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Gr 27
Robin 1987 c: pl. 11/a
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Late Sabaic | ||
| Script | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Text direction | Right-to-left | ||
| Text appearance | Raised | ||
| Execution technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 4.5-5.5 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Construction text - fragmentary |
GENERAL NOTES
| The mention of the Abyssinians, who left south Arabia after their first invasion around 270 AD, is a good reason for Robin to date the text at the end of the 3rd, beginning of the 4th century. |
TEXT
1 Hwfʿṯt Yhyʿ w-bny-hw S²rḥbʾl w-Dwm[n ... ...]
2 bʿd-n ḏt dhr-hw ʾḥbs²n w-brʾ-hw w-hw[ṯrn ... ...]
3 b(n)wtm t-s¹ṯt bḥwrm w-byt-hmw Ns¹r [... ...]
4 [... ...] ʿṯtr S²rqn w-b-rdʾ ʾly-hmw Wll w-S¹[mydʿ ... ...]
| 3 | ns¹r as a preposition (Griaznevich). |
| 4 | Robin integrates at the beginning [hm](w). |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Hwfʿṯt Yhyṯʿ and his sons S²rḥbʾl and Dwmn [... ...] 2 after the Abyssinians had burnt it; they built and laid the foundations [... ...] 3 a six-storey building and their house Ns¹r [... ...] 4 ʿṯtr S²rqn and with the help of their two gods Wgl et S¹mydʿ [... ...] |
| 2 | The verb dhr is translate with "to conquer" by Jamme (1988: 59) |
| 3 | "A building of six contiguous wings" (Jamme). |
| Jamme 1988 | Jamme, Albert W.F. 1988. Miscellanées d'ancient arabe XVI. Washington. 2025/04/17; https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.38250299. [Privately printed] |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Architectural structure |
| Material | Stone |
| Dimensions | h. 28.5, w. 98 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Bayt al-Ashwāl |
| Ancient site | Unknown |
| Geographical area | Ẓafār |
| Country | Yemen |
| Found | Reemployed. In modern times |
| Notes | The stone, seen at Ẓafār by Sharaf ad-Dīn and Graznevic, is now reemployed at Bayt al-Ashwāl. |
| Link to site record |
| Modern site | Ẓafār |
| Ancient site | Ẓfr |
| Geographical area | Ẓafār |
| Country | Yemen |
| Archaeological context | Urban context: Private house Ns¹r |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
Wll w-S¹mydʿ appear always together and exclusively in Ḥimyaritic texts.
Robin (1987 c: 121), on the basis of Ir 14 and because a as-Samaydaʿ is referred to in the Arabic tradition as an ancestor of the Ḥimyarite royal dynasty, supposes that S¹mhydʿ could be considered as a deified hero, the founder of the Ḥimyarite kingdom.
Robin (1987 c: 121), on the basis of Ir 14 and because a as-Samaydaʿ is referred to in the Arabic tradition as an ancestor of the Ḥimyarite royal dynasty, supposes that S¹mhydʿ could be considered as a deified hero, the founder of the Ḥimyarite kingdom.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Grjaznevič 1978: 37, fig. 44 | Grjaznevič, Petr A. 1978. Materiali ekspedicii P.A. Grjaznevičia 1966-1967 gg. Južnaja Aravija. Pamjiatniki Drevnej Istorii i Kultury. 1. Moscow: Glavnaja redakzija vostočnoj literatury. |
| Robin 1987 c: 151-152, pl. 11/A | Robin, Christian J. 1987. L'inscription Ir 40 de Bayt Ḍabʿân et la tribu Ḏmry. Appendice: Les inscriptions Gl 1192, Gl 1197 et Gr 27. Pages 113-157 in Christian J. Robin and Muḥammad ʿA. Bāfaqīh (eds). Ṣayhadica. Recherches sur les inscriptions de l'Arabie préislamique offertes par ses collègues au professeur A.F. L. Beeston. (Arabie préislamique, 1). Paris: Librairie orientaliste Paul Geuthner. |
| Gajda 1997: 165-166 | Gajda, 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). |