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Ist 7608 bis RES 3904
Ryckmans, Gonzague 1946: pl. II
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 | 3.5 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Construction text - fragmentary | ||
| Royal inscription | Yes |
GENERAL NOTES
| See Wellcome A 103664, where Beeston maintains the possibility that this text and Ist. 7608 bis are the same inscription. |
TEXT
1 [... ... w-mn]fs¹ qds¹ S¹myfʿ ʾs²wʿ mlk S¹[bʾ ... ...]
2 [... ... ʾ]ḥṣn w-S¹myfʿ ʾs²wʿ bny S²rḥbʾ[l ... ...]
3 [... ... ʾm]rʾ-hmw ngs²t ʾks¹mn brʾw w-hwṯ[rn ... ...]
4 [... ... ʾ]ḫms¹-hmw mlykym w-qylym ḏ-tqh ḏ-[... ...]
5 [... ...]ʿ ḏn mlkn b-ḫylm w-b-gys²-hmw ʿmn ml[kn ... ...]
6 [... ...]m s¹-mlkn ʾlʾ<ṣ>bḥh mlk Ḥbs²t l[... ...]
7 [... ... ]ʾmlkm l-Ḥmyrm w-ʿqbtm l-ngs²t ʾ[ks¹mn ... ...]
8 [... ... ]ytʿbdnn l-ʾmlk ʾks¹mn w-k-s¹th[... ...]
9 [... ...]tḫl-hmw l-zʿ bḥrn w-l-ṣlḥ Ḥ[myrm ... ...]
10 [... ... ḏ]-Yzʾn w-Ḥs³n w-S²rḥbʾl ḏy Mʿf[rn ... ...]
11 [... ...]ln-hw ʾs¹wdn w-S¹myfʿ ḏ-ʿbdn w[... ...]
12 [... ... ḏ]y Ḫll w-Zrʿt ḏ-Mrḥbm w-Mlkm Ns¹[... ...]
13 [... ...]rm w-Ḥrṯm w-Mrṯdm ʾlht Ṯʿlbn w-M[... ...]
14 [... ... ʾlʾṣbḥ]h ngs²y ʾks¹mn w-k-hrṯdw w-s²rḥ[n ... ...]
15 [... ...]w hgn ʾb-hmw S²rḥbʾl Ykml w-h[... ...]
16 [... ...]s¹m Rḥmnn w-bn-hw krs³ts³ ġlbn [... ...]
| Rodinson maintained that the stone is broken only on the right side. | |
| 1 | mn]fs¹ qds¹ is a J. Ryckmans's integration (1956: 248), followed by Lundin and, doubtfully, by Rodinson. G. Ryckmans restored n]fs¹ qds¹. |
| 1-2 | mlk S¹[bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn bn Lḥyʿt Yrḫm w-Mrṯdʾln ʾ]ḥṣn (Rodinson). J. Ryckmans suggested to integrate the lacuna with the very long king's title. |
| 9 | G. Ryckmans reads ltʿ without translating it. Lundin: w-s¹]tḫl-hmw gzʿ; k-s¹]tḫl-hmw wzʿ bḥrn w-l-ṣlḥ Ḥ[myrm is Beeston's reading. |
| 11 | ys³ḫ]ln. |
| 13 | G. Ryckmans reads Mḫ[.... ...] which Rodinson is tempted to restore Mḫ[wn (al-Maḫā). |
| 14 | s²rḥn[... ...] (J. Ryckmans). |
| 16 | [... ...]b-s¹m (J. Ryckmans). |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 [... ...] Holy Spirit. S¹myfʿ ʾs²wʿ, king of Sabaʾ [... ...] 2 [... ...] ʾḥṣn and S¹myfʿ ʾs²wʿ, sons of S²rḥbʾl [... ..] 3 [... ...] their lords, the negus of Axum built and laid the foundation [... ...] 4 [... ...] their royal force and those of the qayls, who concluded [... ...] 5 [... ...] this king with strenght and with their army together with the king [... ...] 6 [... ...] toward ʾlʾṣbḥh, king of Abyssinia in [... ...] 7 [... ...] kings for Ḥimyar and governors of the negus of Axum [... ...] 8 [... ...] submitted themselves to the kings of Axoum and when [... ...] 9 [... ...] he appointed them for the defense of the sea and the maintenance of order in Ḥimyar [... ...] 10 [... ...] ḏ-Yzʾn, Ḥs³n and S²rḥbʾl those two of the family Mʿfrn [... ...] 11 [... ...] ʾs¹wdn and S¹myfʿ ḏ-ʿbdn [... ...] 12 [... ...] two sons of Ḫll and Zrʿt ḏ-Mrḥbm and Mlkm Ns¹[... ...] 13 [... ...] and Ḥrṯm and Mrṯdm ʾlht Ṯʿlbn and M[... ...] 14 [... ...] ʾlʾṣbḥh negus of Axum and when they entrusted and preserved [... ...] 15 [... ...] the bastard of their father S²rḥbʾl Ykml and [... ...] 16 [... ...] in name of Rḥmnn and his son Christ, the victorious [... ...] |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Deposit | Istanbul, Ancient Orient Museum, 7608 bis |
| Support type | Artefact » Slab |
| Material | Marble |
| Dimensions | h. 50, w. 73, th. 8.5 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Ḍāf |
| Ancient site | Ḍfw |
| Geographical area | Dhamār |
| Country | Yemen |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
This inscription dates back to little after the invasion of South Arabia by Abyssinians and the defeat of Ys¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr (dhu-Nuwas, about 525 AD). S¹mhyfʿ ʾswʿ (Procopius' Esimiphaios) is put on the throne by the Ethiopian king ʾlʾṣbḥh (Kaleb) while a group of Yazanite officials, who had sustained the Jewish king few years before (see for instance Ja 1028), support the new authority in some war campaigns probably against some indomitable dhu-Nuwas' supporters.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Ryckmans, Gonzague 1946: 165-172, pl. II | Ryckmans, Gonzague 1946. Une inscription chrétienne sabéenne aux Musées d'Antiquités d'Istanbul. Le Muséon, 59: 165-172. |
| Rodinson 1970: 161-182 | Rodinson, Maxime 1970. L'inscription RES 3904. Annuaire. École pratique des hautes études. Section 4: Sciences historiques et philologiques: 161-183. |
| Ryckmans, Jacques 1976: 96-99, pl. I | Ryckmans, Jacques 1976. L'inscription sabéenne chrétienne Istanbul 7608bis. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society: 96-99. |
| Gajda 1997: 113-117 | 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). |
| Robin 2008 a: 96-98 | Robin, Christian J. 2008. Joseph, dernier roi de Ḥimyar (de 522 à 525, ou une des années suivantes). Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, 34: 1-125. |
| Ryckmans, Jacques 1956 | Ryckmans, Jacques 1956. La persécution des chrétiens himyarites au sixième siècle. (Uitgaven van het Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul, 1). Istanbul: Nederlands historisch-archaeologisch instituut in het nabije oosten. |