CSAI
Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions


INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Late Sabaic
ScriptAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Text directionRight-to-left
Text appearanceRaised
Execution techniqueIncision
Chronology
PeriodE
Start date - BCE/CE559 CE
End date - BCE/CE559 CE
Date accuracyAccurate
Textual typologyConstruction text - fragmentary

TEXT

marker


   1  [... ...g]rbm w-rbʿtm mwg(l)m w-(ftḫm)[ ... ...]
   2  [... ...](ṣ)lt-hw ḏ-s¹n ms³wdn ʿlyn w-wzʾw ʿḏ[b ... ...]
   3  [... ... mḥ]wlm ġyr-mw tfrʿ-hw w-hwʿbw kl qh yr[... ...]
   4  [... ... ]ḏ-s¹n S¹km((s¹km)) w-ʿḏb-hw bn mwṯr-hw ʿdy tfrʿ-hw w-[... ...]
   5  [... ...]m b-ḫrfn ḏ-l-ts¹ʿt w-s¹ṯy w-s¹ṯ mʾtm w-wzʾ[w ... ...]
   6  [... ... ]w-Hnwm ʾrbʿt fls³tm ʿlwm w-ʾrbʿt mḥwlt[m ... ...]
   7  [... ... b](n) mwṯr-hw w-s²tʾ-hw bn mwṯr-hw w-hqs²bw b-h(w)[... ...]
   8  [... ... s¹]hl-hw w-ṯlṯt fls³tm ʿlw-hw w-qṣʿw ḥṣm-hw lb(ḫ)[... ...]
   9  [... ... ʾr]ḍ Ḥgrm w-wṯn ʿkm w-kl qh-hw mnhmtm w-(grb)m ḥbs²[... ...]

Apparatus
The following readings and restorations have been suggested by Müller:
3]wlm l-gyrmw (Gajda). At the end Yr[ (Yrs³?) possibly as a name of construction, following Rhodokanakis 1917: 42.
5w-wzʾw[ ʿḏb.
6at the beginning Hnwn as nomen loci against hnwm (Gajda); at the end mḥwlm (Rhodokanakis).
8]l-hw (Gajda).
9at the beginning of the line ʾr]ḍ; at the end ḥb[ (Gajda).

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  [... ...] undressed stones, square stones, alabaster, decorated stonework [... ...]
   2  [... ...] its covering of stones in front of the high hall and again they repaired[... ...]
   3  [... ...] water reservoir except its top and they executed all the command of [... ...]
   4  [... ...] in front of S¹km (of the closure) and its dam from its foundation to its top [... ...]
   5  [... ...] in the year six hundred sixty-nine and again they repaired[... ...]
   6  [... ...] Hnwm four upper water flows and four water reservoirs [... ...]
   7  [... ...] from its foundation.They built up from it foundation and built in it [... ...]
   8  [... ...] located in the plane and three upper water flows. They designed its grid work [... ...]
   9  [... ...] the land of Ḥgrm and the border of ʿkm and all his command in polished stones and undressed stones building block [... ...]

OBJECT INFORMATION

DepositIstanbul, Ancient Orient Museum, 7509
Support typeStone piece
MaterialMarble
Dimensionsh. 38, w. 80
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin
Modern siteUnknown
Ancient siteUnknown
Geographical areaUnknown
CountryUnknown
Notes"der Fundort der Inschrift nordwestlich von Ḥajja und südlich von al-Maḥābiša in der östlichen Region des Wadi Maur zu suchen sein dürfte" (Müller 2010: 122).
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

This is the latest dated inscription before the Persian conquest of South Arabia (570 AD).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Müller, Walter W. 1991: 117-131, pl. IMüller, Walter W. 1991. CIH 325: die jüngste datierte sabäische Inschrift. Pages 118-131 in Études sud-arabes. Recueil offert à Jacques Ryckmans. (Publications de l'Institut Orientaliste de Louvain, 39). Louvain-La-Neuve: Université Catholique de Louvain, Institut Orientaliste.
Gajda 1997: 168-169Gajda, Iwona 1997. Ḥimyar gagné par le monothéisme (IVe-VIe siècle de l'ère chrétienne). Ambitions et ruine d'un royaume de l'Arabie méridionale antique. (Université d'Aix-en-Provence).
de Maigret 2002: 250, pl. 46 (photo)de Maigret, Alessandro 2002. Arabia Felix. An exploration of the Archaeological history of Yemen. London: Stacey International.
Müller, Walter W. 2010: 122-123Müller, Walter W. 2010. Sabäische Inschriften nach Ären datiert. Bibliographie, Texte und Glossar. (Veröffentlichungen der Orientalischen Kommission, 53). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
Rhodokanakis 1917Rhodokanakis, Nikolaus 1917. Studien zur Lexikographie und Grammatik des Altsüdarabischen. II Heft. (Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, Philosophisch-Historische Klasse, 185/3). Vienna: Alfred Hölder.