CSAI
Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions

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as-Sawdāʾ 94


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

GENERAL NOTES

The inscription was found on the site, but no more in situ.

TEXT

marker


   1  ʿmyṯʿ Ṣdq bn
   2  Nwʿs¹mʿ s³lʾ ʿṯtr
   3  ḏ-Grb mdr ywm
   4  gnʾ Ns²n w-s¹ḥdṯ
   5  byt ʿṯtr ḏ-Grb

Apparatus
5The pillar is broken under l.5. It is possible that the text continued.

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  ʿmyṯʿ Ṣdq son of
   2  Nwʿs¹mʿ dedicated to ʿṯtr
   3  ḏ-Grb mdr (?), when
   4  he walled Nashshān and founded
   5  the temple of ʿṯtr ḏ-Grb.

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeArchitectural structure » Pillar
MaterialStone
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin and provenance
Modern siteas-Sawdāʾ
Ancient siteNs²n
Geographical areaJawf - Wādī al-Buhayra
CountryYemen
Archaeological contextReligious context: Temple of ʿṯtr ḏ-Grb
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

This inscription, by the king of Nashshān ʿmyṯʿ Ṣdq son of Nwʿs¹mʿ, records the fortification of the town and the construction of the temple of ʿṯtr ḏ-Grb.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arbach 2011 a: 187-192Arbach, Mounir 2011. Qui a construit le rempart de Nashshân, l'actuel as-Sawdâʾ (Yémen), au VIIIe s. av. J.-C.?. Semitica et Classica, 4: 187-192.
Arbach and Rossi 2011: 157, n. 17, fig. 6Arbach, 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 2022: 67, fig. 16Arbach, 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: 107-108Rossi, 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.