CC BY 4.0
The above license applies to the data in this record, but not to any images displayed. The images are the property
of third parties and are either used with permission or reproduced from publications (see the credits below each image).
YM 1950
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Late Sabaic | ||||||||
| Script | Ancient South Arabian | ||||||||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||||||||
| Text direction | Right-to-left | ||||||||
| Text appearance | Recessed | ||||||||
| Execution technique | Incision | ||||||||
| Measure of letters | 4.5 | ||||||||
| Chronology |
|
TEXT
[... ...]
1 [... ... ʾq]wl s²ʿbn S¹mʿy ṯlṯn ḏ-Ḥmln[ ... ...]
2 [... ... mr](ʾ)-hmw (Bʿ)l-s¹myn l-s¹(mʿ)((l-ʾḫr)) ʿnt (w)[... ...]
3 [... ... ʾm]rʾ-hmw Ṯʾrn Yhnʿm w-bny-h[w ... ...]
4 [... ... mlky S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn w-Ḥḍrm]wt w-Ymnt w-l-ys¹mʿn Bʿl-(s¹)[myn ... ...]
5 [... ... wr]ḫ-hw ḏ-Ḫrfn ḏ-ṯlṯt w-[... ...]
| 2 | l-ʾḫr (Müller). |
| 4 | for Ymnt see Robin 2013: 131-133. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 [... ...] the ʾqwl of the tribe of S¹mʿy, section of ḏ-Ḥmln [... ...] 2 [... ...] their Lord, Lord of Heaven, let Him hear the prayer [... ...] 3 [... ...] their lords Ṯʾrn Yhnʿm and his son [... ...] 4 [... ...] two kings of Sabaʾ, ḏu-Raydān, Ḥaḍramawt and Yamanat and let the Lord of Heaven listen [... ...] 5 [... ...] on the month of ḏ-Ḫrfn of the year three [... ...] |
| 2 | "let Him take away the worry" (Müller). |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Deposit | Ṣanʿāʾ, The National Museum, YM 1950 |
| Support type | Stone piece |
| Material | Stone |
| Dimensions | h. 29.5, w. 40, th. 14 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Bayt Ghufr |
| Ancient site | Unknown |
| Geographical area | Hamdān |
| Country | Yemen |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
This is the first mention of a "Lord of Heaven" (Bʿl s¹myn). This appellative is an innovation in south Arabia (compared to the well known near-eastern god Bʿlšmn) and indicates a break with the old tradition, with the introduction of the new monotheistic cult. According to Robin 2003: 103, the monotheistic character of this text is also confirmed by the formula w-l-ys¹mʿn (l.4) which doesn't belong to the lexicon of the polytheistic inscriptions. The "rejection" of the polytheism must be happened in [47]3 or [48]3 (l.5, in lacuna) following the scholar's historical reconstruction.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Gajda 2005: 22-26, fig. 1 | Gajda, Iwona 2005. The earliest monotheistic south Arabian inscription. Archäologische Berichte aus dem Yemen, 10: 21-29. |
| Müller, Walter W. 2010: 57 | Müller, Walter W. 2010. Sabäische Inschriften nach Ären datiert. Bibliographie, Texte und Glossar. (Veröffentlichungen der Orientalischen Kommission, 53). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. |
| Robin 2003 | Robin, Christian J. 2003. Le judaïsme de Ḥimyar. Arabia. Revue de Sabéologie, 1: 97-172. |
| Robin 2013 | Robin, 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. |