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Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions

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Fa 74


Müller, Walter W. 1976 a: pl. IV/5-6

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/CE504 CE
End date - BCE/CE504 CE
Date accuracyAccurate
Textual typologyConstruction text

TEXT

marker


      [... ...]
   1  ḏhbm w-brʾw kl grb w-mnhmt byt-hmw Ykrb b-(ḫ)±rfm ʾḥd w-b-mw hwt ḫrfn tnbt-h—
   2  w wʿbm w-wzʾw s²rʿw byt-hmw Yrs¹ ṯty lbʾn ḏ(h)±bm w-kl ḏhbn ḏ-s²rʿw byty-hmw l-hm—
   3  w frdm w-brʾw byt-hmw b-nṣr w-rdʾ Rḥmnn mtrḥm±(n) w-b-nṣr w-rfd mrʾ-hmw Mrṯdʾln Ynf
   4  mlk S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn w-Ḥḍrmwt w-Ymnt w-ʾʿrb-hmw Ṭwd[m] ± w-Thmt w-b-nṣr w-rfd ʾmrʾ-hmw w-ḫlt-
   5  hmw Lḥyʿt Ynf ḏ-Hṣbḥ w-S²rḥbʾl ʾs¹ʿd ḏ-Mʿfrm w-±b-nṣr ʾḫ-hw Wfym Yrḫm ḏ-ʿṯkln w-b-n—
   6  ṣr w-rʿ[yn] w-[ʾḫw]t-hmw w-ʿs²rt-hmw S¹bʾ Khln wrḫ-hw ḏ-Mḏrʾn ḏ-l-ʾr[b]±(ʿt ʿs²)r w-s¹ṯ[ mʾt]m[ w-l-y]ṣlḥn (Rḥmnn)[ l-Ykrb w-Y]rs¹

Apparatus
3the king's epithet is written Ynwf in Gar Antichità 9d,2.
4for Ymnt see Robin 2013: 131-133.
6at the beginning, the two first words are read by Müller. The end of the line is based on the editor's reading; the text is not readable from the photo.

TRANSLATIONS

English

      [... ...]
   1  in bronze. They built all (the construction) in undressed stones and in smooth stones of their house Ykrb in one year; and in that year they undertook (the construction)
   2  by completing (the work). Moreover, they provided their house Yrs¹ with two lions in bronze and all the bronze (objects) with which they provided their two houses belong
   3  exclusively to them. They built their house with the assistance and the help of Rḥmnn, most merciful, and with the assistance and the aid of their lord Mrṯdʾln Ynf
   4  king of Sabaʾ, ḏu-Raydān, Ḥaḍramawt, Yamanat, their Arabs of Ṭwdm and of Thmt, and with the assistance and the aid of their lords, their protectors,
   5  Lḥyʿt Ynf ḏ-Hṣbḥ and S²rḥbʾl ʾs¹ʿd ḏ-Mʿfrm and with the assistance of their brother Wfym Yrḫm ḏ-ʿṯkln and with the
   6  assistance, the protection and their brothers and the tribal confederation of Sabaʾ Khln. In the month of ḏ-Mḏrʾn of the year six hundred fourteen. May Rḥmnn give prosperity to Ykrb and to Yrs¹.
2"they provided it with plant ornamentation" (Müller).

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeArchitectural structure
MaterialStone
Dimensionsh. 36, w. 195
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Provenance
Modern siteMaʾrib
Ancient siteMryb / Mrb
Geographical areaMaʾrib
CountryYemen
FoundReemployed. In modern times
Archaeological contextUrban context: Private house Yrs¹
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

The God's epithet mtrḥm has been compared by Ryckmans, Jacques 1964 to the Quranic formula ar-Raḥmān ar-raḥīm. However, the scholar also asserted, in other occasions, a Jewish character of this expression.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ryckmans, Gonzague 1952: 46-49Ryckmans, Gonzague 1952. Epigraphical texts. Ahmed Fakhry, An archaeological Journey to Yemen (March-May 1947). ii. Cairo: Government Press.
Müller, Walter W. 1976 a: 62-67, pl. IV/5-6Müller, Walter W. 1976. Neuinterpretation altsüdarabischer Inschriften: RES 4698, CIH 45+44, Fa 74. Annali dell'Istituto Orientale di Napoli, 36/1: 55-67.
Schmidt 1987: 139, 140, pls 14/d, 18/aSchmidt, Jürgen 1987. Antiken aus dem Stadtgebiet von Mārib. Archäologische Berichte aus dem Yemen, 4: 131-142.
Gajda 1997: 68-70Gajda, 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).
Müller, Walter W. 2010: 89-90Müller, Walter W. 2010. Sabäische Inschriften nach Ären datiert. Bibliographie, Texte und Glossar. (Veröffentlichungen der Orientalischen Kommission, 53). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
Ryckmans, Jacques 1964Ryckmans, Jacques 1964. Le christianisme en Arabie du Sud préislamique. Pages 413-543 in L'Oriente cristiano nella Storia della Civiltà. Atti del Convegno Internazionale sul tema: l'Oriente cristiano nella Storia della Civiltà. (Roma 31 marzo-3 aprile 1963; Firenze 4 aprile 1963). Rome: Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.
Robin 2013Robin, Christian J. 2013. À propos de Ymnt et Ymn: « nord » et « sud », « droite » et « gauche », dans les inscriptions de l'Arabie antique. Pages 119-140 in Françoise Briquel-Chatonnet, Catherine Fauveaud and Iwona Gajda (eds). Entre Carthage et l’Arabie heureuse. Mélanges offerts à François Bron. (Orient & Méditerranée, 12). Paris: de Boccard.