings that was commissioned by a king (see Prioletta 2013). It also mentions a kbr of the kingdom.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beeston 1947: 53-55, pl. IBeeston, Alfred F.L. 1947. Two Shabwa Inscriptions. Le Muséon, 60: 51-55.
Pirenne 1990: 56-58, fig. 20, pl. XLVII/a-bPirenne, Jacqueline 1990. Les témoins écrit de la région de Shabwa et l'histoire. Jean-François Breton (ed.), Fouilles de Shabwa. 1. (Bibliothèque archéologique et historique, 134). Paris: Librairie orientaliste Paul Geuthner. [Institut français d'Archéologie du Proche-Orient]
Bron 1991 a: 460Bron, François 1991. Notes sur les inscriptions de Shabwa. Syria, 68: 459-462.
Prioletta 2006: 259, fig. 3Prioletta, Alessia 2006. Note di epigrafia Hadramawtica 1. L'alternanza di ṯ e s³. Egitto e Vicino Oriente, 29: 249-267.
Breton 2009 b: 9Breton, Jean-François 2009. De Shabwa à Palmyre: questions d'urbanisme. Pages 3-30 in Jean-François Breton (ed.). Fouilles de Shabwa IV. Shabwa et son contexte architectural et artistique du Ier siècle avant J.-C. au IVe siècle après J.-C.. Jean-François Breton (ed.), Fouilles de Shabwa. 4. (Bibliothèque archéologique et historique, 190). Ṣanʿāʾ: Centre français d'archéologie et de sciences sociales de Ṣanʿāʾ / Beirut: Institut français d'archéologie du Proche-Orient.
Prioletta 2013 b: 98, fn. 35Prioletta, 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.