CSAI
Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions

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Record’s details
  • Editor(s)
    Chiara Salvador
    CSAI Team
  • First published
    2013-10-01
  • Last revised
    2023-11-07
  • DOI
    10.82194/dasi-epi-2748
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as-Sawdāʾ 93


By kind permission of M. Arbach

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
Royal inscriptionYes

TEXT

marker


   1  Ḏmrhl ʾmrt bnt Yqhmlk ḏt
   2  byt S¹mhyfʿ ʾm Ydʿʾb w-Mrt
   3  | s¹ḥdṯt ywm ṯfyt s¹mn s²ym |

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  Ḏmrhl ʾmrt, daughter of Yqhmlk,
   2  wife of S¹mhyfʿ, mother of Ydʿʾb and Mrt,
   3  dedicated (the basin) when she ... (?).
3The meaning of the verb ṯfy is unknown. Arbach suggests to confront the Ar. ṮFY "fixer le chaudron ou le marmite sur un socle; séparer le beurre du fromage". For s¹mn he thinks that it probably refers to the dedicated object and translates:"au jour où elle a fixé le bassin qui a été placé (?)". Hypothetically, it can be the dual personal pronoun referred to the two sons of Ḏmrhl. We could imagine that Ḏmrhl ʾmrt dedicated the object in the occasion of an important event related to them. It is unsure whether s²ym is the verb "to set up", or the epithet "patron", referred to the main god of Nashshān, ʾrnydʿ.

OBJECT INFORMATION

DepositṢanʿāʾ, The National Museum
Support typeArtefact » Container » Basin
MaterialStone
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin
Modern siteas-Sawdāʾ
Ancient siteNs²n
Geographical areaJawf - Wādī al-Buhayra
CountryYemen
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

This is a dedication made by the queen Ḏmrhl ʾmrt, wife of S¹mhyfʿ Ys¹rn king of Nashshān and daughter of Yqhmlk (probably the uncle of S¹mhyfʿ; cf. YM 2009 and YM 23250). In this text she records the names of their sons Ydʿʾb (probably Ydʿʾb ʾmr) and Mrt.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arbach and Rossi 2011: 159-160, n. 20Arbach, Mounir and Rossi, Irene 2011. Réflexions sur l'histoire de la cité-État de Nashshân (fin du IXe - fin du VIIe s. av. J.-C.). Egitto e vicino Oriente, 34: 149-176.
Arbach and Aqīl 2021: 297-303, 311, fig. 1Arbach, Mounir and ʿAqīl, Laila 2021. Princesses à la cour royale de Nashshān aux VIIIe-VIIe s. av. J.-C. Semitica, 63: 295-313. 2025/12/29; https://doi.org/10.2143/SE.63.0.3289906.
Arbach 2022: 115, fig. 36Arbach, 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: 116-118Rossi, 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.