CSAI
Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions

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as-Sawdāʾ 88


Catalogue 2000: 341, cat. 215

INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Minaic » Central Minaic
ScriptAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Text directionRight-to-left
Text appearanceRecessed
Execution techniqueIncision
Chronology
PeriodA
Textual typologyDedicatory text

TEXT

marker


   1  ʿms¹mʿ bn S²ʿḏw ḏ-
   2  Wfr s³lʾ ʾrnydʿ
   3  ywm ḏbḥ ḏ-Qbḍ ṯn—
   4  y w-(y)w(m ḍb)ʾ ʾws¹n
   5  [ʿm S¹mh](y)fʿ mlk N—
   6  [s²n w-](y)wm ḍbʾ Ngrn
   7  [ʿ](m) ḏ-Dwrn b-rʿẓ ʾ—
   8  rnydʿ w-Wd w-ḏ-Gr—
   9  b w-ʿṯtr Ns²q w-b y—
  10  wm Ydʿʾb w-ʾlmn—
  11  bṭ w-b Ġfrt
  12  ḏt byt-s¹

Apparatus
12The line is superficially engraved; it seems to be a later addition.

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  ʿms¹mʿ son of S²ʿḏw, of the family of
   2  Wfr dedicated to ʾrnydʿ
   3  when he sacrificed to ḏ-Qbḍ two (sacrifices)
   4  and when he fought against Awsān
   5  [with] S¹mhyfʿ, king of Nashshān,
   6  [and] when he fought against Ngrn
   7  [with] ḏ-Dwrn, by the will of ʾ-
   8  rnydʿ and Wd and ḏ-Gr-
   9  b and ʿṯtr Ns²q; at the
  10  time of Ydʿʾb and of ʾlmn-
  11  bṭ, and by Ġfrt,
  12  that of his house (his wife).

OBJECT INFORMATION

DepositṢanʿāʾ, The National Museum, YM 11126+YM 11192
Support typeArtefact » Stela » Stela with framework
MaterialAlabaster
Dimensionsh. 128.5, w. 63, th. 8
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin
Modern siteas-Sawdāʾ
Ancient siteNs²n
Geographical areaJawf - Wādī al-Buhayra
CountryYemen
Archaeological contextReligious context: Temple of ʾrnydʿ
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

This text records the campaigns in which the author of the dedication took part with his king S¹mhyfʿ, namely the wars against ʾws¹n and Ngrn, when the king of Nashshān was ally of Krbʾl Wtr.

The last words of this text, which were added later, refer to a woman. On the basis of her attribute "ḏt byt-s¹" ("the one of his house/temple"), she might have been the priestess of the god ʾrnyd or the wife of the author of the text. It is to note, however, that the usual onomastic formula to name someone's wife is ḏt plus the name of the husband; moreover the dedication made in her name postulates that she held a relevant social position.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Seipel 1998: 321, cat. 232Seipel, Wilfried (ed.) 1998. Jemen. Kunst und Archäologie im Land der Königin von Sabaʾ. Eine Ausstellung des Kunsthistorischen Museums Wien in Zusammenarbeit mit der Generalinstitution fur Altertumer, Museen und Handschriften, Ministerium fur Kultur und Tourismus der Republik Jemen. Wien, Kunstlerhaus, 9. November 1998 bis 21. Februar 1999. Vienna: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien.
Catalogue 2000: 339, 341, cat. 2152000. Yemen. Nel paese della Regina di Saba. Catalogo della Mostra, Palazzo Ruspoli, Fondazione Memmo, Roma 6 Aprile - 30 Giugno 2000. Milan: Skira.
Avanzini 2000: 1236-1240, fig. 3/aAvanzini, Alessandra 2000. Two inscriptions from Nashshan: new data on the history of the town. Pages 1231-1247 in Simonetta Graziani (ed.). Studi sul vicino oriente antico dedicati alla memoria di Luigi Cagni. (Series minor. Istituto universitario orientale. Dipartimento di studi asiatici, 61). Naples: Istituto universitario orientale.
Simpson 2002: 55, 61, cat. 17Simpson, St John (ed.) 2002. Queen of Sheba. Treasures from the ancient Yemen. London: British Museum Press. [Catalogue of an exhibition held at the British Museum, London]
Robin and Arbach 2004: 32-35, fig. 31
see Arbach, Audouin and Robin 2004
Arbach 2022: 105, fig. 33Arbach, Mounir 2022. The city-states of the Jawf at the dawn of Ancient South Arabian history (8th-6th centuries BCE). I. From cities to kingdoms. (Arabia Antica, 17/1). Roma: «L'Erma» di Bretschneider. 2025/12/29; https://doi.org/10.48255/9788891322920.
Rossi 2022: 121-123Rossi, Irene 2022. The city-states of the Jawf at the dawn of Ancient South Arabian history (8th-6th centuries BCE). II. Corpus of the inscriptions. (Arabia Antica, 17/2). Roma: «L'Erma» di Bretschneider.