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Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions

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MAFRAY-Abū Ṯawr 4


Robin 1986: 194, pl. I

INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Late Sabaic
ScriptAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Text directionRight-to-left
Text appearanceRecessed
Execution techniqueIncision
Chronology
PeriodE
Start date - BCE/CE486 CE
End date - BCE/CE486 CE
Date accuracyAccurate
Textual typologyConstruction text

TEXT

marker


   1  [S²rḥbʾl Yk]ml w-S²rḥʾl Yqbl w-Mrṯd(ʾ)[l](n)
   2  [ʾḥṣn w-S¹myfʿ ʾs²](w)ʿ w-b[n]w-hmw Lḥyʿt Yrḫm w-S¹myfʿ |
   3  [ʾs²wʿ bn](y) Lḥyʿt (Yr)ḫm ʾlht Yz(ʾ)n w-Gdnm w-Y—
   4  [ṣbr ʾqwl] ʾs²ʿb-hmw Rṯḥm w-Ḍyftn w-S¹ʾkln w-Rk—
   5  [bn w-kbw]r s²ʿbn S³ybn grbw w-hqḥn mʿqb-hmw
   6  [... ...] (w)-brʾw byt-hw S²bʿn ḏ-kwn b-s¹r Ġln
   7  [... ...] b-nṣr w-rdʾ Rḥmnn bʿl s¹myn w-ʾrḍn w—
   8  [rḫ-h]w ḏ-Qyẓn ḏ-l-s¹ṯt w-ts¹ʿy w-ḫms¹ mʾtm

Apparatus
1-3The integration of the names is based on the monograms (S²rḥbʾl Ykml) and on the comparison with RES 4069.

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  S²rḥbʾl Ykml, S²rḥʾl Yqbl, Mrṯdʾln
   2  ʾḥṣn, S¹myfʿ ʾs²wʿ and their sons Lḥyʿt Yrḫm, S¹myfʿ
   3  ʾs²wʿ, descendants of Lḥyʿt Yrḫm, of the clan of Yzʾn, Gdnm and Y-
   4  ṣbr, ʾqwl of their tribes Rṯḥm, Ḍyftn, S¹ʾkln, Rk-
   5  bn and kabwr of the tribe of S³ʿybn created terraced fields and completed their sanctuaries (their dominions)
   6  [... ...] and they built his temple S²bʿn, who was in the wādī Ġln
   7  [... ...] with the assistance and the help of Rḥmnn, the Master of the heaven and of the earth. In the
   8  month of Qyẓn of the year five hundred ninety-six.

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeStone piece
MaterialStone
Dimensionsh. 50, w. 92
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin and provenance
Modern siteḤizmat Abū Thawr
Ancient siteMnhytm l-yṯʿʾmr / Mnhtm / Mnytm
Geographical areaJawf - Wādī al-Buhayra
CountryYemen
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

This inscription is the first Yazanite text found in northern Yemen. The clan has added to his title the Sabaean group of Gdnm. According to Robin, the main textual verb grbw could be used not only in its technical sense, but also to affirm their recent ownership on those territories. The propaganda of this clan, which doesn't come from that region is also expressed by emphasizing the vastness of the dominated lands, from east (S¹ʾkln, Dhofār) to west (Rkbn, Tihāma).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Robin 1986: 181-197, pl. IRobin, Christian J. 1986. Du nouveau sur les Yazʾanides. Appendice. Les inscriptions Mafray-Abu Ṯawr 1-3. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 16: 181-197.
Gajda 1997: 61-64Gajda, 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: 85Müller, Walter W. 2010. Sabäische Inschriften nach Ären datiert. Bibliographie, Texte und Glossar. (Veröffentlichungen der Orientalischen Kommission, 53). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.